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Settling In

The Canadians set about familiarizing themselves with their exotic new surroundings. With whatever free time they had, they visited various sites of interest around Kowloon and the island; the rest of the time they spent getting to know their battle stations and the lay of the land.

At first the Canadians were stationed on the mainland. Brigadier Lawson knew that if war were to come it would not be fought on the mainland. He knew Hong Kong Island was the ultimate objective, and battle ground.

Lawson had his troops transported to the island every day to run battle drills and to become even more familiar with its topography. His foresight was to prove valuable indeed when the fighting began.

From an interview with Rifleman John Beebe, No.18 Platoon, Royal Rifles of Canada.

"We lost no time in getting down to work, taking up our posts on guard duty at the permanent dugouts and shelters. These were our future battle stations and we got familiar with the lay of the land during our three day sessions on guard duty. In the following two weeks we got to know the place even better and to like it very well. We drilled hard every morning for two or three hours. We had our own rifles and Brens and although our heavy equipment never arrived, there was plenty of British heavy equipment and we were well-trained in its use."

Just In Case

There was one man of authority in Hong Kong who believed the Japanese would attack sooner than later, and was working very hard to return the colony to the fortress it once had been. Major General Christopher M. Maltby was working around the clock to create a defensive plan that he hoped would deter a Japanese attack, but he was only one man, and he held fast to one tragically flawed notion. He believed that the Japanese would attack from the sea and positioned his troops on the island of Hong Kong accordingly. As to the mainland, he had another plan.

From the notes of Major Maurice A. Parker, CO "D" Coy Royal Rifles of Canada, regarding mainland defensive plans which were made in the event of war before the Canadians arrival:

"The (original) plan of action for the mainland was to employ the 2/14 Punjabs fighting a rear-guard action astride the main defiles leading up to the 'Gin Drinkers Line'.They would demolish fixed sites and equipment, clear vital supplies to the island, sink shipping in Kowloon Harbour and then, retire to the island using delaying tactics. This would give the island defenders more time to prepare for battle. They would disengage on the mainland with minimal losses as they would be required to help defend the island."

With the additional Canadian troops, Maltby planned to man and hold the Gin Drinkers Line on the mainland with 3 Battalions: The Royal Scots, the 2/14 Punjabs and the 5/7 Rajputs. These were high expectations in light of the previous military studies which determined that it would take 4 battalions to accomplish a delay-demolition action, and 7 battalions to achieve an even chance of holding the Gin Drinkers Line for 6 days.

General Maltby did change his original plans of limited engagement and withdrawal. He assigned
3 battalions, the Royal Scots, the 5/7 Rajputs and the 2/14 Punjabs to the mainland. The mainland brigades were to protect Kowloon Harbour, the island's water supply and the northern part of the island from all but a major assault. The man chosen to execute the mainland defense was English Brigadier General Cedric Wallis.

The Japanese occupied the rugged land along the border with China. What they did not occupy was called 'The New Territories', the area which Wallis and his troops were to defend. He and his troops expected to hold out in the face of an attack on the Gin Drinkers Line for as long as possible, at least a week, as mentioned, though studies showed it would 7 battalions to hold for that length of time. In any case, they were confident that attack from the mainland (The New Territories), would never happen.

The British View of the Japanese

The British commanders had a view of the Japanese soldier that they passed along to the Canadians as part of the orientation to their new surroundings, and it was incorporated into the 'intelligence reports' presented to the Canadians to make them aware of the 'situation' and the enemy they might have to contend with.

Even if the Japanese did attack, British Intelligence had information that there were only 5,000 poorly-trained, poorly-equipped troops, who could not fight at night because of the shape of their eyes, and besides they were prone to sea sickness. British Intelligence's assessment was that the Japanese were not much to contend with.

"The Japanese", the Canadians were told, "are badly trained, badly equipped, and physiologically unfit to fight. They are buck-toothed, slant-eyed, near-sighted, scrawny little people. Their slanted eyes make them poor night fighters, and prone to sea-sickness. Most of them have to wear thick corrective glasses. Because their diet consists mostly of rice and fish they are weak from malnutrition, and their stamina is poor. There are only 5,000 Japanese on the mainland at any rate, so don't worry. And besides ... they don't even look like soldiers. In their ill-fitting dung coloured uniforms, long leggings to their knees and rubber boots."