HONG KONG

During the Second World War, Hong Kong was a colony of the British Empire, and was regarded as a distant outpost that must be held on to for as long as possible, yet reinforced as little as possible. When the Japanese planned to invade Hong Kong, Governor Sir Mark Young could not call for any outside help as it was isolated by Japan’s occupation of much of Mainland China. Although its defence force had professional soldiers, they were no match to the Japanese troops who easily won their battles while heading towards Hong Kong, as the British troops were poorly equipped and few in numbers. The Japanese attacked Hong Kong on the 8th of December, 1941, when British, Canadian and Indian soldiers were posted across the border of New Territories and Hong Kong Island. However, the troops in the New Territories quickly retreated to Hong Kong island because of the concentrated attack of the Japanese on the mainland troops. On the 18th of December, the Japanese landed in North Point, and turned Hong Kong into a slaughterhouse, overrunning all the troops and killing innocent civilians. Governor Sir Mark Young was asked to surrender many times by the Japanese, but London refused to agree to the terms, and Hong Kong plunged into a bloodbath. The British troops and its allies finally surrendered on Christmas Day, but it was too late, as the streets of Hong Kong was littered with bodies, with fires burning throughout the city and the water supply ruptured.