Japanese forces attack a British stronghold from the foot of Braemar Hill. The pier of the Asiatic Petroleum Company can be seen in the centre of the photograph.
On 8 December 1941, the same day that Pearl Harbour was attacked, Japanese forces crossed the Shenzhen River and invaded Hong Kong. The plan of the defending troops in Hong Kong was to stall the enemy's advance at the Gin Drinker's Line and put up a firm defence of Hong Kong Island. When the Japanese seized the Shing Mun Redoubt on the Gin Drinker's Line, the defending troops retreated to Hong Kong Island. The Japanese occupied Kowloon on 12 December, and on 18 December they landed troops on Hong Kong Island at North Point and Taikoo Dockyard, which advanced westwards to Wong Nai Chung Gap the following day. Hong Kong Governor Sir Mark Young surrendered to the Japanese army on 25 December, and the occupation of Hong Kong, which was to last three years and eight months, began.
A comic strip in the December 1941 issue of Great East Asia War Graphic shows Japanese forces on Hong Kong's doorstep. Before the war, British military commanders had already drawn up plans to abandon Kowloon if necessary and to focus their efforts on defending Hong Kong Island.
Published in Japan in 1942 as a propaganda tool advocating the 'sacred war', the Greater East Asia War Graphic provides a detailed description of Japan's invasion of Hong Kong in December 1941.
Greater East Asia War commemorative postcard issued by the Governor's Office of the Occupied Territory of Hong Kong: HMS Tamar sinks in Victoria Harbour during the Battle for Hong Kong in 1941.
Greater East Asia War commemorative postcard issued by the Governor's Office of the Occupied Territory of Hong Kong: The confrontation at Wong Nai Chung Gap on Hong Kong Island during the Battle for Hong Kong.
Colour print on the Battle for Hong Kong featured in an album recording the actions of the Japanese army in South-east Asia during the Greater East Asia War: The confrontation between Japanese forces and troops defending Wong Nai Chung Gap on Hong Kong Island.
Colour print on the Battle for Hong Kong featured in an album recording the actions of the Japanese army in South-east Asia during the Greater East Asia War: Conflagration on both sides of Victoria Harbour.
