# Battle of Hong Kong order of battle

The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941) was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II.

## Allied

* Garrison Commander & Fortress Command
    General Officer Commanding, Hong Kong: Major General Christopher Maltby
    Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General: Brig. Andrew Peffers
    General Staff Officer, I: Col. Lancey Newnham

### Ground forces

The British ground forces consisted of the following units:
* 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots (Lt. Col. Simon E. H. E. White)
* 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (Lt. Col. Henry W. M. Stewart)
* Royal Rifles of Canada (Lt. Col. William J. Home)
* Winnipeg Grenadiers (Lt. Col. John L. R. Sutcliffe)
* 5th Battalion, 7th Rajput Regiment (Lt. Col. John. Cadogan-Rawlinson)
* 2nd Battalion, 14th Punjab Regiment (Lt. Col. Gerald R. Kidd)
* Hong Kong Chinese Regiment (either Major H. W. A. Mayer or Major. Rodney W. Mayer)
* Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (Col. Henry B. Rose)
       Infantry companies No. 1–7
       Artillery batteries 1st–5th
       Field Company Engineers
       Signals
       Armoured Car Platoon
       Army Service Corps Company
       Dispatch Sections
       Hughes Group
       Field Ambulance unit (Lt. Col. Lindsay Ride)
       St. John's Ambulance
* Royal Artillery (Brigadier Tom McCleod)
       8th Coast Regiment, Royal Artillery (Lt. Col. Shelby Shaw)
          12th Coast Battery (Maj. W. M. Stevenson)
          30th Coast Battery (Maj. C. R. Templer)
          36th Coast Battery (Capt. W. N. J. Pitt)
       12th Coast Regiment, Royal Artillery (Maj. Richard L. J. Penfold)
          24th Coast Battery (Capt. E. W. S. Anderson)
          26th Coast Battery (Lt. A. O. G. Mills)
       5th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (Lt. Col. Fred D. Field)
          7th Battery
          17th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery
          18th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery
          5th HKVDC Battery
       965 Defence Battery, Hong Kong–Singapore Royal Artillery (Maj. Basil T. C. Forrester)
       1st Regiment, Hong Kong–Singapore Royal Artillery (Maj. John C. Yale)
          1st Mountain Battery
          2nd Mountain Battery
          3rd Medium Battery
          4th Medium Battery
          25th Medium Battery
          26th Coast Battery
          17th Anti-Aircraft Gun Battery
* Royal Engineers China Command (Col. Esmond H. M. Clifford)
       HQ Fortress Engineers
       22nd Fortress Company, Royal Engineers (Maj. D. C. E. Grose)
       40th Fortress Company, Royal Engineers (Maj. D. I. M. Murray)
       Royal Engineers Services

#### Brigades

Infantry may be assigned to one of the two defensive brigades:
* Kowloon Infantry Brigade
    Brigadier Cedric Wallis
* Hong Kong Infantry Brigade
    Brigadier J. K. Lawson

#### Headquarters and support corps

British and local forces
* Headquarters, China Command
* Head Quarters
* G
* Admin
* A
* Q
* Command Royal Artillery
* Command Engineers
* Command Signals
* Command RASC
* Command Ordnance
* Medical Service Branch
* Financial Advisor & Army Audit Staff
* Provost Marshall — Corps of Military Police
* 2nd Echelon
* Royal Army Service Corps (Lt. Col. Keble Theodore Andrews-Levinge)
* Royal Army Ordnance Corps (Lt. Col. Robert Macpherson)
* Royal Army Medical Corps
* Royal Corps of Signals (Lt. Col. Eustance Levett)
Canadian
* Canadian staff
* Corps of Military Staff Clerks
* Canadian Provost Corps
* Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
* Canadian Army Dental Corps
* Canadian Service
* Royal Canadian Corps of Signals
* Royal Canadian Army Service Corps
* Royal Canadian Army Pay Corps
* Canadian Postal Corps
* Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps
* Canadian Chaplains Service
* Canadian Auxiliary Services
Indian
* Indian Hospital Corps
* Indian Medical Service
* Royal Indian Army Service Corps
* Hong Kong Mule Corps RIASC

#### Civilian

Civilian forces were as follows:
* MI6
* Hong Kong Police Force (Commissioner of Police John Pennefather-Evans)
       Indian Company, Police Reserve
       Chinese Company, Police Reserve
* Fire Brigade (Jack Fitz-Henry)
* Air Raid Precautions
* St. John's Ambulance
* Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes
Auxiliary Services
* Auxiliary Services
* Auxiliary Communications Service
* Auxiliary Conservancy Corps
* Auxiliary Civil Pay and Accounts Service
* Auxiliary Fire Service
* Auxiliary Labour Corps
* Auxiliary Medical Corps
* Auxiliary Nursing Service
* Auxiliary Ordnance Corps
* Auxiliary Quartering Corps
* Auxiliary Public Works Corps
* Auxiliary Rescue and Demolition Corps
* Auxiliary Supply Corps
* Auxiliary Transport Service

### Naval forces
#### Royal Navy

Commander: Captain Alfred C. Collinson
The Royal Navy presence were as follows:
* Royal Marine detachment (Maj. Farrington)
* HMS Tamar (shore station)
* HMS Thracian (Lt. Cdr. Arthur Luard Pears)
* HMS Scout (Lt. Cdr. Hedworth Lambton)
* HMS Thanet (Lt. Cdr. Bernard Davies)
* HMS Tern (Lt. John Douglas)
* HMS Robin (Cdr. Hugh M. Montague)
* HMS Redstart (Lt. Cdr. Henry C. S. Collingwood-Selby)
* HMS Cicala (Lt. Cdr. John C. Boldero)
* HMS Moth (Lt. Cdr. R. C. Creer)
* Hong Kong Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (Lt. Cdr. R. J. D. Vernall)
* Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service
* Royal Naval Dockyard Police
* Hong Kong Dockyard Defence Corps (Maj. D. Campbell)
Auxiliary patrol vessels
* APV Minnie
* APV Margaret
* APV St. Aubin
* APV St. Sampson
* APV Indira
* APV Henriette
* APV Shun Wo
* APV Han Wo
* APV Frosty
* APV Poseidon
* APV Ho Hsing
* APV Teh Hsing
* APV Chun Hsing
* APV Perla
Minor vessels
* APV Stanley
* APV Britannia
* HMS Barlight
* HMS Aldgate
* HMS Watergate
* HMS Cornflower
* Naval Armament Tug Gatling
* Jeanette
* RFA Ebonol
* C410
* Minelayer Man Yeung
* HMT Alliance
* Poet Chaucer
* Waterboat Wave
* SS Matchlock
* Diesel Launch Ah Ming
2nd MTB Flotilla (Lt. Cdr. Gerrard H. Gandy)
* MTB 07 (Lt. R. R. W. Ashby)
* MTB 08 (Lt. L. D. Kilbee)
* MTB 09 (Lt. A. Kennedy)
* MTB 10 (Lt. Cdr. G. H. Gandy)
* MTB 11 (Lt. C. J. Collingwood)
* MTB 12 (Sub-Lt. J. B. Colls)
* MTB 26 (Lt. D. W. Wagstaff)
* MTB 27 (Lt. T. M. Parsons)

#### Merchant Navy

Ships of the Merchant Navy:
* SS An Jou
* SS Apoey
* SS Ben Nevis
* SS Cheng Tu
* SS Fausang
* SS Fook On
* SS Glen Moor
* SS Henry Keswick
* SS Hsin Fuli
* SS Kanchow
* SS Kau Tung
* SS Mausang
* SS Nanning
* SS Patricia Moller
* SS Shun Chih
* SS Soochow
* SS St. Vincent De Paul
* SS Tai Ming
* SS Taishan
* MV Tantalus
* SS Tung On
* SS Whithorn
* SS Yat Shing

### Air forces

* Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy (Lt. P. J. Milner-Barry)
    Supermarine Walrus L2259
    Supermarine Walrus L2819
* Hong Kong Station, Royal Air Force (Wng. Cdr. Humphrey G. Sullivan)
    Vickers Vildebeest K2924
    Vickers Vildebeest K2818
    Vickers Vildebeest K6370
* HKVDC Flight (Sq. Ldr. Donald "Sammy" Hill)
    1 x Avro 621 Tutor
    2 x Hornet Moth
    2 x Cadet biplanes

## Japanese
### Ground forces

The Japanese ground forces consisted of the following units:
* 23rd Army
    Commander: Lieutenant General Takashi Sakai
    Chief of Staff: Major General Tadamichi Kuribayashi
    Deputy Chief of Staff: Major General Keishichiro Higuchi
* 38th Division
    Commander: Lieutenant General Tadayoshi Sano
* Infantry HQ, 38th Division (Maj. Gen. Takeo Itō)
       228th Infantry Regiment (Col. Sadashichi Doi)
       229th Infantry Regiment (Col. Ryosaburo Tanaka)
       230th Infantry Regiment (Col. Toshinari Shōji)
       38th Mountain Gun Regiment (Col. Takekichi Kamiyoshi)
       38th Engineers Regiment (Lt. Col. Tsuneō Iwabuchi)
       38th Logistic Regiment (Lt. Col. Shūichi Yabuta)
       19th Independent Engineer Regiment (Lt. Col. Shoshirō Inukai)
       20th Independent Engineer Regiment (Col. Kiyoshi Suzukawa)
       2nd Company, 14th Independent Engineering Regiment (Maj. Eiichi Kusagi)
       21st Independent Mortar Battalion (Maj. Shigeo Okamoto)
       Signal Corps (Maj. Ryōichi Itō)
* Araki Detachment (Col. Masatoshi Araki)
       66th Infantry Regiment – Less 1 Company
* Attached Force
       10th Independent Mountain Gun Regiment (Col. Rikichirō Sawamoto)
       20th Independent Mountain Gun Battalion (Lt. Col. Jirō Kajimatsu)
       2nd Quick-Firing Gun Battalion (Lt. Col. Takeo Ōno)
       5th Quick-Firing Gun Battalion (Maj. Jirō Aoki)
* 1st Artillery Group (Lt. Gen. Kaneo Kitajima)
       1st Heavy Artillery Regiment (Col. Masayoshi Hayakawa)
       14th Heavy Field Gun Regiment (Col. Takeaki Satō)
       2nd Independent Heavy Artillery Battalion (Maj. Kiyotoshi Kanamaru)
       3rd Independent Heavy Artillery Battalion (Lt. Col. Hitomi Kanmei)
       2nd Heavy Mortar Battalion (Maj. Deiichi Namimatsu)

#### Other divisional support

* Armour Squadron (Capt. Jūrō Atami)
* 3rd Transport Regiment (Lt. Col. Otokazu Kobayashi) – Only 3 companies
* 19th Independent Transport Company
* 20th Independent Transport Company
* 21st Independent Transport Company
* 1st River Crossing Material Company, 9th Division (Lt. Hiroshi Furumori)
* 2nd River Crossing Material Company, 9th Division (Lt. Eda Asao)
* Ordnance team (Capt. Sadaharu Koide)
* 5th Field Gas Company (Capt. Magosaburō Suzuki)
* 18th Field Gas Company (Lt. Isamu Morimoto
* Veterinary (Vet. Maj. Jiro Hayashi)
* 1st Field Hospital (Dr. Maj. Toshimi Suzuki)
* 2nd Field Hospital (Dr. Maj. Takuzō Itō)
* Field Pigeon Carrier Company
* South China MP Platoon (Maj. Kennosuke Noma)
* Medical unit
* Medical unit, 51st Division (Col. Otokazu Hattori) – Only 1/3 of the unit
* 17th Field Water Purification and Supply Unit
* Army signal corps
* Two radio signal platoons
* One wire signal platoon

### Naval forces

* 2nd China Fleet
    Commander: Vice Admiral Masaichi Niimi
    Chief of Staff: Brigadier Yasuo Yasuba
* Kamikawa Maru
    2 x Kawanishi E7K
    3 x Kugisho B3Y
Bombardment Group:
* Isuzu
* Tsuga
* Ikazuchi
* Inazuma
* Kasasagi
* Hiyodori
* Kari
* Kiji
* Tosho Maru
Attack Group:
* Uji
* Hashidate
* Saga
* Arashiyama Maru
* Tsukushi Maru
* Asashi Maru
* Momo Maru
* Ryujin Maru
* Choun Maru No. 7
* Shinsei Maru
* Sozan Maru
* Azuchi Maru
* San Luis Maru
* Shinko Maru
* Toen Maru

### Air forces

* 23rd Army Air Unit, 1st Air Group
** 45th Flying Sentai (Col. Shuji Habu) – 29 x Kawasaki Ki-32
** 10th Independent Chutai (Maj. Akira Takatsuki) – 13 x Nakajima Ki-27
** 18th Independent Chutai (Capt. Minoru Kobayashi) – 3 x Mitsubishi Ki-15
** 44th Independent Squadron (Capt. Yoshio Naito) – 6 x Tachikawa Ki-36
** 47th Air-Field Battalion (Maj. Sadayu Uemura)
** 67th Air-Field Company, 67th Air Field Battalion (Capt. Nobunaga Kodama)
** 57th Air-Field Company (2nd Lt. Mitsuhiro Makita) – Elements
* 14th Flying Sentai
* Kanoya Air Group