page_title: Battle of Hong Kong
section_title: Commemoration
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Hong Kong / Commemoration
caption_attribution_description: The City Hall Memorial Garden Memorial Shrine
context_page_description: The Battle of Hong Kong, also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of the Empire of Japan attacked the British Crown colony of Hong Kong. The attack was in violation of international law as Japan had not declared war against the British Empire. The Hong Kong garrison consisted of British, Indian and Canadian units, also the Auxiliary Defence Units and Hong Kong Voluntary Defence Corps.
  Locations which played an important role in setting the pace of military operations during December 1941 include Tai Po Road, the Shing Mun Redoubt trench and tunnel complex in the Gin Drinkers' Line, Devil's Peak, Ma Lau Tong, Lyemun, North Point, Aldrich Bay, Shaukiwan, Saiwan Hill, Wong Nei Chong Gap, Tytam, Shouson Hill and Stanley Fort. Coastal defence batteries including those at Stonecutters Island, Pak Sha Wan, Lyemun fort, Saiwan, Mount Collinson, Mount Parker, Belchers, Mount Davis, Jubilee Hill, Bokara, and Stanley provided artillery support for ground operations until they were put out of action or surrendered.
context_section_description: The Cenotaph in Central commemorates the defence as well as war-dead from the First World War. The shield in the colonial Emblem of Hong Kong granted in 1959, featured the battlement design to commemorate the defence of Hong Kong during the Second World War. This Coat of Arms was in place until 1997, when it was replaced by the regional emblem. After the war, Lei Yue Mun Fort became a training ground for the British Forces until 1987, when it was vacated. In view of its historical significance and unique architectural features, the former Urban Council decided in 1993 to conserve and develop the fort into the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence.
  The memorial garden at Hong Kong City Hall commemorates those who died in Hong Kong during World War II.
caption: Shrine to the war dead in the memorial garden at Hong Kong City Hall
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