| A Counter-Attack ... |
Tai Tam Reservoir, then and now ....
Photo compliments of Jeff Yam, Hong Kong
| Page 16 ... |
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In that charge Lieutenant Charles French was hit twice by a machine gun
fire in the first few minutes of the attack and died. Company Sergeant
Major John Osborn took command and led the charge which re-took
Mount Butler. The Grenadiers inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese until
there were just 30 Grenadiers left.
Alone, those 30 Grenadiers held the peak for more than three hours. Then
with a flank exposed, and being chopped up by machine-gun fire, they
were forced to withdraw. They fought their way back down Mount Butler
and somehow managed to link up with the rest of "A" Company
fire in the first few minutes of the attack and died. Company Sergeant
Major John Osborn took command and led the charge which re-took
Mount Butler. The Grenadiers inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese until
there were just 30 Grenadiers left.
Alone, those 30 Grenadiers held the peak for more than three hours. Then
with a flank exposed, and being chopped up by machine-gun fire, they
were forced to withdraw. They fought their way back down Mount Butler
and somehow managed to link up with the rest of "A" Company
The Grenadiers attempted to draw back to Wong Nei Chong, but the
entire Company was surrounded. In the fighting which ensued Company
Sergeant Major Osborn literally gave up his life to save his men. The six
survivors of the two platoons of "A" Company of the Winnipeg
Grenadiers, which had launched the counter-attack, became prisoners of
war. The others had given their lives in the "Battle of Hong Kong".
"A" Company of The Grenadiers suffered many wounded. They asked
the Japanese if they could take their injured with them. The Japanese
said, "No, we will take care of them." They did. They shot and bayoneted
the wounded to the last man. A war crimes investigation unit found the
remains of the men after WWII, in a stream bed where they had been
slaughtered. Japanese Colonel Tanaka Ryosabura, whose troops
committed the cold-blooded murders was tried, convicted and executed
after the war for his crimes.
Later that same afternoon, "D" Company of the Winnipeg Grenadiers, still
under the command of Captain Alan Bowman, was ordered to counter-
attack a Japanese stronghold called Mount Austin which had been
captured. Neal Bardal, Adjutant of the Winnipeg Grenadiers, recounts the
story of Captain Bowman: "Bowman had been involved since December
10th in heavy fighting on the mainland. He had endured 8 days of
incessant artillery and aerial bombardment, lack of food, lack of sleep,
and the tremendous stress of looking out for his men.
“In the afternoon that the Japanese swarmed ashore, Bowman was
ordered to launch a counter-attack. Bowman was so exhausted that he
was reduced to talking gibberish. He was last seen charging the Japs with
a blazing Tommy-gun. He was never given the credit for those incredible
days of fighting."
Brigadier Lawson's Headquarters Under Attack
Still later that day, as the Japanese under the command of Colonel Shoji
Toshishga drove onwards to the South, Brigadier Lawson decided to
move his Headquarters to a new location, but before he did, his
headquarters group was surrounded. The Japanese were firing straight
into the shelter where Lawson was located. A company of the Royal
Scots made a brave attempt to help the Grenadiers break free, but less
than a dozen Scots managed to fight their way through, and it was too
late. Brigadier Lawson reported to "Fortress Headquarters" that they
were "going outside to fight it out with the Japs". Pistols in hand and
accompanied by his Chief Staff Officer, Col. P. Hennesy and a Royal
Rifles intelligence officer named Arnold Woodside, he ran out the door
towards "Fortress Headquarters". The Japanese cut the three of them
down with machine-gun fire and they died instantly.
In Ottawa, another communique from Hong Kong had advised the
Minister of Defense, Hon. J.L. Ralston of Lawson's death and he made
the difficult announcement to the Canadian public. He had been advised
in a situation report "that Brigadier J.K. Lawson and Senior Staff Officer,
Col. P. Hennessy had been killed by shell fire".
The West Brigade was without a commanding officer until the next day,
December 20th, when Colonel H.B. Rose, a Hong Kong Volunteer
Defense Corps officer, was appointed.
Meanwhile the East Brigade were without any artillery support. They had
lost their light Mobile guns in the withdrawal westward from Mount
Parker, and the situation was getting worse by the minute. East Brigade
and West Brigade were all but separated when the Japanese cut the island
in half on a line running North/South, as they captured Jardine's Lookout
then headed South towards Repulse Bay. The line which the Japanese
occupied that separated East from West Brigade was just about along the
lines that Maltby had drawn up in his redistribution plan.
This is the 'disaster' that Major Maurice Parker mentions in his memoirs.
The Japanese pincers were rapidly closing around the defenders.
Rfm. Beebe, Royal Rifles of Canada, December 20...
"Even though we knew we were outnumbered, we asked no quarter and
gave no ground. On the 20th, we killed 600 Japs and on the 23rd I got
mine, machine gun bullets in both legs. Our boys rallied for a bayonet
charge and those Japs who had been able to push into our position were
driven out with heavy loss.”
An Official Japanese Broadcast Recorded by B.U.P. on December 19,
1941
"Japanese reports today said that Hong Kong has been in Japanese hands
since 11:00 AM Friday. The island was covered by a heavy pall of smoke
from fires started by air and artillery bombardment. Earlier, the Japanese
Imperial Headquarters claimed that Japanese troops had landed at three
points and had stormed a 1,500 foot dominating hill in the center of the
island, despite strong British resistance." The report was true.
Japanese military experts were quoted by newspapers as saying that the
British batteries were designed for long-range defense and therefore
valueless, because the fighting had been at close quarters. This report was
also true.
entire Company was surrounded. In the fighting which ensued Company
Sergeant Major Osborn literally gave up his life to save his men. The six
survivors of the two platoons of "A" Company of the Winnipeg
Grenadiers, which had launched the counter-attack, became prisoners of
war. The others had given their lives in the "Battle of Hong Kong".
"A" Company of The Grenadiers suffered many wounded. They asked
the Japanese if they could take their injured with them. The Japanese
said, "No, we will take care of them." They did. They shot and bayoneted
the wounded to the last man. A war crimes investigation unit found the
remains of the men after WWII, in a stream bed where they had been
slaughtered. Japanese Colonel Tanaka Ryosabura, whose troops
committed the cold-blooded murders was tried, convicted and executed
after the war for his crimes.
Later that same afternoon, "D" Company of the Winnipeg Grenadiers, still
under the command of Captain Alan Bowman, was ordered to counter-
attack a Japanese stronghold called Mount Austin which had been
captured. Neal Bardal, Adjutant of the Winnipeg Grenadiers, recounts the
story of Captain Bowman: "Bowman had been involved since December
10th in heavy fighting on the mainland. He had endured 8 days of
incessant artillery and aerial bombardment, lack of food, lack of sleep,
and the tremendous stress of looking out for his men.
“In the afternoon that the Japanese swarmed ashore, Bowman was
ordered to launch a counter-attack. Bowman was so exhausted that he
was reduced to talking gibberish. He was last seen charging the Japs with
a blazing Tommy-gun. He was never given the credit for those incredible
days of fighting."
Brigadier Lawson's Headquarters Under Attack
Still later that day, as the Japanese under the command of Colonel Shoji
Toshishga drove onwards to the South, Brigadier Lawson decided to
move his Headquarters to a new location, but before he did, his
headquarters group was surrounded. The Japanese were firing straight
into the shelter where Lawson was located. A company of the Royal
Scots made a brave attempt to help the Grenadiers break free, but less
than a dozen Scots managed to fight their way through, and it was too
late. Brigadier Lawson reported to "Fortress Headquarters" that they
were "going outside to fight it out with the Japs". Pistols in hand and
accompanied by his Chief Staff Officer, Col. P. Hennesy and a Royal
Rifles intelligence officer named Arnold Woodside, he ran out the door
towards "Fortress Headquarters". The Japanese cut the three of them
down with machine-gun fire and they died instantly.
In Ottawa, another communique from Hong Kong had advised the
Minister of Defense, Hon. J.L. Ralston of Lawson's death and he made
the difficult announcement to the Canadian public. He had been advised
in a situation report "that Brigadier J.K. Lawson and Senior Staff Officer,
Col. P. Hennessy had been killed by shell fire".
The West Brigade was without a commanding officer until the next day,
December 20th, when Colonel H.B. Rose, a Hong Kong Volunteer
Defense Corps officer, was appointed.
Meanwhile the East Brigade were without any artillery support. They had
lost their light Mobile guns in the withdrawal westward from Mount
Parker, and the situation was getting worse by the minute. East Brigade
and West Brigade were all but separated when the Japanese cut the island
in half on a line running North/South, as they captured Jardine's Lookout
then headed South towards Repulse Bay. The line which the Japanese
occupied that separated East from West Brigade was just about along the
lines that Maltby had drawn up in his redistribution plan.
This is the 'disaster' that Major Maurice Parker mentions in his memoirs.
The Japanese pincers were rapidly closing around the defenders.
Rfm. Beebe, Royal Rifles of Canada, December 20...
"Even though we knew we were outnumbered, we asked no quarter and
gave no ground. On the 20th, we killed 600 Japs and on the 23rd I got
mine, machine gun bullets in both legs. Our boys rallied for a bayonet
charge and those Japs who had been able to push into our position were
driven out with heavy loss.”
An Official Japanese Broadcast Recorded by B.U.P. on December 19,
1941
"Japanese reports today said that Hong Kong has been in Japanese hands
since 11:00 AM Friday. The island was covered by a heavy pall of smoke
from fires started by air and artillery bombardment. Earlier, the Japanese
Imperial Headquarters claimed that Japanese troops had landed at three
points and had stormed a 1,500 foot dominating hill in the center of the
island, despite strong British resistance." The report was true.
Japanese military experts were quoted by newspapers as saying that the
British batteries were designed for long-range defense and therefore
valueless, because the fighting had been at close quarters. This report was
also true.
