The Hong Kong Defence Force was the main

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

formation responsible for

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

duties during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. It was formed in January 1942 and disbanded after the end of the war in August 1945.

Structure and history

The Hong Kong Defence Force was established on 19 January 1942, following the Japanese victory during the

Battle of Hong Kong The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), 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 ...

in December 1941. The 38th Division, which had been the main Imperial Japanese Army unit responsible for capturing the British colony, departed the same month. The Hong Kong Defence Force reported to the Japanese Government of the Hong Kong Occupied Territory. The other Japanese military units stationed in Hong Kong from early 1942 were the small Hong Kong Artillery Force and the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

's Hong Kong Base Force, which formed part of the

2nd China Expeditionary Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy organized after the Battle of Shanghai. It reported directly to the Imperial General Headquarters and had the same organizational level as the Combined Fleet. This article handles their predecessor f ...

. The Hong Kong Defence Force had a similar structure to the Imperial Japanese Army's Independent Mixed Brigades, which were also initially established to occupy Japanese-held territory. Its main elements were three infantry battalions, the 67th, 68th and 69th Independent Infantry Battalions. These battalions were supported by an artillery unit which comprised six anti-aircraft guns, a

trench mortar ''Minenwerfer'' ("mine launcher" or "mine thrower") is the German name for a class of short range mine shell launching mortars used extensively during the First World War by the Imperial German Army. The weapons were intended to be used by engin ...

battery and two

field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...

batteries. The Hong Kong Defence Force also had a hospital. The authorised strength was 106 officers and 3,028 enlisted men. This structure remained unchanged until the force's disbandment following the end of the war. The three infantry battalions were stationed at

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...

and the

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

. The battalions in Kowloon and the New Territories operated in urban areas, along the Kowloon-Canton Railway and at four posts. The size of the Hong Kong Defence Force proved too small, and a detachment of 250 soldiers from the Twenty-Third Army was also stationed in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Defence Force surrendered to the British along with the rest of the Japanese forces in Hong Kong on 16 September 1945 as part of the reoccupation of the colony.

References

;Citations ;Works consulted * * * {{cite book , last=Ness , first=Leland , year=2015 , title=Rikugun: Guide to Japanese Ground Forces 1937–1945: Volume 1: Tactical Organization of Imperial Japanese Army & Navy Ground Forces , publisher=Helion , isbn=9781912174577 Independent Mixed Brigades (Imperial Japanese Army) Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1942 establishments in Hong Kong 1945 disestablishments in Hong Kong Japanese occupation of Hong Kong