Escape to Pagan (3 page)

Lt General Takashi Sakai was executed by firing squad in 1946.

Hong Kong

Meanwhile in the distance, the battle for Hong Kong Island was coming to a premature conclusion. It would be the first of many humiliating defeats.

A few days before the Japanese attack, the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots had taken up position on the Gin Drinkers' Line. Sergeant Devereux and D Company under the command of Lieutenant Ford were working on improving their defensive positions. Many of the Scots were new recruits, others like the Sergeant were regulars and
veterans transferred from the 1st Battalion Royal Scots who had seen active service protecting the flank at Dunkirk.

As the soldiers anticipated the coming attack, they must have taken comfort from the many negative intelligence reports concerning the Japanese soldiers. According to British Intelligence, the Japanese soldiers were afraid of the dark and British cold steel. It was claimed that the Japanese were rotten shots because of the shape of their eyes. The truth was simple; Japanese recruits were given little or no practice on the firing range: “Practice on the enemy” was the advice. Their long bayonets constantly attached to the end of their Arisaka rifles did not encourage good marksmanship.

Good intelligence was ignored. General Wavell appeared in Hong Kong and chanted his favourite mantra: “The Japs are useless!” According to some modern historians, he was the worst offender in underestimating the Nipponese Army. Wavell's opinion of the enemy germinated when he saw a scruffy group of Jap soldiers lounging on a bridge in China. He was disgusted; all the Jap soldiers had their flies undone (a popular habit on hot days). The General concluded: “The Japs were an absolute shower and when they saw smart Tommy Atkins and his shiny brass buttons would mess their baggy cotton trousers and scarper on bandy legs back to the embraces of their weeping, sloe-eyed mothers. That is of course if the Japs had the stamina to run considering their protein deficient rice diet.

After the war the Sergeant and his old comrades (when in their cups) always smiled when they spoke of the other rumours they had heard (and presumably believed at that time) concerning the Nipponese soldier: “Japs had no sense of balance because they were carried on their mother's backs. When they charged, they were likely to fall over and impale themselves on their over long 15in Meiji type bayonets or the even longer Meiji Type 30 sword bayonets at 20in.”

It was also claimed that Japanese soldiers were obsessed with pornography; another reason for their poor eyesight and lack of stamina. The thought of scattering the approaches to the Gin Drinkers' Line in advance with hard porn (there were no anti-personnel mines
available in Hong Kong) must have occurred to some of the soldiers; it would surely cause large groups of porn-loving, myopic Japanese infantry to closely congregate around a particularly desirable beauty making a fine target for British machine guns?

Air Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham was more ambiguous in his opinions of the enemy's air force; he told his pilots that the Jap airmen could not fly in the dark. You have to presume he meant Japanese pilots weren't nocturnal, but most damming of all he stated: “Jap pilots are dirty!” This must have begged the question, did the Air Marshal mean dirty in personal habits? Dirty in uniform? Or perhaps dirty minded? It is possible he meant all three. The Nipponese are in fact a scrupulously clean and hygienic race and do not hold the monopoly among fighting men for an interest in porn.

Gin Drinkers' Line, Mainland China

When the Japanese attack came early on the morning of the 8th December 1941, it fell on the Royal Scots and came as a total surprise to the men of the 2nd Battalion. British anti-personnel mines, had they been available, would have provided a warning while taking a toll on the enemy. The ferocity and determination of the Japanese attack also surprised the Scots. The Japanese infantry had crept silently to within grenade throwing range under the cover of low lying ground mists. It must also have come as a nasty surprise to the Scots that the attacking Japanese preferred to throw real hand grenades instead of firecrackers (as rumoured). The Japanese fragmentation grenades (type 97) were packed with dynamite.

Most surprising of all was that the Japanese soldiers showed no fear of the bayonet. In fact, the bayonet was part of the Japanese samurai tradition and the art of bayonet fighting techniques were regularly practised under the sharp eye of an instructing Sergeant who held a wooden pole (for punishment). Both combatants were protected by kendo armour in these violent and realistic contests. Japanese front line troops had another advantage over Allied troops; they were well
acquainted with the vulnerability of the vital organs in the human body and knew exactly where to push their blades. The soldiers of the Emperor did not practice their thrusts on straw filled dummies but on live and bound Chinese prisoners with real working organs and active vocal cords. Furthermore, as an aid to close quarter fighting, the Japanese bayonet came with a built-in hand guard (J shaped) that with skilled handling could lock onto a British or American bayonet; then with a strong twist wrench the rifle out of their opponent's hands. The longer Japanese bayonet addressed its owner's height and reach disadvantage. Practicing on living organs gave them a wider range of targets. Another advantage was that the Japanese bayonet was always fixed, always at hand; his western counterpart usually had to wait for the order “fix bayonets.”

Back on the Gin Drinkers' Line, hand to hand fighting had begun as the enemy got into the Scots positions. Though shocked by the suddenness and ferocity of the Japanese attack, the brave Royal Scots managed to repulse the initial onslaughts.

While evicting the enemy dead from their trenches, the Scots noticed that their foes were not “small-boned myopic dwarfs”, but fine examples of muscle and bone, despite being short in stature. And to the defenders' surprise not a single pair of pebble spectacles or buck-teeth were to be seen.

Then, adding to the trauma of battle, the young inexperienced recruits were subjected to heavy and accurate artillery fire from British guns at the rear. This was the last straw for some soldiers. Men had to be restrained from retreating by their officers and NCOs. This however did not stop some soldiers deserting their posts in the confusion. The experienced soldiers just cursed the gunners and their ancestors, the British artillery had months to range their guns.

Another shock awaited D Company. While tending their dead they found the body of one of the new arrivals from Maryhill Barracks (the best piper in the Regiment): he had been decapitated. Nearby, his pale severed head stared up at the sky, his blue eyes wide open; his face had a surprised expression according to two of dad's comrades. The reality
of seeing the headless body of a comrade confirmed they were fighting a savage Asiatic enemy a long way from home.

It was during a brief lull in the battle that Captain Pinkerton observed a large body of enemy troops with field artillery ascending Golden Hill. Once in place, the enemy artillery could fire down on their positions. Lieutenant Ford and Sergeant Devereux of D Company were ordered to attack the enemy and eliminate this danger.

The men of D Company, approximately 120 soldiers, began their steep climb. The soldiers were exhausted; no rations had reached the Royal Scots during the last 24 hours. Water for drinking and cooling the Vickers machine guns was in short supply. Added to this many of the soldiers were still suffering from the strength sapping after effects of malaria. So exhausted were these men that they were forced to crawl up Golden Hill on their hands and knees dragging heavy equipment and arms behind them.

Gaining the high ground, D Company attacked the Japanese and cleared them from the summit only to be counter attacked by superior numbers.

“Jack remembered a group of Japanese struggling to pull a big gun uphill with ropes. D Company attacked these enemy soldiers but despite their losses, the enemy did not let the big gun roll back down the hill. It was there near the summit that Jack was suddenly shot, he did not realize that the bullet had passed straight through his head, all he felt was a blow to his temple. Jack desperately tried to remain lucid at this vital moment but lost consciousness. The men believed Jack was dead because of his terrible head wound. D Company was ordered to retreat.

“The remnants of D Company fell back to their ill prepared positions on The Gin Drinkers' Line. They arrived just before the enemy appeared in strength. The attacks lasted most of the night. The Gin Drinkers' Line fell sometime during the next morning.

“Luckily, after several days and nights of slipping in and out of consciousness Jack was found by some Royal Scots and a British
medical doctor, who missed the withdrawal. By now the battle for Hong Kong was raging.

“The group of men, who had found Jack, carried him to a large multi-storeyed building in Nathan Road. The soldiers knew this area well. Here, the wound at the back of Jack's neck was cleaned of maggots and the rotting flesh was cut away with an old razor blade. Ointment was applied and the gaping wound at the back of his neck was filled with gauze and stitched with needle and cotton. He was given all the remaining painkillers. Jack was then given a cigarette; he could not live without tobacco and often said if it was not for me and nicotine, he would not have survived.

These men of the Royal Scots were hoping to escape into China. Once his wounds were tended, Jack was taken to another block of flats where other soldiers were hiding. These men had collected a liberal supply of alcohol and tinned food, but water was always difficult to find. The only safe available water came from draining the taps. Several of the soldiers were constantly drunk.

“Jack was given water and some hot food but chewing was excruciating; he could feel and hear the torn cartilage and bones in his head making strange crunching noises. The food made him feel stronger but his deep head wound was throbbing as the painkillers began to wear off: the pain was unbearable. Luckily new arrivals brought medical equipment and painkillers allowing him some relief and rest. Jack was still very weak from the loss of blood. But now it must have been a comfort and blessing to him that he was back among men he knew.”

In the streets below, drunken Japanese troops celebrated their victories with looting and rape. Executions of Chinese civilians became commonplace. All these indulgences were collectively referred to as “the fruits of victory.” If Sergeant Devereux believed that his worst problems were over, he was greatly mistaken. The
Lisbon Maru
, the sharks of the South China Sea, the coal mines of Nagasaki and the atom bomb still awaited his presence.

The Royal Scots suffered the highest losses of officers and men during the battle on mainland China defending the Gin Drinkers' Line. General Maltby wanted them to hold out for seven days while the islands defences were improved. Yet months had been wasted.

After the mainland fell so rapidly, the defenders of Hong Kong Island braced themselves for the coming attack. Confusion reigned, troops were scattered in penny packets; the most obvious crossing point was only lightly defended. The two commanding officers entered their deep bomb-proof bunkers and stayed put. They remained out of touch when the battle above began. On the 15th December before attacking Hong Kong, the Japanese began a heavy bombardment of the islands north shore. Demands for surrender were made on December 13th and December 17th. When these demands were refused, the Japanese successfully forced a crossing from the mainland, suffering few casualties.

During that night the Japanese massacred 22 gunners who had surrendered. Soon after this there was another massacre of medical staff at an aid station. At the hospital, patients were bayoneted in their beds, doctors and surgeons shot out of hand and the nurses repeatedly raped.

The poorly trained and equipped Canadians gave a good account of themselves, one of their numbers receiving a VC. The Japanese had cut the water supply after capturing the islands reservoirs. Hong Kong surrendered: shades of Singapore.