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The Damned: The Canadians at the Battle of Hong Kong and the POW Experience, 1941-45
The Damned tells the largely unknown saga of Canada's first land battle of the Second World War--fought in the hills and valleys of Hong Kong in December 1941--and the terrible years the survivors of the battle spent as slave labourers for the Empire of Japan. Their story begins in the fall of 1941, when almost 2,000 members of the Royal Rifles and the Winnipeg Grenadiers were sent to bolster the British garrison at Hong Kong. In the seventeen-day battle for the colony following the Japanese attack on December 8, the Canadians suffered grievous losses. The second part of their story--how the Canadians survived the horrid conditions of the Japanese POW camps--lasts three and a half years. Despite the circumstances, the surviving Canadians remained unbowed and unbroken. Theirs is a story of determination and valour, of resilience and faith.
462 pages, Paperback
First published October 12, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 25, 2013
This book is divided into two sections. The first part is the Japanese attack on Hong Kong from China in 1941. The second part is the captivity of the Canadian soldiers by the Japanese until the end of World War II in August 1945.
The second part is by far stronger and more readable. It is also heart-wrenching to read of the barbaric treatment accorded the Canadians at the hands of their Japanese captors. They were ill-fed and ill-clothed. Many died of diseases due to vitamin deficiencies in their minimal diet (if it can be called “diet”). Also there was sadistic treatment meted out to them. Those who survived had to endure this physical and psychological torture for over 3 1/2 years. As Mr. Greenfield points out surrender was an unknown concept to the Japanese who adhered to a Bushido mythology where death was honourable, whereas to be taken prisoner was seen as a humiliation to the nation.
It should also be pointed out that many prisoners (non-officers) were sent to Japan for slave labour; working over twelve hours a day in mines and shipyards. These prisoners in Japan had, perhaps, a more vigorous struggle for survival than those who remained in Hong Kong. In Japan the weather was colder and as the war progressed – with worsening conditions for Japan – the food rations diminished even more. The officers who stayed on in Hong Kong had better treatment – more food and less labour to do – but they were also the victims of the hostile treatment given by the Japanese guards.
The first part of the book (and this consists of almost 2/3 of the content) is a description of the Battle for Hong Kong. I found this overly detailed and unless you have a geographical background of the hills, peaks and valleys of Hong Kong the events become somewhat confusing. The individual descriptions of battle are very poignant and harrowing. These new Canadian soldiers experienced the ruthlessness and arbitrary destructiveness of war.
A British commanding officer (Cedric Wallis) was highly critical of the performance of the Canadians during the Battle of Hong Kong. For the general reader, I felt that Mr. Greenfield spent an inordinate amount of time refuting this British critique. Over seventy years have now passed and whether a snooty Brit felt that the Canadians were derelict in their duty is beside the point. The fact is, the troops in Hong Kong were over-whelmed and could never have held out against the Japanese invader, who not only out-numbered them but had air supremacy. The Canadians sent to Hong Kong were merely a token force, and it was inevitable that they were to be slaughtered or taken prisoner.
Unfortunately Mr. Greenfield chose to emphasize the Battle of Hong Kong which hardly lasted for twenty days. The real story is the long incarceration of those woebegone prisoners, who held out for many long years under the most dismal of conditions with little hope of liberation.
The second part is by far stronger and more readable. It is also heart-wrenching to read of the barbaric treatment accorded the Canadians at the hands of their Japanese captors. They were ill-fed and ill-clothed. Many died of diseases due to vitamin deficiencies in their minimal diet (if it can be called “diet”). Also there was sadistic treatment meted out to them. Those who survived had to endure this physical and psychological torture for over 3 1/2 years. As Mr. Greenfield points out surrender was an unknown concept to the Japanese who adhered to a Bushido mythology where death was honourable, whereas to be taken prisoner was seen as a humiliation to the nation.
It should also be pointed out that many prisoners (non-officers) were sent to Japan for slave labour; working over twelve hours a day in mines and shipyards. These prisoners in Japan had, perhaps, a more vigorous struggle for survival than those who remained in Hong Kong. In Japan the weather was colder and as the war progressed – with worsening conditions for Japan – the food rations diminished even more. The officers who stayed on in Hong Kong had better treatment – more food and less labour to do – but they were also the victims of the hostile treatment given by the Japanese guards.
The first part of the book (and this consists of almost 2/3 of the content) is a description of the Battle for Hong Kong. I found this overly detailed and unless you have a geographical background of the hills, peaks and valleys of Hong Kong the events become somewhat confusing. The individual descriptions of battle are very poignant and harrowing. These new Canadian soldiers experienced the ruthlessness and arbitrary destructiveness of war.
A British commanding officer (Cedric Wallis) was highly critical of the performance of the Canadians during the Battle of Hong Kong. For the general reader, I felt that Mr. Greenfield spent an inordinate amount of time refuting this British critique. Over seventy years have now passed and whether a snooty Brit felt that the Canadians were derelict in their duty is beside the point. The fact is, the troops in Hong Kong were over-whelmed and could never have held out against the Japanese invader, who not only out-numbered them but had air supremacy. The Canadians sent to Hong Kong were merely a token force, and it was inevitable that they were to be slaughtered or taken prisoner.
Unfortunately Mr. Greenfield chose to emphasize the Battle of Hong Kong which hardly lasted for twenty days. The real story is the long incarceration of those woebegone prisoners, who held out for many long years under the most dismal of conditions with little hope of liberation.
February 16, 2019
This book was so difficult to read at times. One of the reasons i found it so, was that the soldiers became real people, they were not some random soldiers from times past, there were sons and fathers, brothers. I think it’s still more real because this is resent history. It makes me so sad and infuriated to think about the suffering of all the POWs and the injustice in Japan’s failure to take responsibility for their actions.
Of the book itself, the writing was clear and fairly concise. I found the actual description of the battle and fall of Hong Kong to be overwhelming with detail and I ended up skipping over most of it. I would have liked to read more about the trials. I found the end to be a bit glossed over content wise.
Since not a lot is written about Canadians in the pacific theatre, this is a wonderful account of Canada’s story and sacrifice in the second WW.
Of the book itself, the writing was clear and fairly concise. I found the actual description of the battle and fall of Hong Kong to be overwhelming with detail and I ended up skipping over most of it. I would have liked to read more about the trials. I found the end to be a bit glossed over content wise.
Since not a lot is written about Canadians in the pacific theatre, this is a wonderful account of Canada’s story and sacrifice in the second WW.
November 18, 2013
Great book, but then being Canadian I am possibly biased. It is broken down into two parts. The first part is almost an hour by hour account of the defense of Hong Kong. The second part covers the POW's experiences in Hong Kong and Japan. There is a short section at the end about their liberation and home coming. Well researched and an easy read.
May 8, 2017
On opening the first page of the book I was greeted by a map with one unforgivable error - the island of Hainan is shown as being Formosa, modern Taiwan. On closer inspection a second error became evident, the Hong Kong island of Lantau is named Lanlau. Not encouraging. How reliable would this book be? Generally a satisfactory account, but again the maps left a great deal to be desired. Given that they were essential to understand the progress of the Japanese conquest, the places and hills named were only legible with the aid of a magnifying glass and it was even more frustrating as after scouring them it became apparent that many places were not even on the map. Given that it was decided only to cover what the Canadian force was doing, it was impossible to get a clear picture of just what transpired. Given the number of Canadian troops involved, by focusing on individual accounts one is left with the impressions that mere small groups were involved. A much clearer picture of what happened would have been achieved had a brief summary a mere few lines long had been included at the start of each chapter dealing with the conquest.
January 2, 2015
This is probably the hardest book I've ever read. My great uncle fought this battle and spent 3 1/2 years in a POW camp. For those who want or need to know what happened in this dark chapter of Canadian history this is the go to book.
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December 21, 2010Beautiful book so far....engaging and utterly heartbreaking
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews