Daring Gin Drinkers Line never had a chance
Maginot Line of the East, Gin Drinkers Line failed badly
18 km Gin Drinkers Line
Gin Drinkers Line, a defensive line that stretches eighteen km from Drunkard Bay (modern Kwai Chung, New Territories) to Port Shelter in Sai Kung was supposed to hold against an attack from the north for at least three weeks.
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Rome wasn’t built in a day”, a famous adage that originates from a mediaeval French proverb, refers to the patience required to achieve success.
Modern adaptations to the quote add a haunting disclaimer, “but it burned in one.” Sometimes, great efforts meet greater ends.
So, it went with the Gin Drinkers Line which was overtaken in all of two days. Battered but with pieces remaining, this WWII relic stands along Hong Kong’s Maclehose hiking trail.
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By the late 1930s, tensions between the countries of Japan and China had spiked.
In the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, the two countries battled for the right to Taiwan and the status of South Korea. Defeated, the Qing dynasty ceded Taiwan to the Japanese and recognized South Korea as an independent state.
Much like its predecessor, the Second Sino-Japanese War centred on the fight for consolidation of territory.
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Following the Imperialist policy of expansionism, Japanese troops infiltrated China. This led to a series of conflicts between the local Chinese and invading military force over control of the country’s land, wealth and resources.
At the time, Hong Kong was a British colony. Occupied in 1841 during the First Opium War, Hong Kong would become an important part of the Pacific War.
Hong Kong against invasion
As the Japanese military battled in mainland China, the British set to building Hong Kong’s defence against invaders.
From 1936 to 1938, the ambitious construction of the Gin Drinkers Line took place as the Japanese soldiers steadily moved closer to the Hong Kong border.
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Built by the British garrison stationed in the colony, the Gin Drinkers Line spanned the eastern and western points of upper Hong Kong.
Its design was inspired by the Maginot Line, a French defence against Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Luxembourg that was in use from 1935.
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The British referred to their defensive line as “The Maginot Line of The East”. Despite victorious intentions, neither would hold against their enemies.
The world remembers the brutal attacks on 7 December 1941. The bombing of Pearl Harbour opened WWII into a global stage of epic catastrophe.
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For the Pacific, the day after Pearl Harbour was also one to remember. On 8th December, Japanese aircraft attacked the RAF stationed at Kai Tak airfield. Hong Kong’s British garrison had anticipated this and had blown up all road bridges into the city.
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But the invading troops were unperturbed and advanced on foot using traditional village paths. By the following evening, they arrived at Shing Mun, the area holding the Shing Mun Redoubt (SMR–the Lineheadquarters of the defensive line).
This grand construction did not hold. After eighteen days of battle between the British and Japanese forces, the British surrendered Hong Kong to the Japanese.
How did the defensive line fail the city it was meant to protect?
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Even on paper, the Gin Drinkers Line left much to be desired. Though it contained trenches, outposts, bunkers and the underground fortress of Shing Mun Redoubt, Hong Kong’s principal fixed defensive network was poorly and ineffectively designed.
Each position was partly isolated from others, making it impossible for different outposts and patrolmen to support to each other and increasing the likelihood of surprise attacks.
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Just as troubling were the copious amounts of dead ground (unguarded and unfortified) that would allow attackers to infiltrate areas unnoticed. The headquarters of SMR had a high vantage point along Smuggler’s Bay Ridge.
Its surrounding mountainous area was ill-fitting for the defensive land designs of the west. Underground tunnels were unpredictable and difficult to navigate.
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It was a confusing configuration that varied in width, height and visibility, with many sections encased in pitch black.
The choice to situate the defensive headquarters here was a strategic one; on a clear day, from SMR you could see the two roads leading to Kowloon peninsula from the New Territories and China border.
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British troops had anticipated a Japanese attack from sea. As such, most defences were designed to withstand a naval attack, with fixed artillery designed to engage ships at sea.
The astounding lack of high explosive shells provided for the line’s defence is attributed to the requirement of armour piercing shells to engage warships.
To offset the confusion in the underground tunnels, each was named after a street in London for the British troops to familiarize themselves.
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As the surrounding terrain was rugged with steep volcanic hills and dense jungle undergrowth, the disorienting design was clever in theory but inconvenient in practice.
Impossible to defend Gin Drinkers Line
It made chasing and shooting with long weapons an impossibility, but also made it difficult for defending soldiers to effectively navigate through the Gin Drinkers Line. The open tunnel entrances allowed quick and easy access for both defending and invading forces.
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Ventilation shafts, meant to bring air into the underground spaces, were perfect parcel chutes for grenade attacks. These physical difficulties were further exacerbated by wartime priorities.
When war broke out in Europe, many of the more experienced British troops were sent to fight on the front lines. Battles in Europe gutted Hong Kong’s RAF and Royal Navy of their primary assets and most capable men and officers.
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The Gin Drinkers Line, meant to be manned by six battalions, was given to the three available battalions in the city.
The A Company of the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots covered the left flank, the Punjabis of the Indian Army covered centre ground, and the Rajputs of the Indian Army took the right flank.
If any of these groups needed assistance, it would be near impossible to provide. These soldiers, inexperience with combat and the Hong Kong terrain, only exacerbated an already challenging situation.
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Forty-three ill-equipped, inexperienced soldiers were expected to hold Gin Drinkers Line and keep the Japanese troops at bay on a defence line that was meant to be manned by six armed battalions.
Of the unfortunate defenders, none patrolled the perimeter of the redoubt.
In comparison, the Japanese forces were fitted with 75mm guns and light mortars. Three infantry regiments (the 228th – 230th) advanced towards the Hong Kong border.
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Each regiment had about 3,000 troops, all with nearly five years’ experience fighting the Chinese on the Mainland.
These troops were additionally fitted with approximately thirty-six 75mm Field Guns for artillery support.
Under the leadership of Colonel Doi Teishichi, the 228th regiment attacked and closed in on SMR and its surrounding area.
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By cover of night on December 8th, 150 troops crossed the Shing Mun River, below the main dam. The following day, they reached Needle Hill.
Situated directly across from Smuggler’s Ridge Hill (at a height of 337m), the Japanese conducted detailed surveillance on SMR.
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Despite not being ordered to commence an attack, Colonel Teishichi decided that it was sufficiently unmanned and vulnerable to promise success.
An assault was launched on the Gin Drinkers Line’s headquarters from the east and south, receiving support from an attack across the dam.
The sudden strike completely blindsided the Gin Drinkers Line’s defenders. In two days, the Japanese had invaded key positions on the defensive line, and Gin Drinkers Line was conquered.
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This gave the Japanese complete control over Shing Mun Reservoir.
The remaining British and Indian forces retreated to Hong Kong Island, leaving Kowloon to the Japanese.
After two weeks of fighting, Britain surrendered Hong Kong to Japan.
After its spectacular fall, the Gin Drinkers Line was never used again. All its ninety-three outposts, also referred to as pillboxes, are mostly in ruins due to post-war destruction for their steel bars.
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After the Battle of Hong Kong, large swaths of Chinese pine trees in Shing Mun were cut down by the Japanese.
Even when Hong Kong was again under British rule, the site remained abandoned and buried in the undergrowth.
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Warfare technology had progressed so much that the Gin Drinkers Line was considered a weapon of a bygone era.
Much of the eighteen-kilometre defensive line has been lost. Now remnants of the defensive line remain in Shing Mun.
Found in sections 6 and 7 of the Maclehose hiking trail, groups of families and friends pass by abandoned trenches and tunnel entryways with curious gazes.
Few venture into the tunnels, worried for the unknown. Inside, the walls are moist with condensation. Narrow steps lead into total darkness.
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Uneven, packed mounds of dirt curve the floor and cut the space between the ground and ceiling. Outpost 401B, the only one I was able to locate, had largely survived due to its isolated position.
Now the outpost is concealed by undergrowth on all sides – unseen by others. After hours of echoed footsteps and weak lighting, it was jarring to return to the barbeque pits lining Shing Mun Reservoir.
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Hordes of red-faced macaques shared the road with visitors. Leaving Shing Mun, I passed by some of the 5.5 square miles of Chinese pines replanted in Shing Mun by the Hong Kong Country and Marine Park Authority.
The shock of Shing Mun’s history lay in the tunnels. But under a clear blue sky, all was bright and peaceful.
Text & Photos Victoria Mae Martyn
