Surveying & Built Environment Vol. 22 Issue 1 (December 2012)

SBE
22
Reconstructing The Early History of the Gin Drinker’s Line from Archival Sources
a series of temporary redoubts at
the beginning of any hostilities with
France and Russia along a 15-km front
stretching from near Devil’s Peak to
Lai Chi Kok Pass, with Chiu Lan Chu,
Grasscutters Pass, Beacon Hill Pass
and Kowloon Reservoir in between.
This should be the official basis for the
mainland defence line which Anderson
formally proposed to the War Office to
construct in May 1911. 9
Anderson’s idea was not considered
until he argued that the rapidlymodernising
Chinese army might be
able to threaten the safety of Hong
Kong in early 1912. In particular, he
mentioned the effectiveness of the
Cantonese New Army (xinjun), which
had participated in the Revolution. 10
Paradoxically, the formation of a
republic in China raised rather than
eased British concern for the security
of Hong Kong. Although the Overseas
Defence Committee acknowledged the
need to build an “infantry defence line,”
it did not specify its scale or budget.
After that, the War Office sanctioned
Anderson to build redoubts armed with
heavy guns along the Kowloon Ridge. 11
However, the First World War broke out
before any actual work had been done.
During the First World War, a smaller
defence line was built across the
Kowloon Peninsula near modernday
Ho Man Tin and Yau Ma Tei.
“Caponiers” (the term used in official
documents) were also built near major
batteries such as the Lyemun Battery,
Devil’s Peak and Mount Davis. 12
Although actual maps have yet to
be found, it was noted that the line
consisted of trenches and pillboxes
built with plywood and corrugated
metal, protected with barbed wire.
Nonetheless, as the Hong Kong
Government started to develop the
nearby area, the garrison reported some
of the recent building works had already
overlapped with the defence line. 13 In
January 1915, the Commanding Officer
of the Royal Engineers at Hong Kong
suggested that the British might have
to defend a new position along the
Kowloon Ridge as the result of urban
expansion. 14
After the First World War, the question
of Hong Kong defence resurfaced as
Japan was seen as a potential foe. Hong
Kong was seen as an important base in
the Royal Navy’s plan against Japan
(the War Memorandum (Eastern)) as it
was closest to mainland Japan among
the British colonies in Asia. From
Hong Kong, the Royal Navy could
disrupt the trade between Japan and
9
See paper by Weir in this issue, which reports that a total of 30 were built.
10
“General Officer Commanding the Troops, South China, to War Office,” 14/3/1912, CAB 38/22/38, p. 7.
11
“D.M.O. (Director of Military Operations) and D.F.W. (Director of Fortification Works) signed,”
3-9/1/1913, WO 32/5316.
12
“Hong Kong – Storm-proof Defence and Land Fronts,” 14/1/1915, WO 32/5316; see also Lai LWC,
Ho DCW, and Leung HF (2003), Survey of the Devil’s Peak Redoubt and Gough Battery, Journal of the
Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 42, 101-137. It is noted by Lai et al. that the caponier at
Devil’s Peak was built in 1914.
13
“Hong Kong – Storm-proof Defence and Land Fronts,” 14/1/1915, WO 32/5316.
14
“Hong Kong – Defences on the Land Fronts: Summary of Proposals Affecting the Defence of
Kowloon,” 14/1/1915, WO 32/5316.