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Decoding the Enigma of the Fall of the Shing Mun Redoubt Using Line of Sight Analysis prisoner [Cheung Sha]. and the Artillery Observation Post. Note that in the other report, by the defenders, stated that the surrender of the Post occurred at 02:45 (Banham). 00:30 (10 Dec) Japanese troops took over the “control tower” and the southern part of the Redoubt [Li]. 01:00 (10 Dec) Mr. Kendall reached the Redoubt and contacted The Cabinet Office deduced from Captain one of the wounded, L/Cpl R. Bankier of 2 Thomson’s report of 03:30 that the general Royal Scots [Cabinet Office]. evacuation by the garrison of the Redoubt occurred at 01:00. This corresponded to the General eastward withdrawal of the Redoubt’s time the Japanese claimed the last pillbox. defenders towards the position of Captain Newton began [Cabinet Office]. We consider that the “pillbox” Wakabayashi’s soldiers captured was not Point 341, which The pillbox attacked by the group led by Chutai was really the location of the Artillery (Company) Commander Wakabayashi continued Observation Post. The latter was actually to resist by closing the shutters of the firing taken over by 2/Lt. Mochizuki. loopholes. 2/Lt. Mochizuki led a party of six soldiers to force explosives into the pillbox and blew it up. (At dawn, they realized that the place was Point 341.) Japanese considered themselves to have captured the Redoubt [Cheung Sha]. 01:19 (10 Dec) Lt. Colonel White at Battalion HQ at Skeet Ground moved D Coy from west of Castle Peak Road towards Golden Hill and moved C Coy from Texaco Peninsular (save for one platoon that was redeployed to guard a road junction of Castle Peak Road) in the vicinity of Battalion HQ. 02:00 (10 Dec) All communications with the Redoubt were cut off [Cabinet Office]. 02:30 (10 Dec) The 2nd Chutai (Company) captured the SW The first pillbox to be captured was likely pillbox with the help of sappers, but the PB at PB402, with PB401b (near “Point 255”) Point 255 continued to resist by closing the the next one. shutters of the firing loopholes. Sapper Corporal Fujimori Sakae, and three other soldiers forced explosives down the air vent, destroyed, and captured the pillbox [Cheung Sha]. 02:40 (10 Dec) “Royal Scots situation report: A Coy.: Sergeant Robb and the survivors of 8 Platoon are heading towards the Rajput, 7 and 9 Platoons are in their original position” B Coy.: In its original position C Coy.: In PBs 406, 407, 408 D Coy.: In L.115, 116, 117, 118 HQ Coy.: Still in the OP (134)” [Banham]. 02:45 (10 Dec) “The Japanese blow in the main steel shutter of Note that the Japanese claimed that they the Observation Post, instantly killing two Indian captured the Post as early as 00:10. SBE 28
Surveying and Built Environment Vol 21(2), 21-42 December 2011 ISSN 1816-9554 signalers. Thomson is badly wounded by a grenade (92:98). Stunned, the artillery OP (garrisoned by three officers, fifteen British ORs, and IORs) surrenders with total of eleven casualties (134)” [Banham p.42]. 03:15 (10 Dec) Redoubt area shelled by defenders’ batteries till 05:00 [Cabinet Office]. 03:30 (10 Dec) Captain Newton reported that 19 BORs (1) 2 Royal Scots reported to him “during the past two hours” and 13 wounded men of this party had taken up a position on the left of D Coy 5/7 Rajput [Cabinet Office]. “In confused fighting, the Rajputs push the Japanese back up the valley and into the Redoubt (95:50)” [Banham: p.42]. 03:50 (10 Dec) The Japanese captured the entire redoubt. Coy A of the Scots was almost annihilated. Wallis decided to gather the Scots, the grenadiers, the Punjabis, and the artillery to counterattack at dawn [Li: p.43]. 04:00 (10 Dec) “The Redoubt is now considered fallen to the PB 401b [Muir: p.100] This was more Japanese, though one pillbox is still likely than PB 402 mentioned in occupied” [Banham]. Banham [p.43]. Notes: Banham = Banham (2003); Cabinet Office = Latham (1958); Muir = Muir (1961); Cheung Sha = Honkon Chosa Sakusen (1971); Li = Li (2002); Lindsay = Lindsay (2005) Disposition of troops and geographical setting of the Redoubt The general dispositions of the belligerents before the battle for the Redoubt (Figure 1) were as follows. The Japanese 228th Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel Doi, reached and occupied the grassy Needle Hill (532m high) that overlooks both the Shing Mun Reservoir and the Redoubt, which consisted of five machine gun pillboxes (PBs) and an artillery OP. The British selected the OP as their Redoubt HQ and built it with reinforced concrete and firing/observation loopholes protected by steel shutters. These they situated on the small knolls (key high positions described by the Japanese as points 255 6 (PB 401b) and 341 (OP)) on the southeastern side of the reservoir across Jubilee Dam. The Redoubt was, in fact, situated at the western lower reach of the Smugglers’ Ridge, which has two summits. The western summit, which is closer to the Redoubt, is 381m high (on a British military map), whereas the eastern one was 338m. [From the new source, “Cheung Sha” (1971), one of the immediate subordinates of Colonel Doi was Battalion Commander Nishiyama, who led two companies, the 9th and 10th under Kasugai and Wakabayashi, respectively.] Once in position, Colonel Doi decided to launch a night attack on the Redoubt at around 11PM. 6 It is Point 251 on a British military map. SBE 29
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