1941 CASUALTY FIGURES

This first appeared in issue #1 of 'History Notes', compiled by the late Phillip Bruce. It is reproduced here on Gwulo by kind permission of Mr Bruce's family.

Major General C.M. Maltby, General Officer Commanding British Troops in China during the battle for Hong Kong attempted to assess the casualty figures in a despatch he sent to London in November 1945.

He said that his figures were approximate and that accurate information would only be obtained when the Casualty Bureau had completed a study. These battle casualty figures do not, of course, include those who died in captivity.

The figures were as follows:

Officers

Total Battle Casualties     212      39.5 per cent

British Other Ranks

Total Battle Casualties     2 069     31 per cent

Indian Other Ranks 

Total Battle Casualties 1 164    30 per cent

Maltby added: "The wounded does not include lightly, or returned for duty, wounded. The total wounded shown is 1 332 but ADMS states that 2 000 wounded men passed through our hospitals alone, and many of the wounded of the 5/7 Rajput Regt fell into Japanese hands and have not been recorded. The final figures will probably be approximately:

"It has been impossible to collect any reliable data regarding the casualties suffered by the 450 locally-enlisted Chinese.

"Regarding Japanese casualties:

"A local paper reported a Memorial Service held at Kai Tak Aerodrome to 1 995 Japanese who fell in the attack on Hong Kong. This figure is certain to be an under rather than an over statement.

"A Japanese Medical Major told me early in January 1942, when I was appealing for assistance for my sick and wounded, that he had 9 000 wounded on his hands in Kowloon and on the Island.

"Taking the wounded figure to be correct, and remembering that many must have been drowned in the assault on the Island, the averages of the last war should give 3 000 and NOT 1 995 killed.

"The Japanese admitted in broadcasts and in conversation to me that they had suffered severe casualties.

"The Chinese have stated that 10 000 were killed, but this is undoubtedly an oriental exaggeration.

"True figures will never be known, but from the above a fair estimate can be made:

Killed    3 000

Wounded    9 000

Total    12 000

"And many of the latter died of their wounds, for funeral pyres near their hospitals were observed regularly for some months."

Maltby was writing soon after Liberation. Can anyone supply the final official British battle casualty figures - as calculated by the Casualty Bureau?