Intelligence re invasion of HK.

I'm not sure about anyone knowing the exact info/date about the Japanese attack on HK, but there was good intelligence that the Japanese were going to attack.

By early December it is noted that the situation in HK became more tense, and it was made apparent to troops that there was to be a Japanese attack.

In Tony Banham's Not the Slightest Chance he talks about how all troops were placed on defense alert a couple days before the invasion, that the HKVDC were evacuated from the border area and that seamen were re-called to their ships around a day before the actual invasion. Banham said this was 'clear indication of british intelligence.'

In addition, most wartime diaries discuss how their was a tense atmosphere and general knowledge that an attack was imminent by early december (besides all the blatant partying). It seems that this intelligence only became officially accepted by higher-command up to a week before the immediate invasion. I recall Banham writing that the intelligence of an attack came observations of Japanese troops massing in the Shenzhen border area.

As for the idea that this intelligence would have caused a better defense. Not exactly true. HK was at a point of no reinforcement / resupply, so the only thing intelligence could have done would be increase alertness among troops. The rear-gaurd actions in New Territories were undertaken quite well with good intelligence, but even so, intelligence did not increase alertness of certain troops in Kowloon (im particularily thinking of those in Shing Mun Redoubt).

In any case, the garrison in Hong Kong likely knew as much as (if not more) than Churchill did regarding a Japanese invasion of HK, but Churchill had long recognized the futility of the defense position in HK anyways.

The conspiracy theory that documentary is promoting has been debunked. An attack was expected, but not one as risky and difficult as the one on distant Pearl Harbor. There is no convincing evidence that the cracking of the Japanese codes revealed this daring plan.

I was about to say. I had never previously hear that any members of the American high command/ Allied high command had any idea about the attack. Seeing that huge numbers of ships were caught at dry docks and there was a huge toll taken, that seems like accurate enough evidence to me.

regards