First published in Great Britain in 2014 by Osprey Publishing,
PO Box 883, Oxford, OX1 9PL, UK
PO Box 3985, New York, NY 10185-3985, USA
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© 2014 Osprey Publishing Ltd
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978 1 78200 268 0
E-book ISBN: 978 1 78200 269 7
E-pub ISBN: 978 1 78200 270 3
Editorial by Ilios Publishing Ltd, Oxford, UK (www.iliospublishing.com)
Index by Sandra Shotter
Typeset in Myriad Pro and Sabon
Maps by Bounford.com
3D bird’s-eye view by The Black Spot
Battlescene illustrations by Giuseppe Rava
Originated by PDQ Media, Bungay, UK
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Every effort has been made by the Publisher to secure permissions to use the images in this publication. If there has been any oversight we would be happy to rectify the situation and written submission should be made to Osprey Publishing.
DEDICATION
To my daughter, Faith Lai.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Christopher Lai and B. T. Lee for assistance in picture research, without which this book would not be as interesting as it is. For help with Japanese translation, I would like to extend my thanks to the Chen Fei. Finally, I need to thank George Jiao for preparation of the Japanese War Map.
ARTIST’S NOTE
Readers may care to note that the original paintings from which the colour plates in this book were prepared are available for private sale. The Publishers retain all reproduction copyright whatsoever. All enquiries should be addressed to:
Giuseppe Rava, via Borgotto 17, 48018 Faenza (RA), Italy
www.g-rava.it
The Publishers regret that they can enter into no correspondence upon this matter.
THE WOODLAND TRUST
Osprey Publishing are supporting the Woodland Trust, the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity, by funding the dedication of trees.
ABBREVIATIONS
| ARP | Air Raid Precaution, Air Raid Warden |
| BAAG | British Army Aid Group |
| CBE | Commander of the British Empire, British Civil/Military Decoration |
| CCP | Chinese Communist Party |
| CO | Commanding Officer – Officer in charge of a Battalion of men |
| Coy | Company |
| DCM | Distinguish Conduct Medal, British Military Decoration |
| DSO | Distinguish Service Order, British Military Decoration |
| ED | Efficiency Decoration, British Military Decoration |
| ERC | East River Guerrilla Column |
| FOO | Forward Observation Officer |
| GC | George Cross, British Civil/Military Decoration |
| GOC | General Officer Commanding |
| HKRNVR | Hong Kong Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve |
| HKSRA | Hong Kong and Singapore Royal Artillery |
| HKVDC | Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps |
| IJA | Imperial Japanese Army |
| IJN | Imperial Japanese Navy |
| KBE | Knight Commander of the British Empire – British Civil/Military Decoration |
| MC | Military Cross, British Military Decoration |
| MP | Military Police |
| MT | Motor Transport |
| MTB | Motor Torpedo Boat |
| NCO | Non-Commissioned Officer |
| OBE | Order of the British Empire, British Civil/Military Decoration |
| OC | Officer Commanding – Officer in charge of a Company of men |
| OP | Observation Post |
| POW | Prisoner of War |
| QF | Quick firing |
| RM | Royal Marines |
| RMA | Royal Military Academy |
| RN | Royal Navy |
| RNVR | Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve |
| SOE | Special Operation Executive |
| VC | Victoria Cross, British Military Decoration |