Canadian Forces in the Pacific

by Justin Sewall 

From 1941 to 1945, over 10,000 Canadians served in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two. Their fight began on December 8, 1941, in the defense of Hong Kong and continued until Japan surrendered unconditionally in the summer of 1945. Canadian ground forces in the Pacific theatre of operations often served under the command of British and American forces and fought primarily in the Battle of Hong Kong and the Aleutian Campaign of August 1943. ​

The Royal Canadian Air Force, or RCAF, was also involved in the war in Asia from the beginning. In the early part of the war, many members of the quickly expanding RCAF were assigned to British Royal Air Force squadrons and went wherever those squadrons were sent. This resulted in several hundred Canadians serving with the British forces as they fought against the rapidly advancing Japanese forces in Malaya, Singapore, Java (now Indonesia), Burma (now Myanmar), and India. Many personnel of the RCAF and Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve served in other areas of the Pacific Theatre, where they flew combat missions and transported supplies.  

As a dominion of the United Kingdom and parliamentary democracy, Canada had already been drawn into the European theatre of World War II, sending soldiers, sailors and pilots into harms way against German and Italian forces in Europe and Africa. It became a safe haven for English children, sent away to protect them from the ravages of the German bombing campaign, an arsenal of democracy through its production of war materiel, and a training ground for allied forces – especially pilots, who were in critically short supply when England stood alone against Germany.

And while Canadians showed specific disdain for the European Axis powers, traveling to Asia provided soldiers with the chance for adventure – or so they thought. Hong Kong seemed “distant and exotic [enough] to capture the imagination” of those arriving in late 1941. The all volunteer Canadian force of 1,975 soldiers from the Royal Rifles and Winnipeg Grenadiers departed from Vancouver, British Columbia, in late October, 1941, and landed in Hong Kong on November 16. Designated C Force, they joined the 14,000-strong Hong Kong defense force, which was composed of troops from Britain, India, Singapore and Hong Kong. Although sent to a part of the world still at peace, they quickly began training and prepared for active defense of the colony under the command of Brigadier J.K. Lawson. Only three weeks would pass before they would find themselves in combat.

Unfortunately, The Royal Rifles had served only in the Dominion of Newfoundland and New Brunswick, prior to posting to Hong Kong, while the Winnipeg Grenadiers had been deployed to Jamaica. Few Canadian soldiers had actual combat experience, but were nearly fully equipped. However, the battalions had only two anti-tank rifles, and no ammunition for 2-inch and 3-inch mortars or for signal pistols. These were intended to be supplied after they arrived in Hong Kong. Nor did C Force receive its vehicles, since the US merchant ship San Jose that was carrying them was diverted to Manila, in the Philippine Islands, at the outbreak of the Pacific War, by the US Government. It was only during the voyage to Hong Kong that the men of C Force were instructed for the first time on how to use mortars, Bren guns and grenades.

On December 8, 1941, Hong Kong was assaulted by Imperial Japanese Forces while at the same time the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor also came under attack. Japanese warplanes pounded the airport and their ground forces poured across the frontier from China and into the mainland portion of the colony. Demonstrating a high degree of skill at night fighting, the Japanese kept advancing. After three days of combat, the defenders had been pushed from the mainland and back to Hong Kong. It was during this time that Canadian soldiers from D Company of the Winnipeg Grenadiers engaged the enemy, becoming one of the first Canadian Army units to fight in the Second World War. Despite any training deficiencies, C Force acquitted itself well, offering brave resistance and taking part in several counter-attacks. However, the Japanese were able to maintain the offensive due to their greater numbers, battle experience, access to reinforcements and materiel, and total air superiority. By contrast, the Canadians and other Allies were relatively inexperienced, exhausted from continual battle and bombardment, and had no hope of receiving additional supplies or reinforcement. In the subsequent fight for Hong Kong island, the Canadians lost 290 personnel of which 130 were from the Grenadiers. The commander of West Brigade HQ, Brigadier Lawson, was also killed. The remaining C Force soldiers surrendered to the Japanese on Christmas Day.

The survivors spent nearly four years as prisoners of war where they faced brutal conditions. They were subject to slave labor, starvation, beatings, and lived in primitive, vermin-infested huts, that were often cold and damp in the winter. An additional 264 Canadians died as prisoners of war. Many died from typhoid, cholera, and starvation-related illnesses. Some were beaten to death by Japanese guards and others were killed after an escape attempt. The C Force prisoners of war were liberated in September 1945 after the Japanese surrender. Those who survived left the labor camps gaunt, their rail-thin bodies demonstrating just how harsh their experiences had been.

As the Pacific War quickly progressed, it was a Canadian squadron that was next to play a key role in the fight against the Japanese. As the Japanese extended their conquests throughout the Pacific, the enemy threat soon reached as far as Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) off the southeast coast of India. In March 1942, the RCAF's 413 General Surveillance Squadron was dispatched with its Consolidated Catalina flying boats from Scotland to Ceylon. Squadron Leader Leonard Birchall, often referred to as the "Savior of Ceylon," played a pivotal role, when, on April 4, 1942, his reconnaissance flight spotted a large Japanese fleet approaching Ceylon. He managed to send a warning before being shot down, which allowed Allied forces to prepare for the Japanese surprise attack. Three of his crew were killed when the Japanese machine-gunned the airmen in the water, while Birchall and the remaining crewmen were taken prisoner. They did not know until after the war that their hurried message had resulted in the island's defenses being ready when the Japanese attack came. The effective defense, combined with the American naval victory at the Battle of the Coral Sea a few weeks later, meant that the Japanese never threatened that part of Asia again.

The Canadian Army’s second large contribution to the Pacific Theatre came during the  Aleutians Campaign where 5,300 Canadians participated in the American-led landing on Kiska in August 1943. American commanders deemed this action necessary as Japanese forces occupied Kiska, and Attu, in early June 1942, shortly after the Battle of Midway.  

The Canadian contribution to the landings at Kiska included the 13th Brigade of the 6th  Division. The infantry battalions were the Winnipeg Grenadiers, reconstituted after their destruction in Hong Kong, the Canadian Fusiliers, and the Rocky Mountain Rangers. A machinegun company from the Saint John Fusiliers was also attached to the brigade. The Canadian troops were placed under American command and Canadian units were  reorganized along American lines. Unfortunately, the American commanders were unaware that the last Japanese troops left Kiska on July 29, 1943. They quickly discovered that the island had been evacuated. Despite the lack of Japanese soldiers, there still were Canadian casualties due to friendly fire incidents, enemy mines and booby traps. Canadian troops were withdrawn to British Columbia beginning in November 1943 with the last shipload of Canadians leaving Kiska on January 12, 1944.


These specific battles are just a few examples of Canada’s contribution to the Pacific War. RCAF pilots, numbering more than 3,100, by 1945, flew missions throughout the conflict, especially in the China, Burma, India theater, dropping bombs on enemy positions and critical supplies to forces operating behind Japanese lines. With the war in Europe over, the Allies began concentrating their great military power in Asia and the Pacific. The first Canadian force to make its additional presence felt was the Royal Canadian Navy, when the cruiser HMCS Uganda joined the British Pacific Fleet in time to participate in the Allied operations around Okinawa in the spring of 1945. The auxiliary cruiser HMCS Prince Robert, which had helped transport Canada's troops to the ill-fated defense of Hong Kong in 1941, returned to the Pacific theatre and had the satisfaction of assisting in the liberation of the prisoners of war in Hong Kong. 

While Canada’s contribution of more than 10,000 service personnel may seem modest compared to the numbers of American and British troops, their efforts were instrumental in bolstering the defenses of Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, and ultimately contributed to the Allied victory over Japan. On September 2, 1945, the formal surrender documents were signed on board the American battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Harbor. Colonel Lawrence M. Cosgrave signed on behalf of Canada, and the Second World War was officially over.
Sources used:
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/wars-and-conflicts/second-world-war/asia-and-the-pacific
https://hkvca.ca/schwarzkopf/intro.php
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/history/second-world-war/southeast-asia/asia-and-pacific
https://www.project44.ca/intelblog/2021/4/4/canadians-in-the-pacific-theatre-of-operations
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/wars-and-conflicts/second-world-war/defence-of-hong-kong
https://globalnews.ca/news/7308107/wwii-pacific-war-anniversary-canada

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