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作者:Oliver Lindsay
书名:The Battle for Hong Kong, 1941-1945: Hostage to Fortune《1941年至1945年香港保卫战:命运的人质》
中文简介:香港保卫战(英语:Battle of Hong Kong;日语:香港の戦い,又称香港攻防战、十八日战事),是指第二次世界大战太平洋战争初期、日本为进攻英属香港所发动的战役。战役于1941年12月8日爆发,至12月25日香港总督杨慕琦爵士宣布无条件投降、12月26日全体驻港英军投降结束为止。
香港殖民地一直是英国在亚太区战略的重要据点。自第一次世界大战及华盛顿会议结束后,英国逐渐视日本为在东亚的假想敌,并且按照时局变化调整香港的布防策略及方案,以配合英国整体的战争部署。至于日本在《伦敦海军条约》1936年失效后,开始深入探讨与英国开战的部署,亦断续构思进攻香港的计划。1940年7月2日,日军在御前会议中定出两大国策,其一是以日本为中心,建设以日、满、华联会骨干的“大东亚新秩序”,其二是配合按照合适时机“南进”太平洋。此新国策一改日军战略,由“北进”向大陆发展,转变为“南进”向太平洋进攻。
英文简介:The Battle for Hong Kong, 1941-1945 is illuminated by the remarkable personal story of John Harris. An architectural student, he was pitched into battle as a subaltern in the Royal Engineers and was a prisoner of the Japanese for four years. His powerful testimonial describes the appalling struggle to survive in a Japanese prison camp.
Thoroughly researched, particularly through exceptional access to war diaries, The Battle for Hong Kong also explores the catastrophic repercussions of the sudden collapse of the British Army Aid Group (cover name for the agency that handled spies in Southeast Asia) and the resulting suspicion that Britain's senior intelligence officer was working for the Japanese, the role of military leaders in prolonging the fighting and the serious casualties that resulted, and the true extent of the atrocities inflicted on POWs and internees.