CO129-508-13 Employment of British and Indian troops stationed at Hong Kong 31-12-1927 - 20-8-1928 — Page 29

SECRET.

COPY.

From: The General Officer Commanding,

South China Command.

To :- The Under Secretary of State,

29

CR/SCC/No: 13895 (G).

1.1.

The War Office, London, S.W. 1.

Sir,

HONG KONG.

5th. January, 1928.

I forward herewith a copy of a despatch from His Excellency the Governor of Hong Kong to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and Dominions.

1.

I would state that the despatch has been drawn up in consultation with me and that it represents my views generally and especially as regards Hong Kong.

2. As His Excellency the Governor's adviser on Military matters I would give the advantages of this distribution from a Military point of view.

Ar (a)

Only one battalion would be locked up in Tientsin, which, as long as Japan continues to be the premier power in that area and to be friendly to Great Britain appears to be sufficient to represent British interests and to safeguard the British Legation.

(b) With 4 battalions at Hong Kong, one battalion stationed at Shanghai and one at Wei-Hai-Wei it would be possible to concentrate a Brigade of Infantry at short notice either at Shanghai, up the Yangtze or elsewhere according to the require- ments of a sudden emergency.

This would still leave a reserve of 2 battalions at Hong Kong one of which would be available for reinforcements elsewhere so long as the situation in this Colony remained normal,

(c) The fact of having a Brigade of Infantry so close to a large vulnerable Chinese city would be of incalculable advantage in case any offensive action against China as a whole or more particularly the Nationalist Government was contemplated.

(a)