CAB11-57-6 — Page 29

Page 29

Page 29

Page 29

28

(C.)-Communications.

A steam-launch from Victoria reaches the pier below Belchers, Stonecutters, and the West Pier at Kowloon in twenty and ten minutes respectively, and Kowloon Dock and Lyemun Pier in fifteen and thirty minutes respectively. A launch from Kowloon takes twenty minutes to reach Stonecutters, thirty minutes to get to the pier below Belchers, and thirty minutes to Lyemun.

A road runs round the island, passing, however, only the bases of the peninsulas. From Victoria to Sai-ki-Wan, on the west side of Lyemun, it is a carriage road, as also from Victoria by the col of Mount Davis to Aberdeen, thence a good six to eight-foot way runs by Deepwater Bay and Stanley to Tytam Tuk; here it mounts. the eastern range, and runs along it by Pottinger Gap and Sai-ki-Wan Gap to join the carriage road at the latter place.

A good six to nine-foot hill path runs west and east along the central range from Mountain Lodge to Wanchai Gap; here a path descends the steep slope, joining the main road at the east end of Victoria, while a path with a more gentle gradient runs south from this gap to Aberdeen.

Another well-made hill track ascends from Aberdeen up the side of Mount Kellet, and joins the central road below Plunkett's Gap. Another good hill path connects Victoria Gap with the Aberdeen Road at Pokfulum Reservoir. The main road from Victoria to the Peak runs up the steep hill side to Victoria Gap, throwing off about one-third of the way up the hill a path with a gentler gradient to Magazine Gap. Two other hill roads connect the north with the south side of the island; one, starting from the east end of the Happy Valley, runs up to Wong-nei-Cheong Gap; here it bifurcates, one branch falling by an easy gradient joins the circular road a mile west of Deepwater Bay, while the other passing the side of the New Reservoir mounts to Reservoir Gap, thence falling by generally an easy gradient by Tytam Reservoir to Tytam Tuk. The second road runs up the valley from Quarry Bay about 5 miles east of Victoria to the gap above Tytam Reservoir, there joining the road from Wong-nei-Cheong. These roads and hill paths are well kept up with good bridges, and are from 6 to 9 feet wide. In no place would the destruction of a bridge stop the passage of infantry or that of light field-guns.

As often pointed out there is a great need of a link on the south side of Mount Cameron to connect Wanchai with Wong-nei-Cheong Gap; the excellent Bowen Road and Aqueduct runs at a height of about one-third of the way up the hill from the Happy Valley-Wong-nei-Cheong Road to the main Peak Road, but is of little tactical importance for lateral movement in the event of a landing on the south shore.

Recently a catchment channel to lead the water falling on the southern slopes into Tytam Reservoir has been run round Mount Parker; a path on its banks gives communication between the Tytam Reservoir and the Sai-Ki-Wan-Tytam Gap Road. A similar catchment channel has on the west side of the Tytam Reservoir been run round the hill mass projecting southward from the Wong-nei-Cheong-Tytam Reservoir Road leading the water into this reservoir on the east, and on the west into the new reservoir constructed under Wong-nei-Cheong Gap; the path on its bank is convenient for patrols observing Repulse and West Bays.

(D.)—Modes of Meeting various Attacks.

(i.) Attack from the Sea.

East or West Entrance.-Attacks on the eastern or western entrances will be met by the guns of the forts, and by the submarine mines, supplemented by the sectional infantry, and in the case of an eastern attack by the Brennan torpedo.

Landing on East.-If an attack on the eastern entrance is supplemented by a landing of troops in Sywan Bay or on the Eastern Coast, the sectional troops can be reinforced by the whole of the Victoria and Kowloon Reserves, which might all be brought to the spot in about two hours.

Landing on West.-An attack on the western entrance might be supplemented by an attempted landing of troops in Sandy Bay and Taihowan and Kellet Bays. This would be met in the first instance by the troops of No. II Section present on the spot. These would be quickly reinforced by the infantry companies or the Volunteers

Page 29

Page 29