[1] The 38th Division, which had been the main Imperial Japanese Army unit responsible for capturing the British colony, departed the same month.
[3] The Hong Kong Defence Force had a similar structure to the Imperial Japanese Army's Independent Mixed Brigades, which were also initially established to occupy Japanese-held territory.
The battalions in Kowloon and the New Territories operated in urban areas, along the Kowloon-Canton Railway and at four posts.
[2] During the later stages of the war, the Japanese forces in Hong Kong constructed many fortifications along the territory.
Some were concrete pillboxes that were built at key junctions and strategic points within population centres, whilst in the countryside, many tunnels were dug into the hillside to act as defensive positions.