To criticise the lack of British funding, an anonymous author published a detailed, fictional story of an invasion of Hong Kong. It is believed that members of the Imperial Japanese Army studied it prior to the annexation of Hong Kong in 1941. The narrative was titled The Battle of Hong Kong: A Fable for Our Time, and it was published in a British magazine.
The narrative begins with a depiction of the British colony of Hong Kong in 1941. The colony is described as underfunded and under-defended. The author then describes a fictitious Japanese invasion of Hong Kong.
The Japanese are said to be well-prepared and well-funded, whereas the British are said to be unprepared and outmatched.The plot concludes with the British colony of Hong Kong being invaded and British forces forced to surrender. The author closes by blaming the setback on the British government's lack of support for the colony.
When the story was first published, it generated quite a sensation, with many people thinking that it was based on true occurrences. This was spurred further by the fact that the Imperial Japanese Army invaded and conquered Hong Kong just a few months after the novel was written.It is unclear whether the members of the Imperial Japanese Army that invaded Hong Kong read the novel, but it is likely plausible.
If they did, the story could have served as a foreshadowing of what was to come.