The Hong Kong Heroes: Unveiling Guangdong and Hong Kong's "La Grande Vadrouille" during WWII | Brothers in Arms ②

This Chinese force was honored by the U.S. President and had its representative decorated by the British Crown. They are the Hong Kong-Kowloon Independent Brigade of the Dongjiang (East River) Column.

During World War II (WWII), under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, they were primarily active in Guangdong and Hong Kong, forming the only organized force that sustained resistance against the Japanese invasion throughout the war.

Amidst the overwhelming forces and blockades of the Japanese military, they dramatically rescued dozens of Allied comrades from the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Denmark, and beyond.

In 1966, the film "La Grande Vadrouille," starring Danielle Thompson and others, which tells the story of the French rescuing British air force pilots during World War II, became a global sensation. However, the numerous rescue operations carried out in Guangdong and Hong Kong, which were equally heroic, remain relatively unknown.

Recently, South reporters accompanied the descendant of a rescued Allied soldier to revisit the "escape route" of his father in Hong Kong, and together they uncovered the story of this Brigade and the "La Grande Vadrouille" that unfolded in Guangdong and Hong Kong.

Read more from this series:

Memories of Nanyang Volunteer Drivers and Mechanics: Bearing an "Unyielding Lifeline" Along the "Road of Death" | Brothers in Arms ①

Flying Tigers: Two WWII veterans, over 100, reminisce about wartime camaraderie between China and US | Brothers in Arms ③

Planning | Huang Can

Coordinating | Zhao Yang, Xie Miaofeng

Execution | Wang Yongxing

Script | Chen Chen

Producer director | Chen Chen, Xu Xiaoxin

Videographer | Xu Xiaoxin, Deng Yingheng, Guo Hongda, Qin Shaolong

Video editor | Xu Xiaoxin

Reporter | Chen Chen, Wu Caiqian, Deng Shengshi (intern)

Poster | Lai Meiya, Cai Junru

English editor | Liu Lingzhi, Zhan Xuanzhen (intern), Liao Ying (intern), James Campion, Hu Guangyao

Some of the archives are provided by the Guangdong Provincial Archives and the People's History Museum in Manchester, UK.

Special thanks to the decendants of Dongjiang Column soldiers, including Deng Liping, Wang Yuzhen, Jiang Shan, Huang Wenzhuang, Liao Guoqiu, Lin Ming and Zhang Fang, as well as Hong Kong Chronicles Institute, and Shenzhen Dapeng New Area Museum.