Japanese forces in Siberian Intervention?

[Hama]

Does anyone know a list of which Japanese army and navy units participated in the Siberian Intervention of 1918-22?

Also I'm curious did Japan use naval infantry during this conflict (like for example they did during the Boxer Rebellion)?

[Akira Takizawa]

> Does anyone know a list of which Japanese army and navy units participated in the Siberian Intervention of 1918-22?

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 2&p=906485&

> Also I'm curious did Japan use naval infantry during this conflict (like for example they did during the Boxer Rebellion)?

Navy landed at Vladivostok at first. See the chronological table at above page.

Taki

[Hama]

Thank you!

[Hama]

Did Japan employ any auxiliaries/mercenaries during the Siberian Intervention, like for example the Chinese bandits that were used by both sides in the Russo-Japanese war?

[Akira Takizawa]

> Did Japan employ any auxiliaries/mercenaries during the Siberian Intervention,

No

> like for example the Chinese bandits that were used by both sides in the Russo-Japanese war?

I have never heard of such a thing. Chinese were employed by the both sides during Russo-Japanese war. But, they were workers, not combatants.

Taki

[Hama]

I have never heard of such a thing. Chinese were employed by the both sides during Russo-Japanese war. But, they were workers, not combatants.

Actually they did use Chinese as combatants during the Russo-Japanese War. You can read about the Honghuzi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honghuzi) bandits who were used for attacking Russian supply lines and harassment. Zhang Zuolin made his Japanese contacts (which he would later use when he became warlord of Manchuria) during the time when he was fighting for Japan in the Russo-Japanese war.

The Honghuzi even had Japanese soldiers among them to organise their raids. Russians also used some Chinese troops, but Chinese disliked Russians more than Japanese at that time so it wasn't as many as Japan...

Here are some quotes from "The Russo Japanese War 1904-05" by A. Ivanov and P. Jowett:

Both the Japanese and Russian armies recruited auxiliaries among the local Chinese population in Manchuria. This policy was somewhat frowned upon at the time by many on both sides, and the role of auxiliaries was little reported. The Hung-hu-tze ('Chunchus', khunhuzy) were Chinese bandits, who for centuries had preyed upon travellers, farmers and towns in Manchuria whenever opportunity offered.

Even before the war the Japanese decided to exploit the vulnerability of the long Russian rear lines by organizing small units of guerillas. Six 'covert' units were formed in Peking in January 1904, under the control of a Col Aoki and led by a total of 71 Japanese NCOs. The rank and file were either 'friendly' Chinese bandits or - after an agreement was reached with the Chinese Imperial Army commander, Yuan Shik-kai - volunteers from his cavalry; Chinese NCOs were also seconded to serve in the Chunchu units alongside the Japanese. The regular Chinese covert units were soon operating mainly around the important Russian base at Liaoyang. The Russian High Command ascribed all these attacks to the endemic lawlessness of Manchuria, and were unaware that the Japanese were organizing them.

The Chunchus attacked Russian Army supply depots throughout the winter and into the spring of 1905. They had a nuisance value; but their repeated attacks on the South Manchuria Railway achieved little, since it was well guarded by Russian troops. The Russians employed locally recruited Chinese as auxiliaries to perform guard duties on their railways and supply lines on the same unofficial basis as the Japanese. A major of the Russian Frontier Guards relates in his memoirs how he was alarmed to see a group of armed Chinese crossing the railway line ahead of his train, and pointed them out to a fellow officer. The latter told him not to worry - 'they're ours'; when asked how he could tell, he replied 'because they're not shooting at us'.

[Akira Takizawa]

I understand. You said about 馬賊. It is true that both sides used 馬賊 during the Russo-Japanese War.

I have never heard that the Japanese used 馬賊 during the Siberian Intervention. 馬賊 was in Manchuria. It was not in Siberia.

Taki

[Hama]

Yes I know they were in Manchuria, I was just using Honghuzi as an example. I was curious if Japan used some similar auxiliaries from local people in Siberia, for example Mongols or indigenous Siberians?

[Akira Takizawa]

> I was curious if Japan used some similar auxiliaries from local people in Siberia, for example Mongols or indigenous Siberians?

No. Siberia is desert area. There were few indigenous and most inhabitants were Russian settlers. The Japanese cooperated with anti-Bolshevik White forces in Siberia. It would be able to say that they were like 馬賊 in Manchuria.

Taki

[Hama]

Have you been to Siberia?

It's not so empty as you would think. For example I read that in the Siberian Intervention the Japanese army reached as far as Lake Baikal. There are thousands of Buryats living around that area who could have been used to help Japanese military with their local knowledge.

But anyway, I guess from what you say that the Japanese army didn't use many locals for their own forces. Thanks for the info.

[Hama]

Was the Type 11 machinegun ( 十一年式軽機関銃 ) used by Japanese troops in the Siberian intervention? I know the weapon design was completed in 1922 (hence the Type 11 designation) which was the same year Japan withdrew from Siberia, but I don't know the exact date that the weapon started being issued and if it was in time to be used in the conflict?

[Akira Takizawa]

No, it first saw action in Manchurian Incident.

Taki

[Hama]

Ok thanks.