Foreign volunteers in Japan Army 1938-1945

[Semenov]

Hi,
I know little about foreigners in the Japanese army: Russian, Mongols, Indians. Who can is the expert from members AHF in this theme? Any foto?

Regards!

[Larry D.]

I've never heard of Russian volunteers in the Japanese Army, but there certainly were Mongolians. The Indians were in an Indian national liberation army sponsored by the Japanese. You should be able to find plenty of information by going to SEARCH and entering Mongol and/or Mongolian and Indian and/or Bose.

[major grubert]

The Helion Company has two very nice books by Philip S. Jowett, one on the Manchukuo and Puppet Chinese forces, and the other on the INA/BNA.

IIRC, some white Russians were employed by either the Manchukuo or puppet regimes as had been the case during the warlord period. I would find it a bit hard to believe that the cossack ataman Semenov didn't try to get back at Stalin in some way or another during the build-up to Khalkin Gol/Nomonhan.

[Larry D.]

Major G. wrote:

IIRC, some white Russians were employed by either the Manchukuo or puppet regimes

True. However, I don't think there were any armed White Russian volunteer or auxiliary units in the IJA, at least not that I ever saw mentioned. Some were definitely employed in the Manchurian government - both the Japanese administration and puppet - and there were a number of White Russians employed by Japanese Army Intelligence in Shanghai and a few other locations, too. The following book has a fair number of references to them:

Wasserstein, Bernard. Secret War in Shanghai. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1999. ISBN: 0-395-98537-4. Hb. Dj. 354p. Illus. Extensive notes. Bibliography. Index.

[TurkishTiger]

Well, their was alot of Koreans as well as some Chinese in the Imperial Japanese Army. Their were Thai Soldiers as well. Some french vichy too.

[Steen Ammentorp]

Well, their was alot of Koreans as well as some Chinese in the Imperial Japanese Army. Their were Thai Soldiers as well. Some french vichy too.

Do you have any sources on this? Not the Koreans which is well known but the Chinese, Thai and French? And in the IJA and not puppet states.

Kind Regards
Steen Ammentorp
The Geberals of World War II

[TRose]

The Japanese puppet goverments in Indonesia, Burma and the Philippines also formed units for internal police duties, but they where for the most part pretty wrthless. The Burma national army deserted to the British around 1944, while the , while the japanese controled constables in the Philippines never fired a shot at anyone capable of shooting back and deserted almost to the man after Leyte Gulf.. The japanes formed Indonesian army did fight the Dutch but that was after the war

[TurkishTiger]

The Chinese it was on another Forum. I have to find it. As far as the Thai. I have a Japanese helmet with a Thai badge on it. As far as the french. When the vichy gov`t was set up ny the german. The gov`t would send messeges to some of the french soldiers in vietnam who deside to work with the Japanese. The French Vichy Soldiers was sent into the jungle to wipe out any vietnamese resititance members.

[Steen Ammentorp]

TurkishTiger,

Interesting about the Thai helmet but I don't see this as clear evidense that Thais were in inrolled in the IJA. Couldn't the Thai army have use Japanese steel helmets? Same for the French. Were they actually inrolled in the IJA? Or did they just fight te vietnamese resistance?

Kind Regards
Steen Ammentorp
The Generals of World War II

[TurkishTiger]

Well, before WW2 thai soldiers were using French adrian helmets. That helmet is a very popluar helmet. Alot of counites use the French adrian helmet. Peru, Spain, Brazil, Beglium, Japan, Mexico, Italy, Russia and the list goes on. During the First World War Thailand was in the War and that was the helmet they were using but during the second world war. The Japanese took control of Thailand. A day after Pearl Habor. Thailand became a puppet state and their soldiers were issue Japanese Helmet but the Japanese took the helmet badges off the adrian helmets they were using and put them on the Japanese helmets. The thai soldiers did see action but I am not sure were in south asia. I am not sure if the Vichy in south asia did fight the allies or not but I know the Japanese would send them out to fight vietnamese resistance parties.

[Steen Ammentorp]

I fully agree with you on these points. However it does not make them volunteers in the IJA. They just fought along side the IJA.

Kind Regards
Steen Ammentorp
[url=htpp://www.generals.dk]The Generals of World War II[/url]

[TRose]

The Thai army was invvolved in two campaing to my knowledge. The first in 1940 was a border war with Vichy France in Cambodia. Thailand decided to take advantage of the weaken French state and seize some provinces that the French had earliier had taken from Thailand. The Thailand militiary did fairly well against the Vichy French forces, but the end of the fighting came when the Japanese intervene through diplomatic channels and settled the matter in favor of Thailand. The second campaing was a misguide attempt to invade Northern Burma and reclaim some land that had been claim by Thailand the century befor. althought the area in quistion was not even defendeded by the British, and the Thai army only encountered a few Nationlist Chines unit, the area had almost nothing that could be consider a road the terrian was very rugged, and disease claim many casualties. Might add that the Thais unlike the British, Japanese and Chinese could be consideredrd local boys as far as the Burma campaing went, and if they could not have handled the climate and terrian, I doubt if anyone of the other armys could, which is the likely reason the British did not bother to defend that area( And the fact that the area was pretty worthless from a economic/strategic angle) In both campaings the Thai Army fought under Thai officers and independent of the Japanese army

[major grubert]

Thailand was never a puppet state of the Japanese - as can be seen by the Seri Thai coup of 1944.

I have not come across any information or photographs regarding Thai use of Japanese helmets - the Adrian was used right up to the 50s.

I have also never found any information regarding Thai personnel serving in the Japanese army. A few pilots were sent to Japan during the early days of the alliance (circa 1943).

[zstar]

They also had lots of Taiwanese who were an key intergral part of the empire.


The Japanese Officer here is posing with his Taiwanese conscripts.

[LMA-17]

some pics of Asian volunteers in Japan army