Japanese allies?

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Tomas
Visitor
(7/27/01 9:55:10 pm)
Reply Japanese allies?
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Did Japan have any allies fighting with them like Germany had?

Tomas

tyskaorden
Member
Posts: 30
(7/28/01 9:44:29 am)
Reply Re: Japanese allies?
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There was an anti British force formed from Indian POWs, but this unit was to small to be compared with the German Allies.

In China the Japanese founded the puppet empire of Manchucko led but the last Empror of China Pu Yi. This state did have small armed forces, i don´t know if they fought along side the Japanese.

Marcus Karlsson

Olivier Palardy
Member
Posts: 21
(7/30/01 3:40:50 am)
Reply Re: Japanese allies?
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Siam (Thailand) cooperated with the Japanese during the invasion of Birmania in 1942. They let the Japanese pass through their land and even fought along side with them. I don't know if it lasted until the end of the war.

Olivier Palardy

tovarich2
Veteran Member
Posts: 381
(7/31/01 10:19:45 pm)
Reply Propaganda or Bayonet
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The Japanese claimed they were going to create a 'East-Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere' by destroying the 'Red Peril' and the 'White Peril'. It seems their Asian brothers, most of whom openly fought them as guerillas from French Indo-China to Korea to China to the Phillipines thought the only ones that were going to get prosperous were the Japanese themselves. The Japanese seemed to have more success with their brute force than their propaganda. Neither won converts but the bayonet advanced their goals, for a while anyway.

Bob
Visitor
(8/2/01 12:19:21 am)
Reply Japanese Allies
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The following armies (or militias) collaborated with Japan :

Indian National Army

founded jan 1942 at Kuala Lumpur
made up of Indian prisoners of war. Nearly 40000 Indians joined the army in the course of the following months, most of them to escape the prisons. Many of them immediately deserted and
rejoined the British Indian Army
first division (hindi field force group) formed in sep 1942. Divided into three regiments (Gandhi, Nehru and Azad) and some minor units.
second division formed in dec 1942. After a quarrel with the Japanese 80% of the men returned to their prisoner camps.
the second division was later reformed and a third was also planned.
of all these troops only the first division saw some action at Imphal and Kohima in 1944.
Of the 7000 engaged only 2500 survived.

Burman National Army

A Burman independence army of 50000, later 200000 men, was formed after the Japanese invasion and occupation of Burma. As it soon showed to be unreliable it was disbanded.
It was replaced by a Burman Defence Army of 50000 men in 1943 which was later renamed the Burman National Army (Bama Tatmadaw).
In march 1945 the troops stationed at Mandalay went over to British, soon followed by all the other troops.

Information on other forces in Malaya, China, etc. will follow as soon as possible.

Bob

tovarich2
Veteran Member
Posts: 421
(8/2/01 12:25:47 am)
Reply Re: Japanese Allies
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Good info! Look forward to more!

Bob
Visitor
(8/2/01 6:59:24 pm)
Reply Japanese allies Part II
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Here is the continuation of the information on Japanese allies.

Additional information on the Burman National Army

In jun 1941 the Japanese set up the so-called Minami organization which organized Burman nationalists into anti-British guerilla groups. On 10 dec 1941 part of them formed the nucleus of the Birman Independence Army which fought alongside the Japanese against the British in 1941 - 1942.
The BIA consisted in fact of several independent units, only loosely united through their officers who ackowledged General Aung San as overall commander in chief.
(As to the numbers of 50000 and 200000 they probably only existed on paper and in the BIA never seems to have counted more than 4000 men)
It was replaced by the Burman Defence Army on 27 jul 1942 and became the Burman National Army on 1 aug 1943.
Its commander was Colonel (?) Ne Win.
(Here too the number of 50000 men seems to be an exaggeration.
The BDA apparently only counted 3000 men and the BNA 15000 in 1944)

Malaya

Several collaborationist armed forces existed in occupied Malaya :

- Each Malayan village and town was forced to organize a so-called Jikeidan or Self Defence Corps. It was a kind of (unarmed ?) local militia whose main task was to register all the families of a community , to report on all strangers and suspicious events.

- The British colonial police continued to function with some changes as before. Out of it was created the Special Police to carry out operations against the resistance.

- Malay volunteers joined the Japanese army as "Heiho", (auxilaries) and their position can perhaps best be compared with that of the German Ostbattalions.
There never was an overall organization, each unit being attached to a Japanese force; they only received a basic military training and were unarmed or only equiped with light infantry weapons; although some of the units fought against the resistance, their main task was to provide labor and services of all kind to the Japanese.

-The most important of the Malayan collaborationist groups was however the Giyugun (Volunteer Army), which was established in 1943 as the nucleus of a future Malayan National Army and which was not part of the Japanese Army. It consisted mainly of ethnic Malays and was headed by Ibrahim Yacob, the leader of the disbanded Malayan nationalist party Kesatuan Melayu Muda.
He was appointed Luitenant Colonel, believed to be the highest rank ever given to a non Japanese.
The Giyugun numbered ca 2000 men by april 1944. Although intended to fight the allies in the event of an invasion, it saw only combat once, in an anti-communist fight in Johore.
The recruits were volunteers who were given a training similar to that of the Japanese soldiers, wore Japanese uniforms and were equiped with full Japanese
infantry weaponry. It was also expected they lived according to the "Bushido" and toke an oath of loyalty to the Emperor.

Indonesia

The situation in Indonesia was partly similar to that in Malaya.
Here too indigenous volunteers became "Heiho" of the Japanese army, local self defence forces
were established (in Borneo they comprised Dayak tribesmen) and the reformed former Dutch colonial police continued to function. Organization and tasks were probably the same as in Malaya.

On SUMATRA, which had a separate Japanese administration, a Giyugun or Volunteer army - having a position similar to that of the Malayan one - was formed in nov 1943.
This army - also styled "People's Force" (Lasykar Pakyat) - was supported by the major Indonesian nationalist movement on the island, the Bompa (Badan Oentoek Membantoe Pertahanan Asia - Body to Assist in the Defence of Asia) and was intended to assist the Japanese forces in the event of an allied invasion.
It apparentely never saw action, performing garrison duties over the island, in this way allowing Japanese troops to fight on other places.

On JAVA another Volunteer Army, the Tentera Pembela Tanah-Air (Voluntary Army for the Defence of the Country - in short Peta) was formed in sep/oct 1943. It was supported by the nationalist movements headed by Ahmed Sukarno and probably followed the organization and structure of the other Giyugun.
In nov 1944 it numered ca 35000 men divided into 66 battalions.

As the Japanese didn't fully trust the nationalist Peta, they also allowed a rival Islamic organization, the Madjelis Sjuro Muslimin Indonesia (Central Council of the Indonesian Muslims) to establish its own "Army of Allah" (Hizbullah). This force however never became as important as the Peta and consisted mainly of groups only armed with bamboolances.

Of these forces only one unit of the Peta saw action, but not in the way the Japanese expected. In feb 1945 the Peta unit of Blitar in Eastern Java revolted and exterminated all Japanese in the city...

Bob

Last part will follow

yeknom43
Veteran Member
Posts: 107
(8/3/01 12:01:28 pm)
Reply Koreans
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There were many Koreans who fought with the Japanese. But I believe that they fought in the Japanese Army itself.

I have a Filipino friend who was a child in the Phillipines during the occupation.

He told me that the Korean soldiers were the worst at mistreating the Filipino people.

With his own eyes he witnessed Korean soldiers toss a baby into the air and catch it on the end of their bayonets.