Germans Fighting in the Pacific and Asia

Discussions on WW2 in the Pacific and the Sino-Japanese War.
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Edward L. Hsiao
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Germans Fighting in the Pacific and Asia

#1

Post by Edward L. Hsiao » 24 Apr 2019, 20:34

Were there anymore instances of Germans fighting in the Pacific and Asia besides serving on German auxiliary cruisers and U-boats that went on cruises on the Pacific Ocean? This may sound silly but were there known instances of German pilots flying Japanese planes in the Pacific and Asian areas? Maybe there were Germans advisers with the Imperial Japanese Army or Naval Air Forces.

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Re: Germans Fighting in the Pacific and Asia

#2

Post by Edward L. Hsiao » 26 Apr 2019, 07:49

I seem to remember that a few German Kriegsmarine aviators had flown Japanese naval floatplanes over the Pacific Ocean during WWII. Or maybe the floatplanes were Arado Ar-196s in Japanese markings. I forgot what source that I picked up from. These floatplanes that were flown by Germans were mostly used for reconnaissance patrols,a few bombing missions,and anti-submarine patrols. They may had caused a few losses over the US Navy and Royal Navy subs in the Pacific Ocean during WWII.

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Re: Germans Fighting in the Pacific and Asia

#3

Post by Edward L. Hsiao » 27 Apr 2019, 23:50

I wonder if there any German Abwehr agents and Brandenburg special forces ops stationed in Asian countries like Japan,China,or Thailand. I remember hearing about Germans born in Japan and were Brandenburgers during WWII. There were Germans born in China too and likely some became Abwehr agents during WWII.


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Re: Germans Fighting in the Pacific and Asia

#4

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 28 Apr 2019, 00:05

The only two items I've run across were a handful of German submarines that made it to Asian/Pacifc waters, a armed merchant cruiser, and a handful of cargo plane flights across Perisa>Afganistan>China>Manchruia.

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Re: Germans Fighting in the Pacific and Asia

#5

Post by Kingfish » 28 Apr 2019, 01:11

Edward L. Hsiao wrote:
24 Apr 2019, 20:34
Were there anymore instances of Germans fighting in the Pacific and Asia besides serving on German auxiliary cruisers and U-boats that went on cruises on the Pacific Ocean?
You mean besides actually starting the war in the Pacific?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8lT1o0sDwI
The gods do not deduct from a man's allotted span the hours spent in fishing.
~Babylonian Proverb

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Re: Germans Fighting in the Pacific and Asia

#6

Post by aghart » 15 May 2019, 19:41

There were reports of German "civilians" directing Japanese attacks in Malaya in 1941/42. At least one was killed and his body recovered by British forces. It was believed that these individuals were German members of the French Foreign Legion serving in Indo China. Given the choice of assisting Germany's friend or sitting in a Prison Camp for years it is understandable that some chose to work with the Japanese.

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Re: Germans Fighting in the Pacific and Asia

#7

Post by Edward L. Hsiao » 16 May 2019, 23:54

Or the German "civilians" could be Brandenburgers,Germans served with the Abwehr. Quite a few Germans were born in Asia,especially in Japan or China. Sometimes the Brandenburgers wear civilian clothes while on the battlefield.

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R Leonard
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Re: Germans Fighting in the Pacific and Asia

#8

Post by R Leonard » 18 May 2019, 15:51

Well, here's a known German fighting in the Pacific . . . Waldo Neveling was a German national; a mining engineer. working on Mindanao when the war started. Released by the Japanese from internment by the US Army as an enemy alien, from what he saw of the initial Japanese occupation on Mindanao, he wanted nothing to do with them and went off to serve under COL Wendell Fertig as a guerrilla on Mindanao against the Japanese. He held the rank of Captain, USFIP and 1LT AUS. He left US service on 14 Jun 1946. Born in 1902, Neveling died in 1977. He became a US citizen after the war.

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Re: Germans Fighting in the Pacific and Asia

#9

Post by Edward L. Hsiao » 18 May 2019, 22:48

Bravo! Waldo Neveling really did the right thing by becoming a guerrilla and a US Army officer in the war against the Japanese on Mindanao. His adventures should have made into a book. I know there were Germans in the US armed forces during WWII that doesn't like to fight against their own countrymen in the Wehrmacht. They saw the Japanese military as the evil one that committed crimes against humanity during the Pacific War. I salute Waldo Neveling!

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Re: Germans Fighting in the Pacific and Asia

#10

Post by Polar bear » 16 Jun 2019, 20:56

hi,
Edward L. Hsiao wrote:
26 Apr 2019, 07:49
I seem to remember that a few German Kriegsmarine aviators had flown Japanese naval floatplanes over the Pacific Ocean during WWII. Or maybe the floatplanes were Arado Ar-196s in Japanese markings. I forgot what source that I picked up from. These floatplanes that were flown by Germans were mostly used for reconnaissance patrols,a few bombing missions,and anti-submarine patrols. They may had caused a few losses over the US Navy and Royal Navy subs in the Pacific Ocean during WWII.
Approximately 25 % true :)
The armed merchant cruiser (Hilfskreuzer) ORION used a Japanese floatplane after the own plane had become inoperable
See https://www.bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuzer/orion.html
Carl Schwamberger wrote:
28 Apr 2019, 00:05
The only two items I've run across were a handful of German submarines that made it to Asian/Pacifc waters, a armed merchant cruiser, and a handful of cargo plane flights across Perisa>Afganistan>China>Manchruia.
If you count the Indian Ocean as "Asian waters", yes, there was quite a number of german u-boats operating (successfully) there. Only one (U 862) really operated in the Pacific.

Five (5) German armed merchant cruisers operated at some time in the Pacific
See https://www.bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuzer/orion.html (1940/41)
See https://www.bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuzer/komet.html (1941)
See https://www.bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreu ... antis.html (1941)
See https://www.bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuzer/thor.html (1942)
See https://www.bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuzer/michel.html (1942/43)

greetings, the pb
Peace hath her victories no less renowned than War
(John Milton, the poet, in a letter to the Lord General Cromwell, May 1652)

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Re: Germans Fighting in the Pacific and Asia

#11

Post by Edward L. Hsiao » 24 Oct 2019, 06:56

I wonder if there were any Germans stationed with the Japanese military on Formosa or in Korea during WWII?

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Re: Germans Fighting in the Pacific and Asia

#12

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 24 Oct 2019, 17:55

Might still be lists of the German army liaison officers attached to embassies of consulates in Japanese territory.

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Re: Germans Fighting in the Pacific and Asia

#13

Post by Edward L. Hsiao » 26 Oct 2019, 03:49

What happened to the German crew who lost their ships in the Pacific and were rescued by the Japanese Navy during WWII? The German sailors couldn't go back to Europe. They must be scattered everywhere in Japanese territory as for assignments. I'm kind of puzzled.

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Re: Germans Fighting in the Pacific and Asia

#14

Post by Edward L. Hsiao » 23 Dec 2019, 08:40

Anybody got an answer to what kind of assignments did the German sailors in Japanese territory of Asia shortly after they lost their German ships in action?
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