'Allies' fighting for Axis

[plan_D]

Since this was requested by our friend, Erich, here it is.

All the information about Allied troops that fought for the Axis. This will mostly get on to W-SS Divisions. Such as the Muslim, Indian, British SS Divisions. Also, a little mention of the Indian and Burmese fighting for the Japanese for liberation from the British Empire.

 

[evangilder]

Not so much a Waffen SS story, but one of the interesting aspects of WWII:

Some of the first soldiers captured by the allies on D-Day were Koreans!

Four such heroes taken prisoner in Normandy proved to be Koreans. It seems that the Japanese, who had conquered Korea, drafted them into their army in 1938 and sent them to Manchuria, where they were taken prisoner by the Russians in the border clashes between Russia and Japan. The Russians drafted them, but didn't trust them that near Korea, so they sent them to defend their western frontier. When the Germans invaded Russia they captured the Koreans, and not trusting them on the Russian Front, they sent them to defend Normandy, where the Koreans were captured by the Americans.

The Americans sent them to a POW camp in the states. The Koreans took it all in stride! I guess by then, they could be considered mercenaries!

 

[plan_D]

Certainly, that's a very interesting story. Thank you, evan. 8)

 

[evangilder]

No problem. I just thought it was pretty fascinating. Those poor guys had been conscripted into 3 armies. I wonder if they are eligible for veteran benefits from all of them?

 

[plan_D]

If they're still alive maybe we should go find them and ask them.

There were a lot of Indian and Burmese fighting for the Japanese in 1941 and 1942, so much so there were new armies created for them. By early 1942, a lot had just become propaganda and by the time the British started moving back into Burma they had almost ceased to exist.
Those that still did exist moved on to the British/Indian side again, or just disappeared back into the jungle villages.

During the march out of Burma, during Britains longest retreat in history, a lot of lives were lost to Burmese murdering the British soldiers while they slept.

And seeing as this seems the right kind of area. I'll inform on the greatest British mutiny in history too, 191 troops from the Tyne Tees and Highland Divisions moved to Salerno Bay under the British 46th Division refused to fight after being tricked to fight alongside the US 5th Army which had landed on Salerno bay with 1500 British troops. While these men had been fighting in Africa and Sicily with the British 8th Army they had been injured, recovered and sent back to a transit camp awaiting to be sent back to their units. Instead they got sent to Salerno Bay, and there, refused to fight. All were sentenced to between 6 and 10 years in prison, except the two leading Sergeants who were sentenced to death by firing squad.

 

[Napier Sabre]

Quite interesting, the Idea of British SS divisions. Never heard about them before a couple of days ago and I can't find much info. Any idea about what happened to those involved after the war?

 

[Medvedya]

There were only forty odd members of the British Free Corp. A division?!!
God forbid! The leader was a guy called John Amery.

Read about 'em here.

http://members.aol.com/sturmpnzr/BFChistory.html

 

[Napier Sabre]

Cheers, I would have been surprised if there were that many! 8)

 

[HealzDevo]

I thought the British were more loyal to King and Country than all that. I suppose there are a few different in every race.

 

[plan_D]

I heard there was only 15. But the thing is, these people were PoWs and they didn't actually do anything. They just partied in France all the time, until they got captured.

 

[Medvedya]

Here's some of their badges. I think there were some Australians in the corps at one time or another as well.

 

[glennasher]

Burma. A lowlying country inhabited by a Low, Lying People, according to a book of the time.

 

[Njaco]

I'm curious. Wouldn't their armbands and badges have been in German rather than English? Something like Englander Freie Korps? Where are those badges from?

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

No they would be in the native language. They were made in Germany however.

 

[RAGMAN]

I red of the one of the last battles of WW2 where the SS charlamaine (i spelled it wrong,sorry) fought the "free" german division at Hitlers door,so to speak.Hitler didnt like entrusting his life to Frenchmen,but had little choice.The French fought with little to lose as they were going to be executed if caught and sent back to France.I have the book some place I'll try to find it.

 

[RAGMAN]

Ah, found it.The french were called the SS Charlemagne division,the Germans were the Von Seydlitz division.the SS division was formed in 1941 in the army but transferred to the SS in august of 43.General Walter Von Seydlitz commanded the division,it was formed after the fall of Stalingrad and opposed to facism,of course.

 

[Cyrano]

 

[RAGMAN]

ya the french navy fought well at least some of the battleships did anyways

 

[rogthedodge]

Technically the Vichy French weren't allies, the Free French were, so the Vichy forces were fighting on the 'right' side. The French Govt now views Vichy as a traitorous regime but at the time they were probably the more legitimate of the two French Govts.

On foreigners in the SS:
The Danes and the Dutch provided lots of troops for the SS - particularly 5SSPz ('Wiking') and 11SSPzg ('Nordland'). Loads of other countries contributed troops to Germany's forces too Hitler's Foreign Legions

 

[Negative Creep]

In Max Hasting's work Armageddon he states the Dutch made up the largest foreign contingent of the SS, but seeing as he didn't index it, I can't find the exact quote. He does however mention one interesting episode

One of the most extraordinary episodes of the war, still scarcely know in the West, began on 4 April 1945 on the Dutch offshore island of Texel. Its garrison, the 882nd Battalion of the Wermacht, comprimised some 500 Georgians captured on the Eastern Front. They mutinied and ran amok, killing every German they found. A local resistance leader consulted with the Georgians, and set off with three of them in a local lifeboat to seek aid from the British...........they were subject to six days of interrogation, at the end of which the Georgians were dispatched to a POW camp. No action was taken to assist the Texel mutineers

Hitler signaled personally that 'an example should be made of the rebels.' Some 3600 men of the Wermacht were committed in a battle that lasted more than a fortnight.....a total of 117 local Dutch, 550 Georgians and 800 Germans perished