Did any Japanese units fight in Europe?

[MOGUERA]

WTK.

Heard a tale about a Japanese infantry brigade that got wiped out in Poland.

[MB15]

Ive seen fotos that showed some asiatic wehrmachtsoldiers during the Battle of Berlin,but i dont know what nationalitie they were.I only know that they are some asiatic people.

[Ernest Penfold]

Sounds to me like someone's pulling your leg!

A story of what, 4000 (?) men, somehow making their way to Europe and getting decimated on the Eastern Front would be well-known.

[Knowe Remorse]

The One 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry was one of the more regarded US Infantry battalions of the war. It was also an all volunteer Japanese unit, that served in Italy. The 442 Infantry Regiment was formed from Japanese civilians in the internment camps, who wanted to prove their loyalty to the United States. They fought in some of the toughest fighting in the Italian campaign, and earned the name the Purple Heart Battalion due to the extreme casualties they had received. The unit received presidential recognition after they fervishly fought and rescued a cut off battalion.

In fact, they are one of the most decorated batallions of the war, receiving 22 Medals of honor. It's not commonly known, but they did have some Japanese fighting in Europe.

For more information on this, Google the 442 Infantry, 100th Battalion.

[Roddoss72]

One word "No", you must be seeing some defectors from the Red Army that came from central asia.

[sniper1shot]

The Japanese unit was WELL KNOWN to be fighting. They won 20 MoH not 22....Heck, here is their site:

http://www.njahs.org/research/442.html

Decorations - 100th Infantry Battalion and The 442nd RCT
8 Major campaigns in Europe
7 Presidential Unit Citations
9,486 Casualties (Purple Hearts)
18,143 Individual decorations including:
20 Congressional Medals of Honor
52 Distinguished Service Crosses
1 Distinguished Service Medal
560 Silver Stars, with 28 Oak Leaf Clusters in lieu of second
Silver Star Awards
22 Legion of Merit Medals
4,000 Bronze Stars
1,200 Oak Leaf Clusters representing second
Bronze Stars
15 Soldier's Medals
12 French Croix de Guerre with two Palms representing second awards
2 Italian Crosses for Military Merit
2 Italian Medals for Military Valor

[Ron Klages]

Knowe Remorse,

One clarification.

They were Americans of Japanese ancestry and not Japanese civilians.

General Eisenhower was an American of German ancestry not a German civilian.

Best regards,

Ron Klages

[Ernest Penfold]

As I re-read this thread, it sounds like things are confused.

When I read the original post (about a Japanese infantry brigade getting wiped out in Poland), I thought of an Imperial Japanese Army unit somehow fighting with the Germans. Then we have the possibility of Asiatic, but non-Japanese, soldiers fighting on the side of the Russians. Now its distorted into Japanese-Americans of the 442nd RCT who fought in Italy and France, but not Poland.

I'd like to put it to the original poster to clarify this tale: Where did you hear/read about it? Whose side was this unit supposed to be on?

[corderex]

So, who would have won? The Germans or the Japanese?
The Krauts beat the hell out of the Japs for almost eight weeks when this guys went in to take Tsingtao in 1914 (the cheaters! )

[Michael N. Ryan]

To the best of my knowledge and from all my reading on World War Two no Japanese units or individuals died fighting alongside their german allies in europe though I have read reports of German civillians being murdered by Japanese soldiers in teh pacific.

Also, here's a real interesting one, McArther's number Two Walter Krueger US Army General was born in Germany but emigrated with his mother to the US when he was eight years old.

[Schultz]

Actually there where some japanese captured at normandy as well as koreans.

Schultz

[Patrick]

Actually there where some japanese captured at normandy as well as koreans.

Schultz

Was that the Japanese military mission trapped in Cherbourg? I'd read a book (called "Reluctant Allies", I think) about German/Japanese relations (or lack thereof). There was a small group of Japanese stationed in France who were trying to coordinate trade between Germany and Japan with long-distance U-boats.

The book never said if the Japanese were evacuated before the Cotentin peninsula was cutoff or if they were captured by the US Army.

[Patrick]

To the best of my knowledge and from all my reading on World War Two no Japanese units or individuals died fighting alongside their german allies in europe though I have read reports of German civillians being murdered by Japanese soldiers in teh pacific.

Also, here's a real interesting one, McArther's number Two Walter Krueger US Army General was born in Germany but emigrated with his mother to the US when he was eight years old.

This doesn't really count as "died fighting" but just before the end of the war, the U-235 tried to make it to Japan with war supplies (including uranium and a disassembled Me-262!) Included in the crew were two Japanese military attaches. After the war in Europe was over, she headed for Portsmouth New Hampshire. The two Japanese on board committed suicide rather than surrender to the US.

[panzermahn]

I remember somewhere in Feldgrau, someone mentioned that the Japanese military mission under the RSI, were ambushed by commie partisans in late April 1945. The Japanese military mission officials took out their "katana" (samurai swords), leapt out of their vehicles and charged and were all shot to death to the last man...

Can anyone confirm this?

Regards
Panzermahn

[asiaticus]

corderex Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 8:02 pm Post subject:

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So, who would have won? The Germans or the Japanese?
The Krauts beat the hell out of the Japs for almost eight weeks when this guys went in to take Tsingtao in 1914 (the cheaters! )

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I dont think Tsingtao makes your case. The Japanese did a very professional job in the face of bad weather conditions and a creditable defense.

The Germans were withdrawing into thier fortress which the Japanese then systematicly reduced in a classic seige. I was supposed to go a little quicker but the area was hit with a lot unusually heavy of rainstorms at least one was a typhoon. Made the advance of supplies and especially guns a big mess, mud, washed out bridges, etc.

The Germans were hoping to last longer but they lost their critical artillery outpost on top of Prinz Heinrichburg to a night assent of the mountain (in a typhoon.) and assault by a company of infantry and a platoon of engineers. The main force slugged it out with the German garrison( the Company captain and lieutenant died leading charges up the mountain). Meanwhile one platoon circled around the mountain to the rear after a couple of hours. The Germans were set up to hold out up there for a month but surrendered when they were caught in an attack from front and rear, the commander lost his nerve and capituled.

With position in thier hands the Germans defenses could be spotted by the Japanese artillery which proceaded to hammer the Germans defenses for a week and then the Japanese took them in a single nights storm from their saps that they had been dug up into the outskirts of the major works of the fortress' mainline of defense during the bombardment.

At the time both sides were on a comparable footing as far as weapons went. The Japanese outnumbered the garrison and defeated them with reasonable dispatch. Oddly the people who were regarded wth contempt at the time were the British force who the Japanese did not allow to be part of the storming party and who the Germans turned their backs on during the victory parade when tha allies entered the city. When the British complained the Japanese commander only remarked that he wasnt going to redo the parade for that reason.