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95-711: The Burma Independence Army ( BIA ) was a pro-Japanese and revolutionary army that fought for the end of British rule in Burma by assisting the Japanese in their conquest of the country in 1942 during World War II . It was the first post-colonial army in Burmese history. The BIA was formed from a group known as the Thirty Comrades under the auspices of the Imperial Japanese Army after training

190-488: A boycott and others calling for participation in the elections. This eventually led to 21 dissidents leaving to form the 21 Party , which emerged as the largest faction in the Legislative Council following the elections. The GCBA split again in the build-up to the 1925 elections due to differences over another boycott, as well as the organisation's finances and the role of monks . Dissidents left to form

285-518: A joint Allied–Burmese victory parade in Rangoon on 23 June 1945. Following the war, after tense negotiations, it was decided that the PBF would be integrated into a new Burma Army under British control, but many veterans would continue under old leadership in the paramilitary People's Volunteer Organisation (PVO) in the unstable situation of post-war Burma. British rule in Burma began in 1824 after which

380-561: A member of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere . Its Head of State became Dr. Ba Maw , an outspoken anti-colonial politician imprisoned by the British before the war. Aung San became Minister of Defence in the new regime, with the new rank of Major General and Bo Let Ya as his Deputy. Bo Ne Win (who would much later become the dictator of Burma after World War II) became Commander-in-Chief of

475-558: A million at their height, with some estimates that the number exceeded 2 million conscriptees. Many collaborationist troops originally served warlords of the National Revolutionary Army who had defected when facing both Communists and Japanese. Although the collaborationist army was very large, its soldiers were very ineffective compared to NRA soldiers, and had low morale because they were considered " Hanjian ". Some collaborationist forces saw battlefields during

570-657: A national consciousness . In the wake of the Japanese advance, rebellious Indonesians across the archipelago killed scores of European and pro-Dutch civilians (in particular from the Chinese community ) and informed the invaders on the whereabouts of others, 100,000 of whom would be imprisoned in Japanese-run internment camps alongside 80,000 American, British, Dutch, and Australian prisoners of war. Unlike in occupied French Indochina, where Imperial Japan worked alongside

665-658: A paramilitary force who were openly drilling in uniform with numbers eventually reaching 50,000. It was to replace the BNA as a major deterrence against both the British and his communist rivals in the AFPFL. Aung San became head of the AFPFL in 1946 and continued the more peaceful struggle for Burmese independence until his assassination after the overwhelming victory of the AFPFL in the April 1947 constituent assembly elections. Burma finally became independent on 4 January 1948. The BIA

760-471: A promise of independence for "the East Indies" di kemudian hari (English: at a later date ). In spite of the deteriorating military situation and a disastrous famine on Java, war enthusiasm had returned to the extent that the suicide attack corps Jibakutai ( 自爆隊 ; Barisan Berani Mati ) could be formed on 8 December 1944. On 14 February 1945, a PETA battalion under Supriyadi launched

855-672: A role model. In 1941, Iraqi military, led by four Colonels, Salah al-Din al-Sabbagh , Kamil Shabib , Fahmi Said , Mahmud Salman toppled the Hashemite monarchy and installed a pro-Axis government with Taha al-Hashimi served as the Prime Minister; Japan, one of the three main powers of the Axis, gave support to the group as part of Japan's strategy in relations with the Islamic world, although geographical distance meant Japan's support

950-462: A short-lived revolt against the Japanese in Blitar , East Java . Although it was quickly put down and possibly misattributed to nationalist fervor, it factored into the Japanese realization that their window on creating an Indonesian puppet state had closed. Hoping to extend the occupation by redirecting nationalist energy towards harmless political squabbles, the military authority on Java announced

1045-422: A tank on a vital bridge and forced the British to retreat across open fields where Bo Yan Naing ambushed them with 400 men. Eventually the British and Indian force broke free and continued their retreat, having lost ten tanks, two field guns and 350 men killed or wounded. The BIA's casualties were heavy; 60 killed, 300 wounded, 60 captured and 350 missing, who had deserted. Hirayama and Ikeda were both killed. Most of

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1140-635: A traitor for his cooperation with the Japanese and charged with war crimes. However, Supreme Allied Commander Louis Mountbatten was anxious to avoid a civil war and to secure the cooperation of Aung San, who had authority over thousands of highly politicised troops. When the British noticed with alarm that PBF troops were withholding weapons, ready to go underground, tense negotiations in a conference in Kandy , Ceylon , were held in September 1945. Aung San, six PBF commanders and four political representatives of

1235-682: The Allies as the Patriotic Burmese Forces (PBF) in 23 June 1945. At the first meeting, the AFO represented itself to the British as the provisional government of Burma with Thakin Soe as Chairman and Aung San as a member of its ruling committee. The Japanese were routed from most of Burma by May 1945. Negotiations then began with the British over the disarming of the AFO, which earlier in March

1330-671: The Anti-Fascist Organisation (AFO) was formed with Thakin Soe , a founding member of the Communist Party of Burma , as leader. Through the communists, Aung San were eventually able to make contact with the British Force 136 in India . The initial contacts were always indirect. Force 136 was also able to make contacts with members of the BNA's Karen unit in Rangoon through agents dropped by parachute into

1425-557: The British during 1944, on 27 March 1945, the BNA revolted against the Japanese. The army received recognition as an ally from Supreme Allied Commander, Lord Mountbatten , who needed their assistance against retreating Japanese forces and to ease the strain between the army's leadership and the British. As part of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League , the BNA was re-labelled the Patriotic Burmese Forces ( PBF ) during

1520-541: The British steadily tightened its grip on the country and implemented significant changes to Burmese government and economy compared to Burma under the Konbaung dynasty before. The British removed and exiled King Thibaw Min and separated government from the Buddhist Sangha , with large consequences in the dynamics of Burmese society and was particularly devastating to Buddhist monks who were dependent on

1615-527: The Burma Independence Army (BIA) was officially formed. The Thirty Comrades, as well as Colonel Suzuki, had their blood drawn from their arms in syringes, then poured into a silver bowl and mixed with liquor from which each of them drank – thway thauk in time-honoured Burmese military tradition – pledging "eternal loyalty" among themselves and to the cause of Burmese independence. The BIA initially numbered 227 Burmese and 74 Japanese. Some of

1710-570: The Chinese communists . Aung San flew to China in 1940, intent to make contact with them in order to discuss investments into an independent Burmese Army. In 1940, the Japanese military interest in Southeast Asia had increased, the British were overtly providing military assistance to Nationalist China against which Japan was fighting in the Second Sino-Japanese War . In particular, they were sending war materials via

1805-698: The Great Burma Organisation ( Burmese : မြန်မာအသင်းချုပ်ကြီး ; Myanma Ahthinchokgyi ), was a political party in Burma . The GCBA was formed at the 1920 conference of the Young Men's Buddhist Association following the student strike earlier in the year and Burma's exclusion from British proposals for limited self-government in Indian provinces. Its leadership included Chit Hlaing , U Pu and U Kyaw Dun . The new party held rallies to pressurise

1900-702: The Indonesian National Revolution that followed, 903 Japanese nationals volunteered for the Indonesian cause, of whom 531 wound up dead or missing. Japanese soldiers primarily used Laos to stage attacks on Nationalist China. On 22 September 1940, Vichy France and the Empire of Japan signed an agreement allowing the Japanese to station no more than 6,000 troops in French Indochina , with no more than 25,000 troops transiting

1995-473: The Karen , Chin and Kachin and isolated the majority Bamar population. As more people joined the rebellion it evolved into a nationwide revolt which only ended after Hsaya San was captured after two years of insurrection. He and many other rebel leaders were executed and imprisoned after the rebellion was put down. The Hsaya rebellion sparked a large emergence of organised anti-colonial politics in Burma during

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2090-675: The Karenni State , the Karen-populated area in the east of Burma. In December 1944, the AFO contacted the Allies indicating their readiness to launch a national uprising which would include the BNA. The situation was not immediately considered favourable by the British for a revolt by the BNA and there were internal disputes about supporting the BNA among them; the British had reservations over dealing with Aung San. In contrast to Force 136, Civil Affair officers of Lord Mountbatten in

2185-648: The Kumul Rebellion in 1932, the Japanese secretly set up a plan to create an Islamic state with the Ottoman Prince Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkerim to be the head of the new Islamic Caliphate that spanned from Soviet Central Asia to Chinese Turkestan , with support from pro-Japanese collaborationists drawn from the Kazakh, Uzbek, Uyghur and Kyrgyz population, aiming to undermine the Soviet influence. Following

2280-787: The North African campaign . Most were supporters of the exiled nationalist and former president of the Indian National Congress Subhas Chandra Bose . The Royal Italian Army formed a similar unit of Indian prisoners of war, the Battaglione Azad Hindoustan . A Japanese-supported puppet state Azad Hind was also established with the Indian National Army as its military force. After occupying British Malaya , Japanese occupation authorities reorganized

2375-622: The Second Sino-Japanese War and distrust between the Soviet Union and Japan amidst World War II, the Japanese again aimed to include collaborationists from Muslim territory in Russian and Chinese Turkestan to ignite rebellions to undermine China and the USSR's war efforts. Soviet intelligence revealed that over 200 Japanese agents and an unknown number of collaborators were operating in the region with varied roles. The Kra Isthmus railway

2470-540: The Second Sino-Japanese War , but most were relegated to behind-the-line duties. The Wang Jingwei government was disbanded after the Japanese surrendered to Allies in 1945, and Manchukuo and Mengjiang were destroyed in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria . Japan attempted to create an Islamic state spanning from Xinjiang to Soviet Central Asia during the Kumul Rebellion . During World War II, Japanese agents were again active in both Xinjiang and Soviet Central Asia, where

2565-796: The Second World War , the Thakins, combined with the Poor Man's Party to create the Freedom Bloc , which opposed cooperation with the British war effort unless Burma was guaranteed independence immediately after the war and threatened to increase its anti-British and anti-war campaign. The British denied the Freedom Bloc's demands and much of its leadership was imprisoned until after the Japanese invasion in 1942. The Thakins looked elsewhere for support and planned on setting up ties with

2660-621: The South East Asia Command (SEAC) wanted him tried for war crimes , including a 1942 murder case in which he had personally executed a civilian, the Headman of Thebyugone village, in front of a large crowd. General William Slim later wrote: "I would accept [Aung San's] help and that of his army only on the clear understanding that it implied no recognition of any provisional government. ... The British Government had announced its intention to grant self-government to Burma within

2755-704: The 11-month operation of the railroad and the Japanese switched their focus to the Thai-Burma Railway , also referred to as the Death Railway, for the large numbers of prisoners and effectively enslaved workers who died there. They moved equipment, track and personnel from the Kra Isthmus Railway to the Thai-Burma line. General Council of Burmese Associations The General Council of Burmese Associations (GCBA), also known as

2850-456: The 1930s. Aung San was a nationalist student activist working for the cause of an independent Burma. While at university, he became an influential political leader and created a new platform for educated nationalistic students who were intent upon a Burmese Independent state. In 1938 he joined the radical, anti-colonial Dohbama Asiayone party (known as the Thakins ). After the outbreak of

2945-502: The AFPFL met with the Supreme Allied Command were Lord Mountbatten acknowledged the BNA's contribution the victory in Burma to ease tensions. The British offered for around 5,000 veterans and 200 officers of the PBF to form the core of a post-war Burma Army under British command into which colonial Karen , Kachin , and Chin battalions would be integrated. In the end, only a small number of PBF troops were selected for

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3040-580: The BIA was disarmed and disbanded on 24 July. Now the Burma Defence Army (BDA), placed under the command of Colonel Aung San with Bo Let Ya as Chief of Staff, led by several Japanese commanders. An officers' training school was established in Mingaladon and the new force of 3,000 men were recruited and trained by Japanese instructors as regular army battalions instead of a guerrilla force during

3135-566: The BIA's casualties resulted from inexperience and lack of equipment. Though Burmese political leader Ba Maw and others later eulogised the BIA's participation in the battle, the official Japanese history never mentioned them. As the invasion speedily continued in Japan's favour, more and more territory fell into Japanese hands who disregarded the agreement for Burma's independence. As the BIA's ranks had swelled with thousands of unorganised army and volunteers, with plenty of weapons spread throughout

3230-576: The British Commonwealth, and we had better limit our discussion to the best method of throwing the Japanese out of the country as the next step toward self-government." In late March 1945, the BNA paraded in Rangoon and marched out ostensibly to take part in the battles then raging in Central Burma . Instead, on 27 March, they openly declared war on the Japanese and rose up in a country-wide rebellion. BNA units were deployed all over

3325-722: The British had been supplying China in the Second Sino-Japanese War along the Burma Road . Burmese nationalists known as Burma Independence Army hoped for independence. They were later transformed into the Burma National Army as the armed forces of the State of Burma . Minority groups were also armed by the Japanese, such as the Arakan Defense Army and the Chin Defense Army. Hong Kong

3420-518: The British to extend the self-government plans to Burma. A proposal known as the Craddock Plan to give ethnic minorities separate representation was opposed by the GCBA, which saw it as an attempt at divide and rule . In 1922 the British agreed to extend the Indian system to Burma, and elections were scheduled for November. However, this caused a split in the GCBA, with the majority calling for

3515-477: The British, records of births and deaths and the introduction of census that included personal information, including information pertaining to jobs and religion. The census was especially hard on Burmese identity due to the variation of names and the habit of villagers to move between various families. These traditions were very different from Western culture and not compatible with the British imposed census. British insistence upon western medicine and inoculation

3610-618: The Buddhist clergy, also led to "National schools" being created in protest against the colonial education system. As a result the British to imposed restrictions on free speech and an increase of the police force. The first major organised armed rebellion occurred between 1930 and 1932 and was called The Hsaya Rebellion . The former monk Hsaya San sparked a rebellion by mobilising peasants in rural Burma after protests against taxes and British disrespect towards Buddhism. The Burmese colonial army under British rule included only minorities such as

3705-605: The Burma Independence Army, known as the Thirty Comrades , left Burma in April 1941 and were trained on Hainan Island in leadership, espionage, guerrilla warfare and political tactics. Colonel Suzuki assumed the Burmese name "Bo Mo Gyo" ( Commander Thunderbolt ), for his work with Minami Kikan. On 7 December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and Britain. On 28 December, at a ceremony in Bangkok ,

3800-465: The Burmese nationalists in 1941. The BIA's attempts at establishing a government during the invasion led to it being dissolved by the Japanese and the smaller Burma Defence Army ( BDA ) formed in its place. As Japan guided Burma towards nominal independence, the BDA was expanded into the Burma National Army ( BNA ) of the State of Burma , a puppet state under Ba Maw , in 1943. After secret contact with

3895-532: The Burmese soldiers were second-generation residents in Thailand, who could not speak Burmese. The BIA formed was broken into six units which were assigned to participate in the invasion of Burma in January 1942, initially as intelligence-gatherers, saboteurs and foragers. The leader of the Burma Independence Army were declared with Keiji Suzuki as Commander-in-Chief, with Aung San as Senior Staff Officer . When

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3990-684: The Center of the People's Power was replaced by the less overtly Japanese-controlled Hōkōkai ( 奉公会 ; Himpunan Kebaktian Rakjat ) in a renewed attempt to increase Javanese labor and produce for the Japanese war effort. A paramilitary youth wing, the Suishintai ( 推進体 ; Barisan Pelopor ), would be founded in August. In July 1944, Japanese prime minister Hideki Tojo was forced to resign and on 7 September his replacement Kuniaki Koiso made

4085-420: The European colonial overlords, as seen in Burma and Indonesia. Some other collaborators were already in power of various independent or semi-independent entities, such as Plaek Phibunsongkram 's regime in Thailand, which desired to become a major player in Asian politics but were restrained by geopolitics, and the Japanese maximised it to some extent. Others believed Japan would prevail, and either wanted to be on

4180-435: The French colonizer, the Japanese supplanted the Dutch administration of the East Indies and elevated native elites willing to work with them to power, fueling Indonesian hopes of future self-rule. Imperial Japan imposed a strict occupation regime on the archipelago, however, as to them the value of the archipelago lay mostly in its ample resources for the war effort (specifically oil, tin, and bauxite) and their initial use for

4275-407: The Imperial General Headquarters, it was decided in February 1941 to form an organisation named Minami Kikan , which was to support Burmese resistance groups and to close the Burma Road to China. In pursuing those goals, it would recruit potential independence fighters in Burma and train them in Japans ally Thailand or Japanese occupied China . Aung San and 29 others, the future officers and core of

4370-431: The Indochinese financial system, in return for a fragile French autonomy. The French colonial government had largely stayed in place, as the Vichy government was on reasonably friendly terms with Japan. The Japanese permitted the French to put down nationalist rebellions in 1940. The Japanese occupation forces kept French Indochina under nominal rule of Vichy France until March 1945, when the French colonial administration

4465-465: The Indonesian National Armed Forces Sudirman began their military careers in the Japanese-sponsored Defenders of the Homeland ( Pembela Tanah Air ; PETA), which alongside the auxiliaries of the Heiho ( 兵補 ) was to assist the Imperial Japanese military in fighting off the expected Allied return to the East Indies. Hundreds of thousands served in Japanese organizations such as the propaganda institution Keimin Bunka Shidōsho ( 啓民文化指導所 ),

4560-424: The Japanese attempted to foster rebellions among Muslim population against both China and the Soviet Union. Following its swift victory in the Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942, Imperial Japan was welcomed as a liberator by much of the native population of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia ), and especially by the Indonesian nationalists who since the early 20th century had begun developing

4655-434: The Japanese were prepared to give—that he had exchanged an old master for an infinitely more tyrannical new one. As one of his leading followers once said to me, "If the British sucked our blood, the Japanese ground our bones!" During 1944, the BNA made contacts with other political groups inside Burma, such as the communists who had taken to the hills in the initial invasion. In August 1944, a popular front organisation called

4750-471: The U Chit Hlaing Faction, which subsequently splintered into the Home Rule Party and the Hlaing-Myat-Paw GCBA . The rump of the GCBA became known as the Soe Thein GCBA , named after its leader U Soe Thein . Another split occurred in 1929 when the organisation was split into the Ye-U group led by U Su and the Thetpan Sayadaws led by U Soe Thein. The latter collapsed in the early 1930s and many of its members joined other parties to contest elections. By 1932

4845-411: The actions of a subset of regular BIA and their Japanese officers. Elements of the BIA in Irrawaddy destroyed 400 Karen villages with a death toll reaching 1,800. In one instance, which was also described in Kyaw Zaw's , one of the Thirty Comrades, memoirs, Colonel Suzuki personally ordered the BIA to destroy two large Karen villages and killing all within as an act of retribution after one of his officers

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4940-639: The administration of Moulmein , the Japanese 55th Division had flatly refused Burmese requests and even forbade them to enter the town. Many in the BIA considered the Japanese suppression of them to be based on notions of racial superiority . However, the BIA's attempts at creating a government were dared by Colonel Suzuki, who said to U Nu that: "Independence is not the kind of thing you can get by begging for it from other people. You should proclaim it yourselves. The Japanese refuse to give it? Very well then, tell them that you will cross over to someplace like Twante and proclaim it and set up your government. What's

5035-406: The anti-British political groups. Suzuki visited Burma secretly, posing as a journalist for the Yomiuri Shimbun under the name Masuyo Minami , in September 1940, meeting with political leaders Thakin Kodaw Hmaing and Thakin Mya . The Japanese later made contact with Aung San in China who had reached Amoy when he was detained by Suzuki. Suzuki and Aung San flew to Tokyo . After discussions at

5130-456: The army entered into Burma it was made up of 2,300 men and organised in the following way. As the Japanese and the BIA entered Burma, the BIA gained a lot of support from the civilian population and were bolstered by many Bamar volunteers. This caused their numbers to grow to such a level that by the time the Japanese forces reached Rangoon on 8 March, the BIA numbered 10,000–12,000, and eventually expanded to between 18,000 and 23,000. Many of

5225-438: The army, with most being sent home with two months pay. Aung San was offered the rank of Deputy Inspector General of the Burma Army, but which he declined upon the return of Governor Dorman-Smith's government. Bo Let Ya instead got the position while Aung San became a civilian political leader in the AFPFL and the leader of the People's Volunteer Organisation (PVO), ostensibly a veterans organisation for ex-BNA, but in reality,

5320-405: The arrival of colonial military or civil officials. Lastly, against mounting rebellions, the British adopted a “strategic hamlet” strategy, whereby villages were burned and uprooted families who had supplied villages with Headmen , sending them to lower Burma and replacing them with British approved appointees. Future changes to Burma included the establishment of land titles, payment of taxes to

5415-422: The atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japanese field marshal Hisaichi Terauchi approved the establishment of the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence ( Panitia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia ; PPKI) and promised Indonesian independence would be granted on 24 August 1945. As Imperial Japan surrendered to the Allies on 15 August, Sukarno instead proclaimed Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945. In

5510-434: The colony. Rights were given for three airfields, with all other Japanese forces forbidden to enter Indochina without Vichy's consent, although in truth it was rarely enforced as Japanese troops were able to enter all of Indochina unchecked. Vichy signed the Joint Defense and Joint Military Cooperation treaty with Japan on 29 July 1941. It granted the Japanese eight airfields, allowed them to have more troops present, and to use

5605-433: The constituent governments had any autonomy, although the military of the Wang Jingwei regime was equipped by the Japanese with planes, cannons, tanks, boats, and German-style stahlhelm , which were already widely used by the National Revolutionary Army , the "official" army of the Republic of China . The military forces of these puppet regimes, known collectively as the Collaborationist Chinese Army , numbered more than

5700-448: The country under ten different regional commands (see table below). Those near the British front-lines around the Irrawaddy River requested arms and supplies from Allied units operating in this area. They also seized control of the civil institutions in most of the main towns. 27 March is now marked as Armed Forces Day , a national holiday in Myanmar. Aung San and others subsequently began negotiations with Mountbatten and officially joined

5795-402: The country which led to widespread chaos, looting and killings were common. The Japanese army command formed an administration on their own terms and the commanders of the Fifteenth Army began undermining the creation of a Burmese government. Thakin Tun Oke had been selected to be the political administrator and government organiser. BIA attempted to form local governments in Burma. Attempts over

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5890-430: The difficulty about that? If they start shooting, you shoot back." Aung San tried to establish a training school in Bhamo . His efforts were too late and interrupted by the Kempeitai . After the Japanese invasion of Burma the Japanese Commander of the 15th Army, Lieutenant-General Shōjirō Iida , recalled Suzuki to Japan. In its place the Japanese created civil organisations designed to guide Burma toward puppet state .

5985-470: The disbanded British colonial police force and created a new auxiliary police. Later on, a 2,000-men strong Malayan Volunteer Army and a part-time Malayan Volunteer Corps were created. Local residents were also encouraged to join the Imperial Japanese Army as auxiliary Heiho . There was a Railway Protection Corps as well. The British territory of the Straits Settlements ( Singapore , Malacca , Penang and Dindings ) came under Japanese occupation after

6080-410: The expanded Burma National Army (BNA). The BNA eventually consisted of seven battalions of infantry and a variety of supporting units with a strength which grew to around 11,000–15,000 men. Most were from the majority Bamar population, but there was one battalion raised from the Karen minority. Although Burma was nominally self-governing, the power of the State of Burma to exercise its sovereignty

6175-513: The failure of the BIA due to the lack of resources, lack of strong administrative control and the failure to include both the highland and lowland regions of Burma. However, the BIA became the first truly national Burmese army and remains honoured in Burma today , with Aung San and many of the Thirty Comrades being seen as national heroes. Collaboration with Imperial Japan Some of the leaders in various Asian and Pacific territories cooperated with Japan as they wanted to gain independence from

6270-505: The fiasco suffered by Commonwealth forces at the Fall of Singapore . The Straits Settlements Police Force came under the control of the Japanese and all vessels owned by the Marine Police were confiscated. The Japanese had previously set up several puppet regimes in occupied Chinese territories. The first was Manchukuo in 1932, under former Chinese emperor Puyi , then the East Hebei Autonomous Government in 1935. Similar to Manchukuo in its supposed ethnic identity, Mengjiang (Mengkukuo)

6365-408: The formation of the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence ( Badan Penyelidik Usaha-usaha Persiapan Kemerdekaan ; BPUPK) on 1 March 1945. Despite meeting only twice, the plenary sessions of the BPUPK would see the formulation of Pancasila and the Jakarta Charter that would later form the basis of the preamble to the Constitution of Indonesia . On 7 August, the day after

6460-444: The government and civilians, because their actions had led to the capture, torture, and execution of many Filipinos. The Second Portuguese Republic under António de Oliveira Salazar was neutral during World War II, but its colony on Timor (present-day East Timor ) was occupied by the Japanese to expel Australian, New Zealander and Dutch troops. The Japanese used the population for forced labor . The Portuguese administration

6555-416: The involvement of Japanese help in overthrowing the British. Throughout the invasion, the swelling numbers of the BIA were involved in attacks on minority populations (particularly the Karens ) and preyed on Indian refugees fleeing from the Japanese. The worst atrocities against the Karens in the Irrawaddy Delta south of Rangoon cannot however be attributed to dacoits or unorganised recruits, but rather

6650-536: The nationalists only extended to the pacification and organization of the sizeable population of Java . During the occupation of the Dutch East Indies, Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta , respectively the inaugural president and vice president of the future Republic of Indonesia , became promoters of the Japanese rōmusha forced labor scheme through the Center of the People's Power ( Pusat Tenaga Rakyat ; Putera) and mobilized workers for Japanese production and construction projects across Southeast Asia, such as

6745-430: The needs of the Macanese population, which had doubled in number due to the influx of refugees from Mainland China and Hong Kong. A pro-Japanese brigade, the Asano Brigade , was formed by Russian anti-communists before and during World War II. Japanese agents were active in Central Asia during the Russo-Japanese War , which Russian reports warned about Japanese espionage among the Turkic Muslim population. During

6840-576: The newly opened Burma Road . Colonel Keiji Suzuki , a staff officer at the Imperial General Headquarters in Japan, was given the task of devising a strategy for dealing with Southeast Asia and he produced a plan for clandestine operations in Burma. The Japanese knew little about Burma at the time and had few contacts within the country. The top Japanese agent in the country was Naval Reservist Kokubu Shozo, who had been resident there for several years and had contacts with most of

6935-630: The officers of the BNA were obliged to salute low-ranking privates of the Imperial Japanese Army as their superiors. Aung San soon became disillusioned about Japanese promises of true independence and of Japan's ability to win the war. As the British General in the Burma Campaign William Slim put it: "It was not long before Aung San found that what he meant by independence had little relation to what

7030-540: The republic, Jose P. Laurel , had a presidential guard unit recruited from the ranks of the collaborationist government. When the Americans closed in on the Philippines in 1944, the Japanese began to recruit Filipinos, who mostly served in the Imperial Japanese Army and actively fought until Japan's surrender. After the war, members of Makapili and other civilian collaborators were subject to harsh treatment by both

7125-737: The same year had been transformed into a united front comprising the Patriotic Burmese Forces, the Communists and the Socialists , and renamed the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL). Had the British Governor of Burma , Reginald Dorman-Smith , still in exile in Simla , and General William Slim gotten their way, the BNA would have been declared illegal and dissolved. Aung San would have been arrested as

7220-442: The second half of 1942. After the change in leadership, Aung Sun tried to push for what he considered the true mission of the army, which was not just a military group composed of the Thakins, but an army of "true patriots irrespective of political creed or race and dedicated to national independence". After a year of occupation , on 1 August 1943, the newly created State of Burma was granted nominal independence by Japan and became

7315-571: The sponsorship of the monarchy. British control increased over time, for example, in 1885 under the Colonial Village Act, all Burmese, except for Buddhist monks, were required to Shikko (a greeting hitherto used only for important elders, monks and the Buddha ) to British officials. These greetings would demonstrate Burmese submission and respect to British rule. In addition, the act stated that villages would provide lodging and food upon

7410-650: The strategic railways on Sumatra and West Java , and along the Burma–Thailand border . In total, 4 to 10 million Indonesian laborers were recruited and some 270,000 to 500,000 Javanese were sent abroad, of whom 70,000 to 135,000 returned after the war. In November 1943, the Japanese flew Sukarno and Hatta to Tokyo to receive the Order of the Rising Sun from Emperor Hirohito for their services. Similarly, Indonesia's second president Suharto and first commander of

7505-406: The volunteers who joined the BIA were however not officially recruited, but rather officials or even criminal gangs who took to calling themselves BIA to further their own activities. The Japanese provided few weapons to the BIA, but they armed themselves from abandoned or captured British weapons. With the help of a propaganda campaign from the BIA, Suzuki was welcomed by the Burmese people since word

7600-445: The winning side, or feared being on the losing one. Like their German and Italian counterparts, the Japanese recruited many volunteers, sometimes at gunpoint, more often with promises that they later broke, or from among POWs trying to escape appalling and frequently lethal conditions in their detention camps. Other volunteers willingly enlisted because they shared fascist or pan-Asianist ideologies. The Japanese invaded Burma because

7695-993: The youth movement Seinendan ( 青年団 ), and the auxiliary police forces of the Keibōdan ( 警防団 ). As its fortunes turned, Imperial Japan became faced with growing resistance to its increasingly repressive occupation and began catering to the Indonesian desire for self-rule. Already in September 1943, the Javanese Central Advisory Council ( Chūō Sangiin , 中央参議院 ) had been created around Sukarno, Hatta, Ki Hajar Dewantara , and Mas Mansur , and expanded to include notables such as Rajiman Wediodiningrat and Ki Bagus Hadikusumo . Sumatran representation under Mohammad Syafei , Abdul Abas , and Teuku Nyak Arif would follow nearly two years later and included established nationalists such as Djamaluddin Adinegoro and Adnan Kapau Gani . In January 1944,

7790-632: Was a British crown colony before its occupation by the Japanese. During the Japanese rule, former members of the Hong Kong Police Force , including Indians and Chinese, were recruited into the Kempeitai police force. The Indian Legion ( Legion Freies Indien, Indische Freiwilligen Infanterie Regiment 950 or Indische Freiwilligen-Legion der Waffen-SS ) was created in August 1942, recruiting chiefly from disaffected British Indian Army prisoners of war captured by Axis forces in

7885-620: Was a rail line constructed for Imperial Japan during World War II linking Chumphon to Kra Buri in Thailand . The railroad connected the Bangkok-Singapore Line westward to the west coast of the Kra Isthmus near Victoria Point ( Kawthaung ). Sir Andrew Gilchrist wrote a harrowing account of worker conditions. Malay and Tamil slave laborers were used and material moved from Kelantan . Allied bombing in 1945 ended

7980-409: Was allowed to retain autonomy under strict Japanese supervision, while local militiamen were organized into " Black Columns " to help Japanese forces fight Allies. Portuguese Macau became a virtual protectorate of Imperial Japan as its governor Gabriel Maurício Teixeira and local elite Pedro José Lobo attempted to maintain a balance between the demands of the Japanese consul Yasumitsu Fukui and

8075-548: Was held by the II Battalion of the Japanese 215th Regiment, commanded by Major Misao Sato, and 1,300 men belonging to the BIA under Bo Yan Naing, one of the Thirty Comrades. Two Japanese liaison officers named Hirayama and Ikeda accompanied the BIA. With Anstice's force and the Indian troops attacking Shwedaung from two sides, the roadblocks were soon cleared, but a lucky shot from a Japanese anti-tank gun knocked out

8170-488: Was killed in an attack by anti-Japanese resistance. One action in which the BIA played a major part was at Shwedaung, near Prome , in Southern Burma. On 29 March 1942, a detachment from the British 7th Armoured Brigade commanded by Brigadier John Henry Anstice was retreating from nearby Paungde . Another detachment of two Indian battalions was sent to clear Shwedaung, which lay on Anstice's line of retreat and

8265-465: Was largely circumscribed by wartime agreements with Japan. The Imperial Japanese Army maintained a large presence and continued to act arbitrarily, despite Japan no longer having official control over Burma. The resulting hardships and Japanese militaristic attitudes turned the majority Burman population against the Japanese. The insensitive attitude of the Japanese Army extended to the BNA. Even

8360-484: Was not realized due to the Japanese surrender. In Laos, the local administration and ex-colonial Garde Indigène (Indigenous Guard, a paramilitary police force) were re-formed by Prince Phetsarath , who replaced its Vietnamese members with Laotians. The Hmong Lo clan supported the Japanese. One of Iraq's most prominent politicians, Taha al-Hashimi , was a pro-Japanese, who emphasised the Arab world to look at Japan as

8455-400: Was overthrown, and the Japanese supported the establishment of the Empire of Vietnam , Kingdom of Kampuchea and Kingdom of Luang Prabang as Japanese puppet states. Vietnamese militia were used to assist the Japanese. In Cambodia, the ex-colonial Cambodian constabulary was allowed to continue its existence, though it was reduced to ineffectuality. A plan to create a Cambodian volunteer force

8550-489: Was part of at the time), led to one of the earliest political nationalist groups, the General Council of Burmese Associations , who had split off from the apolitical Young Men's Buddhist Association . Foreign goods were boycotted and the association set up village courts and rejected the British courts of law claiming that a fair trial had a better chance under the control of Burmese people. Student protests, backed by

8645-673: Was particularly distasteful to native residents of Burma. These changes led to a greater distrust of the British and in turn harsher mandates as they became aware of Burmese resistance. A major issue in the early 1900s was land alienation by Indian Chettiar moneylenders who were taking advantage of the economic situation in the villages. At the same time, thousands of Indian labourers migrated to Burma and, because of their willingness to work for less money, quickly displaced Burmese farmers, who instead began to take part in crime. All this, combined with Burma's exclusion from British proposals for limited self-government in Indian provinces (of which Burma

8740-647: Was reduced to symbolic role. The Second Philippine Republic (1943–1945) was a puppet state established by Japanese forces after their 1942 invasion of the United States' Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935–1946). The Second Republic relied on the re-formed Bureau of Constabulary and the Makapili militia to police the occupied country and fight the local resistance movement and the Philippine Commonwealth Army . The president of

8835-678: Was set up in late 1936. Wang Kemin 's collaborationist Provisional Government was set up in Beijing in 1937 following the start of full-scale military operations between China and Japan , and another puppet regime, the Reformed Government of the Republic of China , in Nanjing in 1938. The Wang Jingwei collaborationist government, established in 1940, "consolidated" these regimes, though in reality neither Wang's government nor

8930-472: Was spread that " Bo Mo Gyo " (Suzuki) was a decedent of the Prince of Myingun, a Burmese prince in the direct line of succession to the Burmese throne who had been exiled after a failed rebellion to Saigon , where he died in 1923. Propaganda claiming that Bo Mo Gyo was to lead the resistance into restoring the throne soon spread throughout Burma, which helped to provide a format for the Burmese villagers to accept

9025-481: Was the first major step of the towards Burmese independence without colonial powers involved, even though this result never genuinely occurred under the BIA or its successors. The army’s formation helped to create strong ties between the military and the government which are still present within Burmese society today. In addition, the BIA did achieve results in its need to unite the Burmese as a single nation instead of many different smaller states . Many scholars attribute

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