Hi
Since Germany occupied Shandong province before and during WWI, did any Chinese fight on the German side during WWI? They certainly fought for the Allies. I look forward to your answers.
davidmich
‘Fought for the Allies’ is one way of putting being forcibly shipped thousands of miles, transported overland to the front, and given a spade to dig trenches for democracy.
Is this a subtle allegory about the SDMB?
Reported for forum change.
Moved fom ATMB to General Questions.
samclem, moderator
Not in Shandong
The Waffen SS recruited from the Middle East and even India, but I don’t see any mention of China:
nm
Those are WW2 examples - He asked about WW1
Oops…let me try again.
It seems the answer is “yes”.
Thank you all very much. Were there any Chinese soldiers serving the German-Austrian alliance in Europe/outside of China?
davidmich
My Google-fu may be weak, but I’m coming up empty.
This article mentions the Germans recruiting in the Ottoman Empire, but does not mention China.
No chance. The German “sphere of influence” in China was blockaded during the first month of the war, and captured in November 1914.
Thank you all very much.
davidmich
You have to remember… The westerners — unlike say, the Romans or the soviets, who would just do unjust brutality or whatever, then announce that all right-thinking people agreed with them have a deep-seated need to be loved and admired, especially for whatever the hell it is that they are currently doing, no matter how unjust or brutal the results.
Like an enormously fat and rich bully at school — brave and not cowardly himself, he wants allies, not so much for whatever additional fighting powers they may or may not add, but for prestige and the ability for him to announce the whole school is democratically on his side — they were willing to buy true love.
Damn, hit enter to space and it went into quick reply prematurely.
To be continued in our next.
Anyway, from an unknown book published in 1925, by John Long London, by of all people a Liberal, E. H. Jellicoe ( of Greys Inn, meaning he was a lawyer ) of pacifist bent, outraged at the lies used to force Britain into war, excoriating the Liberal government plottings to achieve that end, Playing The Game, he had several passages on China / Japan’s attitude to the seduction of British Gold.
The author frequently witnessed in the Far East the most intense amusement on the part of the Japanese, at the efforts of Britain, to procure China as an Ally in the War, and when on 25th October, 1917, Mr. Balfour, then British Foreign Minister, announced in the House of Commons that China was a belligerent with Great Britain, and that in the sense of an Ally was taking “such action to support us in the West, as it seemed possible to the Chinese Government,” and Viscount Bryce, in proposing at a dinner at the Women’s Lyceum Club, London, four days later, Britain’s welcome to China in the following words:
It was China’s glory that she felt the lofty call to the men of all nations, to take her stand on the side of righteousness and justice, and that now the most ancient people in the East, and the greatest Republic in the West were with us, we were confident of victory.
the applause, which in England followed these observations, proved too much for a Japanese sense of humour, and Japan broke her record for solemnity, and greeted the news with roars of laughter. The cause of the Japanese merriment, however, was not far to seek as the facts subsequently revealed themselves. In the previous month of August, the Four Powers Consortium, engaged to make in equal proportions, a loan to China of £10,000,000. It was signed on 29th August, at Peking, between Odagiri, of the Yokohama Specie Bank, representing the Entente Group, and Liang Chichao representing the Chinese Minister of Finance, and an immediate payment in advance of £1,000,000 was made to China at the request of the Group by the Yokohama Specie Bank.
The passage goes on to state the Entente expected the Chinese government to send over 300,000 men to fight in the West; the latter, once they had that £1,000,000, regretfully said they could only send 30,000. Then they had a convenient, and bloodless, civil war between the Northern and Southern Provinces, which meant, for the last full measure, they couldn’t spare anyone at all to go Over the Top in WestFront.
But they kept the £10 million.
Their loss: they missed Operation Michael when the Germans went in 40 miles.
The British propaganda claim that the Germans were making soap from corpses was aimed at the Chinese, who are culturally circumspect about treating the dead.
Meh, I got nothing for WW1.
For WWI V2.0, the closest I could find was a Korean chap by the name of Yang Kyoungjong.
Damn. Beat me to it. 
Fascinating story though.
Korean conscripted in 1938 into the Japanese Manchurian army, captured by the Soviets and conscripted into the Red Army, then captured by the Germans and conscripted into the Wehrmacht…then captured by the Americans and released to freedom in the United States.
Propaganda? Made up stuff? The Germans did experiment with making soap from executed corpses at Gdansk. The process never became industrialised but it did happen.
Yes, propaganda, made up stuff. During World War One, the topic of the OP.
(Don’t feel bad, I made the same eager beaver oversight in post number six, to mention this prominent Chinese member of the Weremacht who almost fought in WWII