asano brigade

After the Russian Civil War, White Russian émigrés in Manchuria were recruited by Japan to form an anti-Soviet force within the Manchukuo Army. Conscription began in 1940, targeting all ethnicities, including Russians, who initially guarded railways. Partnering with Konstantin Rodzaevsky’s Russian Fascist Party, Japan unified these troops in 1936 under the Asano Detachment (later Asano Brigade), led by Colonel Asano Takashi.

Starting with 200 men, it grew to 700 across five companies by 1938, fighting in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, where it was nearly wiped out. A rebuilt brigade reached 4,000 by 1945, including Cossacks, and clashed with the Red Army during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria; some surrendered, while the fate of captives remains unclear.

Members learned Japanese, followed Bushido, and by 1941 included three cavalry squadrons. A 1942 military school trained Russian officers, though service was unpopular in Harbin’s émigré community. Reorganized in 1944 into three detachments, the brigade blended Russian and Manchukuo symbols, with more Russian officers than before