puppet army

noun — 2 senses

puppet army

noun

Etymology From puppet + army, a calque from Mandarin 傀儡軍/傀儡军 (kuǐlěijūn, “puppet army”).

1

An army that an invading country forms by recruiting people from already-occupied areas of the country being invaded.

2

Specifically Such an army in China during the Sino-Japanese War.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.