An Overview of Thailand's Participation in World War II

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An Overview of Thailand's Participation in World War II

Post by Udon Map » March 18, 2020, 7:26 pm

Overview.png

In December 1941, over the course of only a few days, the Thai government moved from a public stance of neutrality to a military alliance with Japan. Thailand’s alliance with Japan would ultimately define Thailand’s role in World War II in the Pacific Theater. ​After allying itself with Japan, Thailand would go on to declare war against the British and Americans as well as assist the Japanese in supplying their troops through the completion of the infamous Thailand-Burma Railway. Thus, it is valuable to examine how this rapid shift in government policy took place in Thailand.

​Prior to the outbreak of war in the Pacific, Thailand was a quasi-independent state in which the British and French exercised considerable influence. The area to the east of the Menam Chao Phraya Basin fell within the French sphere of influence while the area to the west of the river basin lay within the British sphere. However, in December 1938, Phibunsongkhram took power in Thailand as a military dictator. Phibunsongkhram, also known as Phibun, maintained friendly relations between Thailand and Japan. Relations with Japan had been increasing amiable since the early 1930s and when paired with Thailand’s new strongly nationalistic policies which were anti-Chinese at home and pro-Japanese abroad, relations between Thailand and European powers were increasingly strained. Thai-European relations continued to falter when in November 1940, Phibun ordered the invasion of French territories in western Laos and northwestern Cambodia that had formerly been under Thai control. This move on the part of Thailand was strongly supported by Japan.

The relationship between Thailand and Japan didn't remain friendly especially when it came to the convenience of Thailand. Japanese aggression in the Pacific increasingly strained the Thai-Japanese relationship. Thai officials, including Phibun himself, repeatedly appealed to the British and Americans to help Thailand defend its territory and sovereignty against Imperial Japan. But neither country was able to offer any significant support to the Thai government. As a result, as relations between Japan and its Pacific rivals worsened following the advance of Japanese forces into southern French Indo-China, Phibun declared that Thailand would remain neutral. Unfortunately, the likelihood of war only increased in the following months which in turn increased apprehension within the Thai government that they would be able to remain neutral.

Phibun attempted to remain friendly and yet noncommittal towards the Japanese officials that urgently lobbied his government for support. But by December 8th, 1941, the Thai government was forced to seriously consider all options following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the impending Japanese invasion of Thailand. Four main options were discussed at a cabinet meeting on December 8th. The options included were: (1) Japan and Thailand would conclude an offensive/defensive alliance; (2) Thailand would join the Tripartite Pact with Germany, Italy, and Japan; (3) Thailand would cooperate with Japanese military operations; (4) Thailand and Japan would undertake the mutual defense of Thailand. All four options held the expectation that Japanese forces would be allowed to pass through Thailand. Additionally, each option was accompanied by the Japanese offer to assist Thailand in recovering its lost territories. On the evening of December 8th, 1941, the Japanese ambassador, accompanied by military and naval attachés, went to see Phibun. They arrived with a draft of an alliance treaty they expected the Thai government to agree to. On December 21st, the formal signing of the Treaty of Alliance took place as scheduled at Wat Phra Kaeo. Phibun then reshuffled his cabinet to ensure that it represented a more pro-Japanese group of officials. Then, on January 25th, 1942, the deputy foreign minister announced over the radio that Thailand was joining Japan and declaring war on Britain and the United States.

Following the declaration of war, the most significant role Thailand played in the Pacific War was in building the Thailand-Burma Railway. The Japanese decided it was necessary to build a railway to connect Bangkok, Thailand, with Moulmein, Burma. By early 1942, shipping lanes had become incredibly vulnerable to allied attacks and thus a railway was necessary to bring much-needed supplies to Japanese forces in Burma. It was designed to be 259 miles long running through jungles, across rivers, and over the mountain chain that separated Burma and Thailand. To build the railway, the Japanese and Thai used thousands of Allied prisoners of war (POWs) as well as hundreds of thousands of Romusha (indigenous contract laborers) from Burma, Malaya, Java, and other conquered nations as a labor force. Construction began in October 1942 and within a few months the Imperial General Command in Tokyo, anxious to complete the project, moved up the completion date to October 1943. This acceleration was known as “the Speedo” and it was during this time that the Thailand-Burma railway earned its nickname: the “death” railway.

Ultimately, during World War II, Thailand was only able to gain minor territorial concessions in Burma, Malaya, Laos, and Cambodia as a result of its alliance with Japan. Additionally, the Thai economy greatly suffered during this time which undermined public support for Phibun. The waning public support for Phibun allowed resistance groups based in the United States and Britain to make contact with similar groups within Thailand. The Free Thai, as these groups were known, conducted raids against the Japanese and ultimately succeeded in infiltrating the Thai government. By July 1944, Phibun was forced to resign and his 1942 declaration of war was determined to be unconstitutional and therefore legally void. As a result, Thailand never needed to official surrendered to the allies. Instead, following Phibun’s resignation, Thailand did its best to repair diplomatic relations with the Allies and ceased the majority of its wartime operations.


References:

Eldredge, Sears, “The Thailand-Burma Railway: An Overview” (2014). Book Chapters. Book 21. http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/thdabooks/21.

Keyes, Charles F. and Jane E. Keyes. “Thailand.” Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Encycloaedia Brittanica, Inc., 9 June 2019, https://www.britannica.com/place/Thaila ... n-Thailand.

Swan, William L. "Thai-Japanese Relations at the Start of the Pacific War: New Insight into a Controversial Period." Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 18, no. 2, 1987, pp. 270-293.

Wilson, Hugh. "The Best of Friends: Britain, America and Thailand, 1945-48." Canadian Journal of History, vol. 25, no. 1, 1990, pp. 61-84.


Courtesy of Pacific Atrocities Education
https://www.pacificatrocities.org/blog/ ... ion-in-ww2



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Re: An Overview of Thailand's Participation in World War II

Post by Laan Yaa Mo » March 18, 2020, 9:44 pm

Phibun continued to be an influential figure in Thai politics after the war until Field-Marshall Sarit overthrow him and Phao (the Head of the Police) in a coup. Sarit did this on the basis that both Phibun and Phao were corrupt, which they were. Sarit went on to lead a very corrupt government but he was a strongman idolised by the people. He aligned himself with the U.S. government, and worked well with the monarchy to unite the country. People were encouraged to replace portraits of Phibun in their homes with that of the royal family.
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Re: An Overview of Thailand's Participation in World War II

Post by Khun Paul » March 19, 2020, 7:00 am

An old friend of mine who died a few years ago, a member of the Burma Star Association, told me he blamed Thailand for the Fall of Singapore and the Thais were responsible for the deaths of thousands of Allied soldiers. While that is historically not really correct, it would seem that Thailand's wavering did nothing to assist the Allies but did assist the Japanese . So there is some element of truth in his comments. It is something I found NOT really taught in Thai schools as it is considered a Loss of Face for the Thai nation .

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Re: An Overview of Thailand's Participation in World War II

Post by Laan Yaa Mo » March 19, 2020, 9:27 am

The Thais did permit Japanese troops to cross their southern border into British Malaya, but the British were totally unprepared to fight the Japanese in Malaya, Hong Kong or Burma. The myth of the British Empire ended rather quickly and it opened the eyes of many Asians to the fact that the British were weak. Independence came rapidly to those under British rule after the Second World War. Mountbatten was one of the few who realised that British rule was over in many parts of the world.
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Re: An Overview of Thailand's Participation in World War II

Post by Drunk Monkey » March 19, 2020, 9:54 am

Thanks for posting a very interesting read ..

KP ..its called selective memory loss an affliction the whole world over not just Thailand .

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Re: An Overview of Thailand's Participation in World War II

Post by saint » March 19, 2020, 11:20 am

Khun Paul wrote:
March 19, 2020, 7:00 am
An old friend of mine who died a few years ago, a member of the Burma Star Association, told me he blamed Thailand for the Fall of Singapore and the Thais were responsible for the deaths of thousands of Allied soldiers. While that is historically not really correct, it would seem that Thailand's wavering did nothing to assist the Allies but did assist the Japanese . So there is some element of truth in his comments. It is something I found NOT really taught in Thai schools as it is considered a Loss of Face for the Thai nation .
I think it unfair to blame Thailand for the fall of Singapore , They may of played a tiny roll but nothing more .
There are several reasons Singapore fell .
Firstly Churchill sent two battleships to protect it without any air cover . So they were promptly sunk .
Secondly the defenses for Singapore could only face out to sea , including all the big guns .
Thirdly the British surrendered to a handfull of Japanese soildiers , rendering over 250,000 British troops , prisoners of war .
Forth . The japanese landed on the beaches of Malaysia at the same time they did Thailand , and were a lot closer to Singapore .
Fifth . The Japanese just marched south with very little heavy tanks or artillery and totally surprised the British forces .

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Re: An Overview of Thailand's Participation in World War II

Post by Laan Yaa Mo » March 20, 2020, 3:09 am

Yes, the guns were not much help when the Japanese invaded from land. I forgot to mention that when Thailand permitted the Japanese to enter British Malaya the Government did not have much choice but to allow them to do so.
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Re: An Overview of Thailand's Participation in World War II

Post by Khun Paul » March 20, 2020, 5:15 am

Your points are valid and well known, I did not say I personally agreed with my friend, but Thailand was part of the problem, the other problems as you mentioned were well known and documented. Thailand OR Siam as it was known , apart from local in house SE Asian conflicts has never in reality been involved in any WAR as we know it ever. This is why top many I think, we wonder at the tremendous requirement for all the latest toys of war, which in reality they will never need .

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Re: An Overview of Thailand's Participation in World War II

Post by mak » March 20, 2020, 5:34 am

After the battle of the tennis court the nips retreated. The remnants of the 15th army can be found in northern Thailand.

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Re: An Overview of Thailand's Participation in World War II

Post by Laan Yaa Mo » March 20, 2020, 8:44 am

I believe you mean the remnants of Chiang K'ai-shek's KMT army. It took the Burmese gvernment three years to realise they were there happily running the opium trade in the Golden Triangle. The Thais knew through the police chief, Pao, who had close ties with General Li, the KMT leader. Pao used the profits from this opium trade to build up a force almost equal to that of the Thai army.
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Re: An Overview of Thailand's Participation in World War II

Post by mak » March 20, 2020, 11:11 am

No. But you can also see descendants of the KMT in the northern provinces. In fact the Thai army used the KMT to dislodge the last of the Thai communists atop Khao Kho in Petchabun.

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Re: An Overview of Thailand's Participation in World War II

Post by FrazeeDK » March 20, 2020, 2:03 pm

because Thais killing Thais was anathema but getting the KMT Chinese to do it with promises of Thai citizenship was fine... The BKK Post has done a number of stories over the year of the ethnically Chinese villages in northern Thailand that originated from the KMT..
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Re: An Overview of Thailand's Participation in World War II

Post by saint » March 20, 2020, 2:35 pm

What a breath of fresh air this thread is . Away from all the decease and famine .
Thank you Udonmap for starting it , and im learning something . Win Win

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Re: An Overview of Thailand's Participation in World War II

Post by Laan Yaa Mo » March 20, 2020, 8:28 pm

saint wrote:
March 20, 2020, 2:35 pm
What a breath of fresh air this thread is . Away from all the decease and famine .
Thank you Udonmap for starting it , and im learning something . Win Win
Agree. It is very interesting. Another point is the connexion, through the opium trade, that was formed between the KMT remnants and the Yang family in Kokang and the Wa States in Burma. Kokang was and is ethnically Chinese that used to be part of Yunnan in China, but for geopolitical reasons became part of Burma. The Yang family used to run the place as a sort of fiefdom. Olive Yang was one of the family leaders and has a very colourful history, which you can read on wiki. The Wa States was a no-go area for the British during Imperial days and like the Government of Myanmar today pretty well left it alone. Here you will find many casinos frequented by Chinese customers, and the Wa Army is heavily involved in the drug trade.

https://www.efe.com/efe/english/life/ca ... 63-3964703

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokang

I forgot about the Ming connexion.
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