DisainaM
Senior Member
Themenstarter
Pattaya Mail 24. May 2001
On May 11, 1939 the government of Siam officially changed the name of
the country to Thailand (meaning ‘land of the free’).
That same year saw the start of the Second World War and seven days
after the German invasion of Poland and five days after the British
and French declaration of war on Germany, the Thai government
announced it would remain neutral.
On June 12, 1940 a treaty of friendship was signed between Thailand
and Japan in Tokyo. Not putting all their eggs in one basket, the Thai
government also signed treaties of non-aggression with Britain and
France in Bangkok on the same day. Of course, no one was under any
illusion about the true value of any of these treaties. As with the
German and Russian 10-year non-aggression pact, they weren’t worth the
paper they were written on.
The Japanese Fifteenth Army invaded Thailand at nine separate points
on December 8, 1941, but after just five hours of resistance the
Pibbul Songgram government ordered a cease-fire and gave permission
for the Japanese to travel unhindered through Thailand. On December
21, the government signed a 10-year treaty of alliance with Japan.
Then, on January 25, 1942, Thailand, honouring its alliance with
Japan, declared war on Britain, the United States and their allies.
Seni Pramoj, the Thai ambassador to the United States, refused to
deliver the declaration of war to the US government and organised a
Free Thai movement.
By May, Thai troops had been in operation against Shan forces in
north-eastern Burma. In July 1943, the Japanese rewarded Thailand by
giving her the four northern Malay states of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan
and Terengganu and two of the Shan states in upper Burma.
Having also been given large slabs of the former French Indochina, the
war was looking good for Thailand in terms of increased territory.
However, by July 1944, it was clear Japan was going to lose the war
and on the 24th of that month Pibbul Songgram was forced to resign as
Prime Minister by the National Assembly.
In June 1945, Admiral Louis Mountbatten, the British supreme commander
for South-East Asia, recommended that the Free Thai Movement (a group
of dissidents composed mainly of the elite of society) be given arms
and training by British special forces.
On May 11, 1939 the government of Siam officially changed the name of
the country to Thailand (meaning ‘land of the free’).
That same year saw the start of the Second World War and seven days
after the German invasion of Poland and five days after the British
and French declaration of war on Germany, the Thai government
announced it would remain neutral.
On June 12, 1940 a treaty of friendship was signed between Thailand
and Japan in Tokyo. Not putting all their eggs in one basket, the Thai
government also signed treaties of non-aggression with Britain and
France in Bangkok on the same day. Of course, no one was under any
illusion about the true value of any of these treaties. As with the
German and Russian 10-year non-aggression pact, they weren’t worth the
paper they were written on.
The Japanese Fifteenth Army invaded Thailand at nine separate points
on December 8, 1941, but after just five hours of resistance the
Pibbul Songgram government ordered a cease-fire and gave permission
for the Japanese to travel unhindered through Thailand. On December
21, the government signed a 10-year treaty of alliance with Japan.
Then, on January 25, 1942, Thailand, honouring its alliance with
Japan, declared war on Britain, the United States and their allies.
Seni Pramoj, the Thai ambassador to the United States, refused to
deliver the declaration of war to the US government and organised a
Free Thai movement.
By May, Thai troops had been in operation against Shan forces in
north-eastern Burma. In July 1943, the Japanese rewarded Thailand by
giving her the four northern Malay states of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan
and Terengganu and two of the Shan states in upper Burma.
Having also been given large slabs of the former French Indochina, the
war was looking good for Thailand in terms of increased territory.
However, by July 1944, it was clear Japan was going to lose the war
and on the 24th of that month Pibbul Songgram was forced to resign as
Prime Minister by the National Assembly.
In June 1945, Admiral Louis Mountbatten, the British supreme commander
for South-East Asia, recommended that the Free Thai Movement (a group
of dissidents composed mainly of the elite of society) be given arms
and training by British special forces.
