French-Thai War
Encyclopedia
The Franco-Thai War (1940–1941) was fought between Thailand
and Vichy France
over certain areas of French Indochina
that had once belonged to Thailand.
Negotiations with France shortly before World War II
had shown that the French government was willing to make appropriate changes in the boundaries between Thailand and French Indochina. Following the Fall of France in 1940, Major-General Plaek Pibulsonggram
(popularly known as "Phibun"), the prime minister of Thailand, decided that France's defeat gave the Thais an even better chance to regain the territories they had lost during King Chulalongkorn
's reign.
The German occupation of metropolitan France made France's hold on its overseas possessions, including Indochina, tenuous. The isolated colonial administration was cut off from outside help and outside supplies. After the Japanese invasion of Indochina in September 1940, the French were forced to allow Japan to set up military bases. This seemingly subservient behavior convinced the Phibun regime that Vichy France would not seriously resist a confrontation with Thailand.
s against nearly one hundred armored vehicles of the Royal Thai Army. The bulk of the French forces stationed near the frontier with Thailand consisted of Indochinese troops of the 3rd and 4th Tirailleurs Tonkinois (Tonkinese Rifles
), together with a battalion of Montagnards, French regulars of the Colonial Infantry, and Foreign Legion units.
The Armée de l'Air had in its inventory approximately 100 aircraft, of which about 60 could be considered first line. These consisted of thirty Potez 25
TOEs, four Farman 221s, six Potez 542
s, nine Morane-Saulnier M.S.406
, and eight Loire 130
flying boats.
The Thai Army was a relatively well-equipped force. Consisting of 60,000 men, it was made up of four armies. The largest was the Burapha Army, with five divisions. Independent formations under the direct control of the army high command included two motorized cavalry battalions, one artillery battalion, one signals battalion, one engineer battalion, and one armored regiment. The artillery was a mixture of aged Krupp
and modern Bofors
howitzers and field guns, while 60 Carden Loyd tankette
s and 30 Vickers six-ton medium tanks made up the bulk of the army's tank force.
The Royal Thai Navy
was made up of two coastal defence ships, 12 torpedo boats, and four submarines. It was inferior to the French naval forces, but the Royal Thai Air Force
held both a quantitative and qualitative edge over the Armée de l'Air. Among the 140 aircraft that composed the air force's first-line strength were 24 Mitsubishi Ki-30
light bombers, nine Mitsubishi Ki-21
medium bombers, 25 Hawk 75Ns
pursuit planes, six Martin B-10
medium bombers, and 70 O2U Corsair
light bombers.
, border skirmishes erupted along the Mekong
frontier. The superior Royal Thai Air Force
conducted daytime bombing runs over Vientiane
, Sisophon
, and Battambang
with impunity. The French retaliated with their own planes, but the damage caused was less than equal. The activities of the Thai air force, particularly in the field of dive-bombing, was such that Admiral Jean Decoux
, the governor of French Indochina, grudgingly remarked that the Thai planes seemed to have been flown by men with plenty of war experience.
In early January 1941, the Thai Burapha and Isan
Armies launched their offensive on Laos
and Cambodia
. French resistance was instantaneous, but many units were simply swept along by the well-equipped Thai forces. The Thais swiftly took Laos, but Cambodia was more difficult to take.
At dawn on January 16, 1941 the French launched a large counterattack on the Thai-held villages of Yang Dang Khum and Phum Preav, initiating the fiercest battle of the war. Because of over-complicated orders and nonexistent intelligence, the French counterattacks were stopped and fighting ended with a French withdrawal from the area. The Thais were unable to pursue the retreating French, as their forward tanks were kept in check by the gunnery of French Foreign Legion
artillerists.
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With the situation on land deteriorating for the French, Admiral Decoux ordered all available French naval forces into action in the Gulf of Thailand
. In the early morning of January 17, the superior French fleet caught a Thai naval detachment at anchor off the island of Ko Chang
. The subsequent Battle of Ko Chang
proved a victory for the French and resulted in the sinking of two Thai torpedo boats and a coastal defence ship.
On January 24, the final air battle took place when Thai bombers raided the French airfield at Angkor
near Siem Reap
. The last Thai mission commenced at 07:10 hours on January 28, when the Martins of the 50th Bomber Squadron set out on a raid on Sisophon
, escorted by thirteen Hawk 75Ns of the 60th Fighter Squadron.
's Vichy France and the Kingdom of Siam were signed aboard Natori cruiser
on January 31, 1941. and a general armistice was arranged to go into effect at 10:00 hours on January 28. On May 9 a peace treaty was signed in Tokyo
, with the French being coerced by the Japanese to relinquish their hold on the disputed border territories.
The resolution of the conflict was received with wide acclaim among the Thai people and was looked upon as a personal triumph for Phibun. For the first time, Thailand had been able to extract concessions from a European power, albeit a weakened one. For the French in Indochina, the conflict was a bitter reminder of their isolation following the Fall of France. In the French view, an ambitious neighbour had taken advantage of a distant colony cut off from her weakened parent. Without hope of reinforcements, the French had little chance of offering a sustained resistance. But in the Thai view, the French had unfairly taken those areas which used to be parts of Siam (Thailand). And then the French-Thai War was a reasonable effect.
However, the real beneficiaries of the conflict between Thailand and the Vichy French colony were the Japanese. They were able to expand their influence in both Thailand and Indochina. The Japanese won from Phibun a secret verbal promise to support them in an attack on British Malaya
and British Burma. On 8 December 1941, the Japanese invaded Thailand
at the same time they invaded Malaya
(immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor
, Hawaii, USA).
After the war, in October 1946, northwestern Cambodia and the two Lao enclaves on the Thai side of the Mekong River were returned to French sovereignty after the French provisional government
threatened to veto Thailand's membership in the United Nations
.
The Thai army suffered a total of 54 men killed in action and 307 wounded. 41 sailors and marines of the Thai navy were killed, and 67 wounded. At the Battle of Ko Chang, 36 men were killed, of whom 20 belonged to HTMS Thonburi, 14 to HTMS Songkhla, and 2 to HTMS Chonburi. The Thai air force lost 13 men. The number of Thai military personnel captured by the French amounted to just 21.
About 30% of the French aircraft were rendered unserviceable by the end of the war, some as a result of minor damage sustained in air raids that remained unrepaired. The Armée de l'Air admitted the loss of one Farman F221 and two Morane M.S.406s destroyed on the ground, but in reality its losses were greater.
In the course of its first experience of combat, the Royal Thai Air Force claimed to have shot down five French aircraft and destroyed 17 on the ground, for the loss of three of its own in the air and another five to 10 destroyed in French air raids on Thai airfields.
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Vichy France
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
over certain areas of French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
that had once belonged to Thailand.
Negotiations with France shortly before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
had shown that the French government was willing to make appropriate changes in the boundaries between Thailand and French Indochina. Following the Fall of France in 1940, Major-General Plaek Pibulsonggram
Plaek Pibulsonggram
Field Marshal Plaek Pibunsongkhram , often known as Phibun Songkhram or simply Phibun in English, was Prime Minister and virtual military dictator of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and 1948 to 1957.- Early years :...
(popularly known as "Phibun"), the prime minister of Thailand, decided that France's defeat gave the Thais an even better chance to regain the territories they had lost during King Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chulalongkorn Phra Chunla Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama V was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri. He was known to the Siamese of his time as Phra Phuttha Chao Luang . He is considered one of the greatest kings of Siam...
's reign.
The German occupation of metropolitan France made France's hold on its overseas possessions, including Indochina, tenuous. The isolated colonial administration was cut off from outside help and outside supplies. After the Japanese invasion of Indochina in September 1940, the French were forced to allow Japan to set up military bases. This seemingly subservient behavior convinced the Phibun regime that Vichy France would not seriously resist a confrontation with Thailand.
Opposing forces
French forces in Indochina consisted of an army of approximately 50,000 men, of whom 12,000 were French, organised into forty-one infantry battalions, two artillery regiments, and a battalion of engineers. The most obvious deficiency of the French army lay in its shortage of armor: it could only field 20 antiquated Renault FT-17Renault FT-17
The Renault FT, frequently referred to in post-WWI literature as the "FT-17" or "FT17" , was a French light tank; it is among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history...
s against nearly one hundred armored vehicles of the Royal Thai Army. The bulk of the French forces stationed near the frontier with Thailand consisted of Indochinese troops of the 3rd and 4th Tirailleurs Tonkinois (Tonkinese Rifles
Tonkinese Rifles
The Tonkinese Rifles were a corps of Tonkinese light infantrymen raised in 1884 to support the operations of the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps...
), together with a battalion of Montagnards, French regulars of the Colonial Infantry, and Foreign Legion units.
The Armée de l'Air had in its inventory approximately 100 aircraft, of which about 60 could be considered first line. These consisted of thirty Potez 25
Potez 25
|-See also:*Aerial operations in the Chaco War-References:Heinonen, Timo Heinonen: Thulinista Hornetiin, Keski-Suomen ilmailumuseon julkaisuja 3, 1992. ISBN 951-95688-2-4.-External links:* *...
TOEs, four Farman 221s, six Potez 542
Potez 540
-External links:*...
s, nine Morane-Saulnier M.S.406
Morane-Saulnier M.S.406
The M.S.406 was a French Armée de l'Air fighter aircraft built by Morane-Saulnier starting in 1938. Numerically it was France's most important fighter during the opening stages of World War II....
, and eight Loire 130
Loire 130
-See also:-References:*Green, William . War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Five Flying Boats. Macdonald:London. ISBN 0 356 01449 5.*Morareau, Lucien . Les aéronefs de l'aviation maritime . ARDHAN, ISBN 2-913344-04-6....
flying boats.
Krupp
The Krupp family , a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th...
and modern Bofors
Bofors
The name Bofors has been associated with the iron industry for more than 350 years.Located in Karlskoga, Sweden, the company originates from the hammer mill "Boofors" founded 1646. The modern corporate structure was created in 1873 with the foundation of Aktiebolaget Bofors-Gullspång...
howitzers and field guns, while 60 Carden Loyd tankette
Carden Loyd tankette
The Carden Loyd tankettes were a series of British pre-World War II tankettes, the most successful of which was the Mark VI, the only version built in significant numbers...
s and 30 Vickers six-ton medium tanks made up the bulk of the army's tank force.
The Royal Thai Navy
Royal Thai Navy
The Royal Thai Navy is the navy of Thailand and part of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, it was established in the late 19th century. Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse is "The Father of Royal Thai Navy". Similar to the organizational structure of the United States, the Royal Thai Navy includes the...
was made up of two coastal defence ships, 12 torpedo boats, and four submarines. It was inferior to the French naval forces, but the Royal Thai Air Force
Royal Thai Air Force
The Royal Thai Air Force or RTAF is the air force of the Kingdom of Thailand. Since its establishment in 1913, as one of the earliest air forces of Asia, the Royal Thai Air Force had engaged in many major and minor battles. During the Vietnam war era, the air force has been developed with USAF-aid...
held both a quantitative and qualitative edge over the Armée de l'Air. Among the 140 aircraft that composed the air force's first-line strength were 24 Mitsubishi Ki-30
Mitsubishi Ki-30
|-See also:-External links:* *...
light bombers, nine Mitsubishi Ki-21
Mitsubishi Ki-21
The was a Japanese bomber during World War II. It began operations during the Second Sino-Japanese War participating in the Nomonhan Incident, and in the first stages of the Pacific War, including the Malayan, Burmese, Dutch East Indies and New Guinea Campaigns...
medium bombers, 25 Hawk 75Ns
P-36 Hawk
The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, was an American-designed and built fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of both the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation of combat aircraft—a sleek monoplane design...
pursuit planes, six Martin B-10
Martin B-10
The Martin B-10 was the first all-metal monoplane bomber to go into regular use by the United States Army Air Corps, entering service in June 1934...
medium bombers, and 70 O2U Corsair
O2U Corsair
|-References:NotesBibliography* Eden, Paul and Soph Moeng. The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London: Amber Books Ltd., 2002. ISBN 0-7607-3432-1....
light bombers.
War
While nationalistic demonstrations and anti-French rallies were held in BangkokBangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, border skirmishes erupted along the Mekong
Mekong
The Mekong is a river that runs through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is the world's 10th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annually....
frontier. The superior Royal Thai Air Force
Royal Thai Air Force
The Royal Thai Air Force or RTAF is the air force of the Kingdom of Thailand. Since its establishment in 1913, as one of the earliest air forces of Asia, the Royal Thai Air Force had engaged in many major and minor battles. During the Vietnam war era, the air force has been developed with USAF-aid...
conducted daytime bombing runs over Vientiane
Vientiane
-Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...
, Sisophon
Sisophon
Sisophon is the provincial capital of Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia. The city separates Cambodia's National Highway 5 and National Highway 6. Serei Saophoan is difficult to pronounce, so often the area is written transliterated as "Sisophon", even on Cambodian signs...
, and Battambang
Battambang
Battambang is the capital city of Battambang province in northwestern Cambodia.Battambang is the second-largest city in Cambodia with a population of over 250,000. Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is well known for being the leading rice-producing province of the country...
with impunity. The French retaliated with their own planes, but the damage caused was less than equal. The activities of the Thai air force, particularly in the field of dive-bombing, was such that Admiral Jean Decoux
Jean Decoux
Jean Decoux was a French politician, who was the Governor-General of French Indochina from 1940 to 1945, representing the Vichy French government.-Biography:Decoux was born in Bordeaux...
, the governor of French Indochina, grudgingly remarked that the Thai planes seemed to have been flown by men with plenty of war experience.
Isan
Isan is the northeastern region of Thailand. It is located on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River to the north and east, by Cambodia to the southeast and the Prachinburi mountains south of Nakhon Ratchasima...
Armies launched their offensive on Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. French resistance was instantaneous, but many units were simply swept along by the well-equipped Thai forces. The Thais swiftly took Laos, but Cambodia was more difficult to take.
At dawn on January 16, 1941 the French launched a large counterattack on the Thai-held villages of Yang Dang Khum and Phum Preav, initiating the fiercest battle of the war. Because of over-complicated orders and nonexistent intelligence, the French counterattacks were stopped and fighting ended with a French withdrawal from the area. The Thais were unable to pursue the retreating French, as their forward tanks were kept in check by the gunnery of French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
artillerists.
Gulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand , also known in to Malays as Teluk Siam literally meant Gulf of Siam, is a shallow arm of the South China Sea.-Geography:...
. In the early morning of January 17, the superior French fleet caught a Thai naval detachment at anchor off the island of Ko Chang
Ko Chang
Ko Chang is the third largest island of Thailand , located on the Thai east coast 310 km away from Bangkok near the border to Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand. The name means Elephant Island. Ko Chang was named for the elephant shape of its headland, although elephants are not indigenous to...
. The subsequent Battle of Ko Chang
Battle of Koh Chang
The Battle of Koh Chang took place on 17 January 1941 during the French-Thai War and resulted in a decisive victory by the French over the Royal Thai Navy. During the battle, a flotilla of French warships attacked a smaller force of Thai vessels, including a coastal battleship.In the end, Thailand...
proved a victory for the French and resulted in the sinking of two Thai torpedo boats and a coastal defence ship.
On January 24, the final air battle took place when Thai bombers raided the French airfield at Angkor
Angkor
Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara , meaning "city"...
near Siem Reap
Siem Reap
Siem Reap is the capital city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia, and is the gateway to Angkor region.Siem Reap has colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old French Quarter, and around the Old Market...
. The last Thai mission commenced at 07:10 hours on January 28, when the Martins of the 50th Bomber Squadron set out on a raid on Sisophon
Sisophon
Sisophon is the provincial capital of Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia. The city separates Cambodia's National Highway 5 and National Highway 6. Serei Saophoan is difficult to pronounce, so often the area is written transliterated as "Sisophon", even on Cambodian signs...
, escorted by thirteen Hawk 75Ns of the 60th Fighter Squadron.
Ceasefire
Japan stepped in to mediate the conflict. In 1940, a border dispute between Siam and French Indochina erupted into armed conflict. A Japanese-sponsored "Conference for the Cessation of Hostilities" was held at Saigon and preliminary documents for a cease-fire between the governments of General Philippe PétainPhilippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
's Vichy France and the Kingdom of Siam were signed aboard Natori cruiser
Japanese cruiser Natori
was a Nagara-class light cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was named after the Natori River in Miyagi prefecture, Japan.-Background:Natori was the fourth vessel completed in the Nagara-class of light cruisers...
on January 31, 1941. and a general armistice was arranged to go into effect at 10:00 hours on January 28. On May 9 a peace treaty was signed in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, with the French being coerced by the Japanese to relinquish their hold on the disputed border territories.
Aftermath
However, the real beneficiaries of the conflict between Thailand and the Vichy French colony were the Japanese. They were able to expand their influence in both Thailand and Indochina. The Japanese won from Phibun a secret verbal promise to support them in an attack on British Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
and British Burma. On 8 December 1941, the Japanese invaded Thailand
Japanese Invasion of Thailand
The Japanese invasion of Thailand occurred on December 8, 1941. It was fought between Thailand and the Empire of Japan. Despite fierce fighting in Southern Thailand, Thai resistance lasted only a few hours before ending in a ceasefire.-Background:...
at the same time they invaded Malaya
Japanese Invasion of Malaya
The Japanese Invasion of Malaya, or Battle of Kota Bharu, began just after midnight on 8 December 1941 before the attack on Pearl Harbor...
(immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, Hawaii, USA).
After the war, in October 1946, northwestern Cambodia and the two Lao enclaves on the Thai side of the Mekong River were returned to French sovereignty after the French provisional government
Provisional Government of the French Republic
The Provisional Government of the French Republic was an interim government which governed France from 1944 to 1946, following the fall of Vichy France and prior to the Fourth French Republic....
threatened to veto Thailand's membership in the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
Casualties
The French army suffered a total of 321 casualties, of whom 15 were officers. The total number of men missing after January 28 was 178 (6 officers, 14 non-commissioned officers, and 158 enlisted men). The Thais had captured 222 men (17 North Africans, 80 Frenchmen, and 125 Indochinese).The Thai army suffered a total of 54 men killed in action and 307 wounded. 41 sailors and marines of the Thai navy were killed, and 67 wounded. At the Battle of Ko Chang, 36 men were killed, of whom 20 belonged to HTMS Thonburi, 14 to HTMS Songkhla, and 2 to HTMS Chonburi. The Thai air force lost 13 men. The number of Thai military personnel captured by the French amounted to just 21.
About 30% of the French aircraft were rendered unserviceable by the end of the war, some as a result of minor damage sustained in air raids that remained unrepaired. The Armée de l'Air admitted the loss of one Farman F221 and two Morane M.S.406s destroyed on the ground, but in reality its losses were greater.
In the course of its first experience of combat, the Royal Thai Air Force claimed to have shot down five French aircraft and destroyed 17 on the ground, for the loss of three of its own in the air and another five to 10 destroyed in French air raids on Thai airfields.