"The Franco-Thai War of 1940-1941" Topic
9 Posts
All members in good standing are free to post here. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters, and have not been cleared with nor are they endorsed by The Miniatures Page.
Please do not use bad language on the forums.
For more information, see the TMP FAQ.
Back to the WWII Media Message Board
Areas of InterestWorld War Two on the Land World War Two at Sea World War Two in the Air
Featured Hobby News Article
Featured Link
Top-Rated Ruleset
Featured Showcase ArticleCan a WWII blockgame find happiness as a miniatures campaign system?
Featured Workbench Article
Featured Profile ArticlePaul Glasser reports on the debut of Axis and Allies: Guadalcanal and the North African expansion.
|
Please sign in to your membership account, or, if you are not yet a member, please sign up for your free membership account.
Tango01 | 06 Feb 2014 9:17 p.m. PST |
Vichy France's Proxy War in Southeastern Asia. "The Vichy collaborators in France and abroad formed a coalition/puppet government with their conquerors in the North of France while a 'free' southern zone was established rule by Vichy following the defeat of the French Army and the capture of Paris. The Vichy army fought rather poorly against their former Allies in North Africa while helping to cement fascist rule throughout occupied metropolitan France and Algeria. Thousands of miles away in French Indochina where rule had been established by imperial conquest beginning in 1862 as French Cochinchina (Vietnam), the Vichy government collaborated nominally with the Japanese in fear of being ousted by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) forces who were already poised to invade the region in 1941-1942. The Vichy had around 35-40,000 soldiers in Southeastern Asia, of which less than 12,000 were Frenchmen or Europeans for that matter. Thailand had become sort of regional power in this period and its alliance with Japan was cemented through recognition of the puppet state of Manchukuo in China and their role as an official Axis power began with them allowing the Japanese through Thailand, and later into Malaya and Singapore in a rout of the British and Commonwealth forces during the opening of the Pacific War. Plaek Phibunsongkhram or simply, Phibun (b.1897-1964), Field Marshall of the Royal Thai military and Prime minister. A long reigning autocrat and dictator, he emerged from the 1930's as a ruthless military leader of a modernizing Thailand-slowly moving away from the total rule of the old monarchy
"
Full article here. link Hope you enjoy!. Amicalement Armand |
Legion 4 | 07 Feb 2014 7:56 a.m. PST |
Again, a very interesting conflict but gets little note
Some one here posted pics of a 25mm game of some of '40-'41 battles there
very nice. |
Tango01 | 07 Feb 2014 10:54 a.m. PST |
Glad you enjoyed the article my friend!. (smile). Amicalement Armand
|
brass1 | 07 Feb 2014 11:08 a.m. PST |
Actually, the naval battle of Koh Chang was a turkey shoot; the Thai force was destroyed with minimal damage to the French. Also, Thailand was never a member of the Axis. They were co-belligerents with the Japanese against the British in the same way that the Finns were co-belligerents with the Germans against the Russians. LT |
Charlie 12 | 07 Feb 2014 10:13 p.m. PST |
The tone of the article is more than a bit purple. And a few factual gaffes, to boot. The Battle of Koh Chang was a Thai disaster. Just about every thing in their navy went down. And the Japanese 'mediated' ceasefire was jammed down the throat of the French (can't have our chosen ally lose, now, can we?). As for the lead paragraphs: The Vichy forces sat in defense of what was left of the French possessions; they did not initiate the action in Syria, Madagascar or North Africa. And considering they had zip in the way of logistical back-up, they did as well as to be expected. And for those who say they were fighting for the Axis; sorry, wrong again. Check your history
. |
Narratio | 07 Feb 2014 11:54 p.m. PST |
Sitting at home in Minburi, Thailand. I read the article, then passed it over to my neighbor, an ex-Col in the Thai army who did a straight transfer over to the Thai police. (Don't ask, it's just one of those things that happen here
) I've now sat through 3 hours of ranting. To summarise: Yes, Koh Chang was a disaster, (drinks scotch) but they were Navy peasants with no really respectable families represented AND working off Japanese info so it wasn't their fault! (Call for more scotch) No, we never really allied with Japan, we were just lulling them into a false sense of security awaiting the return of our great British friends. (More scotch) That River Kwai bridge and the railroad? No Thais involved anywhere! Not at all! Oh, some peasants may have sold some rice, but the respectable families had nothing to do the Japanese or their prisoners. (more scotch) Not all! Thailand's never been occupied by anybody you know (refill the glass), always independent! Very proud of it! (finishes scotch and staggers back to his place with an aide supporting him). Important safety tip. Never discuss WW2 and Thai participation with Thai military, ex or otherwise. |
Marc33594 | 08 Feb 2014 7:47 a.m. PST |
Still chuckling. Great post Narratio! |
Legion 4 | 08 Feb 2014 8:13 a.m. PST |
Ah
now that's the rest of the story
|
Tango01 | 08 Feb 2014 12:01 p.m. PST |
Agree, great post Narratio! (smile). Amicalement Armand |
|