Ok, so I know that officially Thailand was part of the Axis during WW2, but did they really have any involvement?...from what I know, it was simply a way to satisfy their Japanese occupiers and sort of a "we don't want any trouble, so we will be on your "side." I know Kanchaburi and Ao Manao had some historic significance but can any history buffs explain to me what sort of role Thailand had during the conflict??

They helped in the invasion of Burma. They claimed northeastern Burma (Shan States) for themselves (with Japanese permission) and invaded it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phayap_Army

There wasn't much fighting and most soldiers that died, died of disease.

Bangkok was also bombed and the Thai airforce was involved in a bit of combat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Bangkok_in_World_War_II

But no, they were not heavily involved. That's why WWII is barely remembered here, while it is still a big deal in the rest of Asia.

Also worth a look is this man. He was a hero and indeed his efforts saved Thailand a lot of penalties after the cessation of hostilities, indeed a hero.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pridi_Banomyong

Think they said to the Japanese. Up to You

Franco Thai war 1940. See Victory monument for details. WWII 1939 to 1945.

WW2 Hero Thailand ....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boonpong_Sirivejjabhandu

My great uncle fought in Burma during WW II. He remembered the Thai soldiers. He said you had to be careful with them and that they would kill you if they could.

My great uncle fought in Burma during WW II. He remembered the Thai soldiers. He said you had to be careful with them and that they would kill you if they could.

the thai soldiers were on the other side. why wouldn't they try and kill him?

My great uncle fought in Burma during WW II. He remembered the Thai soldiers. He said you had to be careful with them and that they would kill you if they could.

the thai soldiers were on the other side. why wouldn't they try and kill him?

Compassion ?

My great uncle fought in Burma during WW II. He remembered the Thai soldiers. He said you had to be careful with them and that they would kill you if they could.

the thai soldiers were on the other side. why wouldn't they try and kill him?

For the people that are a little slow...They were good soldiers.

My great uncle fought in Burma during WW II. He remembered the Thai soldiers. He said you had to be careful with them and that they would kill you if they could.

the thai soldiers were on the other side. why wouldn't they try and kill him?

For the people that are a little slow...They were good soldiers.

Theyre on home soil they know what to eat and wont feel hot sweaty etc imagine being in the jungle as an Englishman...............it must have been a nightmare.

Can you imagine the Thais fighting in Alaska?

I always thought about the Brits that were in Singapore at the start of the war. They where in camps for the entire war. It had to be unimaginable horror.

My great uncle fought in Burma during WW II. He remembered the Thai soldiers. He said you had to be careful with them and that they would kill you if they could.

the thai soldiers were on the other side. why wouldn't they try and kill him?

Compassion ?

and risk being shot as a traitor? lol

My great uncle fought in Burma during WW II. He remembered the Thai soldiers. He said you had to be careful with them and that they would kill you if they could.

the thai soldiers were on the other side. why wouldn't they try and kill him?

For the people that are a little slow...They were good soldiers.

funny way of putting it

Smurskter wrote as the OP: Ok, so I know that officially Thailand was part of the Axis during WW2, but did they really have any involvement?...from what I know, it was simply a way to satisfy their Japanese occupiers and sort of a "we don't want any trouble, so we will be on your "side." I know Kanchaburi and Ao Manao had some historic significance but can any history buffs explain to me what sort of role Thailand had during the conflict??

First, the Japanese were not occupiers. They transited the country and were supplied here, as well as running their own prisoner camps, but did not occupy Thailand, which maintained its fully functional and independent government, military and police.

They did it all to simply satisfy the Japanese as they didn't want any trouble? Sure, just like the Belgians and Dutch and Luxemburgers (and others) did when the Germans came knocking? Sorry, we know we can't actually defeat you so we'll join you, participate in the fight against the Allies, declare war against them, and be your fully agreed and participating ally.

Thailand thought it had an opportunity to join the winners and gain from it. Turned out wasn't quite true. And Pridi managed to operate between both sides to come out ahead at the end. While a member of the elite and enjoying the Japanese presence, he also headed the Seri Thai, ostensibly a resistance force but actually his private army for use after the war ended. Happened so fast he wasn't able to manage that, and ended up being exiled from Thailand.

...

First, the Japanese were not occupiers.

...

Are you sure about that?

At the time of the ceasefire, Britain and the United States regarded Thailand as Japanese-occupied territory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasion_of_Thailand

...

First, the Japanese were not occupiers.

...

Are you sure about that?

At the time of the ceasefire, Britain and the United States regarded Thailand as Japanese-occupied territory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasion_of_Thailand

Wiki man speak with many voices.

On December 21, 1941, a mutual offensive-defensive alliance pact between the two countries was signed The agreement, revised on 30 December gave the Japanese full access to Thai weapon equipment and to Thai railways, roads, airfields, naval bases, warehouses, communications systems and barracks'

Thailand was rewarded for Phibun's close cooperation with Japan during the early years of war with the return of further territory that had once been under Bangkok's control, namely the four northernmost Malay states after the Malayan Campaign. In addition, the Thai Phayap Army was permitted to invade the eastern part of the Shan States and the Karenni States of Burma that was annexed as Saharat Thai Doem.^[2][8][10] Japan meanwhile had stationed 150,000 troops on Thai soil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand_in_World_War_II

Was Japan occupier or an ally? Follow the money. Did the USA freeze Thai assets? Who could draw on those frozen assets and why?

The Japanese invasion of Thailand started at the same time as Pearl harbour. Due to the dateline it was 8 Dec in Thailand and 7 Dec in Hawaii.

To be precise the start was at an RAF airfield in Northern Malaya where bombs were dropped about 20 mins before the bombing of Pearl.

My great uncle fought in Burma during WW II. He remembered the Thai soldiers. He said you had to be careful with them and that they would kill you if they could.

the thai soldiers were on the other side. why wouldn't they try and kill him?

For the people that are a little slow...They were good soldiers.

Theyre on home soil they know what to eat and wont feel hot sweaty etc imagine being in the jungle as an Englishman...............it must have been a nightmare.

Can you imagine the Thais fighting in Alaska?

I can't imagine the Britts fighting in ALASKA either LOL

Let's not forget that tens of thousands of Thais died as forced labour during the Japanese occupation. In far greater numbers than the Europeans.

Let's not forget that tens of thousands of Thais died as forced labour during the Japanese occupation. In far greater numbers than the Europeans.

I believe that you mean Asian laborers and they were from Indonesia and other places as opposed to Thailand. Thai laborers were paid laborers. You might want to check your quote. Thailand had about 2000 total causalities due to WWII.

Suggest you read the book - The Railway Man by Eric Lomax now a powerful movie with Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman and Jeremy Irvine (as the young P.O.W. - a startlingly good performance). The book is about the Japanese and the almost unbelievable brutality of what was one of the biggest travesties of human rights in SE Asia - the Death Railway. The Thais fully co-operated both the Government of the day and the general populace - they allowed prisoners of war from Singapore, Malaysia, Burma and the Dutch territories to be marched through their country - herded onto their trains, and disembarked from ships in their harbours. They must have know what was going on - they collectively turned a blind eye. They allocated several facilities even some in Bangkok to the Imperial Japanese Army as prisons and detention centres - they returned escaped prisoners to their camps to be punished for escaping - laughed and jeered at pathetic skeletons of men basically starved and worked to death as they were forced to march through their towns and villages - they supplied the Japanese with all their food and supplies and yes even fought alongside them in Burma. The fact that most the prisoners were just farangs may have made it easier for them (just like it was OK for French, Belgium, Polish people to point out the Jews in their communities to the Nazi) but it truly is a period of national shame - despite attempts to re-write it in the years after when by cleverly changing sides at the very last moment and were being seen as a stabilising influence in post colonial French Indo-China and a bulwark against the new enemy - the communists. The book and the movie end with Eric Lomax returning to Thailand in the 1950's to confront one of his torturers then operating in Thailand as a tour guide of the war graves and Death Railway - again in plain site with the support of the Thai Government (actually a wanted war crimes suspect). Anyone living in Thailand and enjoying the love and hospitality of this Kingdom - should visit the very same area and museum (actually used in the movie) and ask themselves how did this cruelty happen in their midst without them being part of it. A sobering thought because it is something that this people have collectively chosen to completely forget and deny.

To support another OP - when I say prisoners of war I'm not being Eurocentric - most of them were not whites- the word farang means foreigner. Thousands of Indonesians where shipped here - the Dutch had a propensity to recruit Mollucans (an old colonial trick use one tribe or group of islanders to persecute the rest) - a large number of the troops captured in Singapore, Malaysia and Burma were Indian - also all their Non-Commissioned Officers were Punjabi (another colonial trick - getting another religion to manage simple Hindis who joined the British army to avoid the grinding poverty). By the way the Japanese also used the same technique some of the nastiest camp guards were Korean.

It was pretty much the same as it is today...they provided rice and puzzy to the Japanese...

To support another OP - when I say prisoners of war I'm not being Eurocentric - most of them were not whites- the word farang means foreigner. Thousands of Indonesians where shipped here - the Dutch had a propensity to recruit Mollucans (an old colonial trick use one tribe or group of islanders to persecute the rest) - a large number of the troops captured in Singapore, Malaysia and Burma were Indian - also all their Non-Commissioned Officers were Punjabi (another colonial trick - getting another religion to manage simple Hindis who joined the British army to avoid the grinding poverty). By the way the Japanese also used the same technique some of the nastiest camp guards were Korean.

The word 'falang' means caucasian. It is a racial term.

Indonesians are not falang.

Indians are 'khek' not falang.

Thanks for posting and interesting historical piece on Thailnd.

This might be an interesting link....http://countrystudies.us/thailand/21.htm

seems like they complied with the Japanese because the Japanese used the defeat of France by Germany to "gain concessions for Thailand from French indochinese territory"

If this is factually correct, some of this is a pretty bleeding black eye on Thailand's record in that sense

sure we'll let you pass through our country to invade these two other ones, give us amnesty and never mind you have reeked havoc , killed thousands already, and after that give some of the land are occupying to us because it used to be ours and we'll be good

looks like they were interested in an even bigger Siamese state, one that would have included all of Lao, Cambodia Burma and Malaysia, that why was the made these deals with the Japanese.

They also declared War on Britain and USA. They gave the Japs permission to land in far south of Thailand to invade Burma.

They should have paid the price after the war.

Thailand then, and I believe now, were " Fence Riders" switching sides at any point

that indicated their original favorites might lose.

Theyre on home soil they know what to eat and wont feel hot sweaty etc imagine being in the jungle as an Englishman...............it must have been a nightmare.

Can you imagine the Thais fighting in Alaska?

I can't imagine the Britts fighting in ALASKA either LOL

The Russians could, that's why they sold Alaska to the USA rather than possibly lose it for no gain if they lost another war with Great Britain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Purchase