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Thailand
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Allegiance:
Role In WW II
Main article: Thailand in World War II
Thailand was nominally an ally of Japan at the beginning of the war. Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram, a military dictator with nationalist leanings, ruled under the Thai King. Thailand remained uninvolved when war broke out in Europe, but it took the opportunity of France's defeat to settle claims to parts of French Indochina, in the French–Thai War. The December 1941 Japanese invasion of Thailand brought five hours of war after which Phibun surrendered and acquiesced, making the country a stepping-stone to open the Burma Campaign.
Japanese victory in the Malayan Campaign made the Premier more enthusiastic about co-operation, and on 21 December, a formal "alliance" was concluded. On 25 January 1942, Thailand declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom. Some Thais disapproved, and formed the Free Thai Movement to resist. Eventually, when the war turned against the Japanese, Phibun was forced to resign, and Thailand renounced its alliance with Japan.
Thailand was nominally an ally of Japan at the beginning of the war. Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram, a military dictator with nationalist leanings, ruled under the Thai King. Thailand remained uninvolved when war broke out in Europe, but it took the opportunity of France's defeat to settle claims to parts of French Indochina, in the French–Thai War. The December 1941 Japanese invasion of Thailand brought five hours of war after which Phibun surrendered and acquiesced, making the country a stepping-stone to open the Burma Campaign.
Japanese victory in the Malayan Campaign made the Premier more enthusiastic about co-operation, and on 21 December, a formal "alliance" was concluded. On 25 January 1942, Thailand declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom. Some Thais disapproved, and formed the Free Thai Movement to resist. Eventually, when the war turned against the Japanese, Phibun was forced to resign, and Thailand renounced its alliance with Japan.