Episode 42: Seri Thai Movement, Covert Operations in Southeast Asia

In contingent with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in the last month of 1941, the Japanese Imperial Army marched into Southern Thailand from Malaysia, calling for free passage into the country. ​Phibun Songkhram, both Commander and Chief of the Royal Thai Army and the Prime Minister at the time, allowed Japanese entry, vowing to maintain Thai independence in lieu of Japan's colonial activities enacted against neighboring Southeast Asian countries. As Japanese troops within the country and demands to utilize Thai facilities and resources increased, Thailand was now fully engulfed by the war. By January 1942, Bangkok declared war on Great Britain and the United States. Book Siamese Sovereignty: Thailand's Strategy of Political Duality During World War II References ​1. https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2008-featured-story-archive/free-thai-movement.html 2. The Thai Resistance Movement During The Second World War, John B. Haseman, Chalermnit Press, Bangkok. 3. http://www.insigne.org/OSS-Thai.htm 4. https://th.usembassy.gov/ambassador-davies-visits-phrae/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pacific-atrocities-education/support