The Franco-Thai War in 1941

What is less known about the Second World War is the mini-war between France and Thailand. Canadian Dr. Andrew McGregor researched and wrote a report, which I found on the Military History Online website. Below is the (partially abridged) translation.

What preceded

The French collapse in the spring of 1940 resulted in the German occupation of 60% of France. The rest of the country and the colonial French Empire were still controlled by the Vichy government. However, French Indochina was isolated and threatened by imperialist Japan, neighboring Thais and indigenous rebel movements. The French had a force of about 50.000 men, consisting of colonial and local soldiers, who had to protect the French civilian population of about 40.000 settlers in an area of ​​25 million Indo-Chinese.

However, Indo-China was cut off from supplies by Vichy France. A British blockade proved effective, which meant that French troops could not be rotated before the time of the war and parts for armaments, among other things, could not be supplied. The stocks of fuel for the means of transport could also not be replenished.

Germany

Vichy government diplomats appealed to Germany to allow France to ship arms and equipment to Indochina. The argument used had to appeal to Germany on racial grounds, for it pointed to the possibility that the "white race" would lose ground in Asia. All the Germans had to do was promise to put in a good word for the French with the Japanese, who now had the region under control.

At the same time, Vichy rejected offers from China to occupy Indochina in order to "protect" French interests against the Japanese. Aware of China's own irredentist claims in the area, the French doubted that if China got involved, France would ever regain the colony.

War with Thailand

France experienced a growth in militarism and Thai nationalism in neighboring Thailand. Thailand was eager to retake ethnic Thai land along the Mekong River, which had been ceded to the French colony of Laos in 1904. In 1907, the French had also forced Thailand (then called Siam) to cede the largely Khmer provinces of Siemreap, Sisophon and Battambang to French Cambodia.

Sensing the weakness in the now-isolated French colony, Marshal Pibul Songgram's pro-Japanese government launched a military campaign to retake said areas after the French rejected Thai demands for restitution in October 1940.

Although the Thais had signed a non-aggression pact with France in June 1940, after France fell, the treaty was not ratified in Thailand. By October 1940 Marshal Songgram had mobilized 50.000 troops (in five divisions) and obtained 100 modern fighters, bombers and seaplanes from Japan. With the existing 100 American aircraft (mostly Vough Corsairs and Curtiss Hawks), acquired between 1936 and 1938, the Thai air force was now three times the size of the French air force.

The Thai navy was also equipped with modern ships and outclassed the French colonial fleet, at least on paper. Border skirmishes began in November and the Thais crossed the Mekong River in December.

Thai attack

On January 5, 1941, Thailand launched a massive artillery and aerial bombardment attack on the French positions.

This Thai offensive took place on four fronts:

1) Northern Laos, where the Thais took the disputed areas with little opposition

2) Southern Laos, where the Thais crossed the Mekong River on January 19

3) The Dangreks sector, where there was a confused battle with mutual firing

4) Colonial Route 1 (RC 1) in Battambang province, where the heaviest fighting occurred.

The initial success on the RC 1 was rebuffed by the Cambodian "Tirailleurs" (rifle shooters). The main Thai force encountered a French counter-attack at Yang Dam Koum in Battambang on 16 January. The Thai army was equipped with Vickers 6-ton tanks, while the French had no tanks.

The French counter-offensive

The French counter-offensive had three parts:

1) A counter-attack against the RC-1 in the Yang Dam Koum region

2) An attack by the Brigade d'Annam-Laos on the islands of the Mekong River

3) An attack by the French Navy's 'Groupement Occasional' against the Thai fleet in the Gulf of Siam

Route Colonial RC 1

French Colonel Jacomy led the main offensive on Route Colonial RC 1, but the Yang Dam Koum attack was a debacle for the French from the start. His troops consisted of a battalion of Colonial Infantry (European) and two battalions of 'Mixed Infantry' (European and Indo-Chinese). The wooded area made it difficult to use artillery and French aircraft, which were supposed to provide support, did not show up. The air was controlled by the Thais. Radio communications were poor and orders, sent in Morse by the French, were intercepted, allowing the Thai air force to anticipate the expected movements.

Complete defeat was averted when the Thais were attacked by a battalion of the Fifth Regiment of Infantry Legionnaires at Phum Préau. The legionnaires were hit hard by a Thai armored attack, but had access to two 25mm and a 75mm gun for use against the Thai tanks. A motorized detachment from the 11th Colonial Infantry Regiment reinforced the French line. Line. After three Thai tanks were destroyed, the Thais retreated.

Naval War in the Gulf of Siam

The French Navy was important in Indo-China, as with any overseas colony. The modest strength of the French Navy played a virtually non-existent role in the Great Asian War of 1941-1945, unable to withstand either Japanese attacks or Allied blockades. The French navy did have to deal with a major, unexpected naval battle with the Thai navy.

The French decided to send the already small French fleet to the Gulf of Siam to attack the Thai naval force. The Thai ships, anchored off Koh Chang, were spotted by a French flying boat. The French task force (or Groupement occasional) consisted of the light cruiser Lamotte-Piquet, the small ships, Dumont d'Urville and Amiral Charner, and the World War I gunboats Tahure and Marne.

On the night of January 16, the French ships steamed up to the archipelago around Koh Chang and divided themselves in such a way that the escape routes for the Thai ships were blocked. The attack began on the morning of the 17^e, with the French aided by heavy fog.

The Thai fleet there consisted of three Italian-built torpedo boats and, the pride of the Thai Navy, two brand new Japanese-made 6″-gun armored coastal defense ships, the Donburi and Ahidéa. The French were surprised to find so many ships, expecting only the Ahidéa, but the Donburi had arrived the day before to relieve the Ahidéa in a standard rotation.

The French lost the advantage of surprise when an overzealous Loire 130 seaplane attempted to bombard the Thai ships. The Thais did open fire, but the Lamotte-Piquet soon inflicted fatal damage on the Ahidéa with gunfire and torpedoes, which drove the ship aground. The three Thai torpedo boats were sunk by French guns. .

The Donburi tried to escape between the 200m high islands, but the French cruiser gave chase. The Donburi was set on fire, but it continued to fire on the cruiser and sloops. Heavily damaged and heeling to starboard, the Donburi eventually disappeared behind an island and the French broke off the attack. Later in the day, the Donburi was towed by a Thai vessel, but soon capsized and sank. The naval battle had lasted no more than three quarters of an hour.

The French ships were not yet able to celebrate their victory, as the Lamotte-Piquet was attacked by Thai Corsair aircraft. The attack was repelled by anti-aircraft fire. The French navy had destroyed the entire Thai fleet at negligible losses to the French. It seemed to be a sudden and dramatic turn of French fortune at the time.

Aftermath

The Japanese had been watching the conflict from the sidelines and sent a powerful naval force to the mouth of the Mekong River to support (enforce) negotiations to end the conflict.

A tentative ceasefire was imposed on January 28, but Thai provocations at the border continued until a formal ceasefire was signed aboard the Japanese battleship Natori off Saigon. The extent of Thai-Japanese cooperation became apparent when a Japanese-imposed treaty between Vichy and Thailand was signed on May 9, 1941 over the disputed territories of Laos, granting part of the Cambodian province of Siem Reap and all of Battambang to Thailand,

The conflict had cost the French more than 300 dead soldiers and also a loss of prestige among the colonial subjects. European troops and the material damage could not be replaced due to the blockade. The French garrison remained greatly demoralized until the Japanese coup in 1945 when the Vichy colonial army in Indo-China was finally defeated.

In the end, the Thais fared only slightly better. The Khmers were largely evacuated from lost Cambodian territory, preferring French rule, but Thailand itself was soon occupied by their powerful “ally” Japan.

American "Flying Fortresses" bombed Bangkok in 1942. Thailand declared war on the Allies in 1944, but it later transpired that the Thai ambassador to the United States never handed over the declaration of war to the American government.

The disputed areas in Laos and Cambodia were returned to the new Gaullist government in France at the end of the war.

NB: more detailed information about the composition of the French and Thai forces, the available armaments and the number of casualties can be found on the English Wikipedia page.

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