Franco-Thai War
The Franco-Thai War (October 1940 – January 28, 1941, Thai: กรณีพิพาทอินโดจีน, romanized: Krṇī phiphāth xindocīn; French: Guerre franco-thaïlandaise) was fought between Thailand and Vichy France over certain areas of French Indochina.
| Franco-Thai War | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the aftermath of the Japanese invasion of French Indochina and World War II | |||||||||
Map of the French Indochina prior to World War I | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Vichy France | Thailand | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Jean Decoux | Plaek Phibunsongkhram | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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50,000 men (38,000 colonials) 20 light tanks 100 aircraft 1 light cruiser 4 avisos |
60,000 men 134 tanks 140 aircraft 3 coastal defense ships 12 torpedo boats 4 submarines | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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Land: 321 killed or wounded 178 missing 222 captured 22 aircraft destroyed Sea: None Total: 721+ casualties |
Land: 54 killed 307 wounded 21 captured 8–13 aircraft destroyed Sea: 36–300+ killed 3 torpedo boats sunk 1 coastal defense ship grounded Total: 418–700+ casualties | ||||||||
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Negotiations shortly before World War II had shown that the French government was willing to alter the boundaries between Thailand and French Indochina, but only slightly. Following the Fall of France in 1940, Major-General Plaek Pibulsonggram (popularly known as "Phibun"), the prime minister of Thailand, decided that France's defeat strengthened the Thais' negotiating position to regain the vassal state territories that were ceded to France during King Chulalongkorn's reign.
The German and Italian military occupation of Metropolitan France rendered France's hold on French Indochina and its other overseas territories tenuous. The colonial administration was cut off from outside help and supplies. After the invasion of French Indochina in September 1940, Japan forced the French to allow them to set up military bases. The French's seemingly subservient behavior lulled the Phibun regime into believing that France would not seriously resist a military confrontation by Thailand.