Military history of Thailand
The military history of Thailand covers a period of about a thousand years, ranging from the struggles for independence from the Khmer Empire to the armed conflicts with regional powers such as Burma and Vietnam , to tensions with the colonial powers in Southeast Asia, Great Britain and France also includes the Vietnam War . Due to its central location in Southeast Asia and its size, Thailand, ancient Siam , was a major regional power for most of the time. Thailand was involved in both world wars, but on different sides: in World War I on the side of the Allies, in World War II due to pressure from Japan on the side of the Axis powers. In the post-war period, the close ties to the USA dominated, with their peak during the Vietnam War. The military has been an important political factor since the abolition of absolute monarchy in Thailand in 1932.
State formation and regional conflicts (1300–1826)
The Siamese state came into being after the dissolution of the once powerful Khmer empire in the 14th century, who had to withdraw to their heartland in what is now Cambodia . They had ruled large parts of Southeast Asia with the help of military leaders, building personal dependencies and relationships with the Khmer kings. Their military structure was based on infantry, reinforced by war elephants and later artillery from China.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, regional revolts broke out against the Khmer in the area of the Tai peoples in what is now Thailand and Vietnam, which brought the Khmer into distress through attacks from the independent Champa . After the capture of Angkor Wat by troops from Champa in 1178/1179, the Khmer's ability to control the more distant areas of their empire waned. The first independent Tai kingdom, Sukhothai , was soon conquered by another Tai kingdom, the Ayutthaya Empire , which had not been established until 1350. After 1352 Ayutthaya became the main rival of the Khmer and was finally able to conquer the state in 1431.
The collapse of the Khmer empire was followed by countless local disputes between the various ruled areas. Since all had the same military technology, it was important during the conflicts to provide armies as large as possible. For this purpose, residents of the respective opposing states were regularly deported to their own territory in order to increase the population there and to have more workers and troops available.
Ayutthaya was able to secure relatively easy access to Malay states in the south , while in the west and north it faced a more powerful enemy: Burma . Although Burma was often divided and divided, it was able to defeat the Ayutthaya Empire in phases of unification. This is what happened in the Siamese-Burmese War (1563–1569) when the king's family was captured in Ayutthaya and deported to Burma. Among the hostages was Prince Naresuan , who received military training to field for the Burmese. He did this for many years, but when the Burmese Crown Prince tried to murder him out of jealousy about his successes, he renounced himself and the Ayutthaya Empire from the Burmese, knowing that they would not simply come to terms with it. He improved the defenses of the capital and introduced a new combat tactic based on raid-like attacks, a guerrilla tactic. In 1593 there was a fight between Naresuan and the Burmese Crown Prince on war elephants during the Siamese-Burmese War (1593-1600), in which Naresuan killed the Burmese.
During this time there were many mercenaries in the ranks of the Siamese, mainly from Portugal but also from Japan , Samurai , the front of the Tokugawa - shogunate had fled and were seeking in Southeast Asia their luck. The Japanese were highly respected for their art of war and were employed as palace guards. During the succession disputes after the death of Naresuan's brother, Ekathotsarot (r. 1605 to 1610), clashes broke out between King Songtham (r. 1610 to 1628) and the Japanese guards who support another heir to the throne. Songtham resolved the matter diplomatically, even when Laotian forces rushed to "peacemaker" and captured Lop Buri . They were driven out and the Japanese installed in their previous positions, handing over their fortress in Phetchabun to the Siamese.
Under King Narai , conflicts arose with the British East India Company , which in 1687 led to war between England and Siam. The English were subsequently excluded from trading with Siam until they were able to partially conquer Burma in 1826.
A reunified Burma defeated Ayutthaya in 1767 when it marched into Siam in three huge armies and organized aid peoples from the north. The capital Ayutthaya was completely razed to the ground, all gold was melted down and brought to Burma, the other valuable objects were destroyed, such as the state archive and the library of Siam. Surprisingly quickly, the Siamese succeeded in driving out the Burmese under General Taksin , the later king. In addition, Taksin was also able to keep Vietnam and Cambodia in check and even defeat them. In the north, his troops drove out the Burmese and freed Lan Na , creating a buffer zone. The nerve-wracking work in warfare and in rebuilding the country had Taksin into a megalomania lapse of eventually replaced as king in favor of Rama I led. He was himself a successful military leader and was only ordered back from Cambodia to Siam in order to be able to ascend the throne. He is the progenitor of the Chakri dynasty, which is still ruling today in Thailand.
Military conflicts for supremacy over Southeast Asia continued, with Siam retaining control of Cambodia and helping to replace the unpopular Tây Syn dynasty in 1802 with the initially Siamese inclined Nguyễn Anh . Later, the Vietnamese ruler was less concerned about friendly relations with Siam and supported an uprising against the Siamese in Cambodia and installed a Vietnamese garrison in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh for a period of time . Conflicts with Burma also broke out again, for example in the Siamese-Burmese War 1775–1776 and 1785–1792 . In both wars, the Siamese were able to turn initial Burmese successes into decisive victories of their own. In 1809, when King Rama II took over the throne , Burmese forces invaded Siam for the last time, making the Siamese the relatively strongest military power in Southeast Asia. This is also because Burma was defeated by the British in 1826 and gradually incorporated into their Indian colonial empire.
See also : Siamese-Burmese War , Siamese-Cambodian War , Siamese-Vietnamese War
Siam, the Colonial Powers, and the First World War (1826–1932)
The capture of Burma by the British ushered in a new phase in Siamese military history. If wars had been waged against the neighbors in the past, European powers now emerged with interests in Southeast Asia, especially England and France. Siam soon found itself between two colonial empires and formed a - not unwelcome - buffer between Anglo-Burma and French Indochina . But Siam also had to assert its interests in Laos, whose vassal king Anuvong rebelled in 1827 and tried in vain to conquer territory in northeast Siam, the Isan . In 1829 he was executed with his family in Bangkok after imprisonment, public exhibition and torture.
In 1839 riots broke out in the south, as a result of which Malays from the English colonies of Malacca invaded Siam and tried to split off Kedah and other provinces from Siam. The local rulers of Pattani and Nakhon Si Thammarat , who should actually have worked together to ensure order, were hostile to each other, so that the militarily inferior Malays initially managed to exert a certain pressure. The intervention of King Rama III. it was ultimately thanks to the fact that the situation calmed down and the Malay Peninsula remained calm for several decades.
In the Siamese-Vietnamese War of 1841–1845 , the Siamese were again able to assert sovereignty over Cambodia. Other ventures, such as the fights for Kengtung and Chiang Hung (1852 to 1855), however, ended unsuccessfully, in particular because of the remote location of the combat zones and the means used, which traditionally consisted of war elephants and light artillery.
After China was defeated by Great Britain in the Opium Wars and its military weakness became apparent to its vassals, the Siamese also refused to recognize China as sovereign for any longer. One felt more the power of the West, like King Rama III. on his deathbed is said to have said: “We will have no more wars with Burma and Vietnam. We will only have to do with the West. "
This should prove to be true in the coming decades. France exerted increased pressure on Siam by encircling Vietnam in concerted action in the 1840s ; Saigon fell in 1859. In 1863 France took Cambodia as a colony and in 1887 united it with Vietnam to form French Indochina . England expanded its influence in the Malay states in the south of Siam and was also active in the north when it completely subjugated Burma (1886). The European powers could fall back on a superior technology such as B. steamboats , but their activities were limited due to the costs and difficulties of the long distances and the unhealthy climate ( malaria ).
In 1852 King Mongkut (Rama IV.) Introduced a standing army , before that, depending on the situation, the troops were summoned and briefly trained. The Royal Thai Army traces its origin to this date. After minor skirmishes on the country's borders, the army first became involved in major fighting in the 1880s when the Ho gangs invaded Laos and Vietnam from southern China. Siam tried to protect its vassal as much as possible, but the gangs broke through in many places, withdrew at will, and recruited more people.
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Under the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), Siam achieved a military structure based on the European model by 1887. The standing army, like the administration of the country, was placed under the central control of the palace and the formerly important regional petty rulers were gradually disempowered and replaced by representatives from Bangkok. A little later, the Royal Navy was established according to reform plans by Prince Chumphon , who is still revered as "Doctor Phon" today. The centralization of the military and its leadership continued at the beginning of the 20th century, with the help of foreign advisors. Despite the relative military strength, Siam was in a "semi-colonial" position, so it was not completely free in its decisions and measures, especially in foreign policy. The Siamese took advantage of the rivalry between England and France in the region until the Entente Cordiale was established . In the Franco-Siamese War in 1893, the French occupied parts of East Siam and forced the country to accept an unequal peace treaty that strained relations between the two countries until the post-colonial phase in Southeast Asia. Previously, Siam assumed England would lend its support, but it didn't. Siam had to give up Laos, which led to a substantial expansion of the French colonial empire in Indochina.
In 1912 a plot of officers led by Captain Leng Srichandh , a military doctor, against King Rama VI, who had ruled since 1910 . (Vajiravudh) that failed as a result of the betrayal of one of the members. The plan was to encircle the temple during the annual ceremony for the acceptance of the oath of allegiance by the king at Wat Phra Kaeo , to arrest all important members of the government and to force the king to adopt a constitution .
In foreign policy, Siam came closer to Europe. During the First World War , Vajiravudh supported the Entente with 2,000 elite soldiers. In return, the country received a seat in the League of Nations . A memorial called the "Expeditionary Force Monument" was erected in Bangkok north of the Sanam Luang (east of the National Museum ) to the 19 soldiers who fell in this campaign . As a result, after the end of the war, the unequal treaties between Siam and the USA, England and France were canceled. The territories lost to France and England, however, remained with the colonial powers. Towards the end of his tenure, on November 11, 1924, Rama VI. once again faced with a coup d'état , which, however, had no consequences. The putschists were all pardoned by the king.
The 1932 military coup and Japanese occupation during World War II
King Rama VII (ruled 1925 to 1935) took on a difficult legacy when, during the massive global economic crisis, he found an ailing household which he was forced to renovate. This led to severe cuts in the amount of money to be distributed and to difficult living conditions for the people. The military also had to get by with less money and grumbled. As early as 1927, several Siamese studying in Europe had been working under the leadership of Pridi Phanomyong (1900–1983) on a plan for a coup and for the introduction of a constitutional monarchy . In addition to intellectuals such as Pridi, the group also included young officers such as Lieutenant Phibunsongkhram (Phibun), who later served as Prime Minister several times . The group was able to win over some influential military officers who were also dissatisfied with the feudal system. For the course of the bloodless coup, see Coup in Siam 1932 .
In the run-up to the Second World War (1939–1945), Siamese and Japanese military personnel worked closely together, particularly as a result of Japan's efforts to develop hegemony in the region. In 1939, Siam was renamed Thailand and had previously invested in the army with British and German help and established an air force consisting of Japanese and US aircraft. During the Second World War, the country was embroiled not only in the clashes between the Axis Powers and the Allies , but also in old regional conflicts. Freedom movements in Vietnam, Cambodia and, less powerfully, in Laos tried to exploit the weakening of France after its fall to the German Empire. Thailand also had an unfinished business, namely the involuntary renunciation of Laos and Cambodian territory, which France had extorted under the threat of weapons several decades earlier. Phibunsongkhram saw the opportunity to reverse this. The events of World War II in Thailand can be divided into three phases: the war against France (1940–1941), the Japanese invasion of Thailand to protect Southeast Asia against Great Britain (1941–1944) and the situation after the fall of Phibun (1944–1945) ).
War against France 1940–1941
After the fall of France in Europe, the Japanese military organization built army bases in French Indochina . Thailand also saw its time and launched an air offensive along the Mekong against Vientiane in Laos and Sisophon and Battambang in Cambodia, which met with little resistance. In January 1941, the army began an offensive on land, which after brief resistance conquered Laos, but encountered considerable resistance in Cambodia. At sea, the Thai Navy did not have any major successes against the superior French fleet. In the battle of Koh Chang on January 17, 1941, the Thai navy was defeated and only a French ship was able to sink on the south coast of the island. At the initiative of Japan, however, a ceasefire was agreed on January 28 , which resulted in a peace treaty on May 9, in which France had to return the disputed areas to Thailand.
Japan's raid on Thailand
Even if Phibunsongkhram was firmly on the side of Japan, it had interests of its own that reached far beyond Thailand. Great Britain had secured the oil and other natural resources of Malacca in a lengthy process of colonization . The war in Europe with the air strikes by the German Air Force and the beginning of the war over the oil reserves in the Middle East , which were led by Erwin Rommel , tensed the British forces so much that they found it difficult to defend their territories in Burma and on the Malay Peninsula could. Japan saw its chance in an invasion of Thailand in order to advance from there in the northwest to Burma and in the south to Malaya and Singapore . After brief skirmishes on December 8, 1941, the Thai government approved Japan's access to Thai resources. A short time later, Phibun signed a mutual assistance agreement that gave the Japanese full access to the Thai rail system and included roads, airfields, naval bases, and communication systems. With Japanese help, Thailand got back the areas in the south that had been lost to England in 1909 and was able to launch an attack in the Shan states of Burma. This fulfilled all of Thailand's claims to areas that had to be given up between 1893 and 1909 due to diplomatic and military blackmail by England and France.
Fall of Japan and resignation of Phibun
Towards the end of the war, due to the weakening of its raw material centers elsewhere, Japan increasingly resorted to the resources of Thailand, so that one has to speak of an actual occupation of the country. The Allies took advantage of their air superiority and bombed Bangkok and other targets in the country. Phibun's sympathy values dwindled more and more, whereupon the civil political elite turned away from him and forced him to resign in June 1944. Following the defeat of Japan, England and France forced Thailand to relinquish its territories in Laos and Cambodia. This restored the state before the war.
The Second World War also proved to be a war in the air in Southeast Asia, such as B. in the dive bombers 1941 against French positions and the aerial reconnaissance in the mountains of the north of Thailand.
Regional communism (1945–1990)
Due to US intervention, Thailand was spared excessive reparations payments, such as those demanded by Great Britain. The growing influence of communism in Southeast Asia brought Thailand closer to Europe and America, as the country was confronted with old adversaries who had come under communist influence. Vietnam openly revolted against France as a colonial power, which on the one hand was in the interests of Thailand, but this took place under the influence of communism. Thailand took part in the Korean War, and the country subsequently became a close ally of the US in the region under the changing military governments. In 1954 the country was a founding member of the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization .
In the face of the events in Vietnam, whose north was communist and expansionist and took action against the south with open and secret actions, Thailand quickly found itself on the side of the US when it began to intervene in this conflict in the early 1960s . A secret military agreement was signed with the USA as early as 1961, and air bases and other military facilities were openly made available in 1963. Eventually Thailand even sent troops to Vietnam to help the south fight communism. Vietnam responded by increasing its support for the infiltration of the Communist Party of Thailand in many regions of the country. However, Thailand was more involved in Laos than in Vietnam, where a secret war ( shadow war ) was waged between 1964 and 1972 . Towards the end of the Vietnam War , however, relations had deteriorated and all American personnel had to withdraw from Thailand, and direct intervention by Thailand was also suspended.
The victory of the communist north also encouraged the underground organization in Thailand, where sympathy for the communists increased after the massacre at Thammasat University in October 1976 and as a result of the repressive regime under General Tanin Kraivixien . At the end of the 1970s , the number of armed communists was estimated at around 12,000. Most of the intruders were in the poor northeast of the country on the Lao and Cambodian borders. However, in the following decade this movement was suppressed.
In 1978 Vietnam intervened directly in Cambodia to overthrow the murderous Pol Pot regime. Although this was tacitly supported by Thailand and the People's Republic of China, the old enemies Thailand and Vietnam came dangerously close. Smaller border incidents were the order of the day until 1988, including when Vietnamese troops attacked Khmer Rouge camps on Thai territory.
Overcoming communism and the current situation (since 1990)
The overthrow of the absolutist monarchy in June 1932 was planned and driven mainly by the military. The military also played a dominant role for much of recent Thai history. Even in the years after 1990, the army played a role less because of external threats to the country and more because of internal conflicts. During the 1980s, General Prem Tinsulanonda held most of the post of Prime Minister , a democratic politician who restored parliamentary rights. From 1988 Thailand was mostly democratically run, with the exception of the period from 1991 to 1992 and 2006 to 2007, when military governments took over power for a short time. However, since the coup on May 22, 2014, there has been another military junta.
Cooperation between Thailand and the USA was resumed by President George W. Bush in the wake of the war on terror , Thailand opened air bases for attacks on Iraq (2001) and Afghanistan (2003) and from October 2003 to September 2004 sent 500 soldiers in Iraq.
Since 2004 the struggle of Malay insurgents has intensified in the south of the country, particularly in the provinces of Yala , Pattani and Narathiwat . The attacks are mostly directed against teachers and other state employees, who are perceived by some Malays as occupiers. The Thai army reacted with violence, killing more than 1,500 insurgents and mourning almost 3,000 civilian casualties, most of whom were murdered by the insurgents at random.
Since 1982, annual multinational maneuvers have been held in Thailand under the name Cobra Gold , in which soldiers from Thailand, the USA, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea take part.
Web links
literature
- Joseph Buttinger: The Smaller Dragon: a political history of Vietnam . Praeger, New York 1958.
- Thawatt Mokarapong: History of the Thai Revolution: a study in political behavior . Chalermnite, Bangkok 1972.
- Norman G. Owen: The Emergence Of Modern Southeast Asia . National University of Singapore Press, Singapore 2004, ISBN 9971-69-328-3 .
- Nicholas Tarling: The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1999, ISBN 0-521-35505-2 .