As for this Luang Phibun Songkhram, he is a typical opportunist and a fence-sitter. The reason why he chose to form an alliance with Japan in the first place was with the intention of being alone.
His purpose in forming an alliance with Japan was simply to preserve Siam's independent status and prevent Siam from being fully military occupied by the Japanese army and becoming a colony of other countries like Vietnam and Myanmar.
In order to gain more benefits for Siam, Luang Phi Boon formed an alliance with Japan on the surface, but secretly made eye contact with Britain and the United States behind Japan's back.
Luang Phibun's "two-faced man" strategy was most in line with Siam's national interests. If Japan defeated, Siam would be able to preserve its independent status. If Britain and the United States win, Siam can also ensure that it will not be liquidated as a defeated country by Britain and the United States.
In this way, Siam can survive in the cracks of the big powers.
As the war situation developed, the Siamese government unanimously believed that the possibility of Japan's victory was getting smaller and smaller, and that the Allied Powers led by the United States and Britain were more and more likely to win.
Until some time ago, the result of the battle that broke out on the border between Siam and Myanmar's Zen state was that the Japanese army was defeated by the Chinese Expeditionary Force, the assisting troops sent by Siam were beaten, and the destruction of the Japanese fifth division completely made Luan Phibun Songkhram made up his mind to defect to the Allies.
Although the Siamese government continued to maintain its alliance with Japan on the surface, it secretly strengthened its contacts with the British and American intelligence agencies after that battle, which can be said to be a cunning attitude.
So when Juichi Temple was preparing to go to Siam to meet with him, Luang Phibun Songkhram quietly disclosed the information about the other party to the Allies, which was also regarded as his declaration of "repentance and reform". .
In fact, the Japanese have always known something about the Siamese government. However, since Japan has lost the initiative in the Pacific battlefield and its main focus is on guarding the "absolute defense circle", the Japanese authorities have no time to take care of Thailand. Secretly flirting with the United States.
After all, in international relations, people often turn a blind eye, otherwise it would be bad for everyone to break up. Sometimes mutual benefit is a good thing. On the other hand, Japan is also confident that their military capabilities can restrain and threaten the other party, so that He didn't dare to have any objections.
The key is that this guy Luang Phibun also did a flawless job in maintaining the relationship. In order to prevent Japan from seeing that he was secretly having dealings with the Allies, Siam continued to implement the "Japan-Siam Offensive and Defensive Alliance Treaty" on the surface. Most things were done in the name of Japan. Human will comes first.
Just like the opening up of the country in terms of resource trade, it also provided sufficient logistical support to Yamashita Fengwen's army when he came to Myanmar, trying to prevent the other party from finding faults as much as possible. In this way, Japan's interests were satisfied, and he himself was not too big. A loss can be described as a win-win situation.
But the grass in the wall will always be the grass in the wall. Who can let the family members be "monkey"? They are smiling on the outside, but they have already begun to plan their way out in their hearts.
With the tacit approval of the Luang Phibun government, the anti-fascist movement in Siam, the Free Thai Movement, flourished.
With the support of British and American intelligence agencies, the Free Thailand Movement has formed a nationwide anti-Japanese activity network.
After the expeditionary force officially counterattacked Burma, they maintained contact with the Allied Commands in Sri Lanka and Indochina, quietly passing on Japanese military intelligence. It also pointed out bombing targets to the Allied forces and provided convenience for the Allied forces to bomb the Japanese troops stationed in Siam.
Even in some places where Siam was required to send troops to fight, Luang Phibun would not let the troops work hard, basically do some logistical maintenance work, and try to avoid direct combat with the Allies.
The Free Thai Movement transported British and American officers through secret channels, helped the Free Thai Movement train armed guerrillas, and often rescued Allied parachuting pilots in Siam and protected and transported them out of the country.
When Fang Jingyao entered western Yunnan, China from Malaysia to seek help, it was through the Siam line and the help of some local anti-Japanese armed forces.
Later, the Southeast Asian Self-Rescue Army also entered Siam to fight guerrillas, and some of them had the Luang Phibun government secretly supporting and fueling the flames.
In fact, most of the eliminated weapons from Liao Mingyu's earlier arms sales were sold to Siam and used on these guerrillas.
His thoughts gradually withdrew from his reverie. Liao Mingyu was worried and had to re-examine the current battlefield situation in his mind.
The move of Shou Yi in the temple can be described as a dangerous move. Liao Mingyu, as a later generation, knew the attitude and reality of the Siamese government. The old devil has lived for most of his life and has become a man. How can he not know the attitude of Siam that seems to be in harmony but is inseparable?
But this old devil, who is about to die, still wants to go through this trouble, and he will not just put his treasure on the Siamese government.
You must know that Siam still has an almost full Fourth Division. Although its consistent slick chicken thieves have given previous commanders a headache, it is undeniable that its combat effectiveness is still quite strong.
Moreover, Juichi Terauchi had served as the division commander in the Fourth Division before. He was the main instigator of the "Osaka go-stop incident" that caused a stir in Japan at that time.
The cause of the "Osaka go-stop incident" was that soldiers from the Fourth Division drove through a red light in the downtown area and were stopped by the police. The two sides fought and injured each other.
But the old devil in the temple was very protective. Under the banner of maintaining the dignity of the Imperial Japanese Army, he led the soldiers of the Fourth Division to smash up the police station. In the end, the matter came to the cabinet, and it was the Emperor who stepped forward to calm the matter.
For such a commander who "loved his soldiers as much as his son", the soldiers of the Fourth Division admired and respected him greatly, not to mention that he was an imperial general and the former commander-in-chief of the Southern Army.
With the blessing of these identities, no matter how bad the Osaka people are, they don't dare to be presumptuous in front of the temple, and they won't cheat like they used to.
In addition, Vietnam has become a colony of Japan since 1942. The Japanese army has been operating there for a long time. At this stage, there are also four B-division troops stationed, and some were pulled from the Philippines to rest and reorganize their troops.
If Touichi Terauchi makes a desperate move and integrates all these troops and marches to the border between Siam and Myanmar, the expeditionary force will be in big trouble.
Nowadays, the main forces of the entire army are concentrated in southern Myanmar, and the rear areas are relatively empty due to insufficient troops.
Moreover, the army's logistics lines are basically concentrated on the railway lines south of Mandalay and Heihe bases. Once attacked, the logistics of hundreds of thousands of people on the front line will be threatened. Therefore, the importance of central Myanmar can be imagined.
The key is that the Heihe base is in Chan State, and Chan State Province is close to Siam. Once discovered by the Japanese army, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Even if the base area can withstand the first wave of Japanese attacks by then, Liao Mingyu will not rest assured that the defenders there will face it alone. It is necessary to divide the troops to rush for reinforcements, but this will also have a great possibility of causing battlefields in Yangon and other places. collapse.
(End of chapter)
