Alliance With Japan
When the Japanese invaded Thailand on December 8, 1941, (because of the international date line this occurred an hour and a half before Pearl Harbor), hesitant Phibunsongkhram was reluctantly forced to order a general ceasefire after just one day of resistance and allow the Japanese armies to use the country as a base for their invasions of Burma and Malaya. Hesitancy, however, gave way to enthusiasm and sent his army to support Japan when the Japanese rolled their way through Malaya in a "Bicycle Blitzkrieg" with surprisingly little resistance. On December 12, Phibunsongkhram signed a military alliance with Japan. The following month, on January 25, 1942, Phibunsongkhram declared war on Britain and the United States. South Africa and New Zealand declared war on Thailand on the same day. Australia followed soon after. All who opposed the alliance were sacked from his government. Pridi Phanomyong was appointed acting Regent for the absent King Ananda Mahidol, while Direk Jayanama, the prominent Foreign Minister who had advocated continued resistance against the Japanese, was later sent to Tokyo as the Thai ambassador to Japan.
As Japan neared defeat and the underground Seri Thai anti-Japanese resistance steadily grew in strength, the pro-Seri Thai National Assembly forced out Phibunsongkhram. His six-year reign as the military commander-in-chief was at an end. His resignation was partly forced by two grandiose plans. One was to relocate the capital from Bangkok to a remote site in the jungle near Phetchabun in northern Thailand. The other was to build a "Buddhist city" near Saraburi. Announced during a time of economic difficulty, these plans turned many government officers against him. Phibunsongkhram went to stay at the army headquarters in Lopburi.
Khuang Abhaiwongse replaced him as Prime Minister, ostensibly to continue relations with the Japanese, but in reality secretly assisting the Seri Thai underground.
At the war's end, Phibunsongkhram was put on trial at Allied insistence on charges of having committed war crimes, mainly that of collaborating with the Axis powers. However, he was acquitted amidst intense public pressure. Public opinion was favourable to Phibunsongkhram as he was thought to have done his best to protect Thai interests.
Read more about this topic: Plaek Phibunsongkhram
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