Siam, the fall of Singapore and end of the British Empire

While it is not absolutely correct in regarding the then Siam as neutral in WWII, since she conceded to the Japanese army to have their ways on her land. However, it would even be ridiculous to regard Siam as part of the Axis Powers of Germany, Italy and Japan. The strain on the Anglo-American relationship between US President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in labeling Siam was well explained in two history books – Professor Heinrichs’ “Threshold of War: Franklin D Roosevelt and American Entry into WWII” and Patrick Hearden’s “Architect of Globalism: Building New World Order during WWII”. 

The wrath of Churchill and the like of David Brown against Thailand is understandable in implicitly blaming Siam for the subsequent fall of Singapore. After the Japanese invasion with no resistance from Siam in January 1942, the capitulation of the British force in Singapore followed on February 15, 1942. It was a most painful sight for any Briton – British General Arthur Percival walking with a white flag and Union Jack towards the Asian victor. The fall of Singapore and that photo of capitulation shocked the British public and changed the view of people in the British colonies that Britain was not invincible, as they previously thought. Hence, calls for independence were everywhere after the war with silent assent from the former British colony, America. That was the beginning of the end of the British Empire and the rest is history.

Songdej Praditsmanont