I was reading that after the Franco-Siamese War Phibun sought to court the British and Americans to ward off the Japanese who would invade Siam on the same day they invaded Malaya.
Obviously the British were not able to show they would have the force to help defend Siam and the Americans seem not to have been interested. Siam fought for a number of hours before agreeing to a cease fire and joining the Japanese side in the war.
Ignoring for a minute the paucity of British Empire resources in the Far East (A POD can be sought later and would depend on the answer to the following question.)
What level of force would the British have needed to committ (and prove to Phibun that they can and will committ) in order to achieve the Goal? They do not need to actually be able to defeat the Japanese invasion but sufficient to make the Siamese throw in their lot with the British Empire in the war.
How many Divisions of troops, Squadrons of Aircraft and how many and what type of ships?
The Siamese army had about 25,000 regulars and 25,000 reserves so I guess this gives us some idea of a baseline.
Once that is answered I can start to see if there is any possible POD that might allow that force to be available.
Thoughts?
Obviously the British were not able to show they would have the force to help defend Siam and the Americans seem not to have been interested. Siam fought for a number of hours before agreeing to a cease fire and joining the Japanese side in the war.
Ignoring for a minute the paucity of British Empire resources in the Far East (A POD can be sought later and would depend on the answer to the following question.)
What level of force would the British have needed to committ (and prove to Phibun that they can and will committ) in order to achieve the Goal? They do not need to actually be able to defeat the Japanese invasion but sufficient to make the Siamese throw in their lot with the British Empire in the war.
How many Divisions of troops, Squadrons of Aircraft and how many and what type of ships?
The Siamese army had about 25,000 regulars and 25,000 reserves so I guess this gives us some idea of a baseline.
Once that is answered I can start to see if there is any possible POD that might allow that force to be available.
Thoughts?