Thailand's Secret War
OSS, SOE and the Free Thai Underground during World War II

An absorbing account of Allied secret operations and political intrigue in wartime Thailand.

E. Bruce Reynolds (Author)

9780521143370, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 10 June 2010

484 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 3 cm, 0.71 kg

Review of the hardback: 'The book is an exemplar of close-knit historical investigation … the author is to be congratulated on a fine intellectual effort.' Asian Affairs

This book is an absorbing account of secret operations and political intrigue in wartime Thailand. During World War II Free Thai organisations co-operated with Allied intelligence agencies in an effort to rescue their nation from the consequences of its 1941 alliance with Japan. They largely succeeded despite internal differences and the conflicting interests and policies of their would-be-allies, China, Great Britain and the United States. London's determination to punish Thailand placed the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) at a serious disadvantage in its rivalry with the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The US State Department, in contrast, strongly supported OSS operations in Thailand, viewing them as a vehicle for promoting American political and economic influence in mainland Southeast Asia. Declassification of the records of the OSS and the SOE permits full revelation of this complex story of heroic action and political intrigue.

List of illustrations
List of maps
Preface
Acknowledgements
Notes on names and transliteration
Prologue
1. The origins of the Free Thai Movement
2. The China tangle
3. Chamkat and the Allies
4. Showdown in Friendship Valley
5. Frustrated hopes
6. Contact at last
7. The OSS commits to Pridi
8. Pridi's bid for national redemption
9. Arming and training the underground
10. The end game
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], Second World War [HBWQ], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], Asian history [HBJF], General & world history [HBG]