Background information
The most commonly used dates for the conflict are 1959-1975. This period begins with North Vietnam's first guerilla attacks against the South and ends with the fall of Saigon. American ground forces were directly involved in the war between 1965 and 1973.
In August 1964, a US warship was attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. Following this attack, Congress passed the Southeast Asia Resolution which allowed President Lyndon Johnson to conduct military operations in the region without a declaration of war. On March 2, 1965, US aircraft began bombing targets in Vietnam and the first troops arrived. Commanded by General William Westmoreland, US troops won victories over Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces around Chu Lai and in the Ia Drang Valley that summer. Americanization of the Vietnam War
Following these defeats, the North Vietnamese avoided fighting conventional battles and focused on engaging US troops in small unit actions in the sweltering jungles of South Vietnam. In January 1968, the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong launched the massive Tet Offensive. Beginning with an assault on US Marines at Khe Sanh, the offensive included attacks by the Viet Cong on cities throughout South Vietnam. Though the North Vietnamese were beaten back with heavy casualties, Tet shook the confidence of the American people and media who had thought the war was going well.
The Tet Offensive
As a result of Tet, President Lyndon Johnson opted not to run for reelection and was succeeded by Richard Nixon. Nixon's plan for ending US involvement was to build up the ARVN so that they could fight the war themselves. As this process of “Vietnamization” began, US troops started to return home. The mistrust of the government that had begun after Tet worsened with the release of news about US soldiers massacring civilians at My Lai (1969), the invasion of Cambodia (1970), and the leaking of the Pentagon Papers (1971). Vietnamization of the Vietnam War
The withdrawal of US troops continued and more responsibility was passed to the ARVN, which continued to prove ineffective in combat, often relying on American support to stave off defeat. On January 27, 1974, a peace accord was signed in Paris ending the conflict. By March of that year, American combat troops had left the country. After a brief period of peace, North Vietnam recommenced hostilities in late 1974. Pushing through ARVN forces with ease, they captured the Saigon on April 30, 1975, forcing South Vietnam’s surrender and reuniting the country. The End of the Vietnam War
United States: 58,119 killed, 153,303 wounded, 1,948 missing in action
South Vietnam 230,000 killed and 1,169,763 wounded (estimated)
North Vietnam 1,100,000 killed in action (estimated) and an unknown number of wounded
Summary
The Vietnam War first began in 1959, five years after the division of the country by the Geneva Accords. Vietnam had been split into two, with a communist government in the north under Ho Chi Minh and a democratic government in the south under Ngo Dinh Diem. Ho launched a guerilla campaign in South Vietnam, led by Viet Cong units, with the goal of uniting the country under communist rule. The United States, seeking to stop the spread of communism, trained the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and provided military advisors to help combat the guerillas. These resulted in a war, known generally as the Vietnam War.
Evaluation
While differences in political views may result in conflicts, it is still now the case of many disagreements in many countries. One example would be in Korea, where there is a division of the North and South korea with different political stand. Efforts have been made in recent years to bridge the gap between the 2 countries, but with little results. The two countries even had to have a third party(other countries) to help them settle the differences between them.
The differences in political views can be traced back to the history of the respective region. The history of the country determines the way the country is governed today. However, given if the government/ruler decides to change the way he runs the country, it can still be made to work, together with the support of the citizens. One example is in Singapore, where she changes her government ruling system ever since she gained independence
All in all, despite the differences that exist between the 2 countries, we must always note that we cannot afford to have war and conflicts all the time. Living in such a small world, where all of us are interconnected and largely dependent on one another, it is important to maintain stability and peace. I this way, we can focus more on dealing with climatic issues and economic development, which are now the more crucial issue in a modern world.
Showing posts with label weapons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weapons. Show all posts
The Philippine-American Weapons of War
Background information
The Philippine-American War was a war between the armed forces of the United States and the Philippines from 1899 through 1913.
This conflict is also known as the Philippine Insurrection. This name was historically the most commonly used in the U.S., but Filipinos and an increasing number of American historians refer to these hostilities as the Philippine-American War, and in 1999 the U.S. Library of Congress reclassified its references to use this term.
Origins of the War
In December 1898, the U.S. purchased the Philippines from Spain at the Treaty of Paris for the sum of 20 million United States dollars, after the U.S. defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War. The U.S. government made plans to make the Philippines an American colony. However, the Filipinos, fighting for their independence from Spain since 1896, had already declared their independence on June 12. On August 14, 11,000 ground troops were sent to occupy the Philippines. On January 1, 1899, Emilio Aguinaldo was declared the first President. He later organized a Congress at Malolos, Bulacan to draft a constitution.
The start of the War
Tensions between the Filipinos and the American soldiers on the islands existed because of the conflicting movements for independence and colonization, aggravated by the feelings of betrayal on the part of the Filipinos by their former allies, the Americans. Hostilities started on February 4, 1899 when an American soldier shot a Filipino soldier who was crossing a bridge into American-occupied territory in San Juan del Monte, an incident historians now consider to be the start of the war. U.S. President William McKinley later told reporters "that the insurgents had attacked Manila" in justifying war on the Philippines.
Note: Recent evidence from the National Historial institute of the Philippines say that the Filipino soldier shot by the (said drunk) American soldiers is not in San Juan del Monte, but in present-day Sociego Street in Manila. The National Historical Institute put a marker there.
The administration of US President McKinley subsequently declared Aguinaldo to be an "outlaw bandit", and no formal declaration of war was ever issued. Two reasons have been given for this. One is that calling the war the Philippine Insurrection made it appear to be a rebellion against a lawful government, although the only part of the Philippines under American control was Manila. The other was to enable the American government to avoid liability to claims by veterans of the action.
American Escalation
A large American military force (126,000 soldiers) was needed to occupy the country, and would be regularly engaged in war against Filipino forces for another decade. Also, Macabebe Filipinos were recruited by the United States Army.
By the end of February, the Americans had prevailed in the struggle for Manila, and the Philippine Army of Liberation was forced to retreat north. Hard-fought American victories followed at Quingua (April), Zapote Bridge (June), and Tirad Pass (December). With the June assassination of General Antonio Luna and the death of Brigadier General Gregorio del Pilar at Tirad Pass, the Filipinos' ability to fight a conventional war was rapidly diminishing. As of 1900, therefore, Aguinaldo ordered his army to engage in guerilla warfare, a means of operation which better suited them and made American occupation of the archipelago all the more difficult over the next few years. Subsequent American defeats at Pulang Lupa, Mabitac and Balangiga were not, however, sufficient to turn the tide of the struggle.
In March 1901, Aguinaldo was captured by the Macabebe Scouts, under the command of Brigadier General Frederick Funston in Palanan, Isabela. On July 4, 1902 President Theodore Roosevelt declared the war was over. The Americans gradually succeeded in taking control of urban and coastal areas by the end of 1903. In 1907, Macario Sacay, one of the last remaining Filipino generals fighting against the Americans, was captured and hanged.
While some measures to allow partial self-government were implemented earlier, the guerrilla war did not subside until 1913 when US President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed a change in policy that would, after a transitional period, grant the Philippines full independence. In the south, Muslim Filipinos resisted until 1916—the so-called Moro rebellion. The fierceness of the resistance forced the American development and deployment of the Colt .45 pistol, which had a large enough caliber round to knock back a charging enemy.
Consequences
During the war, 4,234 American soldiers were killed and 2,818 were wounded. Philippine military deaths are estimated at 20,000 while civilian deaths numbered in 250,000 to 1,000,000 Filipinos. In 1908, Manuel Arellano Remondo, in a book entitled General Geography of the Philippine Islands, wrote: "The population decreased due to the wars, in the five-year period from 1895 to 1900, since, at the start of the first insurrection, the population was estimated at 9,000,000, and at present (1908), the inhabitants of the Archipelago do not exceed 8,000,000 in number."
U.S. attacks into the countryside often included scorched earth campaigns where entire villages were burned and destroyed, torture (water cure) and the concentration of civilians into "protected zones". Many of these civilian casualties resulted from disease and famine. Reports of the execution of U.S. soldiers taken prisoner by the Filipinos led to disproportionate reprisals by American forces. Many American officers and soldiers called war a "nigger killing business". During the U.S. occupation, English was declared the official language, although the languages of the Philippine people were Spanish, Visayan, Tagalog, Ilocano and other native languages. Six hundred American teachers were imported aboard the USS Thomas. Also, the Catholic Church was disestablished, and a considerable amount of church land was purchased and redistributed.
In 1914, Dean C. Worcester, U.S. Secretary of the Interior for the Philippines (1901-1913) described "the regime of civilization and improvement which started with American occupation and resulted in developing naked savages into cultivated and educated men."
In recognition of United States military service, during the Philippine-American War, the United States military created two service decorations which were known as the Philippine Campaign Medal and the Philippine Congressional Medal.
Summary
This article talks about different governing views from the Philippines and Americans. In 1898, the U.S. purchased the Philippines from Spain after the U.S. defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War. The U.S. government made plans to make the Philippines an American colony. However, the Filipinos, fighting for their independence from Spain since 1896, had already declared their independence on June 12. On August 14, 11,000 ground troops were sent to occupy the Philippines. Tensions began to rise between the Philippines and Americans. One incident, the killing of a Pilipino soldier by an American soldier, eventually led to riot and the rise of War.
Evaluation
Such war is similar to the Maria-Hertogh riot which occurred in Singapore. An incident which happened on the road, resulted in tension between the two opposing parties, which resulted in a conflict. In this case, the problem lies in the hunger for power. The Americans wanted to conquer Philippine for their advantage, without considering the needs and wants of the Philippines. It is also disheartening to note that many innocent lives were lost.
The main reason why I think America wanted to do so was because she wanted to spread the idea of democracy to all regions, since she herself is a democratic country. By reigning over an Asian country like Philippine, she would then be able to slowly spread democracy to all parts of the world.
However, I think it is wrong for the Americans to reign over Philippine at the state when she is still struggling to gain independence. This gives a double blow to the Philippines.
All in all, Man is greedy. That’s a fact! However, we should not let that Greediness in us to go to the extent of affecting others. We must always know the consequences of our actions, before doing so. This War has taught us to be satisfied with what we have, and don’t be greedy for what you already has. If not, you will be suffering at the losing end.
The Philippine-American War was a war between the armed forces of the United States and the Philippines from 1899 through 1913.
This conflict is also known as the Philippine Insurrection. This name was historically the most commonly used in the U.S., but Filipinos and an increasing number of American historians refer to these hostilities as the Philippine-American War, and in 1999 the U.S. Library of Congress reclassified its references to use this term.
Origins of the War
In December 1898, the U.S. purchased the Philippines from Spain at the Treaty of Paris for the sum of 20 million United States dollars, after the U.S. defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War. The U.S. government made plans to make the Philippines an American colony. However, the Filipinos, fighting for their independence from Spain since 1896, had already declared their independence on June 12. On August 14, 11,000 ground troops were sent to occupy the Philippines. On January 1, 1899, Emilio Aguinaldo was declared the first President. He later organized a Congress at Malolos, Bulacan to draft a constitution.
The start of the War
Tensions between the Filipinos and the American soldiers on the islands existed because of the conflicting movements for independence and colonization, aggravated by the feelings of betrayal on the part of the Filipinos by their former allies, the Americans. Hostilities started on February 4, 1899 when an American soldier shot a Filipino soldier who was crossing a bridge into American-occupied territory in San Juan del Monte, an incident historians now consider to be the start of the war. U.S. President William McKinley later told reporters "that the insurgents had attacked Manila" in justifying war on the Philippines.
Note: Recent evidence from the National Historial institute of the Philippines say that the Filipino soldier shot by the (said drunk) American soldiers is not in San Juan del Monte, but in present-day Sociego Street in Manila. The National Historical Institute put a marker there.
The administration of US President McKinley subsequently declared Aguinaldo to be an "outlaw bandit", and no formal declaration of war was ever issued. Two reasons have been given for this. One is that calling the war the Philippine Insurrection made it appear to be a rebellion against a lawful government, although the only part of the Philippines under American control was Manila. The other was to enable the American government to avoid liability to claims by veterans of the action.
American Escalation
A large American military force (126,000 soldiers) was needed to occupy the country, and would be regularly engaged in war against Filipino forces for another decade. Also, Macabebe Filipinos were recruited by the United States Army.
By the end of February, the Americans had prevailed in the struggle for Manila, and the Philippine Army of Liberation was forced to retreat north. Hard-fought American victories followed at Quingua (April), Zapote Bridge (June), and Tirad Pass (December). With the June assassination of General Antonio Luna and the death of Brigadier General Gregorio del Pilar at Tirad Pass, the Filipinos' ability to fight a conventional war was rapidly diminishing. As of 1900, therefore, Aguinaldo ordered his army to engage in guerilla warfare, a means of operation which better suited them and made American occupation of the archipelago all the more difficult over the next few years. Subsequent American defeats at Pulang Lupa, Mabitac and Balangiga were not, however, sufficient to turn the tide of the struggle.
In March 1901, Aguinaldo was captured by the Macabebe Scouts, under the command of Brigadier General Frederick Funston in Palanan, Isabela. On July 4, 1902 President Theodore Roosevelt declared the war was over. The Americans gradually succeeded in taking control of urban and coastal areas by the end of 1903. In 1907, Macario Sacay, one of the last remaining Filipino generals fighting against the Americans, was captured and hanged.
While some measures to allow partial self-government were implemented earlier, the guerrilla war did not subside until 1913 when US President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed a change in policy that would, after a transitional period, grant the Philippines full independence. In the south, Muslim Filipinos resisted until 1916—the so-called Moro rebellion. The fierceness of the resistance forced the American development and deployment of the Colt .45 pistol, which had a large enough caliber round to knock back a charging enemy.
Consequences
During the war, 4,234 American soldiers were killed and 2,818 were wounded. Philippine military deaths are estimated at 20,000 while civilian deaths numbered in 250,000 to 1,000,000 Filipinos. In 1908, Manuel Arellano Remondo, in a book entitled General Geography of the Philippine Islands, wrote: "The population decreased due to the wars, in the five-year period from 1895 to 1900, since, at the start of the first insurrection, the population was estimated at 9,000,000, and at present (1908), the inhabitants of the Archipelago do not exceed 8,000,000 in number."
U.S. attacks into the countryside often included scorched earth campaigns where entire villages were burned and destroyed, torture (water cure) and the concentration of civilians into "protected zones". Many of these civilian casualties resulted from disease and famine. Reports of the execution of U.S. soldiers taken prisoner by the Filipinos led to disproportionate reprisals by American forces. Many American officers and soldiers called war a "nigger killing business". During the U.S. occupation, English was declared the official language, although the languages of the Philippine people were Spanish, Visayan, Tagalog, Ilocano and other native languages. Six hundred American teachers were imported aboard the USS Thomas. Also, the Catholic Church was disestablished, and a considerable amount of church land was purchased and redistributed.
In 1914, Dean C. Worcester, U.S. Secretary of the Interior for the Philippines (1901-1913) described "the regime of civilization and improvement which started with American occupation and resulted in developing naked savages into cultivated and educated men."
In recognition of United States military service, during the Philippine-American War, the United States military created two service decorations which were known as the Philippine Campaign Medal and the Philippine Congressional Medal.
Summary
This article talks about different governing views from the Philippines and Americans. In 1898, the U.S. purchased the Philippines from Spain after the U.S. defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War. The U.S. government made plans to make the Philippines an American colony. However, the Filipinos, fighting for their independence from Spain since 1896, had already declared their independence on June 12. On August 14, 11,000 ground troops were sent to occupy the Philippines. Tensions began to rise between the Philippines and Americans. One incident, the killing of a Pilipino soldier by an American soldier, eventually led to riot and the rise of War.
Evaluation
Such war is similar to the Maria-Hertogh riot which occurred in Singapore. An incident which happened on the road, resulted in tension between the two opposing parties, which resulted in a conflict. In this case, the problem lies in the hunger for power. The Americans wanted to conquer Philippine for their advantage, without considering the needs and wants of the Philippines. It is also disheartening to note that many innocent lives were lost.
The main reason why I think America wanted to do so was because she wanted to spread the idea of democracy to all regions, since she herself is a democratic country. By reigning over an Asian country like Philippine, she would then be able to slowly spread democracy to all parts of the world.
However, I think it is wrong for the Americans to reign over Philippine at the state when she is still struggling to gain independence. This gives a double blow to the Philippines.
All in all, Man is greedy. That’s a fact! However, we should not let that Greediness in us to go to the extent of affecting others. We must always know the consequences of our actions, before doing so. This War has taught us to be satisfied with what we have, and don’t be greedy for what you already has. If not, you will be suffering at the losing end.
The French-Thai War of Weapons
Background information
Negotiations with France shortly before World War II had shown that the French government was willing to make minor changes in the boundaries between Thailand and French Indochina. Following the Fall of France in 1940, Major-General Phibunsongkhram, the Prime Minister of Thailand, decided that France's defeat gave the Thais an even better chance to regain the territories they had lost during King Chulalongkorn's reign.
Metropolitan France's collapse obviously made the French hold on Indochina tenuous. The isolated colonial administration, cut off from outside help and supplies, was forced to allow the Japanese to set up military bases in Indochina. This seemingly subversivient behavior convinced the Phibun regime that the French would not seriously resist a confrontation with Thailand.
The Opposing Forces
French forces in Indochina consisted of an army of approximately fifty thousand men, of whom twelve thousand were French, organised into forty-one infantry battalions, two artillery regiments, and a battalion of engineers. The most obvious deficiency of the French army lay in its shortage of armour: it could only field twenty antiquated Renault FT-17s against the Thai army's 134.
The Armée de l'Air had in its inventory approximately a hundred aircraft, of which around sixty could be considered first line. These consisted of thirty Potez 25 TOEs, four Farman 221s, six Potez 542s, nine Morane M.S.406s, and eight Loire 130 flying boats.
The Thai Army was a relatively well-equipped force. Consisting of some sixty thousand men, it was made up of four armies, the largest of which was the Burapha Army with its five divisions. Independent formations under the direct control of the army high command included two motorised cavalry battalions, one artillery battalion, one signals battalion, one engineer battalion and one armoured regiment. The artillery had available a mixture of aged Krupp and modern Bofors howitzers and field guns, while sixty Carden-Loyd tankettes and thirty Vickers six-ton medium tanks made up the bulk of the army's tank arm.
The Royal Thai Navy - consisting of several vessels, including two coastal defence ships, twelve torpedo boats and four submarines - was inferior to the French naval forces, but the Royal Thai Air Force held both a quantitative and qualitative edge over l'Armee de l'Air. Among the 140 aircraft that composed the air force's first-line strength were twenty-four Mitsubishi Ki-30 light bombers, nine Mitsubishi Ki-21 heavy bombers, twenty-five Hawk 75Ns, six Martin B-10 bombers, and seventy Corsairs(Nappy adds Corsairs has been disputed here previously)
The War
While nationalistic demonstrations and anti-French rallies were held in Bangkok, border skirmishes erupted along the Mekong frontier. The superior Royal Thai Air Force conducted daytime bombing runs over Vientiane, Sisophon, and Battambang with impunity. The French retaliated with their own planes, but the damage caused was less than equal. The activities of the Thai air force, particularly in the field of dive-bombing was such that Admiral Jean Decoux, the governor of French Indochina, grudgingly remarked that the Thai planes seemed to have been flown by men with plenty of war experience.
In early January 1941, the Thai Burapha and Isaan Armies lauched their offensive on Laos and Cambodia. French resistance was instantaneous, but many units were simply swept along by the better-equipped Thai forces. The Thais swiftly took Laos, but Cambodia proved a much harder nut to crack.
At dawn on January 16, 1941 the French launched a large counterattack on the Thai-held villages of Yang Dang Khum and Phum Preav, initiating the fiercest battle of the war. Because of over-complicated orders and nonexistant intelligence, the French counterattacks were cut to pieces and fighting ended with a French withdrawal from the area. The Thais were unable to pursue the retreating French, as their forward tanks were kept in check by the gunnery of French Foreign Legion artillerists.
As the situation on land was exacerbating for the French, Admiral Decoux ordered the available French naval forces into action in the Gulf of Thailand. In the early morning of January 17, the French navy caught a Thai naval detachment anchored off the island of Koh Chang. The subsequent Battle of Koh Chang proved a victory for the French and resulted in the sinking of two Thai torpedo boats, and a coastal defence ship.
On January 24, the final air battle took place when Thai bombers raided the French airfield at Angkor near Siem Reap. The last Thai mission commenced at 0710 hours on January 28, when the Martins of the 50th Bomber Squadron set out on a raid on Sisophon, escorted by three Hawk 75Ns of the 60th Fighter Squadron.
The Japanese mediated the conflict, and a general armistice was arranged to go into effect at 1000 hours on January 28. On May 9 a peace treaty was signed in Tokyowith the French being coerced by the Japanese into relinquishing their hold on the disputed territories.
Aftermath
The resolution of the conflict was received with wide acclaim among the Thai people and was looked upon as a personal triumph for the Major-General Phibun. For the first time, Thailand had been able to extract concessions from an European power, albeit a weakened one. For the French in Indochina, the conflict was a bitter reminder of their isolation following France's defeat by Germany. In the French view, an ambitious neighbour had taken advantage of a distant colony cut off from her weakened parent. Without hope of reinforcements, the French had little chance of offering a sustained resistance. The real gainers from the conflict were the Japanese, who expanded their influence in both Thailand and Indochina and won from Phibun a secret verbal promise to support them in an attack on Malaya and Burma.
Western Cambodia and the two Lao enclaves were only returned to French sovereignty in October 1946, after France threatened to veto Siam's membership of the United Nations.
Casualties
The French army suffered a total of 321 casualties, of whom 15 were officers. The total number of men missing after January 28 was 178 (6 officers, 14 non-commissioned officers, and 158 enlisted men). The Thais had captured 222 men (17 North Africans, 80 Frenchmen, and 125 Indochinese
The Thai army suffered a total of 54 men killed in action and 307 wounded. 41 sailors and marines of the Thai navy were killed, and 67 wounded. At the Battle of Koh Chang, 36 men were killed, of whom 20 belonged to HTMS Thonburi, 14 to HTMS Songkhla, and 2 to HTMS Chonburi. The Thai air force lost 13 men. The number of Thai military personnel captured by the French amounted to just 21.
About 30% of the French aircraft were rendered unserviceable by the end of the war, some as a result of minor damage sustained in air raids that remained unrepaired. The Armée de l'Air admitted the loss of one Farman F221 and two Morane M.S.406s destroyed on the ground, but in reality its losses were greater
In the course of its first experience of combat, the Royal Thai Air Force claimed to have shot down five French aircraft and destroyed seventeen on the ground, for the loss of three of its own in the air and another five to ten destroyed in French air raids on Thai airfields
Summary
This article talks about the disagreements between the French and the Thais, over the claiming of territories. Following the Fall of France in 1940, Major-General Phibunsongkhram, the Prime Minister of Thailand, decided that France's defeat gave the Thais an even better chance to regain the territories they had lost during King Chulalongkorn's reign. The opposing views eventually led to a battle of war that lasted for a period of time. The war involved equipments such as tanks, Potez 25 TOEs, Farman 221s,Potez 542s, Morane M.S.406s, Loire 130 flying boats, tank arms and field guns.
Evaluation
The problem of claiming territory has existed since Man existed. Man has been competing for food and for shelter (territory). However in this case, I think the underlying problem here is the Greed of Mankind. If the French had not stolen the territory from Thailand, this problem would not have occurred. War would not have occurred. The many lives that were lost could have been saved. France already has its own land, territory to say, but because she wants to gain for more power, all of which because of Greed, it all ended up in such devastation.
However, the Thais are also at fault. Knowing that France’s defeat already had a big impact on France, by claiming their territory from France, it is only adding injury to insult for France. France faced problem after problem, that could have forced her into a battle. What I would do if I were the Thai government then would have been to wait for period of time for the French to calm herself down from the defeat. Only then, approach them for the territory. Even so, to achieve a win-win situation, the Thais could have asked for only half of the territory, while the other half was for the French. This could have prevented a war from taking place.
All in all, Man is greedy. That’s a fact! However, we should not let that Greediness in us to go to the extent of affecting others. We must always know the consequences of our actions, before doing so. This War has taught us to be satisfied with what we have, and don’t be greedy for what you already has. If not, you will be suffering at the losing end.
Negotiations with France shortly before World War II had shown that the French government was willing to make minor changes in the boundaries between Thailand and French Indochina. Following the Fall of France in 1940, Major-General Phibunsongkhram, the Prime Minister of Thailand, decided that France's defeat gave the Thais an even better chance to regain the territories they had lost during King Chulalongkorn's reign.
Metropolitan France's collapse obviously made the French hold on Indochina tenuous. The isolated colonial administration, cut off from outside help and supplies, was forced to allow the Japanese to set up military bases in Indochina. This seemingly subversivient behavior convinced the Phibun regime that the French would not seriously resist a confrontation with Thailand.
The Opposing Forces
French forces in Indochina consisted of an army of approximately fifty thousand men, of whom twelve thousand were French, organised into forty-one infantry battalions, two artillery regiments, and a battalion of engineers. The most obvious deficiency of the French army lay in its shortage of armour: it could only field twenty antiquated Renault FT-17s against the Thai army's 134.
The Armée de l'Air had in its inventory approximately a hundred aircraft, of which around sixty could be considered first line. These consisted of thirty Potez 25 TOEs, four Farman 221s, six Potez 542s, nine Morane M.S.406s, and eight Loire 130 flying boats.
The Thai Army was a relatively well-equipped force. Consisting of some sixty thousand men, it was made up of four armies, the largest of which was the Burapha Army with its five divisions. Independent formations under the direct control of the army high command included two motorised cavalry battalions, one artillery battalion, one signals battalion, one engineer battalion and one armoured regiment. The artillery had available a mixture of aged Krupp and modern Bofors howitzers and field guns, while sixty Carden-Loyd tankettes and thirty Vickers six-ton medium tanks made up the bulk of the army's tank arm.
The Royal Thai Navy - consisting of several vessels, including two coastal defence ships, twelve torpedo boats and four submarines - was inferior to the French naval forces, but the Royal Thai Air Force held both a quantitative and qualitative edge over l'Armee de l'Air. Among the 140 aircraft that composed the air force's first-line strength were twenty-four Mitsubishi Ki-30 light bombers, nine Mitsubishi Ki-21 heavy bombers, twenty-five Hawk 75Ns, six Martin B-10 bombers, and seventy Corsairs(Nappy adds Corsairs has been disputed here previously)
The War
While nationalistic demonstrations and anti-French rallies were held in Bangkok, border skirmishes erupted along the Mekong frontier. The superior Royal Thai Air Force conducted daytime bombing runs over Vientiane, Sisophon, and Battambang with impunity. The French retaliated with their own planes, but the damage caused was less than equal. The activities of the Thai air force, particularly in the field of dive-bombing was such that Admiral Jean Decoux, the governor of French Indochina, grudgingly remarked that the Thai planes seemed to have been flown by men with plenty of war experience.
In early January 1941, the Thai Burapha and Isaan Armies lauched their offensive on Laos and Cambodia. French resistance was instantaneous, but many units were simply swept along by the better-equipped Thai forces. The Thais swiftly took Laos, but Cambodia proved a much harder nut to crack.
At dawn on January 16, 1941 the French launched a large counterattack on the Thai-held villages of Yang Dang Khum and Phum Preav, initiating the fiercest battle of the war. Because of over-complicated orders and nonexistant intelligence, the French counterattacks were cut to pieces and fighting ended with a French withdrawal from the area. The Thais were unable to pursue the retreating French, as their forward tanks were kept in check by the gunnery of French Foreign Legion artillerists.
As the situation on land was exacerbating for the French, Admiral Decoux ordered the available French naval forces into action in the Gulf of Thailand. In the early morning of January 17, the French navy caught a Thai naval detachment anchored off the island of Koh Chang. The subsequent Battle of Koh Chang proved a victory for the French and resulted in the sinking of two Thai torpedo boats, and a coastal defence ship.
On January 24, the final air battle took place when Thai bombers raided the French airfield at Angkor near Siem Reap. The last Thai mission commenced at 0710 hours on January 28, when the Martins of the 50th Bomber Squadron set out on a raid on Sisophon, escorted by three Hawk 75Ns of the 60th Fighter Squadron.
The Japanese mediated the conflict, and a general armistice was arranged to go into effect at 1000 hours on January 28. On May 9 a peace treaty was signed in Tokyowith the French being coerced by the Japanese into relinquishing their hold on the disputed territories.
Aftermath
The resolution of the conflict was received with wide acclaim among the Thai people and was looked upon as a personal triumph for the Major-General Phibun. For the first time, Thailand had been able to extract concessions from an European power, albeit a weakened one. For the French in Indochina, the conflict was a bitter reminder of their isolation following France's defeat by Germany. In the French view, an ambitious neighbour had taken advantage of a distant colony cut off from her weakened parent. Without hope of reinforcements, the French had little chance of offering a sustained resistance. The real gainers from the conflict were the Japanese, who expanded their influence in both Thailand and Indochina and won from Phibun a secret verbal promise to support them in an attack on Malaya and Burma.
Western Cambodia and the two Lao enclaves were only returned to French sovereignty in October 1946, after France threatened to veto Siam's membership of the United Nations.
Casualties
The French army suffered a total of 321 casualties, of whom 15 were officers. The total number of men missing after January 28 was 178 (6 officers, 14 non-commissioned officers, and 158 enlisted men). The Thais had captured 222 men (17 North Africans, 80 Frenchmen, and 125 Indochinese
The Thai army suffered a total of 54 men killed in action and 307 wounded. 41 sailors and marines of the Thai navy were killed, and 67 wounded. At the Battle of Koh Chang, 36 men were killed, of whom 20 belonged to HTMS Thonburi, 14 to HTMS Songkhla, and 2 to HTMS Chonburi. The Thai air force lost 13 men. The number of Thai military personnel captured by the French amounted to just 21.
About 30% of the French aircraft were rendered unserviceable by the end of the war, some as a result of minor damage sustained in air raids that remained unrepaired. The Armée de l'Air admitted the loss of one Farman F221 and two Morane M.S.406s destroyed on the ground, but in reality its losses were greater
In the course of its first experience of combat, the Royal Thai Air Force claimed to have shot down five French aircraft and destroyed seventeen on the ground, for the loss of three of its own in the air and another five to ten destroyed in French air raids on Thai airfields
Summary
This article talks about the disagreements between the French and the Thais, over the claiming of territories. Following the Fall of France in 1940, Major-General Phibunsongkhram, the Prime Minister of Thailand, decided that France's defeat gave the Thais an even better chance to regain the territories they had lost during King Chulalongkorn's reign. The opposing views eventually led to a battle of war that lasted for a period of time. The war involved equipments such as tanks, Potez 25 TOEs, Farman 221s,Potez 542s, Morane M.S.406s, Loire 130 flying boats, tank arms and field guns.
Evaluation
The problem of claiming territory has existed since Man existed. Man has been competing for food and for shelter (territory). However in this case, I think the underlying problem here is the Greed of Mankind. If the French had not stolen the territory from Thailand, this problem would not have occurred. War would not have occurred. The many lives that were lost could have been saved. France already has its own land, territory to say, but because she wants to gain for more power, all of which because of Greed, it all ended up in such devastation.
However, the Thais are also at fault. Knowing that France’s defeat already had a big impact on France, by claiming their territory from France, it is only adding injury to insult for France. France faced problem after problem, that could have forced her into a battle. What I would do if I were the Thai government then would have been to wait for period of time for the French to calm herself down from the defeat. Only then, approach them for the territory. Even so, to achieve a win-win situation, the Thais could have asked for only half of the territory, while the other half was for the French. This could have prevented a war from taking place.
All in all, Man is greedy. That’s a fact! However, we should not let that Greediness in us to go to the extent of affecting others. We must always know the consequences of our actions, before doing so. This War has taught us to be satisfied with what we have, and don’t be greedy for what you already has. If not, you will be suffering at the losing end.
Afganhistan Child soldiers
Standing at a security checkpoint dressed in a battered combat jacket and leaking boots, Zaralam said he had joined the "army" because he had to earn some money for his family. "It's tough working day and night, but I earn 2,000 afghanis [US $40] a month and get some food too," the 14-year old military policeman told IRIN in the Daman district of the southern city of Kandahar.
Zaralam is one of thousands of children in Afghanistan who, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), gain an income or other material support as members of armed groups. A field assessment conducted by UNICEF earlier this year throughout Afghanistan indicated that there were at least 8,000 children currently under arms. Many remain in the pay of regional warlords, who still dominate Afghan life outside the capital, Kabul.
The ousted Taliban, the US-backed Northern Alliance (NA) and other armed factions have all been accused of using child soldiers as young as 14, according to rights groups. The reasons are obvious: children are cheaper to employ, slow to question authority and often quick to prove themselves in Afghanistan's gun-dominated macho society. Some are lured into armed factions by promises of education and proper jobs. Most are carrying guns simply for lack of any viable alternative.
These children, mainly boys but some girls too, are part of an estimated 100,000 combatants who need to be found alternative livelihoods if peace is to stand a chance in volatile Afghanistan. The country's UN-backed Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme, that began at pilot level in October this year, is designed to help significantly reduce the strength of the myriad armed factions.
Six pilot projects are currently underway before the main phase early next summer. "Six thousand people will be disarmed in the pilot projects in six provinces including Konduz, Gardez, Mazar-e Sharif, Parvan (Kabul), Kandahar and Bamyan provinces," Paul Cruick, an operations manager with the Afghanistan New Beginning Programme (ANBP), NGO said.
The DDR process is voluntary and the ANBP will be providing an incentive package to enable those disarmed to support their families during the transitional phase until they have found alternative means. "The ex-combatant receives a compensation/severance package including US $200 cash and a clothing and food package [130 kg of different types of food]," Cruick said, adding that this was merely to ensure that the transition was easier and simpler. "This is not a cash for weapons programme," he stressed.
Some observers say the DDR process, if it takes off, will significantly reduce the number of children under arms.
But the UN, aid agencies and the Afghan government want a more specific framework for the demobilisation and reintegration of child soldiers to meet their special needs. "There is still from time to time recruitment by some factions that also includes children; this is one problem that I think we all have to help the government of Afghanistan to deal with," Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN Special Envoy for Afghanistan, said recently.
"UNICEF's role within the general DDR programme is to focus on the special needs of children," Edward Carwardine, a UNICEF spokesman, told IRIN in Kabul. According to the UN agency, the child soldier initiative is not part of the DDR programme, "Obviously, UNICEF is working closely with partners in UNAMA [United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan] to ensure that the child soldier programme sits comfortably alongside the more general DDR process," Carwardine stated.
Most children currently under arms in Afghanistan have become used to the lifestyle. Many know no other, and ending the relationship of dependency between child and faction leader or paymaster will be very difficult, observers say. "One of the biggest challenges is to find a way of adequately replacing those factors through a rehabilitation programme," Carwardine remarked, noting that new skills-based training programmes needed to be developed and that support for literacy, and numeracy and other life skills was required, especially for children who had missed out on formal education.
But depriving young people of the only living they know, observers say, will not be easy. According to the ministry of labour and social affairs, the poor economic situation has transformed most children bearing arms into the primary financial supporters of their families, and unless there are viable alternatives they will have no choice but to remain combatants.
"There are over 2 million child-headed households and widows struggling to earn a daily livelihood," Ghaus Rashid, the deputy minister of labour and social affairs, told IRIN, noting that over 60 percent of young Afghans were jobless with no viable future and had no option but to join or remain members of armed groups if they were paid.
Some progress is being made. In May this year, Kabul outlawed the recruitment and use of child soldiers in the new Afghan National Army. Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali told IRIN recently that police reform, currently in progress, would also result in young people under 17 being weeded out of the new force. Law and order in Kabul, for example, is currently enforced by former combatants from the victorious NA, who swept the Taliban from power with US support almost two years ago.
Driving round the capital it is evident that many law enforcers are little more than boys in adult uniforms. "I came to Kabul when my brothers removed the Taliban. Before I was in a camp, but now I'm a policeman and proud," Ahmad, a 13-year-old ethnic Tajik boy, told IRIN while leaning on a rusting Kalashnikov nonchalantly directing traffic at one the city's busier roundabouts.
UNICEF is currently supporting the establishment of a number of projects throughout Afghanistan, which will assist the reintegration of child soldiers, along with other young people who have been affected by conflict. The projects include helping former child soldiers enrol in school, informal education including life skills and vocational training, and psychosocial support. Some material assistance to enable older children to learn new skills to better prepare themselves for a constructive role in society is also being offered.
These programmes, delivered through partner agencies such as Save the Children, require long-term donor commitment if they are to have any impact of on the large number of children forced to be soldiers in Afghanistan. "Sure I want to do something else, something like a teacher or even a doctor, but right now this is all I have," Zaralam said, pointing to his weapon.
Zaralam is one of thousands of children in Afghanistan who, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), gain an income or other material support as members of armed groups. A field assessment conducted by UNICEF earlier this year throughout Afghanistan indicated that there were at least 8,000 children currently under arms. Many remain in the pay of regional warlords, who still dominate Afghan life outside the capital, Kabul.
The ousted Taliban, the US-backed Northern Alliance (NA) and other armed factions have all been accused of using child soldiers as young as 14, according to rights groups. The reasons are obvious: children are cheaper to employ, slow to question authority and often quick to prove themselves in Afghanistan's gun-dominated macho society. Some are lured into armed factions by promises of education and proper jobs. Most are carrying guns simply for lack of any viable alternative.
These children, mainly boys but some girls too, are part of an estimated 100,000 combatants who need to be found alternative livelihoods if peace is to stand a chance in volatile Afghanistan. The country's UN-backed Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme, that began at pilot level in October this year, is designed to help significantly reduce the strength of the myriad armed factions.
Six pilot projects are currently underway before the main phase early next summer. "Six thousand people will be disarmed in the pilot projects in six provinces including Konduz, Gardez, Mazar-e Sharif, Parvan (Kabul), Kandahar and Bamyan provinces," Paul Cruick, an operations manager with the Afghanistan New Beginning Programme (ANBP), NGO said.
The DDR process is voluntary and the ANBP will be providing an incentive package to enable those disarmed to support their families during the transitional phase until they have found alternative means. "The ex-combatant receives a compensation/severance package including US $200 cash and a clothing and food package [130 kg of different types of food]," Cruick said, adding that this was merely to ensure that the transition was easier and simpler. "This is not a cash for weapons programme," he stressed.
Some observers say the DDR process, if it takes off, will significantly reduce the number of children under arms.
But the UN, aid agencies and the Afghan government want a more specific framework for the demobilisation and reintegration of child soldiers to meet their special needs. "There is still from time to time recruitment by some factions that also includes children; this is one problem that I think we all have to help the government of Afghanistan to deal with," Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN Special Envoy for Afghanistan, said recently.
"UNICEF's role within the general DDR programme is to focus on the special needs of children," Edward Carwardine, a UNICEF spokesman, told IRIN in Kabul. According to the UN agency, the child soldier initiative is not part of the DDR programme, "Obviously, UNICEF is working closely with partners in UNAMA [United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan] to ensure that the child soldier programme sits comfortably alongside the more general DDR process," Carwardine stated.
Most children currently under arms in Afghanistan have become used to the lifestyle. Many know no other, and ending the relationship of dependency between child and faction leader or paymaster will be very difficult, observers say. "One of the biggest challenges is to find a way of adequately replacing those factors through a rehabilitation programme," Carwardine remarked, noting that new skills-based training programmes needed to be developed and that support for literacy, and numeracy and other life skills was required, especially for children who had missed out on formal education.
But depriving young people of the only living they know, observers say, will not be easy. According to the ministry of labour and social affairs, the poor economic situation has transformed most children bearing arms into the primary financial supporters of their families, and unless there are viable alternatives they will have no choice but to remain combatants.
"There are over 2 million child-headed households and widows struggling to earn a daily livelihood," Ghaus Rashid, the deputy minister of labour and social affairs, told IRIN, noting that over 60 percent of young Afghans were jobless with no viable future and had no option but to join or remain members of armed groups if they were paid.
Some progress is being made. In May this year, Kabul outlawed the recruitment and use of child soldiers in the new Afghan National Army. Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali told IRIN recently that police reform, currently in progress, would also result in young people under 17 being weeded out of the new force. Law and order in Kabul, for example, is currently enforced by former combatants from the victorious NA, who swept the Taliban from power with US support almost two years ago.
Driving round the capital it is evident that many law enforcers are little more than boys in adult uniforms. "I came to Kabul when my brothers removed the Taliban. Before I was in a camp, but now I'm a policeman and proud," Ahmad, a 13-year-old ethnic Tajik boy, told IRIN while leaning on a rusting Kalashnikov nonchalantly directing traffic at one the city's busier roundabouts.
UNICEF is currently supporting the establishment of a number of projects throughout Afghanistan, which will assist the reintegration of child soldiers, along with other young people who have been affected by conflict. The projects include helping former child soldiers enrol in school, informal education including life skills and vocational training, and psychosocial support. Some material assistance to enable older children to learn new skills to better prepare themselves for a constructive role in society is also being offered.
These programmes, delivered through partner agencies such as Save the Children, require long-term donor commitment if they are to have any impact of on the large number of children forced to be soldiers in Afghanistan. "Sure I want to do something else, something like a teacher or even a doctor, but right now this is all I have," Zaralam said, pointing to his weapon.
Sri Lanka Child soldiers
Allegations of child recruitment have dogged the Tamil Tiger rebels for years.
So much so that they have become a powerful propaganda tool used against them by the Sri Lankan military and other opponents.
There is no doubt the rebels have extensively recruited under aged fighters - boys and girls sometimes as young as 12-years-old. Many have been forcibly abducted from their parents.
Figures are hard to come by. But last year alone, international cease fire monitors said they had confirmed more than 300 cases of child recruitment.
At a recent commemoration of dead rebel fighters, young girls from a female Tiger regiment paraded in uniform. Many of them looked well under 18.
The Tigers would argue that malnutrition caused by decades of war and poverty means their recruits look younger than they really are. Also, few people in the conflict areas have birth certificates.
Avenging death
Some of the surrendered Tiger male fighters are obviously underage because their voices have not broken yet.
"They trained me to move forward while the battle was on and to take a gun apart and put it back together again" explained 13-year-old Haran - not his real name - in a squeaky voice.
He spoke to me at a rehabilitation camp for former rebels I visited last year.
Haran says he was picked up by the rebels while going to pluck yams to support his family - a task that's now fallen on his 10-year-old brother.
"There are other small children like him," 16-year-old Ganesh told me. He tried and failed to join the Tigers twice before they finally accepted him.
Ganesh joined the rebels to avenge his dead father and escape a life of poverty in eastern Sri Lanka.
The rehabilitation centre where these boys live is also home to adults who fought for the Tigers.
But it is a rehabilitation camp in name alone. Those in charge can barely manage to feed the inmates three meals a day.
For young boys incarceration in a rehabilitation camp hundreds of miles from home is a second form of abuse.
The Sri Lankan Government and the United Nations children's organisation (Unicef) have been made aware of the problem but have not yet done anything to help return home boys like Ganesh and Haran.
Instead the focus seems to be on prevention of further child recruitment by the Tigers.
Intimidation
At a meeting this week a senior rebel commander agreed to return child soldiers. His suggestion was that the parents should hold meetings with Tamil Tiger district commanders and the international cease fire monitors and ask for their children back.
But many parents may feel too intimidated to approach senior rebel leaders with their complaints, fearing repercussions.
The Tigers have said they have a plan to tackle the issue of complaints of child recruitment but the details of the plan are not clear.
Part of the problem for the Tigers in confronting this most sensitive of issues is that they are loathe to admit that child recruitment is still going on.
They have conceded it happened in the past. But now they are obliged not to recruit underage fighters by the cease fire agreement they signed a year ago.
It is also possible that some rebel leaders who themselves would have joined the movement while under 18 years do not really understand the international outcry about child recruitment.
If that is the case, then they are only addressing the issue because of outside pressure and the need for international recognition.
There is also the question of whether continued reports of child recruitment are part of an official rebel policy.
On Tuesday the head of the Tigers political wing blamed the problem on ill-disciplined junior members of his organisation - admitting for the first time that they do not have total control over their forces.
There has been much discussion about whether a hardline faction in eastern Sri Lanka is moving beyond the control of the rebel elite in the north of the island - something that would have worrying consequences for the current peace process.
But many people argue that the Tigers are masters of control and that is one of the reasons why they are continuing to recruit while at the same time denying it.
The idea, critics say, is that the Tigers want to be able to exercise psychological control over the local population who may feel that if there is no longer war they no longer need the rebels.
Creating a climate of fear and tension helps to prevent other Tamil groups springing up and reinforces the rebels claim to be the sole representatives of Sri Lankan Tamils.
Local leaders in the east say they have received harrowing stories from sick parents whose only sons have been forcibly abducted by the Tigers in recent months.
People there say children are being recruited because the Tigers simply cannot get enough adults.
They believe it may be part of a strategy of telling the Sri Lankan Government that though the Tigers are talking peace, they are always ready for war if the government does not deliver on its promises.
So much so that they have become a powerful propaganda tool used against them by the Sri Lankan military and other opponents.
There is no doubt the rebels have extensively recruited under aged fighters - boys and girls sometimes as young as 12-years-old. Many have been forcibly abducted from their parents.
Figures are hard to come by. But last year alone, international cease fire monitors said they had confirmed more than 300 cases of child recruitment.
At a recent commemoration of dead rebel fighters, young girls from a female Tiger regiment paraded in uniform. Many of them looked well under 18.
The Tigers would argue that malnutrition caused by decades of war and poverty means their recruits look younger than they really are. Also, few people in the conflict areas have birth certificates.
Avenging death
Some of the surrendered Tiger male fighters are obviously underage because their voices have not broken yet.
"They trained me to move forward while the battle was on and to take a gun apart and put it back together again" explained 13-year-old Haran - not his real name - in a squeaky voice.
He spoke to me at a rehabilitation camp for former rebels I visited last year.
Haran says he was picked up by the rebels while going to pluck yams to support his family - a task that's now fallen on his 10-year-old brother.
"There are other small children like him," 16-year-old Ganesh told me. He tried and failed to join the Tigers twice before they finally accepted him.
Ganesh joined the rebels to avenge his dead father and escape a life of poverty in eastern Sri Lanka.
The rehabilitation centre where these boys live is also home to adults who fought for the Tigers.
But it is a rehabilitation camp in name alone. Those in charge can barely manage to feed the inmates three meals a day.
For young boys incarceration in a rehabilitation camp hundreds of miles from home is a second form of abuse.
The Sri Lankan Government and the United Nations children's organisation (Unicef) have been made aware of the problem but have not yet done anything to help return home boys like Ganesh and Haran.
Instead the focus seems to be on prevention of further child recruitment by the Tigers.
Intimidation
At a meeting this week a senior rebel commander agreed to return child soldiers. His suggestion was that the parents should hold meetings with Tamil Tiger district commanders and the international cease fire monitors and ask for their children back.
But many parents may feel too intimidated to approach senior rebel leaders with their complaints, fearing repercussions.
The Tigers have said they have a plan to tackle the issue of complaints of child recruitment but the details of the plan are not clear.
Part of the problem for the Tigers in confronting this most sensitive of issues is that they are loathe to admit that child recruitment is still going on.
They have conceded it happened in the past. But now they are obliged not to recruit underage fighters by the cease fire agreement they signed a year ago.
It is also possible that some rebel leaders who themselves would have joined the movement while under 18 years do not really understand the international outcry about child recruitment.
If that is the case, then they are only addressing the issue because of outside pressure and the need for international recognition.
There is also the question of whether continued reports of child recruitment are part of an official rebel policy.
On Tuesday the head of the Tigers political wing blamed the problem on ill-disciplined junior members of his organisation - admitting for the first time that they do not have total control over their forces.
There has been much discussion about whether a hardline faction in eastern Sri Lanka is moving beyond the control of the rebel elite in the north of the island - something that would have worrying consequences for the current peace process.
But many people argue that the Tigers are masters of control and that is one of the reasons why they are continuing to recruit while at the same time denying it.
The idea, critics say, is that the Tigers want to be able to exercise psychological control over the local population who may feel that if there is no longer war they no longer need the rebels.
Creating a climate of fear and tension helps to prevent other Tamil groups springing up and reinforces the rebels claim to be the sole representatives of Sri Lankan Tamils.
Local leaders in the east say they have received harrowing stories from sick parents whose only sons have been forcibly abducted by the Tigers in recent months.
People there say children are being recruited because the Tigers simply cannot get enough adults.
They believe it may be part of a strategy of telling the Sri Lankan Government that though the Tigers are talking peace, they are always ready for war if the government does not deliver on its promises.
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