Thai Forces Surrender to Japanese WWII at Ao Manao

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Mike

Thai surrender to Japanese forces at Ao Manao

This photograph is the other side of the WWII battle memorial at Ao Manao Thailand that I featured the other day. This side of the huge sandstone carving shows the Thai and Japanese forces at the formal surrender. Interestingly the inscription reads “armistice” rather than “surrender” which probably has more to do with Thai nationalism than the actual facts of the matter.

For the official record, Thailand and Japan agreed that the Imperial Army could occupy Thailand to further the war aims of the latter. This action subsequently led to thousands of Allied prisoners of war and local Asian labourers dying on the infamous Death Railway. Thailand declared war on the Allies as a result of this agreement with Japan, but the Thai ambassador in the USA never delivered the declaration.

Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D 55mm Lens

Related posts:

  1. Ao Manao Thailand-WWII Battle Memorial
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  • roentarre

    Good capture with history and spirit.

  • Anonymous

    It was indeed an armistice, and not a surrender – the airmen at Prachuap, as well as the Thai military, were not disarmed, and they did not become prisoners of war.

  • The TEFL Don

    Anon, If armistice means neither unconditional surrender or treaty (as in WWI) then I would agree with you and what it says on the memorial.

    The battle at Ao Manao only ended when the Thai force were ordered to lay down their arms by the Phibun(spelling?) government in Bangkok.

    History seems to have various versions of why this happened. One prominent suggestion is that a deal was struck regarding territory being seeded(or returned) to Thailand. Including the areas of the deep South that is nowadays troubled by terrorist activities.

    While the Thai forces were not made POW's under the terms of the agreement I do know that thousands of ordinary Thai citizens were subsequently used as forced labour on the Thai Burma railway.

    Finally thank you for taking the time to comment on this post. I respect your right to remain anonymous but wonder if you are a Thai citizen interested in the history of the period being discussed.

  • Anonymous

    Who commissioned the monument? Nice photo.

  • Mike Rose

    Hi Anon,
    Sorry I don't know the answer to that one. There is a plaque nearby in Thai which might have such details but my Thai is not good enough to read it ;-) But thanks for stopping by.