Thai Riflemen

Thailand, formally known as Siam till 1939, held the unique position of self governance from colonial European powers in Indochina. Since France's capitulation to the Nazi's in 1940, A Nationalist lead Thailand began to plan a colonial war with the newly weakened Vichy French government in efforts to reclaim lost land, previously lost in the late end of the last century and earlier in the current. The Franco Thai War began in 1940, the same year Paris had fallen to German troops. A sporadic border war  that engrossed Thailand's eastern borders ensued, fighting in regions such as Cambodia, and Laos. The French performed poorly in the land war, but was noted for significant victories in naval battles across Indochina's coastline. The Japanese Empire, using its influence on Vichy France, mediated a transition of 54 sqkm from French colonial land to Thailand, only a quarter of what was originally lost a few decades ago. Later on throughout WWII, Thailand had become a sought out ally and would eventually take place in combat operations with the Japanese in Burma and in China