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

Description

This book is an absorbing account of secret operations and political intrigue in wartime Thailand. During World War II Free Thai organizations cooperated 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 now permits full revelation of this complex story of heroic action and political intrigue.

E. Bruce Reynolds is Associate Chair in the Department of History at San Jose State University. His previous publications include Thailand and Japan's Southern Advance, 1940-1945 (1994).

'... the tangled history of the covert operations in Thailand carried out by the SOE, the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the Free Thai Underground, which is meticulously unravelled by E. Bruce Reynolds in Thailand's Secret War.' Tribune 'Is an enjoyable account of the differing agendas of the British and American agents who jockeyed for post-war advantage in the country.' Kansai Time Out 'The book is an exemplar of close-knit historical investigation ... the author is to be congratulated on a fine intellectual effort.' Asian Affairs