Chapter 537: Republic of China: Starting from the Whampoa Class One Chapter 547 — The Thai Army's Comprehensive Defection

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Plaek Phibunsongkhram tucked his service pistol into his waistband inside the division headquarters and said two words to the Chief of Staff.

"Act!"

The Third Division's rebel troops wheeled about at midnight.

The soldiers were told by their officers that they would no longer go to the frontline to die, but would return to Bangkok to force Marshal La Wen to rescind the expedition order.

None of the officers and men of the Third Division would have imagined that their actions tonight would become a weighty stroke in future history books.

The entire force wheeled back onto the road in the darkness and returned to Bangkok, their footsteps orderly and hurried.

Plaek Phibunsongkhram divided the troops into three columns.

The first column made straight for the General Post and Telegraph Office, seizing control of the radio and telegraph offices, severing all communications between Bangkok and the outside world.

The second column surrounded Marshal La Wen's Marshal's Mansion, not allowing a single person to escape.

The third column's objective was Thailand's Ministry of Finance and National Bank, to prevent the loss of state assets.

At one o'clock in the morning, the Unity Party's underground organization in the city launched on schedule.

Workers and students from every ward of Bangkok poured out of the alleys, holding torches and slogans, completely blocking the roads leading to the port and the train station.

The Japanese Military Police and Thai police remaining in Bangkok faced a grave enemy, mustering over a thousand military police and dispatching them one after another to suppress the unrest.

But the surging protest crowds outnumbered the military police several times over, torches linking into a continuous blaze.

Taking advantage of this great chaos, Major General Plaek Phibunsongkhram led a force into the defenseless Bangkok.

When a detachment of the rebel Thai Third Division rushed to the entrance of the Ministry of Finance building, several Japanese military police guarding the gate had just raised their guns when they were shot down by hundreds of rebel officers and men.

The Ministry of Finance's main hall was brightly lit; staff from the bank were settling accounts through the night, packing gold and foreign exchange into crates, crate after crate loaded onto trucks.

"Everyone halt!" Major General Plaek Phibunsongkhram led the rebel officers and men into the hall and shouted sternly.

The staff turned and saw the Major General Division Commander standing at the doorway, utterly bewildered.

Under the armed coercion of the rebel officers and men, these assets failed to be loaded onto trucks and shipped aboard Japanese warships as intended.

The rebel force surrounding the Marshal's Mansion also opened fire.

La Wen was awakened in bed by gunfire.

He pulled a pistol from under his pillow, rolled and took cover beneath the window to observe outside.

Only when the Captain of the Guard entered to report did he learn that his own Thai Third Division had turned traitor!

Bangkok's defenses were hollow; whether Japanese troops or Thai troops, every available combat unit had been sent to the frontline.

Only a Japanese Military Police detachment and a group of Thai police remained inside Bangkok City.

Major General Plaek Phibunsongkhram launched a military coup with a division of over eight thousand men; although their weapons were inferior, there was truly no one who could stop them!

Marshal La Wen immediately rushed barefoot to the study, grabbed the telephone and called the Military Police Command — no one answered.

He then called the Navy liaison office at the port; he remembered Terauchi Hisaichi was aboard a cruiser in the port, with a Marine Corps detachment of over eight hundred men protecting Terauchi Hisaichi's safety.

When the call connected, the Japanese Navy operator transferred to Terauchi Hisaichi's line.

"General! A coup has broken out in Bangkok — it's Plaek Phibunsongkhram's Third Division!"

"They've wheeled back to the city and are attacking the Marshal's Mansion right now! Please dispatch the Marine Corps ashore immediately to suppress them!"

Terauchi Hisaichi was greatly startled upon hearing this; this was truly unexpected.

The disparity in forces was enormous; the Thai Third Division, as Bangkok's garrison, had nearly five thousand rifles no matter how you counted.

Even if Terauchi Hisaichi committed every man he had, it was doubtful he could suppress the rebellion.

After a long silence, Terauchi Hisaichi replied: "The situation is this chaotic; my Marine Corps cannot leave the port. You find a way to suppress it yourself; I am powerless to help."

Terauchi Hisaichi was just about to hang up when Marshal La Wen hurriedly pleaded: "General, you cannot stand by and watch me die!"

Terauchi Hisaichi weighed the matter: "Very well, very well."

"I've left you a cannonboat, moored at Berth Three."

"Escape from the Marshal's Mansion as fast as you can and make for the port; there's a place for you on the ship."

"It's not safe to stay here long; the fleet will weigh anchor and withdraw to Chonburi west of Bangkok at dawn. You must arrive before dawn."

La Wen put down the phone and immediately ordered the Captain of the Guard: "Use the Marshal's Mansion's radio to send telegrams immediately to the First Division and the Fifth Division rushing to the frontline."

"Order them to stop reinforcing the Japanese Army at the frontline at once, turn around and suppress the Third Division's rebellion, kill Plaek Phibunsongkhram this rebel commander ringleader!"

The Thai First Division and Fifth Division were at this moment marching day and night toward the frontline; they had left Bangkok less than a day ago, and now Marshal La Wen recalled them to quell the chaos.

But time-wise it was obviously too late; these two divisions could not save La Wen.

Outside the Marshal's Mansion, rebel soldiers requisitioned a factory truck and rammed straight through the Marshal's Mansion's main gate; infantrymen filed into the Marshal's Mansion compound.

The guards inside the mansion hid in the corridors and stairwells returning sporadic fire, but their numbers were too few, their firepower too weak; they could not withstand the impact of hundreds of rebels at all.

La Wen finished the call, pulled open a drawer and grabbed two magazines, shouted for a vehicle to be readied at the door, then burst out.

The Marshal's Mansion's main gate could hold no longer.

Rebel machine guns were set up in the building across the street, locking down the entire road; more and more guards fell, the living retreated to the stairwell corner, ammunition nearly exhausted.

La Wen took advantage of the chaos to slip out the side door with a few personal bodyguards, jumped into a black sedan, and sped toward the port.

The car twisted and turned through the lanes; as the headlights swept the streets, La Wen saw Bangkok outside the window.

The streets were full of people.

Workers and students, led by the Unity Party, were marching and demonstrating, completely paralyzing traffic.

La Wen's driver panicked and drove aimlessly through Bangkok's streets, driving straight onto a roadblock.

The roadblock was set up by the rebel troops of the Thai Third Division; seeing a black sedan trying to ram through the checkpoint, the rebels opened fire directly.

The sedan's front windshield was shattered, the driver of Marshal La Wen took a bullet to the chest, and the sedan crashed head-on into a shopfront along the street.

Marshal La Wen climbed out from the back seat, a pistol gripped in his hand, instinctively firing toward the window.

Seeing the other side shoot, the rebels concentrated fire on the vehicle once more.

Before long, Marshal La Wen's vehicle fell completely still.

The rebels went forward, opened the car doors, and dragged out the corpses one by one.

A rebel officer, after identification, confirmed that Marshal La Wen had been shot dead.

Upon receiving the news, General Plaek Phibunsongkhram immediately rushed from the Ministry of Finance to the General Post Office.

In the broadcasting studio of the General Post Office, General Plaek Phibunsongkhram addressed the national radio stations, announcing word by word:

"Marshal La Wen has been executed for the crime of treason; his regime representing Japanese interests has been overthrown."

"Thailand will establish a provisional military government......"

Once the news broke, the citizens of Bangkok were in an uproar, all believing that great chaos had descended.

The Japanese military police responsible for suppressing demonstrations in the streets had already fled to the port, and Thai police also shed their uniforms one after another, hiding in their homes and refusing to come out.

At the same moment, Terauchi Hisaichi received the news that Marshal La Wen had been shot dead.

A military policeman reported to him: "Regarding the news of Marshal La Wen being shot dead, it is currently still being verified."

Terauchi Hisaichi had no inclination to discern truth from falsehood: "There's no need to verify truth or falsehood anymore; the rebels have already seized the radio station, and there's been no word from the bank either."

"Marshal La Wen has already lost all value; Bangkok is no place to linger, we will withdraw directly to Chonburi Province fifty kilometers west of Bangkok, to put some distance between ourselves and this troubled place."

"Notify Yamashita Tomoyuki, all units in Thailand are to converge on Chonburi Province."

"The Southern Expeditionary Fleet will assemble at Chonburi Port; each unit will board ships in sequence upon arrival."

"Chonburi is Thailand's largest deep-water military port; the Marine Corps is entirely there."

"Tell all units to move fast, reach Chonburi Province and board ships to withdraw as quickly as possible."

——————

Although Major General Plaek Phibunsongkhram had already shot dead Marshal La Wen, the rebels still did not lightly provoke the Japanese at the port.

Because Major General Plaek Phibunsongkhram still had to face the Thai First Division and Fifth Division rushing back to Bangkok.

Before his death, Marshal La Wen had ordered these two divisions to turn back and suppress the rebellion.

Although Marshal La Wen's death had been publicly announced, the division commanders of the Thai First Division and Fifth Division did not believe the news, and both attacked the rebellious Third Division of Plaek Phibunsongkhram.

The First Division commander and Fifth Division commander conferred by radio on the road, and their assessments were much the same:

Plaek Phibunsongkhram has rebelled; the rebellion must be crushed before he fully controls Bangkok.

As for Marshal La Wen's death, they unanimously considered it a scheme and trick of Plaek Phibunsongkhram.

Using two divisions to fight Plaek Phibunsongkhram's one division ought to be quite easy.

Both Thai division commanders agreed that Plaek Phibunsongkhram was audacious beyond measure, that the coup he launched was doomed to fail, and that this "merit of serving the king" was surely in the bag.

The two divisions' troops reached Bangkok's northern suburbs at dawn; Plaek Phibunsongkhram's Third Division had already deployed defenses on the city's outer perimeter, gun muzzles pointed outward.

The two sides ran into each other in the various towns and villages of the suburbs, and firefight erupted in an instant.

Gunfire rose and fell in the streets and alleys of Bangkok's northern suburbs.

Neither side had artillery; the light weapons in their hands came from exactly the same source — all obsolete castoffs from the Japanese Army.

There were Type 30 rifles the Japanese Army had used in the Russo-Japanese War, and Type 38 rifles discarded from the Xia Kingdom battlefield after heavy high-intensity use.

The fighting was interspersed with short bursts from a few light machine guns.

Without artillery, soldiers were unwilling to rashly charge and cross bayonets; the two sides fought all morning without many casualties.

The Thai First Division commander simply used the radio to launch a war of words against the rebels: "Plaek Phibunsongkhram, rebels have no good end!"

"You betrayed the country, you betrayed Marshal La Wen, lay down your weapons and surrender immediately."

Plaek Phibunsongkhram replied in kind: "Who are the rebels? I see you are the rebels!"

"Marshal La Wen is already dead, the corpse is in my hands."

"The Japanese have also left Bangkok; who are you still selling your lives for here?"

The gunfight and war of words between the two sides continued unabated.

Plaek Phibunsongkhram was not flustered in the slightest, because he was waiting for his own reinforcements to arrive.

While the two Thai divisions opposite no longer had anything to rely on; the longer it dragged on, the worse for them.

The two Thai divisions outside the city were adjusting formation preparing to launch another attack, when a row of black dots emerged in the northern sky, their numbers rapidly increasing, the roar of engines coming from the horizon.

They were P-47 Thunderbolts.

Eight P-47s formed an attack formation and dove down, rockets under their wings trailing white smoke plunging into the Thai Fifth Division's assembly area.

The marching column was severed at the waist; horses, mules, and elephants stopped on the road were frightened into scattering and fleeing.

Immediately afterward, over ten P-40 fighters swept past at low altitude, aircraft machine guns raking the ground kicking up rows of dirt and grass clippings.

The Thai troops, with not a single anti-aircraft gun nor a single anti-aircraft machine gun, were stunned by the beating.

A Thai infantry regiment's offensive aimed at Bangkok was dissolved on the spot, fleeing rearward in droves; officers shouted themselves hoarse but could not stop them.

But the support for Plaek Phibunsongkhram was far from just this simple; an even greater roar pressed down from the north.

C-47 transport aircraft formed a dense formation, arriving over Bangkok's northern suburbs under the escort of two fighter squadrons.

The C-47 transport aircraft were fully loaded with the Youth Army's paratrooper unit.

The first wave of paratroopers jumped from the cabin, landing behind General Plaek Phibunsongkhram's positions.

Over eight hundred Youth Army paratroopers landed at the northern suburb drop zone, quickly completed assembly after landing, helped General Plaek Phibunsongkhram consolidate Bangkok's defenses, and boosted the rebels' morale.

Facing the offensive launched by the Thai First Division and Fifth Division coming to "suppress the rebellion," the Youth Army paratrooper unit gave full play to its firepower advantage.

The firepower density of the M3 submachine guns and Garand rifles was on a completely different order of magnitude from the Thai Army's old-style rifles.

The crossfire net formed by M1919A4 Machine Guns made the Thai troops opposite completely unable to raise their heads.

With the Youth Army Paratrooper Unit backing them, General Plaek Phibunsongkhram directly ordered the infantry charge to deploy.

Seeing that General Plaek Phibunsongkhram's rebel army had a high-level backer behind them, the Thai troops who came to suppress them scattered like birds and beasts one after another, retreating dozens of kilometers to watch the situation.

A Lieutenant Colonel of the Youth Army Airborne Troops met with Plaek Phibunsongkhram.

Under the Lieutenant Colonel's explanation, the rebel army learned that the China-Burma Theater would give them more support.

Commander Lv Muzhi would airdrop more support into Bangkok, this Japanese heartland, while the various units on the frontline were also advancing smoothly.

With a powerful backer, Major General Plaek Phibunsongkhram sent a general telegram to the various Thai divisions on the frontline.

"Bangkok has been taken over by the Allied Forces."

"The Lawan regime no longer exists."

"All frontline Thai Army units, lay down your weapons, cease resistance, jointly contribute to the great cause of peace......"

"Those who strike back against the Japanese Army shall be regarded as having made meritorious service."

——————

At the Kuneng Province frontline, Yamashita Tomoyuki held the retreat dispatch sent by Terauchi Hisaichi; he was the first person on the frontline to know that a coup had occurred in Bangkok.

"Notify the Fifth Division, Imperial Guard 2nd Division, Eighteenth Division. All three divisions are to completely withdraw from the current defensive line."

"All units turn toward Chonburi direction at full speed; the Southern Expeditionary Fleet is waiting at Springwuli Port, board the ships upon arrival."

The Staff Officer asked: "Do we need to notify the Thai Army side?"

Yamashita Tomoyuki glanced at him: "No, just go directly."

"A coup has already occurred in Bangkok; we must withdraw quickly to prevent the frontline Thai Army from turning around and attacking us."

Once the order was passed down, the three Japanese divisions in Thailand began a full-line contraction, retreating from their respective positions.

The various Thai division commanders only realized something was wrong after the Japanese Army withdrew; they sent people to look, and the Japanese trenches were empty of a single person.

Yamashita Tomoyuki left the Thai Army on the frontline and slipped away first with the Japanese.

Immediately after, Plaek Phibunsongkhram's general telegram arrived; news of the Bangkok coup and the Youth Army taking over Bangkok spread throughout the army.

For a time, everyone in the Thai Army felt insecure, fearing liquidation.

However, General Plaek Phibunsongkhram's telegram also pointed them a clear path: those who strike back against the Japanese Army shall be regarded as having made meritorious service.

Mending the fold after the sheep are lost — not too late.

The various Thai divisions on the frontline all considered their own way out; some officers led their troops to simply surrender to Sun Liren.

Some officers directly began pursuing the Japanese; regardless of whether they could win, the attitude had to be in place.

Still other officers moved about everywhere, defecting to the Unity Party one after another......

The Thai First Division and Fifth Division, originally tasked with "suppressing the rebellion" in Bangkok, were the first to surrender.

Youth Army transport aircraft and fighter planes continuously came to bomb and airdrop paratroopers; the paratroopers Lv Muzhi airdropped into Bangkok City quickly exceeded three thousand.

The Thai First Division and Fifth Division outside the city then simply announced surrender.

The remaining Thai division commanders on the frontline quickly made the same decision one after another, sending telegrams announcing surrender to the Youth Army.

Lv Muzhi received news in Mandalay of the successful Bangkok airdrop and the Thai Army's comprehensive defection.

He immediately issued directives to the Youth Army and Central-South National Defense Army within Thailand.

"Sun Liren leads the main force toward Chonburi at full speed in pursuit; Youth Fifth Division and Central-South National Defense Army all press forward, bite onto the Fifth Division and Imperial Guard Infantry Second Division led by Yamashita Tomoyuki, not a single one allowed to board ships."

"Airborne Brigade departs from Bangkok, heads east all the way, block Yamashita Tomoyuki's retreat route to Chonburi."

"Long Wenzhang's Youth Eighteenth Division and Ruan Linqing's Indochina First Division tightly bite onto the Eighteenth Division; all Thai troops who have surrendered near Bangkok then go to intercept the retreating Eighteenth Division."

——————

Due to the Thai Army's comprehensive defection, the Japanese Army began a full-line great rout, becoming rats crossing the street.

The Fifth Division and Imperial Guard Infantry Second Division were crowded beyond capacity on the road to Chonburi; trucks and marching columns were mixed together, speed far slower than Yamashita Tomoyuki had anticipated.

The Youth Fifth Division's tank column had already pursued from behind, intercepting the Imperial Guard Division's rear guard on the highway north of Chonburi; both sides erupted in fierce battle at midnight.

The Eighteenth Division suffered continuous pursuit by Long Wenzhang and Ruan Linqing's two forces during its retreat; Unity Party Guerrillas also continuously harassed from the jungle edges.

Terauchi Hisaichi waited and waited on the warship at Springwuli Port, waited until the flowers withered.

He never waited for Yamashita Tomoyuki to lead his subordinates to appear outside the port.

"Yamashita-kun...... you are the 'Malayan Tiger', you absolutely cannot fall just like that!"

【This book has roughly several tens of thousands of words left before completion, should finish in early May】

【But looking today, nearing the end I got put in the little black room again, really gave me a big one......】

【No matter how you say it, the author will still complete normally according to plan, everyone don't worry.】