Suriyothai, honey, when you nail your colors to the mast, you sure use the largest nails you can find. Stuyvesant restrained himself from grinning at the thought. He was forestalled from saying anything by Henry Morgenthau’s worried comment.
“Aren’t the French doing quite well? The Thai advance seems limited and the French are claiming a major naval victory. They’re saying they’ve sunk a third of the Thai Navy including both their largest battleships and three destroyers.”
Stimson shook his head. “Not according to our military attache there. One of the ships the French claim to have sunk is in Sattahip. She’s not just undamaged; she wasn’t even in the battle. The other one was towed into Bangkok the day after the battle. She’s badly shot up but afloat. They’re coast defense ships, by the way, not battleships. The Thais say they’ve lost two torpedo boats; that’s all. We do know they drove off the French squadron. It’s in Saigon right now, with their cruiser and at least one sloop damaged. On land, the French are facing an imminent disaster. Their counterattack was a complete failure and it seems like their army has been surrounded at Battambang. That’s probably why they accepted the Japanese proposal. It’s the only chance they have of stopping the situation unravelling completely.”
“I think it is fairly obvious that reversing our position on arms supplies was a major factor in Thailand adopting its anti-Japanese alignment.”
Cordell Hull sounded almost sanctimoniously pleased with himself. Given a week, you’ll have convinced yourself that this was what you had planned all along. Stuyvesant contented himself with nodding thoughtfully at Hull’s statement. Hull’s next words caught him by surprise. “Since they are obviously aligned with our interests, perhaps we should make our support clearer? Unfortunately, we appear to have run out of British and French aircraft to give away.”
A ripple of laughter ran around the room. The truth was that the vast stockpile of undelivered French and British aircraft had been put to a far better use than its original owners could ever have thought possible. The political and strategic gains from their distribution far exceeded their actual military value.
Stimson raised a hand in a munificent gesture. “Actually, I might be able to help there. I was speaking with General Marshall this morning. Apparently, the British bought 100 M2A4 light tanks, which remain undelivered. They were scheduled for our own use, but we have a new model, the M3, being introduced. Their loss will not be significant. Perhaps, if we were to offer them to the Thais, the reinforcement would make their rejection of the Japanese all the more emphatic?”
“They belong to the Commonwealth of Nations as the legitimate successor to the British government.” Cordell Hull was firm on that. The proprieties had to be observed. “Of course, if the Indians, Australians, Canadians and South Africans don’t mind, the transfer would be possible.”
“The South Africans want armored cars. The Canadians are building Valentines. It’s just the Indians and Australians who matter and I think we know where the Indians stand on this. They won’t object.”
Cordell Hull acknowledged Stimson’s assessment with a nod.
“Phillip, you look like you have a thought on this?”
“It seems to me that a longer-term commitment is necessary. Speaking as a businessman, I’d want to know that the current relationship is stable before investing. After all, we have reversed course on Thailand twice now.”
“Perhaps a long-term financial commitment?” Henry Morgenthau spoke diffidently. He’d seen the intricate detail of the studies on German industry and didn’t like what he was seeing. The sheer complexity and number of variables in the picture that had been presented made him question the plausibility of theories based around central economic planning. That ran against the beliefs of a lifetime and made him pleased to get back to simpler and less disturbing ground. “Extend a substantial credit line, repayable over a long period at a low rate of interest? That would be a sign that the relationship now being established is an enduring one.”
“And what they do with the money would also be useful information on their real policies and intents.” Hull nodded approvingly. “An excellent suggestion, Henry. Has anybody anything else to add?”
There was a generalized murmur of denial and Hull looked around happily. “Very well then; I will present these opinions to the next meeting of the cabinet. Phillip, I will let you know when that will be. I understand that your team has finished the first draft of Air War Plan Directive One. Please hold yourself ready to attend the appropriate part of that meeting. I fear nobody else can present the information you have gathered in a way that will do it justice. On that note, I move this meeting be closed.”
Chapter Thirteen
REACHING AN UNDERSTANDING
This was a humiliation that Admiral Jean Decoux had never anticipated. In 1940, he had been appointed to the position of governor of Indochina with specific instructions to reverse the policy of appeasement towards the Japanese led by his predecessor, General Georges Catroux. When he had arrived in Hanoi, he had found that Catroux was far from being the appeaser Decoux had been told. Political realities forced them both to follow that road. Neither had received any support from the new government in Vichy and both had faced intense pressure from the Japanese. The Japanese wanted French Indochina as a base from which to strike at the rich resource areas further south. There was a further truth, one that Decoux had a harder job accepting. The government in Vichy may have condemned Catroux as an appeaser, but appeasement was the policy that demanded. In effect, his predecessor had been disgraced for obeying the instructions he had been given.
Decoux had taken that lesson on board and concentrated all his efforts on trying to resist the Japanese advance while not giving them the excuse to seize complete control by force. He had never expected this devastating blow from the west. His civil servants had assured him that displays of force would be entirely adequate to eliminate any threat from that quarter.
“Is it really as bad as they say?” Admiral Decoux needed the advice on the situation at the front. General Catroux was the only reliable source he could consult.
“It is a disaster. Another Sedan.” Catroux was a deeply worried and unhappy man. He was utterly disillusioned with the authorities in Vichy who had thrown him to the wolves and were now trying to do the same to Decoux.
“The forces in the Battambang pocket tried to link up with the smaller pocket to the north yesterday. but the attack was repulsed with losses on our side. It is like the fighting at home last year; it is the air forces that are determining the course of the war. We have lost twenty-two aircraft so far, and another dozen or more on the ground. Our fighters have been shot down and our bombers driven from the sky. The Siamese dive bombers can go where they want and do what they wish. And they are very good at their work.”
“How long do we have?” It was the most important piece of information Decoux wanted. It would determine everything else that he could achieve.
Catroux thought carefully. It was so easy to give in to despair and give up while there was still hope. Yet, it was also so easy to convince oneself there was hope when all chances of victory had faded. “A week; perhaps ten days. By then, the encircled troops will have had to surrender and we will have lost the one good card still in our hand. While they resist, we can negotiate a peace settlement on terms. Once they are gone, the Siamese will simply dictate what terms they will. At least we have one consolation. We have heard from the Swiss that the Siamese are treating the prisoners they have taken with great kindness. We should respond in kind, of course. We have fourteen of their aircrew as our prisoners and treating them as guests rather than prisoners would be wise.”