Thailand was never colonised and remained neutral in the Second World War, this largely concentrates on the European colonialism of the 19th century and neglects that fact that Thailand was colonised by Japan, albeit briefly. Thailand fell to the Japanese on 8th December 1941 after a very brief conflict, and by December 14th Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram agreed to secretly send Thai troops to aid the Japanese campaign into the Malay Peninsula. Thailand openly declared war on the US and UK by the 25th January 1942, and effectively remained an ally/puppet of Japan until the Thai legislature refused to pass two government bills on July 24th 1944 and forced the Prime Minister to resign. How did Thailand manage to escape colonization ?