Siam and the First World War by Stefan Hell tells the story of how the elite of a kingdom in Southeast Asia shrewdly decided to enter into the Great War of 1914-18.While the war brought an unprecedented death toll and suffering to nearly the entire European continent, by declaring war on Germany Siam became not only the first Southeast Asian state to declare war on a Western power and thereby managed to reap great political gain internationally and solidify their rule domestically.As well as detailing the political background that led to the sending of an expeditionary source to France, the author tells fascinating personal stories: of one Thai being among the few survivors of a boat sunk by a German torpedo, of Thai students interned in a German Schloss, and of the Germans and Austrians interned in Bangkok.
