Battle of Prachuab Khirikhan The Battle of Prachuab Khrikhan was an early engagement of the Japanese invasion of Thailand in the South - East Asian theatre of World War II . It was fought on December 8 , 1941 at the airfield of Prachuap Khiri Khan in Thailand , on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand along the Kra Isthmus . The Japan ese meant to use Thailand as a base to strike at British possessions in Burma and Malaya and attacked Thailand without warning . Battle . At about 03 : 00 on December 8 , 1941 , the 2nd Battalion , 143rd Infantry Regiment , 55th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army , under the command of Major Kisoyoshi Utsunomiya , began landing troops at Prachuab Khiri Khan . When informed of invasion , Wing Commander Mom Luang Prawat Chumsai of " Kong Bin Noi " ( Squadron ) 5 immediately gave orders to resist . The units on the airfield were equipped with six heavy and two light machine guns , which they immediately turned against the Japanese troops trying to surround the airfield . The small garrison of pilots and ground crew was reinforced by members of the constabulary and the Yuwachon Thaharn ( a quasi - military teenage auxiliary ) who had managed to escape from the town of Prachuab Khiri Khan after the Japanese had captured the telegraph office and the police station . Despite the fact that the Japanese had occupied part of the airfield , " Kong Bin Noi " 5 ' s pilots attempted to take off at sunrise to bomb and strafe the advancing Japanese . Chief Warrant Officer Prom Chuwong was first to take off in a Hawk III . However , Japanese ground fire quickly shot him down , killing him . The Japanese shot down two more Hawks as they attempted to take off , killing both pilots , and wounded a third pilot as he brought his Hawk onto the runway . Only one other pilot managed to get airborne . Flying Officer Man Prasongdi took off in a Hawk III armed with four 50 kg bombs and attempted to attack Japanese transports in Manao harbor . However , he could not locate them due to heavy fog and rain . By 08 : 00 , most of the northern hangars were in Japanese hands . The Thais smashed the instruments of the isolated airfield control tower and set fire to it , as the runways were abandoned . A new perimeter was set up and the withdrawing airmen were covered by a machine gun positioned in the clubhouse ’ s tennis court , manned by Airmen Singto Saensukh and Kasem Wongkangya . The machine gun kept firing throughout the morning and into the afternoon . Pilot Officer Somsri Suchrittham and his men , whose strength was now around thirty , were forced to withdraw when their northern flank was threatened by the abandonment of the runways . Having successfully secured the beachhead , the Japanese proceeded to occupy what was left of the hangars and runways , and reinforcements — including artillery and ten tanks — were landed from the transports . The families of the airmen took refuge in the guesthouses on Mount Laum Muak . The evacuation of the living quarters was supervised by Pilot Officer Phol Thongpricha . Another position was set up by defenders , who divided themselves into three groups . One group was stationed by the guest houses on Prachuab Bay and fired on anything coming up the road from the guard house . A second group , under the immediate command of Wing Commander Prawat , placed itself in the area around the Command and administrative buildings . The final group occupied in houses facing Manao Bay . These two groups fired on the approaches from the hangars and the runways . Fighting continued into late evening , but with lessening intensity . The machine gun at the tennis court held back the Japanese , while a light machine gun was held in reserve and moved to plug any gaps in the perimeter . Rumours that Royal Thai Navy sailors were fighting their way through to relieve the airmen kept up Thai hopes through the night . Ammunition was low , and at one point the airmen actually fired blank rounds at the Japanese . The following morning , the exhausted Thais received a telegram from the Ministry of the Interior , brought in by a postman during a lull in the battle . The telegram ordered the defenders to cease fighting , as an armistice had been arranged by the government . However , the Thais felt this was a trick by the Japanese and continued to resist . The infuriated invaders now mounted assaults with renewed vigor . The defenders were slowly pushed back . About this time , the lone machine gun in the tennis court was taken out , both gunners severely wounded . By 10 : 00 , with the Japanese closing in , Wing Commander Prawat ordered the Command Building to be burned , along with all military documents . As flames engulfed the building , Flying Officer Prayad Kanchonwiroj , the senior medical officer , ordered the hospital building evacuated and set on fire . Wing Commander Prawat ordered all officers to save a bullet for themselves and said that those who wished to were free to try to break out on their own . The others , including the wounded , were to fall back on Mount Laum Muak . At noon , a civilian car with a small white flag arrived . It contained a number of Thai government officials , including the province ’ s undersecretary , Jarunphan Isarangun na Ayutthaya . Jarunphan handed Wing Commander Prawat a direct order from the prime minister , Field Marshal Phibunsongkhram , telling him to cease resistance immediately . Fighting officially ended at 12 : 35 am on December 8 , 1941 . Losses . The Thais suffered 38 dead and 27 wounded , including airmen , police and civilians . Wing Commander Prawat ' s pregnant wife was among the dead , killed by a stray bullet . Japanese sources stated that the Japanese suffered 115 dead . However , Thai estimates of Japanese losses were put at 217 dead and more than 300 wounded . Memorials . A monument to the Thai defenders stands on the Royal Thai Air Force base at Prachuab Khirikhan . Each December a memorial is held to honor those who fought and died defending their country from invasion .