Kingdom of Laos

The Kingdom of Laos is a Puppet State of Japan located west of the Imperial State of Vietnam, North of the Kingdom of Cambodia, West of the Kingdom of Siam and South of the Colony of South China.

## History

### Origin

After the acquisition of Cambodia in 1863, French explorers led by Ernest Doudart de Lagrée went on several expeditions along the Mekong River to find possible trade relations for the territories of French Cambodia and Cochinchina (modern-day Southern Vietnam) to the south. In 1885, a French consulate was established in the Kingdom of Luang Phrabang, which was a vassal kingdom to Siam (modern-day Thailand). Siam, led by king Chulalongkorn, soon feared that France was planning to annex Luang Prabang and signed a treaty with the French on 7 May 1886 which recognised Siam's suzerainty over the Lao kingdoms.

By the end of 1886, Auguste Pavie was named vice-consul to Luang Prabang and was in charge of expeditions occurring in Laotian territory, with the possibility of turning Laos into a French territory. In 1888, Chinese forces known as the Black Flag Army declared war on Siam and its vassal state of Luang Prabang by sacking its capital. Pavie and French forces later intervened and evacuated the Lao royal family to safety. Additional French troops from Hanoi later arrived to expel the Black Flags from Luang Prabang. Following his return to the city, King Oun Kham requested a French protectorate over his kingdom. Pavie later sent Oun Kham's request to the French government in Paris. The bill designating Luang Prabang a protectorate of France was signed on 27 March 1889 between both sides despite a Siamese protest.

After an ultimatum was given by Pavie, now resident minister to Siam in Bangkok, in August 1892[*citation needed*] to the Siamese government, both countries went to war in 1893, culminating in the Paknam incident when France, contrary to promises it had made to Great Britain, entered Bangkok with warships. The kingdom was forced to recognise French control over the eastern side of the Mekong River. Pavie continued to support French expeditions in Laotian territory and gave the territory its modern-day name of Laos. Following Siam's acceptance of the ultimatum, to cede the lands east of the Mekong including its islands, the Protectorate of Laos was officially established and the administrative capital moved from Luang Prabang to Vientiane. However, Luang Prabang remained the seat of the royal family, whose power was reduced to figureheads while the actual power was transferred over to French officials including the vice consulate and Resident-General. In January 1896, France and the United Kingdom signed an accord recognising the border between French Laos and British Burma.

### Forced Fail Expansion Plans

In 1898, Laos was fully integrated into the French Indochina union that was created in 1887 by unifying French possessions in Vietnam and Cambodia. A colonial governor was later installed in Vientiane and Laos was reorganised from two provinces (*Haut-Laos* and *Bas-Laos*) to ten provinces. The royal seat at Luang Prabang was still seen as the official ruler of the province and a royal court still remained, but it was later to be consisted of French appointed officials. The remaining nine provinces were directly ruled under the French government in Vientiane, with each province having a resident governor and military post. To financially support the colonial government, taxes were introduced and imposed on the population.

In 1902, a treaty with Siam forced the kingdom to also surrender lands on the western side of the Mekong River. These lands now form the province of Sainyabuli and the western half of Champasak Province. In 1904, the present border between Laos and Cambodia was established after Siam ceded Meluprey (Preah Vihear Province) and the Kingdom of Champasak to the French. Unlike in the annexation of the Kingdom of Luang Phrabang, which had become an official French protectorate at least nominally under the rule of the royal house, the French administration saw no benefit in a protectorate treaty with Champasak. For this reason, Champasak was declared dissolved on 22 November 1904; the area was then managed directly by the colonial administration. By internal reclassification of the provinces and by giving some of the southern areas to French Cambodia, the former Kingdom of Champasak disappeared from the map, leaving only the Champasak Province. The last King of Champasak, Ratsadanay, was however allowed to keep his title for life and became governor of Champasak province, whose administrative center was relocated to Pakse in 1908. In 1934 he was deposed by the French due to his age.

French plans to expand the territory of Laos ended in 1907, after Siam began co-operating with the British to control French expansion in Indochina, which the British Empire feared would have eventually led to a French annexation of Siam, upsetting the region's balance of power. Within French Administration in 1904, despite Cambodia's historical claim, Laos ceded Stung Treng Province in exchange of the royal capital of Champassak which was temporally under Cambodia's Administration. In addition, prior to the Holy Man's Rebellion, the province of Kontum and Pleiku was placed under the French Protectorate of Annam.

### WWI and Liberation

After Japan liberated the Nation during WWI, Kingdom of Laos was officially proclaimed when the new Constitution was promulgated in 1919, as a puppet state of the Empire of Japan.

## Government

After Japan made Laos a Puppet State, the Royal Lao Government took control of the country. This treaty established a constitutional monarchy, with Sisavang Phoulivong as King and Prince Kindavong as Prime Minister.

## Military

The Kingdom of Laos was divided into five military regions. The Royal Lao Armed Forces were responsible for the defense of the country, comprising three branches of service: the Royal Lao Army, the Royal Lao Navy, and the Royal Lao Air Force, which was under the control of the Ministry of Defence in Vientiane.

### Army

The chain of command of the Royal Lao Army was placed under the Ministry of Defense in Vientiane. The country was divided into five military regions, roughly corresponding to the areas of the country's 13 provinces. Throughout its existence, the Royal Laotian Army received military assistance mainly from it's master state respectively everything that the RLA used, from uniforms and boots to rifles, artillery and vehicles supplied to them by Japan.

### Air Force

The RLAF, along with the Royal Lao Navy, and the Royal Lao Army, was placed under the control of the Ministry of Defense in Vientiane. It has 100 Warplanes supplied to them by Japan.

## Foreign Relations

* Colonial Relations with the Empire of Japan.
* Great Relations with the Kingdom of Siam and the Kingdom of Cambodia.
* Bad Relations with the Imperial State of Vietnam, the Shan States Duchy and the Kingdom of Burma.