What was the detailed battle history of the Battle of Elephant Island? What's the final result?

At 5:30 in the morning on January 17, the French fleet approached the Thai ship anchorage. At 5:45, the fleet divided into three groups and moved forward at full speed according to the plan. The Ramon Pigette headed east, the gunboats Dumondville and Marshal Chaner took the middle route, and the Tahu and Marne headed west. At this time, the weather was clear and the sea was calm, which was a perfect opportunity for combat. A reconnaissance plane flew over the Thai ship. At 6:05, Rolle-130 reported the discovery of two torpedo boats. The reason was that the Royal Guard Chonburi arrived that night and was preparing to replace the Royal Guard Chanthaburi so that it could return to Thailand the next day. Dashi repair.

After reporting to the flagship, the seaplanes attempted to bomb first, but were met with heavy anti-aircraft fire and failed. The French fleet now clearly knew that the enemy's strength had strengthened, but the element of surprise in combat was lost.

Thai ships weighed anchors and fired up in preparation for war. Once the Ramon Piguet approached, she opened fire and sank two torpedo ships.

At 6:38, the upper-level lookout of the Ramon Piguet reported that the coastal frigate Royal Guard Thonburi was heading northwest 10,000 meters ahead. The two ships immediately opened fire on each other, and the Thai ship The upper gunfire was very intense, but not accurate enough. And the shells were from time to time blocked by islands. A fire broke out on the Thai ship at 7:15. At this time, her captain Verapan had been killed. Not only did she exchange fire with the Ramon Pigette, but the French gunboats Dumondville and Marshal Chanet also came for reinforcements. The Thai ship was in an extremely disadvantageous situation.

Thonburi believed that it would be easy to cause casualties if she attacked the smaller Marshal Xana first. She concentrated her eight-inch guns on Xia, and soon the surroundings around her were ignited. There were water jets, but there was no direct hit. A shot from the Ramon Piguet hit her stern turret, and he had to run forward to fight back while retreating to shallow water. The French ship did not dare to get too close for fear of running aground. At this time, the fire on the Thonburi was out of control. Moreover, the ship hit the beach and tilted severely to the starboard side. Although the forward run was still intact, it could only launch into the sky due to the tilt of the ship's side.

At 7:50, the Ramon Piguet launched a torpedo towards Thonburi from a distance of 15,000 meters, but failed to hit. In the remaining nearly an hour, the French ships were cleaning the battlefield, and at 8:40 dB Lingge ordered the retreat. At this time, Thai Air Force planes arrived and dropped multiple bombs on the Ramon Piguet. Only one hit directly but did not explode. The flagship responded with heavy anti-aircraft fire, and subsequent attacks were ineffective. The last wave of air strikes ended at 9:40, and the French fleet returned to Saigon unimpeded to celebrate their victory.

A mess was left on the sea surface in Trat Province. The Royal Guard Thonburi was severely damaged and ran aground on the shoals of the Chanthaburi River. Later she was salvaged and sent to Japan for repairs. She experienced the baptism of war until she was retired. The Thai transport ship Royal Elephant arrived shortly after the French fleet left and quickly towed her out of shallow water to avoid sinking. However, the torpedo ships Royal Guard Chonburi and Royal Guard Songkhla had been shot and sunk at the beginning of the battle. The Royal Guard Rayong rescued the surviving sailors. Three Thai warships were also anchored in nearby waters, but they chose to stay hidden and not participate in the battle and survived.

The elite of the Royal Thai Navy were wiped out in more than three hours of naval battle. Only the submarine force suffered no losses. This naval battle ended with France achieving a decisive victory similar to the Battle of Tsushima in Japan.

The bravery shown by Thai sailors in battle also deserves recognition. France's victory in this battle did not achieve the expected strategic effect. The Japanese government came forward to mediate the war between the two countries. It was soon determined that Thailand would annex the occupied disputed lands, but the peace did not last long. In September of that year, Japan invaded Malaya and Thailand on the same day.

After World War II, Thailand returned the French Indochina land it occupied to France for fear of French reprisals and vetoing her accession to the United Nations.

The Royal Guard Thonburi was salvaged by the Thai Navy and sent to Japan for overhaul. It served as a training ship until it was decommissioned after the war. Her forward battery was dismantled and transported to the Naval Academy in Sekong Province for preservation as a war souvenir.

Some surviving Thai sailors and some fishermen near Elephant Island insisted that the gunfire of the Royal Guard Thonburi had severely damaged the French ship Ramon Piguet, and there were reports that the ship returned to port. After that, overhaul was carried out all night.

Later, Royal Thai Air Force aircraft launched a counterattack against the French fleet. Captain Chamraj Moungpaseart piloted a Corsair V93S biplane and dropped a 50-kilogram bomb that hit the French flagship, but the bomb did not Explosion, otherwise it will cause great casualties. Captain Shan La later became a lieutenant colonel in the Thai Air Force and retired honorably.