| |||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Phnom Penh | ||||||
| Language official |
Khmer | ||||||
| others | Vietnamese Laotian French | ||||||
| Religion | Buddhism | ||||||
| Demonym | Khmer | ||||||
| Government | Military junta | ||||||
| President | Lon Nol | ||||||
| Population | 9,102,000 | ||||||
| Established | 1965 | ||||||
| Independence | from Neo-Khmer Empire | ||||||
| declared | 1965 | ||||||
| Annexation | to Democratic Kampuchea | ||||||
| date | 1971 | ||||||
| Currency | Cambodian Riel | ||||||
The Khmer Republic was a state in South-East Asia prior to its dissolution at the hands of the FUNK.
History[]
Background[]
Once a former possession of the French, the Khmer Republic was originally part of the Neo-Khmer Empire. As the previous regime led by Norodom Sihanouk was officially considered neutral, Cambodia had become a safe haven of both Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers. Due to the influx of Vietnamese Communists inside Cambodia, the US began bombing raids on the Cambodian-Vietnamese border. The bombing raids only helped drive the Vietnamese deeper into Cambodia.
Coup and founding[]
In 1965, a band of Cambodian generals, including Lon Nol and his brother, Lon Non, decided to act against the corrupt Sihanouk regime. Rallying support amongst the Cambodian Army, the generals staged a successful coup d'état against Sihanouk's regime. A military tribunal ruled that the Sihanouk regime ought to be exiled from Cambodia. After exiling the monarchy, the generals established a new pro-US republic.
Entrance into the Vietnam War[]
The new Khmer Republic entered the Vietnam War two months after its founding. Sending two thirds of the Cambodian Army into Vietnam, the Khmer Republic proved themselves some of the more efficient ground troops in the US Coalition behind the Republic of Korea Army. The Khmer Republic's Armed Forces assisted in pushing the North Vietnamese back towards Hanoi and eventually took the city in 1967.
Khmer Insurgency[]
While the Cambodian Army saw consecutive successes in Vietnam, a long running insurgency was slowly whittled away at the Cambodians' morale at home. The insurgency was made up of loyalists to the exiled monarchy, pro-Vietnamese rebels and communist guerrilla fighters. Calling themselves the Khmer National United Front, the rebels proclaimed the republic illegitimate and ultimately staged a civil war for control in 1966.
Fall of the Republic[]
After the US' withdrawal from Asia in 1967 and the subsequent Chinese intervention into the Vietnam War, the Khmer Republic was forced to call back their army in Vietnam to support their homeland from the growing civil war. After the communist victory in Vietnam in 1970, the Cambodian Army launched counter-reprisals against suspected communist sympathisers at home. The Khmer Insurgents started to recruit from the targeted population. By early 1971, the insurgents had surrounded the capital of Phnom Penh. By June 1971, the Insurgents had captured the city ending the ill-fated republic.
Economy[]
The currency of the Khmer Republic was the Cambodian Riel.
Military[]
The armed forces of the Khmer Republic was the Khmer National Armed Forces. This was further split into two more units: the Khmer Intervention Army of Vietnam and the Khmer Republican Army.
Equipment:[]
The Khmer National Armed Forces were primarily armed with leftover French firearms from the Occupational era including the: MAT-49 submachine gun, MAS-36 rifle and the American Browning Automatic Rifle.
Government[]
The government of the Khmer Republic was an authoritarian military junta led by Marshall Lon Nol.