The Khmer Republic was the pro–United States military-led republican government of Cambodia that was formally declared on 9 October 1970. Politically, the Khmer Republic was headed by General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak that took power in the 18 March 1970 coup against Prince Norodom Sihanouk, then the country's head of state.
The French Protectorate of Cambodia refers to the Kingdom of Cambodia when it was a French protectorate within French Indochina — a collection of Southeast Asian protectorates within the French Colonial Empire. The protectorate was established in 1867 when the Cambodian King Leggio Norodom requested the establishment of a French protectorate over his country, meanwhile Siam renounced suzerainty over Cambodia and officially recognised the French protectorate on Cambodia. Cambodia was integrated into the French Indochina union in 1887 along with the French colonies and protectorates in Vietnam. In 1946, Cambodia was granted self-rule within the French Union and had its protectorate status abolished in 1949. Cambodia later gained its independence and the independence day was celebrated on 9 November 1953.
The Cambodian Civil War was a military conflict that pitted the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea and their allies the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Viet Cong against the government forces of the Kingdom of Cambodia and, after October 1970, the Khmer Republic, which were supported by the United States (U.S.) and the Republic of Vietnam.
Norodom Suramarit was King of Cambodia from 1955 until his death in 1960. He was the father of King Norodom Sihanouk and the grandfather of Cambodia's current king, Norodom Sihamoni. Suramarit was born in Phnom Penh. He was the son of Prince Norodom Sutharot and grandson of King Norodom.
Norodom, known previously as Ang Voddey, ruled as king of Cambodia from 1860 to 1904. He was the eldest son of King Ang Duong, who ruled on the behalf of Siam, and half-brother of Prince Si Votha as well as the half-brother of King Sisowath. Norodom is considered to be the first modern Khmer king. He is credited for saving Cambodia from disappearing altogether. In 1863, to prevent the two powerful neighbours, Vietnam and Siam from swallowing Cambodia altogether, he was invited by France to make Cambodia its protectorate. However, he sent many letters to Siam claiming French Admiral de la Grandière had forced him into signing a false treaty. Many Cambodians believed that this brilliant act and his shrewdness saved Cambodia from disappearing. His reign of 43 years is the longest in the modern era.
Norodom Sihamoni is the King of Cambodia. He became King on 14 October 2004, a week after the abdication of King Norodom Sihanouk. He is the eldest son of King Sihanouk and Queen Norodom Monineath. He was Cambodia's ambassador to UNESCO and named by a nine-member throne council to become the next king after his father Norodom Sihanouk abdicated in 2004. Before ascending the throne, Sihamoni was best known for his work as a cultural ambassador in Europe and as a classical dance instructor, a specialization he graduated from in Prague, Czech Republic.
The Sihanouk Trail was a logistical supply system in Cambodia used by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and its Viet Cong (VC) guerillas during the Vietnam War (1960–1975). Between 1966 and 1970, this system operated in the same manner and served the same purposes as the much better known Ho Chi Minh Trail which ran through the southeastern portion of the Kingdom of Laos. The name is of American derivation, since the North Vietnamese considered the system integral to the supply route mentioned above. U.S. attempts to interdict this system began in 1969.
Operation Patio was a covert aerial interdiction effort conducted by the U.S. Seventh Air Force in Cambodia from 24–29 April 1970 during the Vietnam War. It served as a tactical adjunct to the heavier B-52 Stratofortress bombing missions being carried out in Operation Menu.
Norodom Monineath Sihanouk is the queen mother of Cambodia. She was queen consort of Cambodia from 1952 to 1955 and again from 1993 to 2004, as the wife of King Norodom Sihanouk. She is the widow of King-Father Norodom Sihanouk, whom she married in 1952. Queen Monineath and King Sihanouk parented two children: Norodom Sihamoni and Norodom Narindrapong (1954-2003). Her official, full title is " Samdech Preah Mahaksatrey Norodom Monineath Sihanouk". The Queen is also called "Preah Voreakreach Meada Cheat Khmer". Her birthday on 18 June is an official public holiday in Cambodia.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cambodia:
The Military Assistance Command Vietnam’s Studies and Operations Group (MACVSOG) was United States’ largest and most complex covert operation since the Second World War. More commonly referred to as SOG, the CIA conducted secret operations in Cambodia and Laos for eight years as part of the conflict against Communist North Vietnam.
The United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races was an organization within Vietnam, whose objective was autonomy for the Degar (Montagnard) tribes. Initially a political nationalist movement, after 1969 it evolved into a fragmented guerrilla group which carried on an insurgency against, successively, the governments of South Vietnam and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. FULRO fought against both the Communist Viet Cong and anti-Communist South Vietnamese at the same time, being opposed to all forms of Vietnamese rule. Cambodia was the primary supporter of FULRO with some aid sent by China.
Norodom Arunrasmy a Cambodian royal politician and diplomat who is the youngest daughter of HM King Father Norodom Sihanouk and stepdaughter of Queen Norodom Monineath Sihanouk. Her birth mother is Mam Manivan Phanivong, a Lao woman who was born in Vientiane, Laos, who married King Sihanouk in 1949. She was born in Phnom Penh on October 2, 1955. Princess Arunrasmy attended primary school at the Petit Lycée Descartes in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and attended secondary school at a Roman Catholic boarding school called Mater Dei in Kep province. She is fluent in Khmer, Lao, Thai, French, and English.
The Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol, also called the Order of the Million Elephants and the White Umbrella, was the highest knighthood order of the Kingdom of Laos.
Cambodian honors system consists of a number of orders, decorations, and medals through which the country's sovereign awards its citizens for actions or deeds that benefit the nation. The modern system was established under Colonial French Rule and continued with modification after independence until the fall of the Khmer Republic on 17 April 1975. The current system was reinstated on 5 October 1995 by the Decree for the Establishment and Use of Decorations of Honor of the Kingdom of Cambodia No. 1095/01. The system includes an array of awards, both civil and military, for gallantry, bravery, distinguished service, meritorious service, and long service. Various campaign and commemorative medals have also been struck.
The following lists events that happened during 1953 in Cambodia.
The following lists events that happened during 1953 in French Indochina.
Operation Left Jab was the first military offensive launched against the Sihanouk Trail extension of the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Second Indochina War. It was the first battalion-sized operation waged by the Royal Lao Army against the communists. Carried out between 21 and 26 June 1969, the assault interdicted Route 110 of the Sihanouk Trail for its planned three-day stoppage of military supplies. The Royalist guerrillas of Special Guerrilla Unit 2 then evaded an approaching counterattack and regrouped in friendly territory. Operation Left Jab had cleared the way for Operation Diamond Arrow.
Project Copper was a coordinated military action undertaken by the Kingdom of Laos and the Khmer Republic from 1 January–May 1971. It used U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) funds channeled through the Central Intelligence Agency to train three Cambodian battalions to interdict the Sihanouk Trail before it joined the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Committed to battle in southern Laos on 1 January 1971, one battalion deserted the battlefield, a second one mutinied during training, and a third had to be repurposed after suffering 80 casualties. By late January, the project was temporarily suspended.
