The Khmer National Army (; , ANK) was the land component of the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK), the official military of the Khmer Republic during the Cambodian Civil War between 1970 and 1975.
History The oldest and largest branch of the Cambodian armed forces in terms of personnel and matériel, the Khmer Royal Army (French: Armée Royale Khmère – ARK) was officially created on 20 November 1946, after the signing of a French–Khmer military agreement which defined the provisional organization of both the ARK and the mixed French-Cambodian troops.Ross, Cambodia, a Country Study (1987), pp. 247–248. The terms of the agreement stipulated that the new armed forces would consist of indigenous territorial units stationed within Cambodia to help maintain order and a mobile reserve (French: Reserve Mobile) comprising 8,000 Khmer soldiers, to be divided on equal halves of 4,000 each between the ARK and the mixed infantry units of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps (CEFEO), placed at the disposal of the French High Commissioner for Indochina. The formation and instruction of the ARK units was entrusted to a French Military Training Mission (French: Mission Militaire Française d'Instruction Militaire), staffed by French Army officers and NCOs, who acted as instructors and military advisers.Conboy and Bowra, The War in Cambodia 1970–75 (1989), pp. 12–13.Conboy, FANK: A History of the Cambodian Armed Forces, 1970–1975 (2011), p. 9.Cherami, Les médailles de régne du Royaume du Cambodge (2016), p. 25.
Three days later, the first entirely Cambodian regular military unit, the 1st Khmer Rifle Battalion (French: 1ér Bataillon de Chasseurs Khmères – 1st BCK), was raised by the French Military Mission in Phnom Penh, formed by elements transferred from both the Khmer National Guard (French: Garde Nationale Khmère – GNK) and the Cambodian Rifle Regiment (French: Régiment de Tirailleurs Cambodgiens – RTC), comprising three rifle battalions, of the colonial French Union Army.Ross, Cambodia, a Country Study (1987), p. 244.Conboy and Bowra, The War in Cambodia 1970–75 (1989), pp. 12–13.Sicard, Les Unités Indochinoises jusqu'en 1945 (2002), pp. 50–51; 53. A second rifle battalion (French: 2éme Bataillon de Chasseurs Khmères – 2nd BCK), created out from locally recruited Khmer irregular auxiliaries (French: Supplétifs) was raised at Kratie in December that year. Both battalions were posted to the mobile reserve in January 1947.
Led by a cadre of French officers and senior NCOs, and intended to be used on internal security operations to reinforce CEFEO regular troops, the new Khmer battalions saw their first combat in 1947 against Vietminh guerrilla forces in north-eastern Cambodia.Conboy and Bowra, The War in Cambodia 1970–75 (1989), pp. 12–13. Small-scale counter-insurgency operations, this time against the Cambodian nationalist Khmer Issarak rebel movement, continued over the next three years, during which the Khmer battalions gradually assumed responsibility for the defence of Battambang and Kampong Thom Provinces,Conboy and Bowra, The War in Cambodia 1970–75 (1989), pp. 12–13. which had been part of the territory returned to Cambodia by Thailand in early 1947.Ross, Cambodia, a Country Study (1987), p. 248.
The ARK in the First Indochina War This period saw a rapid expansion of ARK units and by January 1947, its effective strength stood at about 4,000 men, of which 3,000 served in the GNK.Ross, Cambodia, a Country Study (1987), pp. 248–249. In July 1949, a second French–Khmer military agreement was signed, granting Cambodian military forces further operational autonomy in the Siem Reap and Kampong Thom provinces.Corfield and Summers, Historical Dictionary of Cambodia (2003), p. 128. Under an additional protocol signed in June 1950, Cambodian provincial governors were assigned the responsibility for the pacification of the provinces under their jurisdictions; to accomplish this mission they were given each a counter-insurgency force consisting of one independent Khmer infantry company.Ross, Cambodia, a Country Study (1987), p. 249. Late that year, a military assistance agreement was signed between the United States and France, which provided for the expansion of indigenous military forces in Indochina,Ross, Cambodia, a Country Study (1987), pp. 241; 249.Conboy and Bowra, The War in Cambodia 1970-75 (1989), p. 18. and by 1952 ARK strength had reached 13,000 men, outnumbering the French CEFEO forces stationed in Cambodia. New Khmer rifle battalions were formed, specialized combat-support units were established, and a framework for logistical support was set up.
A third Rifle Battalion (3rd BCK) was raised in August 1948 at Takéo, followed in January 1951 by other two rifle battalions (5th BCK and 6th BCK) at the French-run Pursat Infantry Training Centre (French: Centre d'Entrainement de Infanterie – CEI). Two armoured car squadrons were formed, the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron (French: 1ér Escadron de Reconnaissance Blindée – 1st ERB) in August 1950 and the 2nd Reconnaissance Squadron (French: 2éme Escadron de Reconnaissance Blindée – 2nd ERB) in July 1951 at Phnom Penh,Conboy, FANK: A History of the Cambodian Armed Forces, 1970–1975 (2011), p. 193. and a Khmer Parachute Battalion (French: 1ér Bataillon Parachutiste Khmèr – 1st BPK) was officially created in 1 December 1952.Conboy, FANK: A History of the Cambodian Armed Forces, 1970–1975 (2011), p. 175. Two additional infantry battalions were raised in April 1953 – 7th BCK in Siem Reap and 8th BCK at Ta Khmao in Kandal Province, bringing total strength up to 6,000 men, with about half serving in the Khmer National Guard and half in the mobile reserve. The latter at this time comprised three rifle battalions, with one of its battalions been allocated to French Union forces elsewhere in Indochina. Cambodian military units were given wider responsibility, including the protection of the rubber plantations along the middle Mekong River region, and surveillance of the coastal areas of the southern Cambodian provinces and of the eastern border areas with Cochinchina to prevent infiltration attempts by Vietminh guerrilla units.
Although French-trained Khmer junior officers and NCOs slowly began to take a leading role over time, the ARK was still kept firmly under the control of the French High Command through its military training mission, renamed in 1951 "French Military Mission to the Government of Cambodia" (French: Mission Militaire Française près du Gouvernment du Royaume du Cambodge). The ARK General Staff was filled entirely by French senior and intermediate rank officers, who did most of the command-and-control support, intelligence work and training, and supervised weaponry and equipment deliveries to the Khmer military units. By mid-1953, however, at the instigation of their youthful King Norodom Sihanouk, Khmer military personnel began not only to participate in anti-French nationalistic demonstrations calling for complete Cambodian independence, but they also deserted French-led units by the hundreds.Conboy and Bowra, The War in Cambodia 1970–75 (1989), pp. 12–13.Corfield and Summers, Historical Dictionary of Cambodia (2003), p. 354. Following a world tour to publicize his campaign for independence, termed the 'Royal Crusade for Independence' (which included a mixture of genuine enthusiasm, bravado, press leaks, overseas excursions and threats to arm the population),Corfield and Summers, Historical Dictionary of Cambodia (2003), p. 295. King Sihanouk retired to a "free zone of independence" set up at Battambang Province, where he was soon joined by 30,000 ARK troops and Police in a show of support and strength.Corfield and Summers, Historical Dictionary of Cambodia (2003), pp. 353–354.
In October that year, the French High Command finally agreed to transfer responsibility for Cambodian national security to the ARKConboy and Bowra, The War in Cambodia 1970–75 (1989), pp. 12–13. and for that effect, another French-Khmer military agreement was signed. Under the terms of this agreement, the French-led Khmer military units were to be transferred to the control of the Cambodian national authorities, and that an operational zone was to be created in the east bank of the Mekong and assigned to the French Union forces. The latter was held jointly by the French Lower Mekong Operational Group (French: Groupement Opérationnel du Bas Mékong – GOBM) and ARK units, which provided security to the entire length of Route 13 inside Cambodia. The only elements that remained subordinated to the French Commander-in-Chief in Cambodia were the Military Mission and the GOBM. The ARK and the Khmer National Guard were consolidated into a new national defense force comprising 17,000 men, the Cambodian National Armed Forces (French: Forces Armées Nationales Cambodgiennes – FANC). At this stage the FANC consisted of ground forces only, although plans were being laid by the French for the creation in a foreseeable future of Air and Naval components.
On 9 November 1953, the Kingdom of Cambodia officially proclaimed its independence from France. Meanwhile, the expansion of the newly created FANC continued with the addition that same month of two new light infantry battalions, the 9th BCK raised in Svay Rieng and the 10th BCK at Prey Veng. The Kingdom of Cambodia was granted full independence on 20 November that year and King Sihanouk officially took command of the 17,000-strong FANC, though France maintained the right to station CEFEO units in north-eastern Cambodia to guard its communications links with Tonkin.Conboy and Bowra, The War in Cambodia 1970–75 (1989), p. 13.
In early 1954, the "Khmerization" of the FANC units still under the command of French officers and NCOs began to be implemented, with most of these cadres assuming the roles of technical advisors or instructors, while others kept their posts in the various unit headquarters' staffs and technical branch services. However, due to the lack of a clear development plan for the FANC, and to compensate for the shortages of trained officers, its officer corps was expanded by replacing the departing French cadres with poorly trained Khmer reserve officers, who were simply incorporated into the active duty officers' and NCO corps. Certain Khmer reserve officers were placed in the territorial commands, while the upper echelons of command were filled by Khmer senior civil servants hastily commissioned as military officers, whose grade was based on their civilian rank. In this system, a provincial governor or the president of a tribunal could become a Lieutenant colonel or Colonel without having ever received military training of any sort.Sutsakhan, The Khmer Republic at War and the Final Collapse (1980), p. 36.
The FANC continued to expand in the following months to accommodate new ground units and branches of service. An autonomous Cambodian armored battalion (French: Bataillon Blindée Cambodgien – BBC) was set up by the French, equipped with US-made armored cars, half-tracks and scout cars,Grandolini, Armor of the Vietnam War (2): Asian Forces (1998), p. 11. and a naval and riverine service, the Royal Khmer Navy (French: Marine Royale Khmère – MRK) was officially established on 1 March. By April 1954, the FANC consisted of ground and naval branches, with the former reverting to its original designation of Khmer Royal Army (ARK).
The neutrality years 1964–1970