1958 Forces Armees Royales Khmeres Pictorial Map of Cambodia

This is a 1958 'Service Géographique des Forces Armées Royales Khmères' map of the Kingdom of Cambodia. An impressive pictorial vignette of Angkor Wat is here labeled Ruines d'Angkor. Another wonderful vignette emphasizes Phnom Penh. Red lines trace roads, including the route nationale. Cambodia's only railroad line, ephemerally operating between Phnon Penh and Bangkok, appears in black.

Forces Armées Royales Khmères

The Forces Armées Royales Khmères (FARK, Royal Khmer Armed Forces) was founded in 1953 after Cambodia concluded a convention with France. Signed during the Indochina War, the convention allowed Indochina to create its own military. Not long after Cambodia declared its independence from France. With a strength of less than 35,000 men, this new military force was known as the Forces Armées Royales Khmères. FARK existed until March 18, 1970, when Lon Nol, the pro-U.S. prime minister and defense minister, overthrew Prince Norodom Sihanouk and established the Khmer Republic. FARK became Forces Armées Nationales Khmères (FANK, Khmer National Armed Forces).

Publication History and Census

This map was created by the Service Géographique des Forces Armées Royales Khmères and published in 1958. An example is cataloged in OCLC and is part of the institutional collection at The British Library.