Kampuchean Revolutionary Army

Kampuchean Revolutionary Army
កងទ័ពបដិវត្តន៍កម្ពុជា
Flag of Democratic Kampuchea
Founded 1977
Disbanded 1979
Service branches Air Force of the Kampuchean Revolutionary Army
Headquarters Phnom Penh
Leadership
Chief of Defense Pol Pot
Manpower
Conscription yes
Reaching military
age annually		 68,000 (1987)
Industry
Foreign suppliers  China
 Vietnam

the Kampuchean Revolutionary Army was the Armed Forces of Democratic Kampuchea.

History

During the Democratic Kampuchea days, the 68,000-member Khmer Rouge-dominated CPNLAF (Cambodian People's National Liberation Armed Forces) force, which completed its conquest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia in April 1975, was renamed the RAK (Revolutionary Army of Kampuchea). This name dated back to the peasant uprising that broke out in the Samlot district of Battambang Province in 1967. Under its long-time commander and then Minister of Defense Son Sen, the RAK had 230 battalions in 35 to 40 regiments and in 12 to 14 brigades. The command structure in units was based on three-person committees in which the political commissar ranked higher than the military commander and his deputy.

Cambodia was divided into zones and special sectors by the RAK, the boundaries of which changed slightly over the years. Within these areas, the RAK's first task was the peremptory execution of former Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK) officers and of their families, without trial or fanfare to eliminate KR enemies. The RAK's next priority was to consolidate into a national army the separate forces that were operating more or less autonomously in the various zones. The Khmer Rouge units were commanded by zonal secretaries who were simultaneously party and military officers, some of whom were said to have manifested "warlord characteristics". Troops from one zone frequently were sent to another zone to enforce discipline. These efforts to discipline zonal secretaries and their dissident or ideologically impure cadres gave rise to the purges that were to decimate RAK ranks, to undermine the morale of the victorious army, and to generate the seeds of rebellion.[1] In this way, the KR used the RAK to sustain and fuel its violent campaign. The Air Force of the Kampuchean Revolutionary Army was formed in 1977 and disband in 1979.[2]

Army

The Kampuchean Revolutionary Army was the official name of the army of Democratic Kampuchea during the period of 1975 to 1979, mainly consisting of Khmer Rouge operatives. In 1979 during the Cambodian-Vietnamese war it was reformed into the National Army of Democratic Kampuchea to continue to fight against the People's Army of Vietnam and the new Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Armed Forces.

Air force roundel

Equipment

Tanks

TankOrigineNumberVariantsNotes
PT-76 USSR 4
T-55 USSR 4 T-55/T-54
M113 United States 1 EX Vietnamese

Air Force

Aircraft Origine Number Variants Notes
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 USSR 4
Shenyang J-6 China 2
Mil Mi-8 USSR 3
Mil Mi-24 USSR 1
Douglas C-47 USA 1

References

  1. ↑ Becker, Elizabeth (1986). When the War Was over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-41787-8.
  2. ↑ The Vietnamese invasion of 1979 resulted in the forcible disbandment of the AFKLA; formation of a successor force did not begin until 1984.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.