plans. In Sihanoukâs name, the defense minister asked the French to return to Phnom Penh immediately and prevent an association with the Vietnamese that he feared would lead to a Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia, not independence.
On October 10, 1945, after British, French, and Indian units had entered the capital, Thanh was arrested as a âwar criminal.â Sihanouk, who had ended the French protectorate and was technically the man most guilty of treason against France, capitulated to a renewal of French control over Cambodia. He curried French favor and remained on the throne. Later he explained his actions: âWe are too poor to support or defend ourselves. . . . We are a small power of three million people sandwiched between twenty million Annamese [Vietnamese] and twelve million Siamese [Thais].â
With these maneuvers, Sihanouk came into his own. During his first years as king, Sihanouk obeyed the French colonial administration without public complaint. Even his pliant acceptance of the Japanese coup de force in 1945 was predictable. Sihanoukâs adroit powers of manipulation did not come to the fore until warâs end, when his rule of the country was at stake. Then he showed he could rid Phnom Penh of his rivals, particularly Son Ngoc Thanh. He had been willing to return Cambodia to French colonial power as long as he could remain king.
King Sihanouk remained on the throne, and the French granted Cambodia the status of âautonomous state within the French union.â Sihanouk had
given up a fight for independence to keep his crown and had outmaneuvered Thanh in the process. None of this was lost on the cityâs youth, who had witnessed this first chapter in Cambodiaâs modern history and were preparing to take command of the next episode.
THE GENERATION OF PROMISE
While Sihanouk was plotting for the return of the French to Cambodia, Ho Chi Minh and his Vietminh League were devising plans to prevent the French from recolonizing Vietnam. During World War II, Ho and the Vietminh had worked with the Allies against the Japanese, primarily gathering intelligence and providing logistics support for the Americans. By the end of the war Ho was the undisputed father of Vietnamese independence, and on September 2, 1945, in Hanoi, he triumphantly declared Vietnam an independent nation. The Vietnamese emperor, Bao Dai, quickly approved the declaration.
Eleven days later, however, the French returned to Saigon through the intervention of the British occupation command. Despite promises to grant colonies independence after the war, the Allies allowed France to recapture their Indochinese colonies. War broke out shortly thereafter and spread to the north by 1946. The French were intent on denying Ho his victory and preventing the spread of his popularity to the south, where the Vietminh were in competition with other nationalist groups. This battle became known as the First Indochina War and lasted until 1954.
This war eventually spread to Cambodia, but at its commencement there was no nationalist figure to rally Cambodians against Sihanouk and his abandonment of independence. Hem Cheav, the monk, died in prison; Thanh had been imprisoned by the French at Sihanoukâs request. His supporters from the days of Nagaravatta and the Sisowath alumni group had scattered into three directions. Most of the Buddhist dissidents who had worked with Cheav fled to the provinces, and a significant number eventually cooperated with the Vietnamese communists, joining the party themselves and fighting in the Vietnamese ranks from bases in South Vietnam. Others joined the reinvigorated noncommunist Issaraks, headquartered on the other side of the country in the northwest provinces, and declared they would fight against Sihanouk and the French with the help of the Thais. Most of the Sisowath alumni group nationalists in the capital joined together and formed a political party to fight the French and Sihanouk
On October 10, 1945, after British, French, and Indian units had entered the capital, Thanh was arrested as a âwar criminal.â Sihanouk, who had ended the French protectorate and was technically the man most guilty of treason against France, capitulated to a renewal of French control over Cambodia. He curried French favor and remained on the throne. Later he explained his actions: âWe are too poor to support or defend ourselves. . . . We are a small power of three million people sandwiched between twenty million Annamese [Vietnamese] and twelve million Siamese [Thais].â
With these maneuvers, Sihanouk came into his own. During his first years as king, Sihanouk obeyed the French colonial administration without public complaint. Even his pliant acceptance of the Japanese coup de force in 1945 was predictable. Sihanoukâs adroit powers of manipulation did not come to the fore until warâs end, when his rule of the country was at stake. Then he showed he could rid Phnom Penh of his rivals, particularly Son Ngoc Thanh. He had been willing to return Cambodia to French colonial power as long as he could remain king.
King Sihanouk remained on the throne, and the French granted Cambodia the status of âautonomous state within the French union.â Sihanouk had
given up a fight for independence to keep his crown and had outmaneuvered Thanh in the process. None of this was lost on the cityâs youth, who had witnessed this first chapter in Cambodiaâs modern history and were preparing to take command of the next episode.
THE GENERATION OF PROMISE
While Sihanouk was plotting for the return of the French to Cambodia, Ho Chi Minh and his Vietminh League were devising plans to prevent the French from recolonizing Vietnam. During World War II, Ho and the Vietminh had worked with the Allies against the Japanese, primarily gathering intelligence and providing logistics support for the Americans. By the end of the war Ho was the undisputed father of Vietnamese independence, and on September 2, 1945, in Hanoi, he triumphantly declared Vietnam an independent nation. The Vietnamese emperor, Bao Dai, quickly approved the declaration.
Eleven days later, however, the French returned to Saigon through the intervention of the British occupation command. Despite promises to grant colonies independence after the war, the Allies allowed France to recapture their Indochinese colonies. War broke out shortly thereafter and spread to the north by 1946. The French were intent on denying Ho his victory and preventing the spread of his popularity to the south, where the Vietminh were in competition with other nationalist groups. This battle became known as the First Indochina War and lasted until 1954.
This war eventually spread to Cambodia, but at its commencement there was no nationalist figure to rally Cambodians against Sihanouk and his abandonment of independence. Hem Cheav, the monk, died in prison; Thanh had been imprisoned by the French at Sihanoukâs request. His supporters from the days of Nagaravatta and the Sisowath alumni group had scattered into three directions. Most of the Buddhist dissidents who had worked with Cheav fled to the provinces, and a significant number eventually cooperated with the Vietnamese communists, joining the party themselves and fighting in the Vietnamese ranks from bases in South Vietnam. Others joined the reinvigorated noncommunist Issaraks, headquartered on the other side of the country in the northwest provinces, and declared they would fight against Sihanouk and the French with the help of the Thais. Most of the Sisowath alumni group nationalists in the capital joined together and formed a political party to fight the French and Sihanouk
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