Thanks to the Franco-Cambodian accords of 20 November 1946, Cambodia operated its own army, the Forces armées royales khmères (FARK), although the French High Command maintained operational control. With the creation of the Associated State of Cambodia in 1949, Cambodian officers began to replace their French predecessors. Following Norodom Sihanouk’s royal crusade for independence, in November 1953 the army came under Cambodian national control while Sihanouk took over as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The Cambodians also assumed its operational control, except for the stThanks to the Franco-Cambodian accords of 20 November 1946, Cambodia operated its own army, the Forces armées royales khmères (FARK), although the French High Command maintained operational control. With the creation of the Associated State of Cambodia in 1949, Cambodian officers began to replace their French predecessors. Following Norodom Sihanouk’s royal crusade for independence, in November 1953 the army came under Cambodian national control while Sihanouk took over as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The Cambodians also assumed its operational control, except for the strategically important area of eastern Cambodia where the French retained operational command over some 6,000 troops. In July 1954, when the Geneva Accords put an end to the Indochina War and affirmed Cambodia’s full independence, the Cambodian army numbered about 23,000 troops. See also ARMY, ASSOCIATED STATE OF LAOS; ARMY, ASSOCIATED STATE OF VIETNAM; EXPEDITIONARY CORPS; PEOPLE’S ARMY OF VIETNAM.