With a peace with Diem tenatively agreed to, and their leadership otherwise preoccupied in the North trying to lead some sort of “non-violent resistance” to the Communist regime, the VNQDD’s nascent army was left unmoored and aimless. Of course there was the usual business to tend to, of drug trafficking and “political work”, but ultimately, a group of several thousand angry young men–constantly growing in size as veterans kicked out of the North Vietnamese Army turned up in Cambodia to join the National Revolutionary Army–was bound to cause trouble.

This, of course, was something that Prince Norodom Sihanouk was well aware of, and, already upset that the VNQDD had stopped fighting Diem–the very reason he had welcomed them in the first place in pursuit of both petty revenge and security–he had begun to make preparations to move against this threat, especially given that the VNQDD and Revolutionary China–Sihanouk’s north star–were intrinsically at odds, something about a civil war, a spot of bad blood or somesuch. He could count on French support, and Chinese support, to oust this odious little rebel band the same way North and South Vietnam had dealt with them, and then they’d finally be gone for good.

Unfortunately, the VNQDD didn't have much trouble working out precisely how Sihanouk thought–or at least a precocious Major Vuong Van Dong didn't, together with his brother in law, Major Nguyễn Triệu Hồng. With North Vietnamese support cut and the VNQDD at peace with Diem–for the moment, anyway, that was liable to change sooner rather than later–Sihanouk would surely rile up nativist forces, and suppress the VNQDD in part of his careful balancing act to maintain his status as top dog and premiere film director in Cambodia. So they began making some phone calls.

First on the list, of course, was the notoriously brutal Cambodian warlord Dap Chhoun. The thin, wiry man was nothing if not fanatically anti-communist (and fanatically superstitious), and with his northern territory had profited significantly from his good relationship with the VNQDD. A ruthless opportunist as well, Dap recognized a rising tide when he saw one, and was more than willing to sign on to the plot, with his thousands of irregulars contributing valuable muscle and his collaboration in the north ensuring that the transition would occur smoothly.

Next up came the enigmatic schemer, Sirik Matak. Vuong’s grasp of Cambodian politics was limited, but he understood that while Sirik Matak presently enjoyed a position of trust in the government, he was–first off–rather more rightward-leaning than Sihanouk, and found his relationship with China discomfiting–and second, Sisowath Sirik Matak still held quiet resentments about Sihanouk being chosen by the French for his pliability, a Norodom over a Sisowath, the latter of whom he felt deserved the throne.

With Sirik Matak’s political acumen, Dap’s muscle and the VNQDD’s army, Sihanouk didn’t stand a chance. When Sirik Matak came to him to report that Dap Chhoun was plotting with the VNQDD, Sihanouk–who already suspected both–was entirely inclined to believe him [not the least because it was true]. So when Lon Nol ordered the First Armored Division to sortie north to preemptively arrest Dap, the capital was left defenseless–ripe for the plucking when it was stormed overnight by fast moving columns of VNQDD fighters, armed with a smorgasbord of old French, Japanese, Soviet and even German weapons, riding civilian vehicles, moved into the capital, easily outnumbering the essentially green Cambodian forces in the city.

While the quick thinking and rapid movement of some of the Royal Guards allowed Prince Sihanouk to flee the city aboard a captured DC-4, this wasn’t enough to save the regime.

By the morning of June 4, 1954, Sihanouk was transiting Indonesia on his way to his final destination–Beijing, China. King Norodom Suramarit had been forced to abdicate and become a Bhuddist monk, while Sisowath Monireth had taken his place as monarch, with Sirik Matak becoming Prime Minister. Dap Chhoun had a more grandiose title of “Marshal of the North”, de facto autonomy and a large donative, and permission to assemble his own armed militias. Lon Nol has apparently suffered from a nervous breakdown and has not been heard or seen from since the coup, freaking out about his monarch changing. Perhaps he will recover in time, or perhaps he will not.

Oh, and the VNQDD. Yes, they got what they wanted. While the VNQDD still exists outside the official legal structure of Cambodia, their armed forces are now the core of Sirik’s government, for the time being; while politically, Sirik looks towards them as a model for Cambodia’s political organization [and is preparing to potentially welcome more Chinese and Vietnamese migrants, a useful buffer between them and the Cambodian peasant class]. And, of course, one of Sirik’s first acts was to derecognize the People’s Republic of China and recognize the Republic of China.

About those peasants: Having learned of this, a lot of them are rather upset. Sure, the monarchy is still extant, but Sihanouk was broadly popular among the Khmer public, and deposing a prince and king is sure to ruffle some feathers. In much of rural Cambodia, the air crackles with raw revolutionary energy, driven by old monarchism, nascent leftism, and hatred of the Chinese and Viet in equal measure. Should anyone seek to insert themselves into this situation, they may find the seeds of a potentially massive peasant army, which the new regime is presently seeking to prevent with little success.