20th Century Cambodian History By ShrFuXin 1941 Japanese occupy Cambodia Period: 1941 to 2000 20th Century Cambodia 1945 End of WWII: Japan relinquishes Indochinese territories Nov 9, 1953 Cambodia independence from France Aug 27, 1963 Cambodia ends ties with South Vietnam Mar 18, 1970 Cambodian Civil War & US Cambodian Campaign Apr 17, 1975 Khmer Rouge captures Phnom Penh & declares it a Kingdom Dec 31, 1977 Cambodia broke relations with Socialist Republic of Vietnam Jan 7, 1979 Cambodian-Vietnamese War: end of Khmer Rule Sep 26, 1989 Last Vietnamese troops leave Cambodia 1993 Cambodia holds free elections: Khmer Rouge boycotts them