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Fall of Phnom Penh
The Fall of Phnom Penh was the capture of Phnom Penh, capital of the Khmer Republic (in present-day Cambodia), by the Khmer Rouge on 17 April 1975, effectively ending the Cambodian Civil War. At the beginning of April 1975, Phnom Penh, one of the last remaining strongholds of the Khmer Republic, was surrounded by the Khmer Rouge and totally dependent on aerial resupply through Pochentong Airport.
With a Khmer Rouge victory imminent, the United States government evacuated US nationals and allied Cambodians on 12 April 1975. On 17 April, the Khmer Republic government evacuated the city, intending to establish a new government center close to the Thai border to continue resistance. Later that day, the last defences around Phnom Penh were overrun and the Khmer Rouge occupied Phnom Penh.
Captured Khmer Republic forces were taken to the Olympic Stadium where they were executed; senior government and military leaders were forced to write confessions prior to their executions. The Khmer Rouge ordered the evacuation of Phnom Penh, emptying the city except for expatriates who took refuge in the French embassy until 30 April, when they were transported to Thailand.
At the beginning of 1975, the Khmer Republic, a United States-supported military government, controlled only the Phnom Penh area and a string of towns along the Mekong River that provided the crucial supply route for food and munitions coming upriver from South Vietnam. As part of their 1975 dry season offensive, rather than renewing their frontal attacks on Phnom Penh, the Khmer Rouge set out to cut the crucial Mekong supply route. On 12 January 1975, the Khmer Rouge attacked Neak Luong, a key Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK) defensive outpost on the Mekong.
On 27 January, seven vessels limped into Phnom Penh, the survivors of a 16-ship convoy that had come under attack during the 100-kilometre (60 mi) journey from the South Vietnamese border. On 3 February, a convoy heading downriver hit naval mines laid by the Khmer Rouge at Phú Mỹ, approximately 74 kilometres (46 mi) from Phnom Penh. The Khmer National Navy (MNK) had mine-sweeping capability, but due to Khmer Rouge control of the riverbanks, mine-sweeping was impossible or at best, extremely costly. The MNK had lost a quarter of its ships, and 70 percent of its sailors had been killed or wounded.
By 17 February, the Khmer Republic abandoned attempts to reopen the Mekong supply line. All subsequent supplies for Phnom Penh would have to come in by air to Pochentong Airport. The United States quickly mobilised an airlift of food, fuel and ammunition into Phnom Penh, but as US support for the Khmer Republic was limited by the Case–Church Amendment, BirdAir, a company under contract to the US Government, controlled the airlift with a mixed fleet of C-130 and DC-8 planes, flying 20 times a day into Pochentong from U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield.
On 5 March, Khmer Rouge artillery at Toul Leap (11°34′26″N 104°45′25″E / 11.574°N 104.757°E), north-west of Phnom Penh, shelled Pochentong Airport, but FANK troops recaptured Toul Leap on 15 March and ended the shelling. Khmer Rouge forces continued to close in to the north and west of the city and were soon able to fire on Pochentong again. On 22 March, rockets hit two supply aircraft, forcing the American embassy to announce the following day a suspension of the airlift until the security situation improved. Realizing that the Khmer Republic would soon collapse without supplies, the embassy reversed the suspension on 24 March and increased the number of aircraft available for the airlift. The hope among the Khmer Government and the embassy was that the Khmer Rouge offensive could be held back until the start of the rainy season in May when fighting typically abated.
By late March, the FANK maintained a defensive perimeter some 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from central Phnom Penh. In the northwest, the 7th Division was in an increasingly difficult position; its front had been cut in several places, particularly in the region of Toul Leap which had changed hands several times. The 3rd Division, located on Route 4 in the vicinity of Bek Chan (11°30′36″N 104°44′53″E / 11.51°N 104.748°E), some 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of Pochentong, was cut off from its own command post at Kompong Speu.
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Fall of Phnom Penh
The Fall of Phnom Penh was the capture of Phnom Penh, capital of the Khmer Republic (in present-day Cambodia), by the Khmer Rouge on 17 April 1975, effectively ending the Cambodian Civil War. At the beginning of April 1975, Phnom Penh, one of the last remaining strongholds of the Khmer Republic, was surrounded by the Khmer Rouge and totally dependent on aerial resupply through Pochentong Airport.
With a Khmer Rouge victory imminent, the United States government evacuated US nationals and allied Cambodians on 12 April 1975. On 17 April, the Khmer Republic government evacuated the city, intending to establish a new government center close to the Thai border to continue resistance. Later that day, the last defences around Phnom Penh were overrun and the Khmer Rouge occupied Phnom Penh.
Captured Khmer Republic forces were taken to the Olympic Stadium where they were executed; senior government and military leaders were forced to write confessions prior to their executions. The Khmer Rouge ordered the evacuation of Phnom Penh, emptying the city except for expatriates who took refuge in the French embassy until 30 April, when they were transported to Thailand.
At the beginning of 1975, the Khmer Republic, a United States-supported military government, controlled only the Phnom Penh area and a string of towns along the Mekong River that provided the crucial supply route for food and munitions coming upriver from South Vietnam. As part of their 1975 dry season offensive, rather than renewing their frontal attacks on Phnom Penh, the Khmer Rouge set out to cut the crucial Mekong supply route. On 12 January 1975, the Khmer Rouge attacked Neak Luong, a key Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK) defensive outpost on the Mekong.
On 27 January, seven vessels limped into Phnom Penh, the survivors of a 16-ship convoy that had come under attack during the 100-kilometre (60 mi) journey from the South Vietnamese border. On 3 February, a convoy heading downriver hit naval mines laid by the Khmer Rouge at Phú Mỹ, approximately 74 kilometres (46 mi) from Phnom Penh. The Khmer National Navy (MNK) had mine-sweeping capability, but due to Khmer Rouge control of the riverbanks, mine-sweeping was impossible or at best, extremely costly. The MNK had lost a quarter of its ships, and 70 percent of its sailors had been killed or wounded.
By 17 February, the Khmer Republic abandoned attempts to reopen the Mekong supply line. All subsequent supplies for Phnom Penh would have to come in by air to Pochentong Airport. The United States quickly mobilised an airlift of food, fuel and ammunition into Phnom Penh, but as US support for the Khmer Republic was limited by the Case–Church Amendment, BirdAir, a company under contract to the US Government, controlled the airlift with a mixed fleet of C-130 and DC-8 planes, flying 20 times a day into Pochentong from U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield.
On 5 March, Khmer Rouge artillery at Toul Leap (11°34′26″N 104°45′25″E / 11.574°N 104.757°E), north-west of Phnom Penh, shelled Pochentong Airport, but FANK troops recaptured Toul Leap on 15 March and ended the shelling. Khmer Rouge forces continued to close in to the north and west of the city and were soon able to fire on Pochentong again. On 22 March, rockets hit two supply aircraft, forcing the American embassy to announce the following day a suspension of the airlift until the security situation improved. Realizing that the Khmer Republic would soon collapse without supplies, the embassy reversed the suspension on 24 March and increased the number of aircraft available for the airlift. The hope among the Khmer Government and the embassy was that the Khmer Rouge offensive could be held back until the start of the rainy season in May when fighting typically abated.
By late March, the FANK maintained a defensive perimeter some 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from central Phnom Penh. In the northwest, the 7th Division was in an increasingly difficult position; its front had been cut in several places, particularly in the region of Toul Leap which had changed hands several times. The 3rd Division, located on Route 4 in the vicinity of Bek Chan (11°30′36″N 104°44′53″E / 11.51°N 104.748°E), some 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of Pochentong, was cut off from its own command post at Kompong Speu.