Cambodian–Vietnamese War
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| This article is part of the History of Cambodia series |
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| Early history of Cambodia |
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The Cambodian-Vietnamese War (Vietnamese: Chiến dịch phản công biên giới Tây - Nam Việt Nam) was a series of conflicts between the two countries, culminating in the Vietnamese invasion and subsequent occupation of Cambodia and the removal of the Khmer Rouge regime from power.
The conflict, apart from highlighting the traditional animosities between Vietnam and Cambodia, also revealed how deeply the Sino-Soviet split had broken open the communist movement of the time. The Communist Party of Vietnam had sided with (after a period of ambivalence) the Soviet Union whereas the Communist Party of Kampuchea remained loyal with the People's Republic of China.
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[edit] Background
During the First Indochina War, when Vietnam and Cambodia allied against the French, Vietnamese forces had made great use of Cambodian territory in transporting weapons, supplies, and troops. This relationship lasted through the Vietnam War, and even after the war, people from both countries commonly crossed the border unhindered.
Even before the Vietnam War had ended, the relationship between the Khmer Rouge and Vietnam was strained. Clashes between Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge forces began as early as 1974. The Khmer Rouge demanded that the Mekong Delta area be returned to Cambodia, and that all Vietnamese leave the area. The Vietnamese refused these demands since the Mekong Delta had been Vietnamese territory for nearly three centuries. In retaliation, thousands of Vietnamese were either executed or forced out of Cambodia, and villages along the border were attacked. This led to further escalation of the conflict and ultimately to the Vietnamese invasion and occupation of Cambodia.
[edit] The war
The war between Vietnam and the Khmer Rouge's Democratic Kampuchea began shortly after the fall of Saigon. On May 1, 1975, a team of Khmer Rouge soldiers raided Phu Quoc Island against little or no Vietnamese resistance, and then executed more than five hundred Vietnamese civilians on Tho Chu Island. Angered by the Khmer Rouge's aggression, Hanoi launched a counter-attack that resulted in the liberation of those islands by Vietnamese forces. The battle over Phu Quoc was a cause of concern for the newly-established Socialist Republic of Vietnam as the country was challenged by a new enemy at a time when relations with the People's Republic of China began to deteriorate due to Vietnam's ideological alignment with the Soviet Union. That concern was further strengthened by the presence of Chinese advisors to Pol Pot's regime and increasing shipments of military hardware to Kampuchea's armed forces.
Following the raids on Phu Quoc and Tho Chu Islands the Khmer Rouge conducted two major incursions into Vietnam. The first attack occurred in April 1977, when regular units of the Khmer Rouge army advanced 10 kilometres (6 mi) into Vietnam, occupying some parts of An Giang Province where it massacred a large number of Vietnamese civilians. The second attack was in September of the same year. This time they were able to advance 150 kilometres (93 mi) into Vietnam. In retaliation, six divisions of the Vietnam People's Army invaded Cambodia on December 31, 1977. The Vietnamese army advanced as far as Neak Luong and later withdrew, taking with them some key Khmer Rouge figures, including future Prime Minister Hun Sen. The invasion was intended only as a "warning" to the Khmer Rouge. The Vietnamese offered a diplomatic solution to the border conflict that would require the establishment of a demilitarized zone along the border, but the offer was rejected by Pol Pot and fighting resumed.
Meanwhile, as the fighting continued to rage in the border areas between Vietnam and Kampuchea, the Khmer Rouge leadership began to purge members of its own party, as well as military commanders who escaped from Vietnamese forces after the short offensive in September 1977. Undeterred by earlier defeats the Khmer Rouge launched another major offensive into Vietnam using two regular divisions. Once again the Khmer Rouge was able to occupy some townships in Vietnam, conducting clearing operations that included the massacre of civilians. In one notable event the town of Ba Chuc was raided by the Khmer Rouge forces; by the time it was over most of Ba Chuc's inhabitants were brutally slaughtered leaving only two survivors.
Hanoi was now resolved to remove the threat of the Khmer Rouge permanently. The Vietnamese assembled a force of 10 divisions along the border with Kampuchea, with strong armour and air support they advanced into Khmer Rouge-held territory on December 25, 1978. The Kampuchean National United Front for National Salvation (KNUFNS), created with assistance from Hanoi, also went along with the military operation.
The Pol Pot regime of Democratic Kampuchea was largely supported with the People's Republic of China, with both regimes based on closely associated Maoist ideologies. The Vietnamese attack on Cambodia on December 25, 1978 was followed by massive amounts of troop deployments along the vast China-Vietnamese border. On the dawn of February 17, 1979, the People's Liberation Army moved into Vietnamese territory, at which point the Cambodian capital already had been captured by the Vietnamese and the Pol Pot regime toppled (see below), reportedly accusing the Vietnamese government of "revisionist" ideologies and the mistreatment of ethnic Chinese living in Vietnam. The Chinese kept moving into the north of Vietnam, reportedly advancing towards Hanoi at a high speed though not on good terms with their supply lines. The Chinese army captured Cao Bang on March 2 and Lang Son on March 4. The following day, however, the Beijing regime announced that it would not participate in further action moving more deeply into Vietnam, apparently after meeting fierce and unexpected harsh resistance by the well trained and experienced Vietnamese forces, supplied with American technology left behind earlier. With the Chinese support lost after Vietnamese recapitulation, Cambodia was left to the mercy of its destiny.
The Khmer Rouge had prepared a force of 70,000 to resist the invasion, but was not able to prevent the Vietnamese from advancing to Phnom Penh, which was captured on January 7, 1979. The Khmer Rouge switched to a guerrilla campaign and began to attack the long and exposed line of communication of the Vietnamese forces. The Vietnamese used the pretext that none of their own troops were actually fighting but only supporting the KNUFNS in their struggle against the brutal Khmer Rouge. This was not the case: Vietnam had over 150,000 troops in Cambodia, while the KNUFNS force numbered only 20,000. For the remainder of the occupation, the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge were locked in a bloody guerrilla war. Vietnamese forces held the cities while the Khmer Rouge controlled the rural areas, especially along the Thai border. The struggle did not end until Vietnam withdrew its troops in the late 1980s. The number of casualties is uncertain but is estimated at 30,000 on each side.
[edit] Order of battle
[edit] Socialist Republic of Vietnam
- 2nd Division
- 4th Division
- 5th Division
- 7th Division
- 8th Division
- 9th Division
- 302nd Division
- 309th Division
- 330th Division
- 339th Division
- 126th Naval Infantry Brigade
- 950th Naval Infantry Brigade
Air support were provided by the Vietnam People's Air Force 901st Air Group.
[edit] Democratic Kampuchea
- 164th Division
- 170th Division
- 290th Division
- 310th Division
- 450th Division
- 502nd Division
- 703rd Division
- 801st Division
- 920th Division
- 106th Division
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