Dien Del
Encyclopedia
General Dien Del is a distinguished military figure who directed combat operations in Cambodia
, first as a general in the Army of the Khmer Republic
(1970–1975) and then as a leader of KPNLF guerrilla forces fighting against the Vietnam
ese occupation (1979–1992).
region of South Vietnam in 1932, he attended the prestigious Lycée Sisowath
in Phnom Penh
from 1946 to 1952, then entered military service in the French colonial Cambodian Army. From 1953 to 1956 he was a company commander in the 6th Battalion at Kampong Speu. He came to Phnom Penh in 1957 and was a member of the Royal Khmer Armed Forces (FARK
) Headquarters G-1 Office. He studied at the Royal Military Academy in 1957-58, and returned to headquarters as the Deputy Chief of G-1.
From 1959 to 1960 he attended a French military administration school at Montpelier
, France
. He returned to Cambodia in 1961 and assumed the post of Deputy Chief of Headquarters G-1. In 1962 he joined the Royal Armed Forces General Staff, and in 1964 he was promoted to Major and became Commander of the 24th Intervention Battalion.
) and assumed the Command of the 2nd Brigade at Prey Sar near Phnom Penh. Also during this time he was involved in the evacuation of Cambodian forces from positions along National Route 19 to Vietnam
with the help of American troops. In 1971 he was elevated to the rank of Colonel in command of the 2nd Group, which consisted of the 2nd Brigade and two other brigades. His unit was involved in the disastrous Chenla II
Operation, an attempt to clear National Route 6 in Kampong Thom Province in 1971. After this he was sent to study at the South Vietnam
ese High Command near Saigon. He returned to Cambodia in January 1972 and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in command of the 2nd Division. In May 1974 he was appointed Governor and Commander of Territorial Forces in Kandal Province
.
Throughout the early months of 1975 he supervised the defense of Phnom Penh
, and Khmer Rouge
Radio reported that on 20 February he was “severely injured” in combat at Dei Eth. In April he took charge of the defense of Monivong Bridge
, the main entrance into Phnom Penh across the Bassac River
. As Khmer Rouge
forces entered the city on 17 April, he flew out on the last helicopter to Utapao Air Base in Thailand
. He was held there in a refugee camp until May 1975, when he went to Alexandria, Virginia
with his wife and children.
and helped to organize a political group in cooperation with non-communist resistance forces under former Prime Minister Son Sann
. On 1 February 1979, Dien Del flew to Thailand to form the Khmer People’s National Liberation Armed Forces (KPNLAF). Nguon Pythoureth followed and the two went from camp to camp persuading local leaders about the need for unity. By mid-1979 the KPNLAF consisted of about 1,600 soldiers. On 9 October 1979 this group became the Khmer People’s National Liberation Front (KPNLF) under Son Sann
, and General Dien Del was appointed Chief of the General Staff.
arrived in Thailand from the United States. Minister of Defense under Sihanouk, he had been Head of State of the Khmer Republic during its final days and had a reputation for decisiveness and incorruptibility that lent legitimacy to the KPNLF.
, the KPNLF reportedly lost nearly a third of its 12,000 to 15,000 troops in battle and through desertions. This setback, which was blamed on Son Sann for his alleged meddling in military matters (particularly his unwillingness to cooperate with Sihanouk’s forces), aggravated long-standing conflicts within the KPNLF. In December 1985 several KPNLF leaders announced the formation of a Provisional Central Committee of Salvation, which would be the new executive body of the KPNLF. Key members of the group included General Sak Sutsakhan
, General Dien Del, Abdul Gaffar Peang Meth, Hing Kunthon and former Prime Minister Huy Kanthoul
Son Sann countered with the formation of a new military command committee under General Prum Vith. He said, however, that General Sak would remain as Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Military Command, which was launched in January 1986 reportedly as a concession to the dissident group. Under a compromise worked out through a third party, General Sak regained his control of the armed forces in March 1986. In July General Dien retired temporarily to a monastery.
After shedding his monk’s robes in late 1986, General Dien continued as Deputy Commander-in-Chief, directing combat operations against the Vietnamese until their withdrawal from Cambodia in 1990. General Dien presided over the demobilization of the KPNLF's armed forces in February 1992, after which he returned to Cambodia.
General Staff, and in 1998 he was elected to the National Legislative Assembly as a member of FUNCINPEC
. In 2000 Dien Del became chairman of the National Assembly's Interior, National Defence, Investigation, and Suppression Commission. He continues to exercise a prominent role as an advisor to the Government of Cambodia.
and Jon Swain
saw him in combat on several occasions and admired his appearance of calm control: “General Dien Del, perhaps [the army’s] best general, a man with a merry sparkle in his eyes…strutted up and down in his tiger suit, pistol at his hip, saying he would fight to the last.” Ex-Special Forces
Colonel Jim Morris found him a savvy tactician when observing General Dien’s operations during the 1985 Vietnamese assault: “Dien Del wisely used his main force units to defend KPNLF settlements.”
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, first as a general in the Army of the Khmer Republic
Khmer Republic
The Khmer Republic or République Khmère, was the republican government of Cambodia that was formally declared on October 9, 1970. The Khmer Republic was disestablished in 1975 and was followed by the totalitarian communist state known as Democratic Kampuchea.-Background:Formally declared on October...
(1970–1975) and then as a leader of KPNLF guerrilla forces fighting against the Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese occupation (1979–1992).
Early career
Born in the Khmer KromKhmer Krom
The Khmer Krom are Khmer people living in the Mekong Delta and the Lower Mekong River area. Under the Khmer Rouge regime- according to the conservative estimates are that 150,000. Under the rule of Vietnam from 1979-93, Cambodia may have lost 20,000 Khmer Krom...
region of South Vietnam in 1932, he attended the prestigious Lycée Sisowath
Lycee Sisowath
Lycée Preah Sisowath is a secondary school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The school was founded in 1873 as a collège and became a lycée in 1933.-History:...
in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
from 1946 to 1952, then entered military service in the French colonial Cambodian Army. From 1953 to 1956 he was a company commander in the 6th Battalion at Kampong Speu. He came to Phnom Penh in 1957 and was a member of the Royal Khmer Armed Forces (FARK
Royal Cambodian Armed Forces
The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces are the national military forces of Cambodia. The Commander-in-Chief is HM King Norodom Sihamoni, and consists of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Forces....
) Headquarters G-1 Office. He studied at the Royal Military Academy in 1957-58, and returned to headquarters as the Deputy Chief of G-1.
From 1959 to 1960 he attended a French military administration school at Montpelier
Montpelier
Montpelier or Montpellier is the name of several places:in Canada:* Montpellier, Quebec* Montpellier , a train station in Montreal, Canadain France:* Montpellier, a city in southern France** The University of Montpellierin Ireland:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He returned to Cambodia in 1961 and assumed the post of Deputy Chief of Headquarters G-1. In 1962 he joined the Royal Armed Forces General Staff, and in 1964 he was promoted to Major and became Commander of the 24th Intervention Battalion.
Cambodian Civil War (1970–1975)
In 1970 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANKFánk
Fánk is a sweet traditional Hungarian cake. The most commonly used ingredients are: flour, yeast, butter, egg yolk, a little bit of rum, a sniff of salt, milk and oil to deep fry with. After the pastry has risen for approximately 30 minutes the result is an extreme light doughnut-like pastry...
) and assumed the Command of the 2nd Brigade at Prey Sar near Phnom Penh. Also during this time he was involved in the evacuation of Cambodian forces from positions along National Route 19 to Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
with the help of American troops. In 1971 he was elevated to the rank of Colonel in command of the 2nd Group, which consisted of the 2nd Brigade and two other brigades. His unit was involved in the disastrous Chenla II
Operation Chenla II
Operation Chenla II was a major military operation conducted by the Cambodian military during the Cambodian Civil War. It began on August 20 and lasted until December 3, 1971.-Summary:...
Operation, an attempt to clear National Route 6 in Kampong Thom Province in 1971. After this he was sent to study at the South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
ese High Command near Saigon. He returned to Cambodia in January 1972 and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in command of the 2nd Division. In May 1974 he was appointed Governor and Commander of Territorial Forces in Kandal Province
Kandal Province
Kandal is a province of Cambodia. Its capital is Ta Khmao town . The province completely surrounds, but does not include, the national capital Phnom Penh...
.
Throughout the early months of 1975 he supervised the defense of Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
, and Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
Radio reported that on 20 February he was “severely injured” in combat at Dei Eth. In April he took charge of the defense of Monivong Bridge
Monivong Bridge
Monivong Bridge is a heavily trafficked bridge in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It bridges the Bassac River near the end of National Highway 2 to southern Cambodia and lies along the National Highway 1 which connects the city to eastern Cambodia and Vietnam....
, the main entrance into Phnom Penh across the Bassac River
Bassac River
The Bassac River is a distributary of the Tonle Sap and Mekong River. The river starts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and flows southerly, crossing the border into Vietnam near Châu Đốc....
. As Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
forces entered the city on 17 April, he flew out on the last helicopter to Utapao Air Base in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. He was held there in a refugee camp until May 1975, when he went to Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
with his wife and children.
Role in the formation of the KPNLF (1977–1979)
In May 1977 he flew to ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and helped to organize a political group in cooperation with non-communist resistance forces under former Prime Minister Son Sann
Son Sann
Son Sann was a Cambodian politician and anti-communist resistance leader. Born in Phnom Penh, he held the office of Prime Minister in 1967-68. A devout Buddhist, he fathered seven children and was married....
. On 1 February 1979, Dien Del flew to Thailand to form the Khmer People’s National Liberation Armed Forces (KPNLAF). Nguon Pythoureth followed and the two went from camp to camp persuading local leaders about the need for unity. By mid-1979 the KPNLAF consisted of about 1,600 soldiers. On 9 October 1979 this group became the Khmer People’s National Liberation Front (KPNLF) under Son Sann
Son Sann
Son Sann was a Cambodian politician and anti-communist resistance leader. Born in Phnom Penh, he held the office of Prime Minister in 1967-68. A devout Buddhist, he fathered seven children and was married....
, and General Dien Del was appointed Chief of the General Staff.
Guerrilla resistance against the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia
In January 1981 General Dien established an officer training program at Ban Sangae Refugee Camp. Shortly after this General Sak SutsakhanSak Sutsakhan
General Sak Sutsakhan was a Cambodian politician and soldier who had a long career in the country's politics. He was the last Head of State of the Khmer Republic, the regime overthrown by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. Sak Sutsakhan formed a pro-US force known as the "Khmer Sâ" .-Early life:Sutsakhan...
arrived in Thailand from the United States. Minister of Defense under Sihanouk, he had been Head of State of the Khmer Republic during its final days and had a reputation for decisiveness and incorruptibility that lent legitimacy to the KPNLF.
Power struggle within the KPNLF (1985–1986)
In the 1984 to 1985 Vietnamese dry-season offensiveVietnamese border raids in Thailand
After the 1978 Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia and defeat of Democratic Kampuchea in 1979, the Khmer Rouge fled to the border regions of Thailand, and with assistance from China Pol Pot's troops managed to regroup and reorganize in forested and mountainous zones on the Thai-Cambodian border...
, the KPNLF reportedly lost nearly a third of its 12,000 to 15,000 troops in battle and through desertions. This setback, which was blamed on Son Sann for his alleged meddling in military matters (particularly his unwillingness to cooperate with Sihanouk’s forces), aggravated long-standing conflicts within the KPNLF. In December 1985 several KPNLF leaders announced the formation of a Provisional Central Committee of Salvation, which would be the new executive body of the KPNLF. Key members of the group included General Sak Sutsakhan
Sak Sutsakhan
General Sak Sutsakhan was a Cambodian politician and soldier who had a long career in the country's politics. He was the last Head of State of the Khmer Republic, the regime overthrown by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. Sak Sutsakhan formed a pro-US force known as the "Khmer Sâ" .-Early life:Sutsakhan...
, General Dien Del, Abdul Gaffar Peang Meth, Hing Kunthon and former Prime Minister Huy Kanthoul
Son Sann countered with the formation of a new military command committee under General Prum Vith. He said, however, that General Sak would remain as Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Military Command, which was launched in January 1986 reportedly as a concession to the dissident group. Under a compromise worked out through a third party, General Sak regained his control of the armed forces in March 1986. In July General Dien retired temporarily to a monastery.
After shedding his monk’s robes in late 1986, General Dien continued as Deputy Commander-in-Chief, directing combat operations against the Vietnamese until their withdrawal from Cambodia in 1990. General Dien presided over the demobilization of the KPNLF's armed forces in February 1992, after which he returned to Cambodia.
Career in government
In 1994 he was appointed Inspector General of the Royal Cambodian Armed ForcesRoyal Cambodian Armed Forces
The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces are the national military forces of Cambodia. The Commander-in-Chief is HM King Norodom Sihamoni, and consists of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Forces....
General Staff, and in 1998 he was elected to the National Legislative Assembly as a member of FUNCINPEC
Funcinpec
FUNCINPEC is a royalist political party in Cambodia. Before the 2008 election, FUNCINPEC and the Cambodian People's Party formed a coalition government, although FUNCINPEC's significance has decreased steadily since 1998, when it had an equal relationship with the CPP in the coalition.FUNCINPEC is...
. In 2000 Dien Del became chairman of the National Assembly's Interior, National Defence, Investigation, and Suppression Commission. He continues to exercise a prominent role as an advisor to the Government of Cambodia.
Journalists’ observations
As an officer and a leader, General Dien commanded respect from his superiors, his colleagues, his subordinates, and many other observers. Journalists Henry KammHenry Kamm
Henry Kamm was a correspondent for The New York Times. He reported for the Times from Southeast Asia , Europe, the Middle East and Africa....
and Jon Swain
Jon Swain
Jon Anketell Brewer Swain is an award-winning British journalist and writer who was portrayed by Julian Sands in the 1984 Oscar-winning film The Killing Fields...
saw him in combat on several occasions and admired his appearance of calm control: “General Dien Del, perhaps [the army’s] best general, a man with a merry sparkle in his eyes…strutted up and down in his tiger suit, pistol at his hip, saying he would fight to the last.” Ex-Special Forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
Colonel Jim Morris found him a savvy tactician when observing General Dien’s operations during the 1985 Vietnamese assault: “Dien Del wisely used his main force units to defend KPNLF settlements.”