Escape of the Provisional Revolutionary Government
Encyclopedia
The Escape of the Provisional Revolutionary Government was a series of military operations conducted in eastern Cambodia
during mid-1970 by the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) during the Vietnam War
. The objective was to search and destroy head corridor elements of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRG), National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF) or Viet Cong (VC) and Central Office for South Vietnam (COSVN)
.
A change in the Cambodian government allowed a window of opportunity for the destruction of the base areas in 1970 when Prince Norodom Sihanouk
was deposed and replaced by pro-American General Lon Nol
. The pro-American Lon Nol demanded the Vietcong forces to leave Cambodia, they refused and took control of much of the East and North of Cambodia. Lon Nol and the South Vietnamese responded by launching an invasion of the border region and forcing the anti government fighters to leave the area to safer Vietnamese controlled Kratie provinces to the north. Some elements of the anti government forces including the PRG left the area while under pressure from Cambodian and South Vietnamese forces. This operation was seen as a precursor to the much larger Cambodian Campaign a month later.
as sanctuaries into which they could withdraw from the struggle in South Vietnam
to rest and reorganize without being attacked. These base areas were also utilized by the communists to store weapons and other material that had been transported on a large scale into the region on the Sihanouk Trail
. During 1968, Cambodia's indigenous communist movement, labeled Khmer Rouge
(Red Khmers) by Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk
, began an insurgency to overthrow the government. While they received very limited material help from the North Vietnamese at the time (the Hanoi
government had no incentive to overthrow Sihanouk, since it was satisfied with his continued "neutrality"), they were able to shelter their forces in areas controlled by PAVN/NLF troops.
While Sihanouk was abroad in France for a rest cure in January 1970, government sponsored anti-Vietnamese demonstrations erupted throughout Cambodia. Continued unrest spurred Prime Minister/Defense Minister Lon Nol to issue an ultimatum on 12 March to the North Vietnamese to withdraw their forces from Cambodia within 72 hours.
On 18 March, the Cambodian National Assembly officially deposed Sihanouk and named Lon Nol as provisional head of state. The North Vietnamese response to the coup was swift. Even before Lon Nol's 12 March ultimatum PAVN had begun expanding its logistical system from southeastern Laos
(the Ho Chi Minh Trail
) into northeastern Cambodia. After Lon Nol's anti-Vietnamese movements PAVN also launched an offensive (Campaign X) against the Cambodian army, quickly seizing large portions of the eastern and northeastern parts of the country, isolating and besieging or overrunning a number of Cambodian cities including Kampong Cham
.
knew that Sihanouk was coming under intense pressure to remove Vietnamese bases off Cambodian soil. Planning for any eventuality the North Vietnamese started planning emergency evacuation routes in the event of a coordinated assault by Cambodians to the West and South Vietnamese to the East. After the Cambodian coup the COSVN was evacuated on 19 March 1970. While the NLF and PRG bases were preparing to also move to the north and safety they came under aerial bombardment from American B-52 bombers on 27 March. As laid out by the evacuation plans General Hoàng Văn Thái planned to have three Divisions to cover the escape. The NLF 9th Division would block any movement from the South Vietnamese army, the NLF 5th Division would screen any forces that the Cambodians sent and the NLF 7th would provide security to the civilian and military members of the PRG and NLF bases.
Moving across the border in Cambodia on 30 March elements of the PRG and NLF were surrounded in their bunkers by South Vietnamese forces flown in by helicopter. Surrounded they awaited till nightfall and then with security provided by the 7th they broke out of the encirclement and fled north to unite with the COSVN in the Cambodian Kratie province. Trương Như Tạng
was the Minister of Justice in the PRG and he recounts that during the march to the northern bases was day after day of forced marches in the rain. Just before the column crossed route 7 on their way north they received word that on 3 April the 9th Division had fought and won in a battle near the city of Krek, Cambodia against ARVN forces.
Years later Trương would recall just how "close [South Vietnamese] were to annihilating or capturing the core of the Southern resistance – elite units of our frontline fighters along with the civilian and much of the military leadership. After many days of hard marches the PRG reached the northern bases, and relative safety, in the Kratie region. Casualties were light and the march even saw the birth of baby to Dương Quỳnh Hoa the deputy minister of health in the Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG). The column needed many days to recover and Trương himself would require weeks to recover from the long march. Near the end of April as the skeleton crew that was left behind to man the PRG, NLF and COSVN bases were finally forced from their positions by the coordinated campaign from the South Vietnamese and American forces in what would be later known as the Cambodian Campaign.
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
during mid-1970 by the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The objective was to search and destroy head corridor elements of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRG), National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF) or Viet Cong (VC) and Central Office for South Vietnam (COSVN)
COSVN
COSVN, pronounced "CŎS-vĭn" and standing for Central Office for South Vietnam , was the American term for People's Army of Vietnam political and military headquarters during the Vietnam War...
.
A change in the Cambodian government allowed a window of opportunity for the destruction of the base areas in 1970 when Prince Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk regular script was the King of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his semi-retirement and voluntary abdication on 7 October 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni...
was deposed and replaced by pro-American General Lon Nol
Lon Nol
Lon Nol was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice, as well as serving repeatedly as Defense Minister...
. The pro-American Lon Nol demanded the Vietcong forces to leave Cambodia, they refused and took control of much of the East and North of Cambodia. Lon Nol and the South Vietnamese responded by launching an invasion of the border region and forcing the anti government fighters to leave the area to safer Vietnamese controlled Kratie provinces to the north. Some elements of the anti government forces including the PRG left the area while under pressure from Cambodian and South Vietnamese forces. This operation was seen as a precursor to the much larger Cambodian Campaign a month later.
Background
The People's Army of Vietnam had been utilizing large sections of relatively unpopulated eastern CambodiaCambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
as sanctuaries into which they could withdraw from the struggle in 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...
to rest and reorganize without being attacked. These base areas were also utilized by the communists to store weapons and other material that had been transported on a large scale into the region on the Sihanouk Trail
Sihanouk Trail
The Sihanouk Trail was a logistical supply system in Cambodia used by the People's Army of Vietnam and its National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam allies during the Vietnam War...
. During 1968, Cambodia's indigenous communist movement, labeled 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...
(Red Khmers) by Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk regular script was the King of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his semi-retirement and voluntary abdication on 7 October 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni...
, began an insurgency to overthrow the government. While they received very limited material help from the North Vietnamese at the time (the Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
government had no incentive to overthrow Sihanouk, since it was satisfied with his continued "neutrality"), they were able to shelter their forces in areas controlled by PAVN/NLF troops.
While Sihanouk was abroad in France for a rest cure in January 1970, government sponsored anti-Vietnamese demonstrations erupted throughout Cambodia. Continued unrest spurred Prime Minister/Defense Minister Lon Nol to issue an ultimatum on 12 March to the North Vietnamese to withdraw their forces from Cambodia within 72 hours.
On 18 March, the Cambodian National Assembly officially deposed Sihanouk and named Lon Nol as provisional head of state. The North Vietnamese response to the coup was swift. Even before Lon Nol's 12 March ultimatum PAVN had begun expanding its logistical system from southeastern Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
(the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Ho Chi Minh trail
The Ho Chi Minh trail was a logistical system that ran from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to the Republic of Vietnam through the neighboring kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia...
) into northeastern Cambodia. After Lon Nol's anti-Vietnamese movements PAVN also launched an offensive (Campaign X) against the Cambodian army, quickly seizing large portions of the eastern and northeastern parts of the country, isolating and besieging or overrunning a number of Cambodian cities including Kampong Cham
Kampong Cham (city)
Kampong Cham is the capital city of the Kampong Cham Province in eastern Cambodia. It is the third largest city in Cambodia with a population of 63,771 people and is located on the Mekong River. Kampong Cham is 124 kilometers northeast from Phnom Penh and can be reached by either boat or by...
.
Escape to Kratie
In early 1970 North Vietnamese intelligence in the Cambodian capital of Phnom PenhPhnom 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,...
knew that Sihanouk was coming under intense pressure to remove Vietnamese bases off Cambodian soil. Planning for any eventuality the North Vietnamese started planning emergency evacuation routes in the event of a coordinated assault by Cambodians to the West and South Vietnamese to the East. After the Cambodian coup the COSVN was evacuated on 19 March 1970. While the NLF and PRG bases were preparing to also move to the north and safety they came under aerial bombardment from American B-52 bombers on 27 March. As laid out by the evacuation plans General Hoàng Văn Thái planned to have three Divisions to cover the escape. The NLF 9th Division would block any movement from the South Vietnamese army, the NLF 5th Division would screen any forces that the Cambodians sent and the NLF 7th would provide security to the civilian and military members of the PRG and NLF bases.
Moving across the border in Cambodia on 30 March elements of the PRG and NLF were surrounded in their bunkers by South Vietnamese forces flown in by helicopter. Surrounded they awaited till nightfall and then with security provided by the 7th they broke out of the encirclement and fled north to unite with the COSVN in the Cambodian Kratie province. Trương Như Tạng
Truong Nhu Tang
Trương Như Tảng is a Vietnamese lawyer and politician living in France. He was active in many anti-South Vietnamese organizations before joining the newly created Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam as the Minister of Justice. He spent many years in the jungles...
was the Minister of Justice in the PRG and he recounts that during the march to the northern bases was day after day of forced marches in the rain. Just before the column crossed route 7 on their way north they received word that on 3 April the 9th Division had fought and won in a battle near the city of Krek, Cambodia against ARVN forces.
Years later Trương would recall just how "close [South Vietnamese] were to annihilating or capturing the core of the Southern resistance – elite units of our frontline fighters along with the civilian and much of the military leadership. After many days of hard marches the PRG reached the northern bases, and relative safety, in the Kratie region. Casualties were light and the march even saw the birth of baby to Dương Quỳnh Hoa the deputy minister of health in the Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG). The column needed many days to recover and Trương himself would require weeks to recover from the long march. Near the end of April as the skeleton crew that was left behind to man the PRG, NLF and COSVN bases were finally forced from their positions by the coordinated campaign from the South Vietnamese and American forces in what would be later known as the Cambodian Campaign.