The Incursion Into Cambodia 1970
Colonel Hoang Tich Thong
Security and Politics
During Tet Mau Than, 1968, a number of cities and towns in South Vietnam were attacked by the NVA and the so-called “National Front for the Liberation of the South”. In doing so, the communists violated the three days of cease-fire that was organized by both sides for the new year. They managed to temporarily invade a few areas, not before inflicting heavy losses to civilian lives and properties. The historical city of Hue, suffered the most damage. After the ARVN successfully quashed the insurgent, the situation was calm for a number of years. As the Tet Offensive had taken a heavy toll on the enemy, the political situation became less tense, and both sides agreed to attend the Paris Peace Talks.
After the crushing defeat of the NVA in the Tet Offensive, Ho Chi Minh deteriorated, and died frustrated and disappointed in September 1969. The remaining leaders bent to American pressure and attended the peace talks.
The enemy
After being routed in the Tet Offensive of 1968, and in the 2nd Wave of attack in May of the same year, the NVA and the National Front for the Liberation of the South could not afford to launch another full scale-offensive. Their activities were reduced to small skirmishes, while their big units retreated across the border to Cambodia to restructure and retrain. Their regional infrastructure was weakened as units were caught and annihilated everytime they emerged. Later, Intelligence reported that VC regional commanders from the company level upwards had been replaced by commanders from the north. The regional forces became more and more dependant on the North for political and military support.
The Republic of VietNam
Although the ARVN had successfully counterattacked in the Tet Offensive, and in the Second Wave of Attack in May, South Vietnam also suffered losses. Many civilians and troops were lost, and properties were damaged. Hue suffered the most. The NVA had captured thousands of civilians, troops and government officials during their short occupation of South Vietnamese regions. To hasten their retreat, they massacred all their prisoners. That crime has remained an unforgivable and unforgettable act in the minds of the South Vietnamese, even to today. Though the ARVN held the enemy in contempt, they were surprised at how low the NVA were for breaking the cease-fire organized for the New Year.
After the Tet Offensive, the situation in all four tactical zones became calmer, and security was high. The spirits in the hamlets, and the villages under government control, soared. Confidence returned to the regional and popular forces. but the calm was temporary. The enemy were not completely paralyzed.
Weapons, manpower, and supplies were still coming south along the Ho Chi Minh Trail from the North. The favourite route was via the port in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, into III and IV Corps of South Vietnam. The enemy benefited from the Cambodian Government's hostility towards South Vietnam, and so were able to freely use Cambodian ports. Their recovery was marked by the sorties they carried across the border into South Vietnam. To stop the sorties, and to crush the enemy completely, the ARVN planned an operation to smash the NVA sanctuaries in Cambodia.
Incursion into Cambodia
Early in 1970, the political situation in Cambodia changed. General Lon Nol, the Premier of Cambodia, led a coup that overthrew Prince Sihanouk. Sihanouk had been visiting Beijing and North Vietnam at the time. The new government's policy was friendly to western powers, and opposed Communism. This was very favourable to South Vietnam.
During the transitional period, the Cambodian Government was too busy consolidating power to battle two enemies (the Khmer Rouge and the NVA) at once. The NVA practically had full rein along the border from Sihanoukvillle to the Laotian border to the north. Hence, General Lon Nol agreed to allow the ARVN to perform incursions across the border. The goals were:
a) To annihilate the NVA which were occupying Cambodia
b) To help Cambodia troops in organizing and training (with help from the US), so that they could become self - proficient in defence in future.
The ARVN performed the incursions without the support of the US, and without the participation of american advisors. The incursion was composed of two prongs: one from III Corps, and the other from IV Corps. There were also units from the rest of the Army Corps.
The III Corps prong was commanded by Lieutenant General Do Cao Tri. The IV Corps prong was led by Lieutenant General Ngo Du. The Airborne Division was to participate with III Corps, whilst the Marines were to fight with IV Corps
.
Marine Activities
I. Marine Brigade B.
Marine Brigade B, commanded by Colonel Ton That Soan, had three Marine Battalions, and an Amphibious Task Force led by Navy Colonel Thong. It started from the line of departure at Chau Doc, and sailed upstream along the Mekong. On reaching the border, the battalion landed on the right river bank. The Marines advanced to Neak Luong, while the Amphibious Task Force patrolled along the river to support the operation. The landing and preparation for the operation were uneventful. There were no confrontations. The Marine Artillery was air-lifted from Chau Doc to the area of Operation.
The countryside was barren with villages scattered here and there. The advancement was not at all difficult. The enemy had probably foreseen our plans, and had moved deeper into the Cambodian territories in the north. Only small units were left behind to delay the Marines. in a period of three days, the Marines killed numerous NVA, and destroyed a remarkable number of warehouses containing rice, medicine, and weapons. Marine Brigade B then deployed around Neak Luong, co-operationg with Cambodian forces in charge of the security of the region.
The local government then requested another operation. The 3rd Marine Battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Nang Bao, was airlifted to the left side of the Mekong, to an area situated about 50-60 km southwest of the capital, Phnom Penh.
The operation only lasted a day, and was a pointless exercise as the enemy had withdrawn the previous day. Regarding the distribution of Communists, the NVA controlled the east, whilst the Khmer Rouge mastered the west of Cambodia. Marine Brigade B continued to expand the safety perimeter of the city, helping Cambodian units to evolve and defend. Marine Brigade A later took over, and Brigade B returned to base camp
.
II. Marine Brigade A.
By the time Marine Brigade B was in Cambodia, Marine Brigade A, commanded by Colonel Hoang Tich Thong was already performing operations in Chuong Thien Province. IV Corps Headquarters ordered military trucks to transport Brigade A to Chau Doc, where the Navy took them to Neak Luong Ferry. Marine Brigade A carried on with the tasks of Brigade B. On the agenda was the liberation of Prey Veng Province, which was under NVA occupation. The province was tens of northeast of Neak Luong. The Cambodian troops had been defending inside a camp situated south of Prey Veng City.
Before planning the operation, I made an observation trip by helicopter to the would-be battle field. From above, the city of Prey Veng was very beautiful. Neat and tidy houses opened on to wide, tree-lined avenues. It was only after the battle that I had the chance to appreciate the architecture fully. The buildings and streets were very much influenced by the French.
The population was very thin, as the majority had fled. A few houses were already marred by 122mm NVA rockets. The terrain was not overly vegetated, and was quite suitable for helicopterlandings. The drawback was that the enemy could hide within houses near the edge of the city and fire at us during the landing.
Progress of the Operation
Two Marine Battalions were to be airlifted by helicopters to a landing zone west of the city. Another battalion was to stay at Neak Luong as a reserve. ARVN helicopters were to be in charge of the airlift of troops. The helicopters were to receive fire support from gunships and the Artillery in case of strong enemy reactions. The aim was to minimize damage to the city.
At the scheduled time, a Marine Company was safely airlifted near the city. They were able to take up positions under the rows of trees that lined the avenues. The Cambodian officer accompanying me contacted a Cambodian unit south of the city, which reported that the NVA had already occupied large areas to the north of the City. I gave the go-ahead for the rest of the airlift, which was completed at noon. Two companies advanced simultaneously from the northeast. Nothing happened until the two prongs approached the northern regions of the city, and were confronted by the enemy. The NVA troops hid in two-storey buildings, and shot down at the approaching Marines. To avoid the bullets, the Marines skirted along the side of the houses. The fighting continued well into the night. When it was far too dark, we stopped advancing. But the fighting immediately broke out again at the break of day. The enemy were making a very firm stand. I ordered the two battalions to annihilate them at all costs with the help of gunships and the Artillery. At noon, the enemy were dislodged from the houses at the north ends of the streets. The Marines continued to evict them, house by house. Many NVA soldiers were captured or killed, and all abandonned weapons were seized. As evening approached, the NVA fled, running northwards out of the city.
After two days of fighting, Marine Brigade A succeeded in liberating the city, and sustained minimal losses. To help the regional government recover authority, and to enable the Cambodians to protect themselves, two battalions of Marine Brigade A were maintained in the area for quite some time. During that time, Search and Destroy operations were organized. I was told by IV Corps to fly to the position of Colonel Khoi's 3rd Armour Brigade to receive a squadron of APC's. But at the last minute, the order was cancelled, and Brigade A had to carry out tasks with its own facilities and equipment.
After a couple of days of rest, the Brigade A deployed 10 km norhtwards, but there was no remarkable fighting as the NVA had already retreated further north. A few rice warehouses were detected though.
Once Prey Veng was safe, the Marine Brigade A marched back to Neak Luong. Along the way, the Marines helped the Cambodian regional forces rebuild their camps and bunkers.
The communist prisoners of war were around 19-20 years of age. They were scrawny, jaundiced, malnourished creatures who were obviously unhealthy. Most of them suffered from malaria. On interrogation, they said that the had just arrived from the north along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. We gave them food and cigarettes, which sent them into ecstasy. They admitted that they had not expected to be so well treated - their commanders had petrified them with tales of our inhumane treatment of POWs. Many were students, who had been dragged out of school and mobilized.
Back in Neak Luong, Marine Brigade A continued to carry out raids on suspected enemy positions, and closely co-operated with the newly formed Cambodian Brigade commanded by Colonel Pre-meas. He spoke fluent French and Vietnamese. He was schooled in France to become a Quarter-master. He was a close friend of Colonel Lon Nol's younger brother. After the Marines returned to Vietnam, he was promoted to Brigadier General. No one knows whether he survived the Khmer Rouge. Colonel Lon Nol's younger brother was executed along with the Premier.
To the newly formed Cambodian Brigade, the Marines gave all the weapons seized from the NVA. The Cambodians generally used weapons from communist countries - most of the weapons came from China. The relationship between the Cambodians and Vietnamese was a very co-operative and amicable. There were minor skirmishes between the troops, but these were easily resolved by the Military Police. The Cambodian citizens and troops in general were very supportive of the Marines.
A week after, the Marine Brigade A was ordered to perform an operation northwest of Phnom Penh. As before, one battalion remained in Neak Luong, whilst the other two participated. Ferries transported the troops over the river, to the military trucks that were to take them along Route 1 to Phnom Penh. The Cambodian people came out and cheered us warmly. The convoy stopped 30km out of Phnom Penh, on the road leading to Kompong Cham. The Marine Brigade A stationed south of the road in preparation for the next day's operation.
The following day, the Brigade was transported across the Bassac River. The Brigade Headquarters and Marine Artillery remained at the camp to support the operation. After the fall of Sihanouk, security in the area near the Bassac river was very unstable. The NVA had retreated here, after their unfortunate rendez-vous with the Marines. The terrain was bushy, and there were many quaint villages and splendid pagodas. One particularly magnificent pagoda was visited annually by Prince Sihanouk.
During the first day, the Marines were unchallenged. The following day, one battalion confronted the enemy, but the ensuing fighting was minimal. The Marines soon drove them back. The NVA were forced to seek refuge in the largest of the pagodas. The Marines were unable to turn their guns at the sacred pagoda, so camped outside instead. That night, the NVA managed to sneak away. The following day, the Marines continued their Search and Destroy Operations, but the enemy had completely disappeared. So, the operation ended, unremarkably, and Brigade A moved back to Neak Luong.
A few days later, IV Corps Headquarters issued the news that President Nguyen Van Thieu, the South Vietnamese Head of State, was going to visit the Cambodian Head of States - Cheng Heng and Premier Lon Nol. The meeting was to take place at the base camp of Marine Brigade A at Neak Luong. IV Corps was in charge of organizing the meeting. The Marine Brigade appointed a unit to carry out the military salute, whilst the other two were told to take care of security and presidential motocade. Troops were stationed all along Route 1, that ran from Neak Luong to Xoai Rieng Province.
In the days that followed the presidential visit, Marine Brigade A performed operations with “44” Special District Units commanded by Colonel Hanh to liberate Route 5 from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville. Intelligence sources had reported that there were still some enemy elements in areas around the Piknil Pass. The enemy were intefering with communications. Cambodian regional forces were unable to protect the route. Within a very short time, Pik Nil Pass fell under the control of the ARVN. The enemy did not resist - most had retreated to the North. The route was reopened, allowing for normal circulation. The Marines then handed the position back to the Cambodians to man.
Thus, the Marines completed a successful incursion into Cambodia. The NVA, who had used eastern Cambodia as a spring board to launch attacks on South Vietnam, had to retreat north to the Cambodian-Laotian border. The Cambodian Brigade, newly formed and inexperienced, were at least set in key positions. Though the Vietnamese withdrew, South Vietnam and the US still supported General Lon Nol's stand against the ever-increasing Khmer Rouge, which was backed by China.
The incursion gained security for III and IV Corps. The enemy no longer launched large scale attacks in the ARVN. Only unremarkable skirmishes persisted. The peace lasted till 1972, when the NVA launched a massive attack on Quang Tri Province in I Corps. Binh Long Province in III Corps was also attacked in the Summer of 1972.
Orange County 10th January 1997
Colonel Hoang Tich Thong
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