The Cambodian Civil War was a military conflict that pitted the guerrilla forces of the Maoist-oriented Communist Party of Kampuchea (nicknamed the Khmer Rouge) and the armed and security forces of the Nonaligned Kingdom of Cambodia from 1967 to 1970, then between the joint Monarchist, Maoist and Marxist-Leninist National United Front of Kampuchea alliance and the pro-western Khmer Republic from 1970 to 1975. Main combatants comprised:
A wide variety of weapons was used by all sides in the Cambodian Civil War. American military aid was funnelled to the FANK through the Military Equipment Delivery Team, Cambodia (MEDTC) program. Authorized a total of 113 officers and men, the team arrived in Phnom Penh in 1971, [1] under the overall command of CINCPAC Admiral John S. McCain Jr. [2] In the early months of the War, most Cambodian Army infantry, armoured and artillery units fought the PAVN and Khmer Rouge with a mix of surplus World War II-vintage French and U.S. and modern Soviet and Chinese small-arms, armoured vehicles and artillery pieces either inherited from Khmer Royal Army stocks or delivered as emergency aid by the Americans. [3] ANK infantry battalions later sent to South Vietnam for retraining between February 1971 and November 1972 under the US Army-Vietnam Individual Training Program (UITG) were re-equipped upon their return to Cambodia with modern U.S. small-arms, comprising revolvers, automatic pistols, assault rifles, light machine guns, medium and heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, anti-tank rocket launchers, mortars and recoilless rifles. [4] Besides infantry weapons, the U.S. MEDTC also provided the FANK branches with more modern U.S. military equipments, which included aircraft, armoured and transport vehicles and long-range artillery pieces, plus naval and riverine vessels. Although the UITG and MEDTC aid programs allowed the FANK to standardise on modern U.S. weapons and equipment, they never superseded entirely the earlier weaponry, particularly in the case of the territorial units and rear-echelon support formations. In addition to U.S. support, the FANK received further military assistance from South Vietnam, the Kingdom of Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Australia and New Zealand.
During the early phase of the War, between 1967 and 1970, the Khmer Rouge likewise was largely equipped with WWII-vintage French, Japanese, American, and more modern Soviet and Chinese weapons either collected from arms caches established during the First Indochina War or seized from Khmer Royal Army units. [5] With the establishment of the FUNK coalition and the subsequent creation of its armed wing, the CPNLAF, the Khmer Rouge, the Khmer Rumdo and the Khmer Issarak began to receive military assistance mainly from North Vietnam, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. [6] As the war progressed, these factions were provided with modern Eastern Bloc military hardware, including semiautomatic and fully automatic small-arms, artillery pieces, armoured and transport vehicles of Soviet and Chinese origin, mostly being funnelled through the North Vietnamese. Although the CPNLAF standardized on Soviet and Chinese weapons and equipment by the time of their first full-scale solo offensive in January 1973, [7] its guerrilla forces continued to make use of captured enemy stocks until the end of the War.
The Khmer Rouge used a small number of field guns or captured howitzers from government forces.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)The Army of the Republic of Vietnam composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. At the ARVN's peak, an estimated 1 in 9 citizens of South Vietnam were enlisted, composed of Regular Forces and the more voluntary Regional Forces and the Popular Force militias. It is estimated to have suffered 1,394,000 casualties during the Vietnam War.
The Vietnam War involved the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) or North Vietnamese Army (NVA), National Liberation Front for South Vietnam (NLF) or Viet Cong (VC), and the armed forces of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), United States Armed Forces, Republic of Korea Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Royal Thai Armed Forces, Australian Defence Force, and New Zealand Defence Force, with a variety of irregular troops.
The Khmer National Armed Forces were the official armed defense forces of the Khmer Republic, a short-lived nationalist and militaristic state that existed from 1970 to 1975, known today as Cambodia. The FANK was the successor of the Royal Khmer Armed Forces which had been responsible for the defense of the previous Kingdom of Cambodia since its independence in 1953 from France.
Operation Chenla II or Chenla Two was a major military operation conducted by the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK) during the Cambodian Civil War from 20 August until 3 December 1971.
Operation Chenla I or Chenla One was a major military operation conducted by the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK) during the Cambodian Civil War. It began in late August 1970 and ended in February 1971, due to the FANK High Command's decision to withdraw some units from Tang Kauk to protect Phnom Penh after Pochentong airbase was attacked.
The Battle of Kampot was a major battle of the Vietnam War, also a part of the Cambodian Civil War. From 26 February to 2 April 1974, Cambodian government troops battled Khmer Rouge guerillas for the control of the city of Kampot.
The Helio AU-24 Stallion was an American armed gunship, counter-insurgency, and utility transport developed for the United States Air Force. A total of 20 were built during the Vietnam War, with most of the aircraft being later sold to the Khmer Air Force.
The Royal Lao Army, also designated by its anglicized title RLA, was the land component of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR), the official military of the Kingdom of Laos during the North Vietnamese invasion of Laos and the Laotian Civil War between 1960 and 1975.
The M106 mortar carrier was a tracked, self-propelled mortar carrier in service with the United States Army. It was designed to provide indirect fire support to primarily infantry, units, but could also provide support to any unit under attack within range. It was replaced with the M1064 mortar carrier.
The Khmer Special Forces, also designated 'Khmer SF' for short or Forces Speciales Khmères (FSK) in French, were the tier 1 special forces of the Khmer National Army (ANK), the land component of the Khmer National Armed Forces during the 1970-75 Cambodian Civil War.
The Cambodian Navy SEALs were the main elite Maritime Special Operations Force of the Khmer National Navy during the 1970-75 Cambodian Civil War.
The Cambodian Para-Commando Battalion was one of the main elite military units of the Cambodian Army, part of the Khmer National Armed Forces, which fought in the final phase of the Cambodian Civil War of 1970-75.
The Cambodian Marine Corps or Corps de Fusiliers-Marins Khmères (CFMK) in French, were the Naval Infantry branch of the Khmer National Navy during the 1970-75 Cambodian Civil War.
The Royal Lao Armed Forces, best known by its French acronym FAR, were the official armed defense forces of the Kingdom of Laos, a state that existed from 1949 to 1975 in what is now the Lao People's Democratic Republic. First created under the French protectorate of Laos on July 1, 1949, the FAR was responsible for the defense of the Kingdom since its independence in October 1953 from France, until its dissolution on December 2, 1975. It operated notably during the North Vietnamese invasion of Laos and the Laotian Civil War from 1960 to 1975.
The Khmer Air Force, commonly known by its americanized acronym KAF was the air force component of the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK), the official military of the Khmer Republic during the Cambodian Civil War between 1970 and 1975.
The Khmer National Navy was the naval component of the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK), the official military of the Khmer Republic during the Cambodian Civil War between 1970 and 1975.
The Khmer National Army was the land component of the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK), the official military of the Khmer Republic during the Cambodian Civil War between 1970 and 1975.
The Laotian Civil War was a military conflict that pitted the guerrilla forces of the Marxist-oriented Pathet Lao against the armed and security forces of the Kingdom of Laos, led by the conservative Royal Lao Government, between 1960 and 1975. Main combatants comprised:
SPECOM was the English acronym for Special Commando or Commando Speciale in French, the commando unit of the Royal Lao Armed Forces, which operated during the final phase of the Laotian Civil War from 1972 to 1975.
Project Copper was a coordinated military action undertaken by the Kingdom of Laos and the Khmer Republic from 1 January–May 1971. It used U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) funds channeled through the Central Intelligence Agency to train three Cambodian battalions to interdict the Sihanouk Trail before it joined the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Committed to battle in southern Laos on 1 January 1971, one battalion deserted the battlefield, a second one mutinied during training, and a third had to be repurposed after suffering 80 casualties. By late January, the project was temporarily suspended.