American Troops in Cambodia
On April 30th of 1970, President Richard Nixon declared to a television audience that the American military troops, accompanied by the South Vietnamese People's Army, were to invade Cambodia. They also invaded in order to bomb and destroy the Viet Cong base camps, that were backing up the other operations in South Vietnam. had been utilizing large sections of relatively unpopulated eastern Cambodia as sanctuaries into which they could withdraw from the struggle in South Vietnam to rest and reorganize without being attacked.
During 1968, Cambodia's indigenous communist movement, labeled Khmer Rouge by 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.
During 1968, Cambodia's indigenous communist movement, labeled Khmer Rouge by 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.