Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1971
Lon Nol, leader of the Khmer Republic, launches the disasterous Chenla offensive against
Vietnamese communists and their Khmer Rouge allies in Cambodia. He suffers a stroke,
but struggles on as leader until 1975.
1973
Sihanouk and his wife, Monique, travel down the Ho Chi Minh Trail to visit Khmer Rouge
allies at the holy mountain of Phnom Kulen near Angkor, a propaganda victory for Pol Pot.
1975
The Khmer Rouge march into Phnom Penh on 17 April and turn the clocks back to Year
Zero, evacuating the capital and turning the whole nation into a prison without walls.
1977
The Pol Pot faction of the Khmer Rouge launch their bloodiest purge against the Eastern
Zone of the country, sparking a civil war along the banks of the Mekong and drawing the
Vietnamese into the battle.
1979
Vietnamese forces liberate Cambodia from Khmer Rouge rule on 7 January 1979, just two
weeks after launching the invasion, and install a friendly regime in Phnom Penh.
1980
Cambodia is gripped by a terrible famine, as the dislocation of the previous few years
means that no rice has been planted or harvested, and worldwide 'Save Kampuchea' ap-
peals are launched.
1982
Sihanouk is pressured to join the Khmer Rouge as head of the Coalition Government of
Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK), a new military front against the Vietnamese-backed gov-
ernment in Phnom Penh.
1984
The Vietnamese embark on a major offensive in the west of Cambodia and the Khmer
Rouge and its allies are forced to retreat to refugee camps and bases inside Thailand.
1985
