Us Carpet Bombing Cambodia

Operation breakfast was the first course in a four year bombing campaign that drew cambodia headlong into the vietnam war.

Us carpet bombing cambodia. Operation menu was a covert united states strategic air command sac tactical bombing campaign conducted in eastern cambodia from 18 march 1969 until 26 may 1970 as part of both the vietnam war and the cambodian civil war the targets of these attacks were sanctuaries and base areas of the people s army of vietnam pavn commonly referred to during the vietnam war as the north vietnamese. Until us and army of the republic of vietnam arvn forces could successfully interdict the ho chi minh trail they would fight the war with what felt like one hand tied behind their backs. Johnson and ended in 1975 under president gerald ford. The aircraft used by the cia in the secret war included transports stol short take off and landing planes and helicopters.

President richard nixon s administration carpet bombed eastern cambodia from 1969 to 1973 although bombings and incursions into cambodia by the u s. Began in 1965 under president lyndon b. As civilian casualties mounted and media accounts of the destruction surfaced public support for the carpet bombing diminished. The us began bombing cambodia in 1965.

The exact tonnage of bombs dropped is in dispute but a conservative estimate of 500 000 tons almost equal to what the united states dropped in the entire pacific theater of world war ii is. On march 18 1969 american b 52s began carpet bombing eastern cambodia. During the vietnam war president richard nixon ordered carpet bombing of north vietnam as well as cambodia which was believed to be supplying the viet cong. On march 18 1969 the united states began a four year long carpet bombing campaign in the skies of cambodia devastating the countryside and causing socio political upheaval that eventually led to the installation of the pol pot regime.

Cia and us special forces units were also on the ground in laos during the secret war. Cambodia on march 18 1969 usaf strategic air command sac b 52 bombers began carpet bombing cambodia on the order of president nixon. The cambodian campaign also known as the cambodian incursion and the cambodian invasion was a brief series of military operations conducted in eastern cambodia which was a neutral country in 1970 by south vietnam and the united states as an extension of the vietnam war and the cambodian civil war thirteen major operations were conducted by the army of the republic of vietnam arvn between. During the vietnam war the vietnamese liberation front and the pavn used a network of supply routes that partially ran through laos.

B 52 bombers are diverted from their targets in south vietnam to attack suspected communist base camps and supply areas in cambodia for the first time in the war. From that year until 1973 the us air force dropped bombs from more than 230 000 sorties on over 113 000 sites.