Operation Eagle Pull
| date | April 12, 1975 |
|---|---|
| place | Phnom Penh , Cambodia |
| output | US military tactical victory, Khmer Rouge propaganda victory |
| consequences | US forces withdraw from Cambodia |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Task Force 76 Commander |
|
| losses | |
|
no |
unknown |
Operation Eagle Pull was the code name for the evacuation of American units from Phnom Penh during the Cambodian Civil War . The operation also marked the end of American engagement in Cambodia and ultimately led to the collapse of the Khmer Republic and thus the victory of the Khmer Rouge . Eagle Pull was a tactical victory for the American units, which could be evacuated completely without their own losses. The Khmer Rouge used the American withdrawal for their propaganda and a few days later were able to invade Phnom Penh almost unhindered.
prehistory
In the course of the civil war with the Khmer Rouge, the Khmer Republic, allied with the United States, had become increasingly on the defensive. In early 1975 the region around the capital of the Republic of Phnom Penh was the last fortress of the government troops. In mid-January 1975 the Khmer Rouge began attacking the last supply routes into the city in order to close their siege ring. The main supply route until then had been the Mekong River , the banks of which were now taken by rebels who also mined parts of the river. After the armed forces of the republic had lost a quarter of their ships and around 70% of the sailors, they gave up further attempts to supply the city via the river on February 17. As the last supply route, only Pochentong airport was now available.
Under the leadership of the US Embassy in Cambodia, an airlift has now been set up to supply the city. Aircraft of the types C-130 and DC-8 of the private airline BirdAir contracted by the US government flew up to 20 times a day to Pochentong. With the capture of Toul Leap, a village in the northwest of Phnom Penh, the airport was for the first time within artillery range of the Khmer Rouge on March 5, 1975. Government units were able to recapture the village for a short time, but the supply situation was getting worse. In March 1975 alone, 8,000 people are said to have starved to death within the city. On April 1, 1975, the last government outposts around the capital fell and the Khmer Rouge was able to concentrate all its forces on Phnom Penh. After the head of state Lon Nol fled the capital that same day , the collapse of the Khmer Republic was only a matter of time.
planning
After the conclusion of the Paris Treaty in January 1973, there was also hope that the conflict in Cambodia would ease off. These hopes were quickly dashed when the Khmer Rouge advanced towards Phnom Penh for the first time. For the first time, the armed forces of the United States considered a failure of the operations in Cambodia and began planning for an emergency evacuation of their own forces. On June 27, 173, the 7th Air Force submitted Contingency Plan number 5060C under the operation name "Eagle Pull". It was assumed that around 400 - 600 people would be evacuated and three options had been defined:
- Option: If Pochentong Airport is available, embassy staff, US citizens and selected Cambodians are to be flown out by civil aircraft over it.
- Option: If the security situation at Pochentong Airport is threatened by the Khmer Rouge and civil flights can no longer take place, forces from the 56th Security Police Squadron are to be flown in from Thailand to stabilize the situation at the airport.
- Option: If Pochentong Airport has to be abandoned, forces from the 56th Security Police Squadron should secure landing zones in Phnom Penh (and in other cities if necessary). Of these, the evacuation is to be carried out by helicopters of the 21st Special Operations Squadron and the 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron .
Option 3 was later revised and the forces of the 56th Security Police Squadron were replaced by units of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). With this change one wanted to use the airborne capabilities of the USMC on the one hand and on the other hand the Marines were better suited to secure and hold the proposed loading zones than military police officers . The area around the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh has been designated as the primary landing area.
Prepare for the operation
On January 6, 1975, the security situation in Cambodia had deteriorated so much that the implementation of Operation Eagle Pull was considered for the first time. The 31st Marine Amphibious Unit was put into readiness by the United States Pacific Command . The units were positioned to reach the evacuation starting area outside the port city of Sihanoukville within 96 hours. On February 6, the radius was reduced to 48 hours and on February 28 to 24 hours. The fleet therefore had to cruise permanently in the Gulf of Thailand .
Another change to the plan was briefly discussed on March 21. After the embassy counted significantly more people to be evacuated (3,600 instead of 600) and the shelling at the airport had increased significantly, it was considered that marines should be flown in. These should first secure landing zones, from which the civilians should be brought to the airfield by helicopter. From here the further evacuation should take place by plane. But after every available supply plane on the return flight from Phnom Penh was filled with fugitives, the change of plan became obsolete.
From April 3, the security situation deteriorated almost every hour. Finally, US Ambassador John Gunther Dean requested the command unit for Operation Eagle Pull . The ten-man unit was to assess the situation on site and coordinate the execution of the operation on site. On April 10, the artillery bombardment of the airfield with rockets had become so strong that the evacuation by plane had to be canceled. The execution of Operation Eagle Pull was therefore inevitable.
The landing zones were determined on site by the command unit. The choices were LZ Bravo and LZ Hotel. The choice finally fell on LZ Hotel (a soccer field near the embassy), as it was better protected against indirect fire due to its renovation and LZ Bravo had already been shot at by small arms from the Khmer Rouge. April 11, 1975 was first set as the date of evacuation. However, there was a delay of one day in order to be able to bring the USS Hancock (CV-19) within range in order to have more units available for the evacuation.
Units involved
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Since March 3, 1975, the Amphibious Ready Group Alpha (Task Group 76.4) and the 31st Marine Amphibious Unit ( Task Group 79.4 ) were in the operational area off Sihanoukville in the Gulf of Thailand. Task Group 76.4 consisted of the following units:
- USS Okinawa (LPH-3) - helicopter carrier
- USS Thomaston (LSD-28) - dock landing ship
- USS Vancouver (LPD-2) - Amphibious Transport Dock
Aboard the USS Okinawa , the was Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 462 (HMH-462) in order to have the needed transport capacity. This had 14 CH-53 , 3 CH-46 , 4 AH-1J and 2 UH-1E helicopters.
The task group was supported by the following units:
- USS Edson (DD-946) - destroyer
- USS Henry B. Wilson (DDG-7) - guided missile destroyer
- USS Kirk (DE-1087) - destroyer escort
- USS Knox (DE-1052) - destroyer escort
Due to the refugee numbers reported by the US Embassy, the Joint Chiefs of Staff doubted that a squadron of helicopters would be enough for the evacuation. As a consequence, the USS Hancock was ordered back to Pearl Harbor on March 17th to take the Marine Heavy Lift Helicopter Squadron (HMH-463) on board. To accommodate the unit's 25 helicopters, the carrier's squadron was left behind at Pearl Habour. The USS Hancock left Pearl Habour on March 26, 1975 and was expected on April 11, 1975 in the area of operations off Cambodia.
evacuation
In the evening hours of April 11th, the unit received orders to begin Operation Eagle Pull the next morning. At 6:00 a.m., the operation began with the launch of 12 CH-53s of HMH-462. In groups of three, the helicopters with 360 Marines set off for Phnom Penh to secure the landing zone and to fly out the first people. At the same time, the command team on site began to block the approaches to the landing zone in order to make it more difficult for motorized units of the Khmer Rouge to advance to the evacuation zone. An HC-130, callsign King Bird , of the 56th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron moved into position over the city to coordinate the air operation.
At 7:30 a.m., the government of the Khmer Republic was informed of the complete withdrawal of the Americans on the same day. At the same time, Ambassador Dean offered anyone willing to flee to take them along. Many government officials and residents refused to do so in the hope of a return to normal after the victory of the Khmer Rouge and stayed behind in the capital. Sisowath Sirik Matak , member of the royal family and Prime Minister of the Khmer Republic, impressively underlined his refusal to flee with the following letter to Ambassador Dean:
“Dear Excellency and Friend,
I thank you very sincerely for your letter and for your offer to transport me towards freedom. I cannot, alas, leave in such a cowardly fashion. As for you, and in particular for your great country, I never believed for a moment that you would have this sentiment of abandoning a people which has chosen liberty. You have refused us your protection, and we can do nothing about it. You leave, and my wish is that you and your country will find happiness under this sky. But, mark it well, that if I shall die here on the spot and in my country that I love, it is too bad, because we all are born and must die (one day). I have only committed this mistake of believing in you the Americans. Please accept, Excellency and dear friend, my faithful and friendly sentiments. "
At 7:43 a.m., the first helicopters crossed the Cambodian coast and flew towards Phnom Penh. There the units of the marines were dropped off and the helicopters went to Point Oscar (50 km south of Phnom Penh). From here, King Bird's helicopters were ordered in groups of three to the landing zone, as only three CH-53s could land here at the same time. A large crowd of people formed on site at the landing area. However, many residents of the city were only there as onlookers and did not want to be flown out. The evacuation went faster than planned, as fewer people wanted to be evacuated than originally planned by the US embassy. Originally it was planned with 590 people (146 US citizens and 444 Cambodians and foreigners), but ultimately only 84 US citizens and 205 other people were flown out. The last helicopter carrying refugees left the LZ Hotel at 10:41 am. Ambassador Dean and President Saukham Khoy were among the last evacuees .
At 10:50 am the Khmer Rouge began firing on the landing zone with heavy artillery and mortars. The last of the marines left the landing area at 10:59 a.m. The ten-man command team of Operation Eagle Pull was the last American to leave the country. Your helicopter was badly damaged by enemy fire when it took off, but was the last helicopter to land safely on board the USS Okinawa at 12:15 p.m.
The evacuees were flown from the USS Okinawa to U-Tapao Air Base in Thailand on April 13, 1975.
aftermath
On April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge invaded Phnom Penh almost completely unhindered. US officials such as Foreign Minister Kissinger were shocked by the fact that many members of the government of the Khmer Republic remained in the country even though they were on the rebel death lists. Shortly after the capture, they were arrested and executed by the new regime. Surviving fighters from the Khmer Republic were disarmed and shot in the city's Olympic stadium. Few Cambodian intellectuals, like Dith Pran , were able to flee the city undetected.
The Amphibious Ready Group Alpha and the 31st Marine Amphibious Unit were transferred to Vietnam after the operation in order to take part in the evacuation of the South Vietnamese capital Saigon ( Operation Frequent Wind ).
The US embassy, which closed at 9:45 am on April 12, was not reopened until November 11, 1991.
reception
Operation Eagle Pull is featured in the film The Killing Fields .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l George R. Dunham: "US Marines In Vietnam: The Bitter End, 1973-1975" , at www.archive.org, accessed November 25, 2016
- ↑ a b Michelle Vachon: "Remembering 'Operation Eagle Pull' 40 Years On" , at www.cambodiadaily.com from April 11, 2015, accessed on November 25, 2016
- ↑ Batchelder, Quinlan: "Operation Eagle Pull" (English), at www.mca-marines.org, accessed on November 25, 2016
- ↑ a b Moments in US Diplomatic History: The Fall of Phnom Penh - April 12, 1975 , at adst.org, accessed November 25, 2016
- ↑ "United States 'abandoned Cambodia and handed it over to the butcher' during pullout 40 years ago: ex-ambassador" , on www.nydailynews.com on April 10, 2015, accessed on November 25, 2016
- ↑ Kevin Ponniah: "Remembering the Fall of Phnom Penh" (English), on www.thediplomat.com from April 17, 2015, accessed on November 25, 2016