In 1970, the conflict in Vietnam spilled over into Cambodia. U.S. forces were starting to withdraw from North Vietnam, but peace talks between the two countries stalled in Paris. Not willing to let South Vietnam fall, the U.S. pumped massive amounts of materiel aid to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and continued air attacks on Viet Cong bases in neighboring Cambodia. Then they got the opportunity of a lifetime: the new Cambodian leader requested international help in quelling a civil war. Under the guise of peacekeeping, the U.S. could eliminate VC bases in Cambodia. And so they went in.

On this day, April 12, in 1975, with the operations in Cambodia declared over, President Gerald Ford withdrew American troops. Despite a limited role for American troops, with ARVN leading the way, several major stores of supplies were captured. The overall effect on the conflict in the area was more questionable.

The Allied forces claimed a stunning victory, with enemy casualties in the thousands, and their supply logistics broken for months to come. Ford’s successor Richard Nixon used the victory to take a hard-line stance against communist intrusion Southeast Asia. Still, Vietnam fell to the Soviets shortly later, with Cambodia and Laos soon to follow. The Nixon White House might have overestimated the ability of its allies in the area.