1970–73 U.S. Air Force offensive in Cambodia during the Vietnam War
Operation Freedom Deal
Part of the Cambodian Civil War and the Vietnam War
Location
Cambodia
Commanded by
Richard M. Nixon Henry Kissinger
Date
19 May 1970 – 15 August 1973
Executed by
Seventh Air Force
Outcome
In U.S., adoption of the War Powers Resolution
Delaying the fall of the capital Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge
Accelerated collapse of rural Cambodian society, displacement of tens of thousands from countryside to city, increased social polarization[1]
Pushing North Vietnamese troops further into Cambodia away from the South Vietnamese border[2]
Khmer Rouge used civilian loss to promote recruitment, strengthened the hard-liners within the CPK[3]
Casualties
Cambodian casualties: 50,000–150,000 (per Ben Kiernan; other estimates vary widely)[4][5][6][7][8] This figure refers to the entirety of the U.S. bombing of Cambodia, including the Operation Menu bombings.
Vietnamese casualties: unknown
v
t
e
Indochina Wars
Masterdom
First
Second
Laotian Civil War
Cambodian Civil War
Third
Khmer Rouge–Vietnamese
Cambodian Conflict
Cambodian–Thai border
Sino-Vietnamese
Sino-Vietnamese border and naval conflicts
Hmong insurgency
FULRO insurgency against Vietnam
Thai–Laotian Border War
v
t
e
Military engagements during the Vietnam War
Guerrilla phase
Laos
Biên Hòa
Đồng Khởi
Chopper
Palace Bombing
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Shufly
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Phase III Offensive
Duc Lap
Champaign Grove
Vinh Loc
Thượng Đức
Maui Peak
Henderson Hill
Sheridan Sabre
Meade River
Hat Dich
Speedy Express
Taylor Common
Fayette Canyon
Vietnamization 1969–1971
DMZ Campaign (1969–1971)
Bold Mariner
Dewey Canyon
Toan Thang III
2nd Tet
Iron Mountain
Massachusetts Striker
Wayne Grey
Purple Martin
Ben Het
Maine Crag
Atlas Wedge
Frederick Hill
Geneva Park
Montana Mauler
Oklahoma Hills
Washington Green
Virginia Ridge
Apache Snow
Hamburger Hill
Lamar Plain
Pipestone Canyon
Binh Ba
Montgomery Rendezvous
Utah Mesa
Campbell Streamer
Idaho Canyon
Nantucket Beach
Fulton Square
LZ Kate
Toan Thang IV
Randolph Glen
Green River
Texas Star
FSB Ripcord
Cambodian campaign
Pennsylvania Square
Clinch Valley
Elk Canyon
Pickens Forest
Wolfe Mountain
Chicago Peak
Firebase O'Reilly
Chenla I
Imperial Lake
Jefferson Glenn
Tailwind
Son Tay Raid
Cuu Long 44-02
Toan Thang 1/71
Snuol
Lam Son 719
Finney Hill
Middlesex Peak
FSB Mary Ann
Caroline Hill
Long Khánh
Chenla II
Nui Le
1972
Easter Offensive
Cambodia and Mekong Delta
1st Quang Trị
Loc Ninh
An Lộc
Mỹ Chánh Line
Kontum
Thunderhead
2nd Quang Trị
The Vinh wiretap
Post-Paris Peace Accords (1973–1974)
War of the flags
Cửa Việt
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Tong Le Chon
Trung Nghia
Ap Da Bien
Quang Duc
Tri Phap
Svay Rieng
Iron Triangle
Duc Duc
Thượng Đức
Phú Lộc
Phước Long
Spring 1975
Ban Me Thuot
Hue–Da Nang
Phan Rang
Xuân Lộc
Fall of Phnom Penh
Fall of Saigon
Mayaguez incident
Air operations
Farm Gate
Chopper
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Barrel Roll
Pony Express
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Arc Light
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Shed Light
Thanh Hoa
Bolo
Popeye
Yen Vien
Niagara
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Commando Hunt
Giant Lance
Menu
Patio
Freedom Deal
Proud Deep Alpha
Linebacker I
Enhance Plus
Linebacker II
Homecoming
Tan Son Nhut Air Base
Babylift
New Life
Eagle Pull
Frequent Wind
Naval operations
Yankee & Dixie stations
Gulf of Tonkin
Market Time
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Game Warden
Double Eagle
Stable Door
PIRAZ
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Lists of allied operations
1964
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1973–74
1975
Operation Freedom Deal was a military campaign led by the United States Seventh Air Force, taking place in Cambodia between 19 May 1970 and 15 August 1973. Part of the larger Vietnam War and the Cambodian Civil War, the goal of the operation was to provide air support and interdiction in the region. Launched by President Richard Nixon as a follow-up to the earlier ground invasion during the Cambodian Campaign, the initial targets of the operation were the base areas and border sanctuaries of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Viet Cong (VC).[9]
As time went on, most of the bombing was carried out to support the Cambodian government of Lon Nol in its struggle against the communist Khmer Rouge. The area in which the bombing took place was expanded to include most of the eastern one-half of Cambodia. The bombing was extremely controversial and led the U.S. Congress to pass the War Powers Resolution.[10]
Operation Freedom Deal followed and expanded the bombing of Cambodia conducted under Operation Menu in 1969 and 1970. Most of the bombing was carried out by U.S. Air Force (USAF) B-52 bombers. While the effectiveness of the bombing and the number of Cambodians killed by U.S. bombing remains in dispute, civilian fatalities were easily in the tens of thousands.[11]
^Chandler, David (2000). Brother Number One: A Political Biography of Pol Pot, Revised Edition. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Silkworm Books. pp. 96–98.
^Kiernan, Ben; Owen, Taylor (26 April 2015). "Making More Enemies than We Kill? Calculating U.S. Bomb Tonnages Dropped on Laos and Cambodia, and Weighing Their Implications". The Asia–Pacific Journal. Retrieved 18 July 2017. First, the bombing forced the Vietnamese Communists deeper and deeper into Cambodia, bringing them into greater contact with Khmer Rouge insurgents.
^"Cambodia: U.S. bombing and civil war". sites.tufts.edu/atrocityendings. 7 August 2015.
^Valentino, Benjamin (2005). Final Solutions: Mass Killing and Genocide in the 20th Century. Cornell University Press. p. 84. ISBN 9780801472732.
^Tyner, James (2008). The Killing of Cambodia: Geography, Genocide and the Unmaking of Space. Routledge. ISBN 9780754670964.)
^Rummel, Rudolph. "Statistics Of Cambodian Democide: Estimates, Calculations, And Sources". Retrieved 6 February 2018.
^"FRONTLINE/WORLD . Cambodia – Pol Pot's Shadow . Chronicle of Survival. 1969–1974: Caught in the crossfire | PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
^Kiernan, Ben; Owen, Taylor (26 April 2015). "Making More Enemies than We Kill? Calculating U.S. Bomb Tonnages Dropped on Laos and Cambodia, and Weighing Their Implications". The Asia–Pacific Journal. Retrieved 18 July 2017. The evidence of survivors from many parts of [Cambodia] suggests that at least tens of thousands, probably in the range of 50,000 to 150,000 deaths, resulted from the US bombing campaigns
^Kennedy, David M.; Cohen, Lizabeth; Piehl, Mel (2016). The Brief American Pageant: A History of the Republic, Volume II: Since 1865. Cengage Learning. p. 669. ISBN 9781305887886.
^Kennedy, David M.; Cohen, Lizabeth; Piehl, Mel (2016). The Brief American Pageant: A History of the Republic, Volume II: Since 1865. Cengage Learning. p. 669. ISBN 9781305887886.
^Power, Samantha (2013). A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. Basic Books. ISBN 9780465050895.
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