Operation Eagle Pull

Significance

Operation Eagle Pull marked the end of direct United States involvement in Cambodia as the Khmer Republic neared collapse. By early April 1975, Phnom Penh was surrounded by Khmer Rouge forces backed by the People's Republic of China and dependent entirely on aerial resupply through Pochentong Airport. With a Khmer Rouge victory imminent, the US government executed a helicopter evacuation of American nationals and allied Cambodians to ships in the Gulf of Thailand on 12 April 1975. The operation was completed without loss of life. Five days later the Khmer Republic collapsed and the Khmer Rouge occupied Phnom Penh, ending the Cambodian Civil War. Eagle Pull thus represented the final US withdrawal from a government it had supported, immediately preceding the fall of the capital and the beginning of Khmer Rouge rule over Cambodia.

Commanders (4)