Cambodia: This Day in History

7th January, 1979

Meeting little real resistance the Vietnamese scythed quickly through Cambodia and captured the capital just two weeks after launching their offensive.

Historically, Cambodians have had a long and deep-seated hatred of the Vietnamese. This time however they were welcomed with open-arms as their whipping of the Khmer Rouge offered Cambodians hope for the future.

"...the Vietnamese were our friends. Villagers lined the streets to applaud them, and provided them with sugar cane and water. We did not see them as invaders," said Chea Vannath.*

The Vietnamese changed the name of Cambodia to the People's Republic of Kampuchea.

*Getting Away With Genocide: Elusive Justice and the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, Tom Fawthrop and Helen Jarvis, 2005.

This news report of the time is well worth watching. (Unfortunately I can't embed it.)
http://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/jan-1979-fall-phnom-penh-12508505

Cambodia: This Day in History

December 31st, 1977

The Lao-Khmer-Vietnamese friendship was
officially broken on Dec 31 1977

After months of verbal stoushes and military skirmishes, Cambodia finally broke off diplomatic relations with its former ally, Vietnam.

This was the first ever such break between two communist countries.

Cambodia: This Day in History

25th December, 1978

On this day in 1978 the Vietnamese began their invasion of Cambodia.

Earlier the Vietnamese had brought together Cambodian escapees from the Khmer Rouge, deserters from the Khmer Rouge army, and captured Khmer soldiers. This rag-bag of an army along with Vietnamese soldiers marched upon Phnom Penh under the guise of the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation.