Word: penh
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...noose that for months has dangled around Phnom-Penh's neck drew painfully tighter. To the southeast, 30 miles down the Mekong, the government lost its last two strongholds. After a siege of three months, the insurgents overpowered stubborn resistance, often in bloody, hand-to-hand combat, to capture the twin towns of Banam and Neak Luong. The victory freed some 4,000 Khmer Rouge troops who were reported to be making their way up the Mekong in sampans for the looming assault on the capital. To the east, the attackers overran several government positions to come within mortar...
...Saukam Khoy's first acts was to summon all of Cambodia's senior generals for a seven-hour meeting to determine whether anything could be salvaged from Phnom-Penh's parlous military situation. By the time the conference broke up at 1 a.m., Saukam Khoy had decided to give a morale-boosting pay raise to all military personnel (a one-star general makes only $25 a month), though nobody was sure where the money would come from...
...Khmer Rouge and negotiations to establish a coalition government. The only response from the shadowy Communist insurgents was a step-up in their attacks throughout the country. After withstanding a prolonged seige, the government last week finally abandoned the city of Kompong Seila, 70 miles southwest of Phnom-Penh, and airlifted 2,000 civilians and troops out of the city. The Khmer Rouge advanced within mortar range of the airport at Battambang, the country's second largest city (pop. 200,000), temporarily halting the ammunition and supply flights on which that city depends for survival...
...most crucial sector was on the northern front, which protects Pochentong airport. The U.S. was bringing in about 1,500 tons of ammunition and food and medical supplies daily. If that flow was cut or seriously disrupted, and stockpiles were depleted, Phnom-Penh would collapse quickly. It is likely to do so in any case when U.S. aid runs out at the end of April; Congress is not expected to grant President Ford's request for an additional $222 million when it reconvenes this week. The fact that the city's fate is virtually sealed...
...continue the war but to keep the Khmer Rouge from entering Phnom-Penh that we are asking for aid," Saukam Khoy said last week. Some of the defending units had no more than six or ten mortar rounds left to repulse the next attack. Young front-line commanders often kept an ear on the radio, hoping for news that the U.S. Congress would change its mind and grant...