The Khmer Rouge had prepared a force of 70,000 to resist the invasion, but was
not able to prevent the Vietnamese from advancing to Phnom Penh, which was
captured on January 7, 1979. The Khmer Rouge switched to a guerrilla campaign
and began to attack the long and exposed line of communication of the
Vietnamese forces. The Vietnamese used the pretext that none of their own
troops were actually fighting but only supporting the KNUFNS in their struggle
against the brutal Khmer Rouge. This was not the case: Vietnam had over 150,000
troops in Cambodia, while the KNUFNS force numbered only 20,000. For the
remainder of the occupation, the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge were locked in a
bloody guerrilla war. Vietnamese forces held the cities while the Khmer Rouge
controlled the rural areas, especially along the Thai border. The struggle did
not end until Vietnam withdrew its troops in the late 1980s. The number of
casualties is uncertain but is estimated at 30,000
on each side.
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