Steve's history corner
Steve's history corner
By no means a scholar, but as a history teacher with an interest in Indochina, I have written/compiled quite a few essays which have been published on CNE over the past year or two.
With permission from the Admin, I'd like to share some of them here for general interest. Some are a bit dry and others could do with editing and mostly involve military and politics.
An example is a Cambodian relations with Thai & Vietnam, which spiraled a bit out of control and ended up as 11 parts, which still needs to be finished.
As great powers fall, others shall rise in their place. The Khmer empire, at its peak controlled or had under vassal, much of mainland Southeast Asia, from southern China to the Isthmus of Kra. Overstretched military campaigns, climate change, poor economic planning and ethnic rebellions all began to erode the once mighty kingdom of Angkor. Internecine fighting between powerful, and usually related, clans weakened the state, as neighboring kingdoms began to centralize.
By the fate of geography and politics, Cambodia found herself trapped between two aggressive and ambitious neighbors to the west and east.
PART 1: End of Angkor- 1800’s https://tinyurl.com/jad89swe
PART 2: The Carved Kingdom https://tinyurl.com/xbf55y4w
PART 3: French Indochina https://tinyurl.com/49awzfww
PART 4: World War 2 https://tinyurl.com/xwd4r583
PART 5: Independence to Civil War https://tinyurl.com/z2u34knb
PART 6: 1970, A Very Bad Year https://tinyurl.com/324pzvmz
PART 7: Questions, April 1975 https://tinyurl.com/dxbje6e3
PART 8: 1979: The Fall of DK https://tinyurl.com/37xbpuz4
PART 9: The United Nations question https://tinyurl.com/ny3xscn3
PART 10: Avoiding Famine in 1980 https://tinyurl.com/ynprj9tm
PART 11: The 1984-85 Dry Season Offensive https://tinyurl.com/47en8e5s
With permission from the Admin, I'd like to share some of them here for general interest. Some are a bit dry and others could do with editing and mostly involve military and politics.
An example is a Cambodian relations with Thai & Vietnam, which spiraled a bit out of control and ended up as 11 parts, which still needs to be finished.
As great powers fall, others shall rise in their place. The Khmer empire, at its peak controlled or had under vassal, much of mainland Southeast Asia, from southern China to the Isthmus of Kra. Overstretched military campaigns, climate change, poor economic planning and ethnic rebellions all began to erode the once mighty kingdom of Angkor. Internecine fighting between powerful, and usually related, clans weakened the state, as neighboring kingdoms began to centralize.
By the fate of geography and politics, Cambodia found herself trapped between two aggressive and ambitious neighbors to the west and east.
PART 1: End of Angkor- 1800’s https://tinyurl.com/jad89swe
PART 2: The Carved Kingdom https://tinyurl.com/xbf55y4w
PART 3: French Indochina https://tinyurl.com/49awzfww
PART 4: World War 2 https://tinyurl.com/xwd4r583
PART 5: Independence to Civil War https://tinyurl.com/z2u34knb
PART 6: 1970, A Very Bad Year https://tinyurl.com/324pzvmz
PART 7: Questions, April 1975 https://tinyurl.com/dxbje6e3
PART 8: 1979: The Fall of DK https://tinyurl.com/37xbpuz4
PART 9: The United Nations question https://tinyurl.com/ny3xscn3
PART 10: Avoiding Famine in 1980 https://tinyurl.com/ynprj9tm
PART 11: The 1984-85 Dry Season Offensive https://tinyurl.com/47en8e5s
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Great links, talking of History Steve is the Steve who wrote King Norodoms Head still doing well does anybody know?
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- Making Khmer girls cry since 2003
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We can't have two History Steves. New guy should be required to change his name.
Follow my lame Twitter feed: @gavin_mac
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He's still breathing.chilli wrote: ↑Fri Sep 03, 2021 11:14 pmGreat links, talking of History Steve is the Steve who wrote King Norodoms Head still doing well does anybody know?
Romantic Cambodia is dead and gone. It's with McKinley in the grave.
That went better than expected.
Now some aviation history
The Secret Air War 'Callsign Rustic' https://tinyurl.com/7v8rxzxz
Viet Cong/NVA commando raid on Ponchentong https://tinyurl.com/3h36axtx
Bill Bird & the 1975 Phnom Penh Airlift https://tinyurl.com/hv4ybwu5
When Vietnam used US weapons and Soviet cargo planes to bomb the Khmer Rouge https://tinyurl.com/vcjy7ajz (this one is pretty unique and have seen nothing about in in English)
Choppy rides and UNTAC helicopter crashes https://tinyurl.com/yf88e9nm
Now some aviation history
The Secret Air War 'Callsign Rustic' https://tinyurl.com/7v8rxzxz
Viet Cong/NVA commando raid on Ponchentong https://tinyurl.com/3h36axtx
Bill Bird & the 1975 Phnom Penh Airlift https://tinyurl.com/hv4ybwu5
When Vietnam used US weapons and Soviet cargo planes to bomb the Khmer Rouge https://tinyurl.com/vcjy7ajz (this one is pretty unique and have seen nothing about in in English)
Choppy rides and UNTAC helicopter crashes https://tinyurl.com/yf88e9nm
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You might like these ones about the indigenous tribes in the northeast/Central Highlands
The Jarai King of Fire https://tinyurl.com/4j3auaz8
The FULRO story is pretty wild- the last bunch were lost in the jungle and still fighting the Vietnamese in 1990's
Front unifié de lutte des races opprimées FULRO I: https://tinyurl.com/pfjemh5
FULRO II: https://tinyurl.com/vwf9u2
Thanks Steve. Great stories. Those Russian helicopters sounded death defying.
Some biographies of interesting characters from Cambodian history
Thiounn Prasith- Pol Pot's 'spin doctor' https://tinyurl.com/hsesvyud
The Khmer/Krom/Filipino/Portuguese General Sosthène Fernandez https://tinyurl.com/3yznhetv
The unfortunate end to Norodom's favorite son Duong Chak https://tinyurl.com/266jxsy9
Pol Pot's mad wife: https://tinyurl.com/drcz69nk
Amazing woman, Dr. Pauline Dy Phon: https://tinyurl.com/m8xrf7u7
Plenty more where they came from, hope they are as interesting to readers as they are to research.
Steve
Thiounn Prasith- Pol Pot's 'spin doctor' https://tinyurl.com/hsesvyud
The Khmer/Krom/Filipino/Portuguese General Sosthène Fernandez https://tinyurl.com/3yznhetv
The unfortunate end to Norodom's favorite son Duong Chak https://tinyurl.com/266jxsy9
Pol Pot's mad wife: https://tinyurl.com/drcz69nk
Amazing woman, Dr. Pauline Dy Phon: https://tinyurl.com/m8xrf7u7
Plenty more where they came from, hope they are as interesting to readers as they are to research.
Steve
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Here's some old ones about 100 years of Kampot military history. It's described as a sleepy, peaceful town now (apart from the unwashed and troublemakers) but was a pretty violent and scary place to be until relatively recently.
Part One 1880's-1970: https://tinyurl.com/kr4nf3ft
Part Two 1971-75: https://tinyurl.com/4dpbt6az
Part Three 1975-89: https://tinyurl.com/2f6axhx5
Part Four: 1990-94: https://tinyurl.com/4twacwsn
Part One 1880's-1970: https://tinyurl.com/kr4nf3ft
Part Two 1971-75: https://tinyurl.com/4dpbt6az
Part Three 1975-89: https://tinyurl.com/2f6axhx5
Part Four: 1990-94: https://tinyurl.com/4twacwsn
Here's a couple about Siem Reap
In 1970, VC and NVA took over Angkor Wat (after the US border incursion pushed them away from the border). For 5 years they stayed there with the KR, while the Republic's army sat in Siem Reap town. It was such as stronghold that Sihanouk was able to pay a visit in 1973.
https://tinyurl.com/aw4vyry6
And an unusual, unexplained explosion in 1976, blamed on the USA. Involved was an American Marxist, turned big tech investor and Davos summit regular.
https://tinyurl.com/dvmwy894
In 1970, VC and NVA took over Angkor Wat (after the US border incursion pushed them away from the border). For 5 years they stayed there with the KR, while the Republic's army sat in Siem Reap town. It was such as stronghold that Sihanouk was able to pay a visit in 1973.
https://tinyurl.com/aw4vyry6
And an unusual, unexplained explosion in 1976, blamed on the USA. Involved was an American Marxist, turned big tech investor and Davos summit regular.
https://tinyurl.com/dvmwy894
Lately I've become quite obsessed with arguably the most important figure in modern Cambodia from 1930's-70's after Sihanouk.
Son Ngoc Thanh (Vietnamese: Sơn Ngọc Thành, Khmer: សឺង ង៉ុកថាញ់) (December 7, 1908* – August 8, 1977) was a Cambodian nationalist and republican politician, with a long history as a rebel and (for brief periods) a government minister.
Thanh was born in Travinh, Vietnam, to a Khmer Krom father and a Chinese-Vietnamese mother. He was educated in Saigon, Montpellier and Paris, studying law for a year before returning to Indo-China.
He found work as a magistrate in Pursat and as a public prosecutor in Phnom Penh before becoming Deputy Director of the Buddhist Institute. Along with another prominent early Khmer nationalist, Pach Chhoeun, he established the first Khmer language newspaper, Nagaravatta, in 1936.
Here are some essays, slowly preparing the next 20 years from 1955-75.
The 'Umbrella War' of 1942, when monks and nationalists battled the French after the arrest of a dissident monk. https://tinyurl.com/t92z3nz9
A four part look at the Khmer Issarak movement- a motley crew of far-right nationalists, Thai sponsored warlords, left-wing intellectuals, the Viet Minh and outright bandits.
Part One: The 1940's anti-colonial beginnings https://tinyurl.com/6ffnc9am
Part Two: 1950-53 https://tinyurl.com/3hjxr2ww
Part Three: Independence & Geneva Accords https://tinyurl.com/5vn8jsxy
Part Four: Biographies of the Issarak leaders https://tinyurl.com/322zecha
And a related story of the 1951 assassination of the French 'Commissaire de la République' in his room in Phnom Penh https://tinyurl.com/v2unzfv
I hope they are interesting for some of you.
Son Ngoc Thanh (Vietnamese: Sơn Ngọc Thành, Khmer: សឺង ង៉ុកថាញ់) (December 7, 1908* – August 8, 1977) was a Cambodian nationalist and republican politician, with a long history as a rebel and (for brief periods) a government minister.
Thanh was born in Travinh, Vietnam, to a Khmer Krom father and a Chinese-Vietnamese mother. He was educated in Saigon, Montpellier and Paris, studying law for a year before returning to Indo-China.
He found work as a magistrate in Pursat and as a public prosecutor in Phnom Penh before becoming Deputy Director of the Buddhist Institute. Along with another prominent early Khmer nationalist, Pach Chhoeun, he established the first Khmer language newspaper, Nagaravatta, in 1936.
Here are some essays, slowly preparing the next 20 years from 1955-75.
The 'Umbrella War' of 1942, when monks and nationalists battled the French after the arrest of a dissident monk. https://tinyurl.com/t92z3nz9
A four part look at the Khmer Issarak movement- a motley crew of far-right nationalists, Thai sponsored warlords, left-wing intellectuals, the Viet Minh and outright bandits.
Part One: The 1940's anti-colonial beginnings https://tinyurl.com/6ffnc9am
Part Two: 1950-53 https://tinyurl.com/3hjxr2ww
Part Three: Independence & Geneva Accords https://tinyurl.com/5vn8jsxy
Part Four: Biographies of the Issarak leaders https://tinyurl.com/322zecha
And a related story of the 1951 assassination of the French 'Commissaire de la République' in his room in Phnom Penh https://tinyurl.com/v2unzfv
I hope they are interesting for some of you.
These are great and thanks for sharing. Do you or anyone else here have any background on Hope Stevens (other than google)? He was the American lawyer defending the KR at the 1979 People’s Revolutionary Tribunal. How does a black, minor civil rights attorney in Harlem end up in PP defending the KR? I’m so curious to find out the back story.
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