History: Kampot Sea Landings, January 6, 1979

At 10 pm on January 6, 1979, the Việt Nam People’s Navy launched a naval landing aimed at capturing Kampong Som Port and Ream military port, eliminating Navy Division 164 and Border Guard Regiment 17 of the Pol Pot regime and destroy its southern defensive line.

Vietnamese forces from Việt Nam Navy’s Brigade 101 Naval Infantry attacked and occupied the beach at the foot of Tà Lơn Mountain (Bokor) Mountain in Kampot Province.

The Tà Lơn campaign was the first successful landing-by-sea campaign carried out by the Việt Nam People’s Navy.

After establishing a beachhead in Kampot, Vietnamese quickly moved and captured over 3,000 sq km of land from Kampong Som to Koh Kong, along with the islands off the Cambodian coast.

Following five days of fierce fighting on both sea and land, Vietnamese forces succeeded in wiping out Navy Division 164 and Border Guard Regiment 17 and took control of Kampong Som Town and the Ream Military Port, gaining access to the coastal southeastern part of the country.

To the east, troops entered Phnom Penh on January 7, 1979.