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The protagonist of the first three games is the defense attorney Phoenix Wright , who is assisted by the spirit medium Maya Fey ; in the third game , Phoenix 's mentor Mia Fey is also a playable character . In the fourth game , the protagonist is the defense attorney Apollo Justice ; in the fifth , Phoenix , Apollo and the new defense attorney Athena Cykes are all protagonists ; and in the sixth , Phoenix and Apollo are the protagonists . The spin @-@ off Dai Gyakuten Saiban is set in England near the end of the 19th century , and follows Phoenix 's ancestor Ryūnosuke Naruhodō .
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Phoenix 's childhood friend Miles Edgeworth , who is the protagonist of the Ace Attorney Investigations games , is a recurring rival prosecutor character ; in addition to him , each new game in the series introduces a new rival : Franziska von Karma is introduced in the second game , Godot in the third , Klavier Gavin in the fourth , Simon Blackquill in the fifth , and Nahyuta Sahdmadhi in the sixth . The prosecutor characters are portrayed as powerful and arrogant characters of high social status , who favor convictions over finding the truth , and who care about keeping perfect @-@ win records in court . Similarly to real Japanese prosecutors , the prosecutors in the series often directly oversee investigations , issuing orders to the police . Japanese attitudes towards the police force are reflected in the series , with the police being represented by incompetent characters such as Dick Gumshoe , Maggey Byrde and Mike Meekins . In the world of Ace Attorney , trials only last three days , and usually end with a " guilty " verdict . The outcomes of cases are decided by a judge , based on evidence provided by the defense attorney and the prosecutor .
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= = Development = =
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The series was created by Shu Takumi , who wrote and directed the first three games . The first game was conceived in 2000 when Takumi 's boss at the time , Shinji Mikami , gave him six months to create any type of game he wanted to ; Takumi had originally joined Capcom wanting to make mystery and adventure games , and felt that this was a big chance for him to make a mark as a creator . The game was designed to be simple , as Takumi wanted it to be easy enough for even his mother to play . It was originally going to be a detective game , with Phoenix being a private investigator , but at one point Takumi realized that finding and taking apart contradictions was not related to detective work , and felt that the main setting of the game should be courtrooms .
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Takumi felt that the best way to write a mystery with a good climax is to reveal various clues , and then pull them together into one conclusion , and not have multiple possible endings . He said that the biggest challenge with that was to make the gameplay and story work together ; the goal was to make the player feel like they have driven the story forward themselves , with their own choices , even though the game is linear . He only spent little time on writing a backstory for Phoenix before writing the first game 's story , and instead made up dialogue and developed Phoenix 's personality as he went along . He came up with the partner character Maya because he thought it would be more fun for players to have another character with them , giving them advice , than investigating on their own .
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After the first game 's development was finished , Mikami told Takumi that they should make an Ace Attorney trilogy , with a grand finale in the third game 's last case . Takumi had originally planned to let Edgeworth be the prosecutor in all episodes in the second game , but during the production the development team learned that the character had become popular . This led to Takumi feeling that he had to use the character more carefully and sparingly ; he created the new prosecutor character Franziska von Karma , to save Edgeworth for the game 's last case , and avoid a situation where he – a supposed prodigy – loses every case . As Takumi wanted the three first Ace Attorney games to be parts of a larger work , he avoided making a lot of changes between games : art from the first game for main characters such as Phoenix , Maya and Edgeworth was reused , to avoid having the previous games look outdated in comparison to newer games in the series ; and no new gameplay mechanics were added for Trials and Tribulations , as Takumi was happy with the gameplay after having added the psyche @-@ lock mechanic for Justice for All .
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For the fourth game , Takumi wrote the scenario and took on a supervisory role . He had wanted the series to end with the third game , as he felt Phoenix had been fully explored and that his story had been told ; he said that it is important to know when to end a story , that he did not want the series to become a shadow of its former self , and that he did not see any reason to continue it . Despite this , the spin @-@ off series Ace Attorney Investigations was created , being directed by Takeshi Yamazaki and produced by Motohide Eshiro ; Takumi returned to the series to write the crossover Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright : Ace Attorney . He also directed and wrote Dai Gyakuten Saiban , which was described as being the first entry in a new Ace Attorney series . He said that he has mixed feelings about the series being developed by other Capcom staff , comparing it to a parent sending their child to their first day in school . Yamazaki and Eshiro went on to direct and produce the main series entries Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice . Due to exhaustion after working on Dual Destinies , Yamazaki split direction responsibilities with Takuro Fuse for Spirit of Justice , with Yamazaki working on the scenario , and Fuse on the art and gameplay .
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= = Localization = =
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The localization of the first game was outsourced to Bowne Global , and was handled by the writer Alexander O. Smith and the editor Steve Anderson . While the Japanese version takes place in Japan , the localized version is set in the United States : because one of the episodes involves time zones , they had to specify where the game takes place , and chose the United States without thinking a lot about it . The Japanese justice system of the original still remained intact in the localization , as changing it would have altered the entire game structure .
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The change in the series ' setting became an issue in later games , where the Japanese setting was more apparent . Starting with the second game , the series localization direction has been handled by Janet Hsu ; One of the first decisions she had to make was how to localize Maya 's hometown and the mysticism of the Fey clan . She came up with the idea that the localized versions of the Ace Attorney games take place in Los Angeles in an alternative universe where anti @-@ Japanese laws like the California Alien Land Law of 1913 were not passed , anti @-@ Japanese sentiments were not powerful , and where Japanese culture flourished . This dictated what should be localized and what should be kept Japanese ; things relating to the Fey clan and the Kurain channeling technique were kept Japanese , as that was Maya 's heritage , while Japanese foods that were not widely known in the West were changed .
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Character names were also localized to use double meanings similarly to the Japanese names ; the name puns were based on the characters ' personalities or backgrounds , or were visual gags . Several English names were based on their Japanese counterparts , but for some characters the names had to be altered heavily compared to the Japanese versions . Smith and Anderson had a lot of freedom when localizing the names of minor characters in the first game , but discussed the names of the main cast with Capcom . Phoenix 's English surname , " Wright " , was chosen as his Japanese name , " Naruhodō " – meaning " I see " or " I understand " – was frequently used as a joke in the script .
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Dual Destinies was given a digital @-@ only release in the West . This was partially because of the game 's tight development schedule : by releasing it digitally , Capcom was able to release the English version close to the Japanese release date . Two of the games have not been localized : Ace Attorney Investigations 2 and Dai Gyakuten Saiban , although the former has received a full fan translation .
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= = Reception = =
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The Ace Attorney series has been well received by critics , and has performed well commercially : in December 2009 , it was Capcom 's 9th best selling series of all time , and in October 2010 , they called it one of their " strongest intellectual properties " , with more than 3 @.@ 9 million units sold worldwide . By December 2013 , the series had sold over 5 million units . In the United States , the first game became surprisingly successful , forcing Capcom to prepare at least three additional runs to meet the demand .
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Reviewers have liked finding contradictions ; a common complaint , however , is the games ' linearity , as well as how the player sometimes has to resort to a trial @-@ and @-@ error method due to the games only accepting specific pieces of evidence , and how testimony statements sometimes need to be pressed in a specific order . Some reviewers have criticized the lack of changes to the gameplay and presentation throughout the series , while some have said that fans of the series would not have a problem with this .
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Geoff Thew at Hardcore Gamer said that the " craziness " of the game world makes the cases entertaining , but also that it " resonates on a deeper level " due to its connection to the real Japanese legal system , making the setting still feel relevant in 2014 . Bob Mackey at USgamer said that the Ace Attorney games were among the best written games of all time , and that the series ' strength is how each game builds up to a " stunning and satisfying finale " . Thomas Whitehead at Nintendo Life also liked the writing , praising its balance between " light @-@ hearted nonsense " and darker , more serious scenarios . Several reviewers have appreciated the series ' characters ; Thew said that Phoenix and Maya 's banter is among the best in video games , and that Edgeworth 's character arc is one of the most compelling parts of the stories .
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Several reviewers have praised the series ' music . Thew said that the greatest aspect of the series is its audio design , with the first three games using the Game Boy Advance sound chip better than any other game for that platform ; he called the music phenomenal , with the exception of that in Justice for All , but said the sound effects are what " steals the show " . Mackey commented that the games ' small amounts of animations for each character are used well for their characterization .
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= = Related media and other appearances = =
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The Takarazuka Revue , an all @-@ female theater troupe , has adapted the series into stage musicals : 2009 's Ace Attorney : Truth Resurrected , which is based on the last episode of the first game ; 2010 's Ace Attorney 2 : Truth Resurrected Again , whose first act is an original story , while its second act is based on the final episode of the second game ; and 2013 's Ace Attorney 3 : Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth , which is set before the events of Truth Resurrected Again . A stage play based on the series , titled Gyakuten no Spotlight , ran in 2013 , and was written by Eisaku Saito . A 2012 live @-@ action film adaptation of the first game , titled Ace Attorney , was produced at the film studio Toei and directed by Takashi Miike . A 2016 TV anime adaptation of the series , Ace Attorney , is being produced at A @-@ 1 Pictures and is directed by Ayumu Watanabe . Kodansha has published several manga based on the series : a short story anthology was published in Bessatsu Young Magazine in 2006 ; Phoenix Wright : Ace Attorney and Ace Attorney Investigations : Miles Edgeworth were serialized in Weekly Young Magazine in 2007 and 2009 , respectively ; and another manga , which is based on the anime , will be published in V Jump in 2016 . A novel based on the series , Gyakuten Saiban : Turnabout Idol , is planned to be released in 2016 . Ace Attorney drama CDs and albums with Ace Attorney music have also been released .
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Ace Attorney characters have made cross @-@ over appearances in other video games . Some Ace Attorney characters appear in SNK vs. Capcom : Card Fighters DS . Phoenix and Edgeworth make a cameo appearance in She @-@ Hulk 's ending in the fighting game Marvel vs. Capcom 3 : Fate of Two Worlds ; in the game 's update , Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 , Phoenix appears as a playable character . Phoenix and Maya are playable characters in Project X Zone 2 , while Edgeworth makes a non @-@ playable appearance . Music from the Ace Attorney series is featured in Taiko Drum Master : Doko Don ! Mystery Adventure , with Phoenix making an appearance in the game 's story .
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= Cambodian Campaign =
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The Cambodian Campaign ( also known as the Cambodian Incursion and the Cambodian Invasion ) was a series of military operations conducted in eastern Cambodia during 1970 by the United States and the Republic of Vietnam ( South Vietnam ) ( NRA ) during the Vietnam War . These invasions were a result of the policy of President Richard Nixon . A total of 13 major operations were conducted by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam ( ARVN ) between 29 April and 22 July and by US forces between 1 May and 30 June .
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The objective of the campaign was the defeat of the approximately 40 @,@ 000 troops of the People 's Army of Vietnam ( PAVN ) and the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam ( NLF , also known as Viet Cong ) who were ensconced in the eastern border regions of Cambodia . Cambodia 's official neutrality and military weakness made its territory effectively a safe zone where Vietnamese communist forces could establish bases for operations over the border . With the US shifting toward a policy of Vietnamization and withdrawal , the US sought to shore up the South Vietnamese government 's security by eliminating the cross @-@ border threat .
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A change in the Cambodian government allowed a window of opportunity for the destruction of the base areas in 1970 when Prince Norodom Sihanouk was deposed and replaced by pro @-@ US General Lon Nol . Allied military operations failed to eliminate many communist troops or to capture their elusive headquarters , known as the Central Office for South Vietnam ( COSVN ) , but the haul of captured material in Cambodia prompted claims of success .
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= = Preliminaries = =
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= = = Background = = =
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The People 's Army of Vietnam had been utilizing large sections of relatively unpopulated eastern Cambodia as sanctuaries into which they could withdraw from the struggle in South Vietnam to rest and reorganize without being attacked . These base areas were also utilized by the Vietnamese communists to store weapons and other material that had been transported on a large scale into the region on the Sihanouk Trail . PAVN forces had begun moving through Cambodian territory as early as 1963 . In 1966 , Prince Norodom Sihanouk , ruler of Cambodia , convinced of eventual communist victory in Southeast Asia and fearful for the future of his rule , had concluded an agreement with the People 's Republic of China which allowed the establishment of permanent communist bases on Cambodian soil and the use of the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville for resupply .
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During 1968 , Cambodia 's indigenous communist movement , labeled Khmer Rouge ( Red Khmers ) by Sihanouk , began an insurgency to overthrow the government . While they received very limited material help from the North Vietnamese at the time ( the Hanoi government had no incentive to overthrow Sihanouk , since it was satisfied with his continued " neutrality " ) , they were able to shelter their forces in areas controlled by PAVN / NLF troops .
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The US government was aware of these activities in Cambodia , but refrained from taking overt military action within Cambodia in hopes of convincing the mercurial Sihanouk to alter his position . To accomplish this , President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized covert cross @-@ border reconnaissance operations conducted by the secret Studies and Observations Group in order to gather intelligence on PAVN / NLF activities in the border regions ( Project Vesuvius ) . This intelligence data would then be presented to the prince in an effort to change his mind .
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= = = Menu , coup and North Vietnamese offensive = = =
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The new commander of the US Military Assistance Command , Vietnam ( MACV ) , General Creighton W. Abrams , recommended to President Richard M. Nixon shortly after his inauguration that the Cambodian Base Areas be attacked by aerial bombardment utilizing B @-@ 52 Stratofortress bombers . The president initially refused , but the breaking point came with the launching of PAVN 's " Mini @-@ Tet " Offensive of 1969 within South Vietnam . Nixon , angered at what he perceived as a violation of the " agreement " with Hanoi after the cessation of the bombing of North Vietnam , authorized the covert air campaign . The first mission of Operation Menu was dispatched on 18 March and by the time it was completed 14 months later more than 3 @,@ 000 sorties had been flown and 108 @,@ 000 tons of ordnance had been dropped on eastern Cambodia .
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While Sihanouk was abroad in France for a rest cure in January 1970 , government @-@ sponsored anti @-@ Vietnamese demonstrations were held throughout Cambodia . Continued unrest spurred Prime Minister / Defense Minister Lon Nol to close the port of Sihanoukville to communist supplies and to issue an ultimatum on 12 March to the North Vietnamese to withdraw their forces from Cambodia within 72 hours . The prince , outraged that his " modus vivendi " with the communists had been disturbed , immediately arranged for a trip to Moscow and Beijing in an attempt to gain their agreement to apply pressure on Hanoi to restrain its forces in Cambodia .
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On 18 March , the Cambodian National Assembly deposed Sihanouk and named Lon Nol as provisional head of state . This led Sihanouk to immediately establish a government @-@ in @-@ exile in Beijing and to ally himself with North Vietnam , the Khmer Rouge , the NLF , and the Laotian Pathet Lao . In doing so , Sihanouk lent his name and popularity in the rural areas of Cambodia to a movement over which he had little control . The North Vietnamese response to the coup was swift . PAVN began directly supplying large amounts of weapons and advisors to the Khmer Rouge , and Cambodia plunged into civil war .
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Lon Nol saw Cambodia 's population of 400 @,@ 000 ethnic Vietnamese as possible hostages to prevent PAVN attacks and ordered their roundup and internment . Cambodian soldiers and civilians then unleashed a reign of terror , murdering thousands of Vietnamese civilians . On 15 April for example , 800 Vietnamese men had been rounded up at the village of Churi Changwar , tied together , executed , and their bodies dumped into the Mekong River . They then floated downstream into South Vietnam . Cambodia 's actions were denounced by both the North and South Vietnamese governments .
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Even before the supply conduit through Sihanoukville was shut down , PAVN had begun expanding its logistical system from southeastern Laos ( the Ho Chi Minh trail ) into northeastern Cambodia . PAVN also launched an offensive ( Campaign X ) against the Cambodian army , quickly seizing large portions of the eastern and northeastern parts of the country , isolating and besieging or overrunning a number of Cambodian cities including Kampong Cham . Communist forces then approached within 20 miles ( 32 km ) of the capital , Phnom Penh , spurring President Nixon into action .
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On 29 March 1970 , the North Vietnamese had taken matters into their own hands and launched an offensive against the Cambodian army with documents uncovered from the Soviet archives revealing that the offensive was launched at the explicit request of the Khmer Rouge following negotiations with Nuon Chea . A force of North Vietnamese quickly overran large parts of eastern Cambodia reaching to within 15 miles ( 24 km ) of Phnom Penh . After defeating those forces , the North Vietnamese turned the newly won territories over to the local insurgents . The Khmer Rouge also established " liberated " areas in the south and the southwestern parts of the country , where they operated independently of the North Vietnamese .
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= = = Planning = = =
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In response to events in Cambodia , President Nixon believed that there were distinct possibilities for a U.S. response . With Sihanouk gone , conditions were ripe for strong measures against the Base Areas . He was also adamant that some action be taken to support " The only government in Cambodia in the last twenty @-@ five years that had the guts to take a pro @-@ Western stand . " The president then solicited proposals for actions from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and MACV , who presented him with a series of options : a naval quarantine of the Cambodian coast ; the launching of South Vietnamese and American airstrikes ; the expansion of hot pursuit across the border by ARVN forces ; or a ground invasion by ARVN , U.S. forces , or both .
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During a televised address on 20 April , Nixon announced the withdrawal of 150 @,@ 000 U.S. troops from South Vietnam during the year . This planned withdrawal implied restrictions on any offensive U.S. action in Cambodia . By the spring of 1970 , MACV still maintained 330 @,@ 648 U.S. Army and 55 @,@ 039 Marine Corps troops in South Vietnam , most of whom were concentrated in 81 infantry and tank battalions . Many of them , however , were preparing to leave the country or expected to leave in the near future and would not be available for immediate combat operations .
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On 22 April Nixon authorized the planning of a South Vietnamese incursion into the Parrot 's Beak ( named for its perceived shape on a map ) , believing that " Giving the South Vietnamese an operation of their own would be a major boost to their morale as well as provide a practical demonstration of the success of Vietnamization . " On the following day , Secretary of State William P. Rogers testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee that " the administration had no intentions ... to escalate the war . We recognize that if we escalate and get involved in Cambodia with our ground troops that our whole program [ Vietnamization ] is defeated . "
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South Vietnamese forces had been rehearsing for just such an operation since late March . On 27 April , an ARVN Ranger Battalion had advanced into Kandal Province to destroy a communist base . Four days later other South Vietnamese troops drove 16 kilometers into Cambodian territory . Lon Nol , who had initially attempted to follow a neutralist policy of his own , requested military aid and assistance from the U.S. government on 14 April . On that day , South Vietnamese forces then conducted the first of three brief cross @-@ border operations under the aegis of Operation Toan Thang ( Complete Victory ) 41 , sending armored cavalry units into regions of Cambodia 's Svay Rieng Province nicknamed the Angel 's Wing and the Crow 's Nest . On 20 April , 2 @,@ 000 South Vietnamese troops advanced into the Parrot 's Beak , killing 144 PAVN troops . On 22 April , Nixon authorized American air support for the South Vietnamese operations . All of these incursions into Cambodian territory were simply reconnaissance missions in preparation for a larger @-@ scale effort being planned by MACV and its ARVN counterparts , subject to authorization by Nixon .
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President Nixon then authorized General Abrams to begin planning for a U.S. operation in the Fishhook region . A preliminary operational plan had actually been completed in March , but was kept so tightly under wraps that when Abrams handed over the task to General Michael Davison , commander of the II Field Force , he was not informed about the previous planning and started a new one from scratch . Seventy @-@ two hours later , Davison 's plan was submitted to the White House . National Security Advisor Dr. Henry Kissinger asked one of his aides to review it on 26 April , and the NSC staffer was appalled by its " sloppiness " .
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The main problems were the pressure of time and the desire of the U.S. president for secrecy . The Cambodian monsoon , whose heavy rains would hamper operations , was only two months away . By the order of the president , the State Department did not notify the Cambodian desk at the US Embassy , Saigon , the Phnom Penh embassy , or Lon Nol of the planning . Operational security was as tight as General Abrams could make it . There was to be no prior U.S. logistical build @-@ up in the border regions which might serve as a signal to the communists . U.S. brigade commanders were informed only a week in advance of the offensive , while battalion commanders got only two or three days ' notice .
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= = = Decisions = = =
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Not all of the members of the administration agreed that an invasion of Cambodia was either militarily or politically expedient . Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird and Secretary Rogers were both opposed to any such operation due to their belief that it would engender intense domestic opposition in the U.S. and that it might possibly derail the ongoing peace negotiations in Paris ( they had both opposed the Menu bombings for the same reasons ) . Both were castigated by Henry Kissinger for their " bureaucratic foot @-@ dragging . " As a result , Laird was bypassed by the Joint Chiefs in advising the White House on planning and preparations for the Cambodian operation .
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On the evening of 25 April Nixon dined with his friend Bebe Rebozo and Kissinger . Afterward , they screened one of Nixon 's favorite movies , Patton , a biographical portrayal of controversial General George S. Patton , Jr . , which he had seen five times previously . Kissinger later commented that " When he was pressed to the wall , his [ Nixon 's ] romantic streak surfaced and he would see himself as a beleaguered military commander in the tradition of Patton . "
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The following evening , Nixon decided that " We would go for broke " and gave his authorization for the incursion . The joint U.S. / ARVN campaign would begin on 1 May with the stated goals of : reducing allied casualties in South Vietnam ; assuring the continued withdrawal of U.S. forces ; and enhancing the U.S. / Saigon government position at the peace negotiations in Paris .
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In order to keep the campaign as low @-@ key as possible , General Abrams had suggested that the commencement of the incursion be routinely announced from Saigon . At 21 : 00 on 30 April , however , President Nixon appeared on all three U.S. television networks to announce that " It is not our power but our will and character that is being tested tonight " and that " the time has come for action . " He announced his decision to launch American forces into Cambodia with the special objective of capturing COSVN , " the headquarters of the entire communist military operation in South Vietnam . " COSVN as a single headquarters for control of PAVN operations in South Vietnam probably did not exist , or , at least , was never found .
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= = Operations = =
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= = = Previous ARVN attacks = = =
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Coordinating with Lon Nol ARVN forces attacked the PRG headquarter complexes . Moving across the border in Cambodia on 30 March elements of the PRG and NLF were surrounded in their bunkers by South Vietnamese forces flown in by helicopter . Surrounded they awaited till nightfall and then with security provided by the NLF 7th division they broke out of the encirclement and fled north to unite with the COSVN in the Cambodian Kratie province in what would come to be known as Escape of the Provisional Revolutionary Government . Trương Như Tảng was the Minister of Justice in the PRG and he recounts that during the march to the northern bases was day after day of forced marches broken up by B @-@ 52 bombing raids . Just before the column crossed route 7 on their way north they received word that on 3 April the 9th Division had fought and won a battle near the city of Krek , Cambodia against ARVN forces .
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Years later Trương would recall just how " close [ South Vietnamese ] were to annihilating or capturing the core of the Southern resistance – elite units of our frontline fighters along with the civilian and much of the military leadership " . After many days of hard marches the PRG reached the northern bases , and relative safety , in the Kratie region . Casualties were light and the march even saw the birth of a baby to Dương Quỳnh Hoa , the deputy minister of health in the Provisional Revolutionary Government ( PRG ) . The column needed many days to recover and Trương himself would require weeks to recover from the long march .
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= = = Parrot 's Beak and Fishhook = = =
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South Vietnamese forces had already crossed the border on 30 April , launching Operation Toan Thang 42 . 12 ARVN battalions of approximately 8 @,@ 700 troops ( two armored cavalry squadrons from III Corps and two from the 25th Division and 5th Infantry Divisions , an infantry regiment from the 25th Infantry Division , and three Ranger battalions and an attached ARVN Armored Cavalry Regt from the 3rd Ranger Group ) crossed into the Parrot 's Beak region of Svay Rieng Province . The offensive was under the command of Lieutenant General Đỗ Cao Trí , the commander of III Corps , who had a reputation as one of the most aggressive and competent ARVN generals . During their first two days in Cambodia , ARVN units had several sharp encounters with PAVN forces . The North Vietnamese , forewarned by previous ARVN incursions , however , conducted only delaying actions in order to allow the bulk of their forces to escape to the west .
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The ARVN operation soon settled down to become a search and destroy mission , with South Vietnamese troops combing the countryside in small patrols looking for PAVN supply caches . Phase II of the operation began with the arrival of elements of the 9th Infantry Division . Four tank @-@ infantry task forces attacked into the Parrot 's Beak from the south . After three days of operations , ARVN claimed 1 @,@ 010 PAVN troops had been killed and 204 prisoners taken for the loss of 66 ARVN dead and 330 wounded .
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On 1 May an even larger operation , known by the ARVN as Operation Toan Thang 43 and by MACV as Operation Rockcrusher , got underway as 36 B @-@ 52s dropped 774 tons of bombs along the southern edge of the Fishhook . This was followed by an hour of massed artillery fire and another hour of strikes by tactical fighter @-@ bombers . At 10 : 00 , the 1st Air Cav Division , the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment , the 1st ARVN Armoured Cavalry Regiment , and the 3rd ARVN Airborne Brigade then entered Kampong Cham Province of Cambodia . Known as Task Force Shoemaker ( after General Robert M. Shoemaker , the Assistant Division Commander of the 1st Cavalry Division ) , the force attacked the long @-@ time communist stronghold with 10 @,@ 000 U.S. and 5 @,@ 000 South Vietnamese troops . The operation utilized mechanized infantry and armored units to drive deep into the province where they would then link up with ARVN airborne and U.S. airmobile units that had been lifted in by helicopter .
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Opposition to the incursion was expected to be heavy , but PAVN / NLF forces had begun moving westward two days before the advance began . By 3 May , MACV reported only eight Americans killed and 32 wounded , low casualties for such a large operation . There was only scattered and sporadic contact with delaying forces such as that experienced by elements of the U.S. 11th Armoured Cavalry three kilometers inside Cambodia . PAVN troops opened fire with small arms and rockets only to be blasted by tank fire and tactical airstrikes . When the smoke had cleared , 50 dead PAVN soldiers were counted on the battlefield while only two U.S. troops were killed during the action .
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1st Battalion / 7th Cavalry , 3rd Brigade 1st Cavalry Division was in the Fishhook very early May through 30 June when they crossed the river back into Vietnam . There was extremely heavy combat throughout the period . American losses were very heavy , with all units relying on heavy inflow of replacements to try to maintain at least half strength in the field . In one company , of all the men who had entered Cambodia , only nine left on 30 June , the rest having been either killed or wounded and evacuated . The unit was awarded the Valorous Unit Award , equivalent to individual Silver Stars , for their combat performance in the Fishhook .
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The North Vietnamese had ample notice of the impending attack . A 17 March directive from the headquarters of the B @-@ 3 Front , captured during the incursion , ordered PAVN / NLF forces to " break away and avoid shooting back ... Our purpose is to conserve forces as much as we can " . The only surprised party amongst the participants in the incursion seemed to be Lon Nol , who had been informed by neither Washington nor Saigon concerning the impending invasion of his country . He only discovered the fact after a telephone conversation with the head of the U.S. mission , who had found out about it himself from a radio broadcast .
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The only conventional battle fought by American troops occurred on 1 May at the town of Snoul , the suspected terminus of the Sihanouk Trail at the junction of Routes 7 , 13 , and 131 . Elements of the U.S. 11th Armored Cavalry and supporting helicopters came under PAVN fire while approaching the town and its airfield . When a massed American attack was met by heavy resistance , the Americans backed off , called in air support and blasted the town for two days , reducing it to rubble . During the action , Brigadier General Donn A. Starry , commander of the 11th Armored Cavalry , was wounded by grenade fragments and evacuated .
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= = = Hunting supply caches = = =
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On the following day , elements of the U.S. 1st Air Cavalry division entered what came to be known as " The City " , southwest of Snoul . The two @-@ square mile PAVN complex contained over 400 thatched huts , storage sheds , and bunkers , each of which was packed with food , weapons , and ammunition . There were truck repair facilities , hospitals , a lumber yard , 18 mess halls , a pig farm , and even a swimming pool . Forty kilometers to the northeast , other 1st Cavalry Division elements discovered a larger base on 6 May . Nicknamed " Rock Island East " after the U.S. Army 's Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois , the area contained more than 6 @.@ 5 million rounds of anti @-@ aircraft ammunition , 500 @,@ 000 rifle rounds , thousands of rockets , several General Motors trucks , and large quantities of communications equipment .
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While on patrol 20 kilometers northeast of " Rock Island East " on 23 May , a point man nicknamed Shakey ( Chris Keffalos ) from the 5th Battalion , 7th Cavalry , tripped over a metal plate buried just below the surface of the ground . The trooper was later killed by PAVN defenders , but the cache he had uncovered was the first of 59 buried storage bunkers at the site of what was thereafter known as " Shakey 's Hill " . The bunkers contained thousands of cases of weapons and ammunition , all of which were turned over to the Cambodian army . Much of the captured enemy material was turned over to the MACV Special Support Group for Cambodia where it was maintained and then issued to Lon Nol 's Forces . This group was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Will H. Horn .
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The one thing that was not found was COSVN . On 1 May a tape of Nixon 's announcement of the incursion was played for General Abrams , " who must have cringed " when he heard the president state that the capture of the headquarters was one of the major objectives of the operation . MACV intelligence knew that the mobile and widely- dispersed headquarters would be difficult to locate . In response to a White House query before the fact , MACV had replied that " major COSVN elements are dispersed over approximately 110 square kilometers of jungle " and that " the feasibility of capturing major elements appears remote " .
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After the first week of operations , additional battalion and brigade units were committed to the operation , so that between 6 and 24 May , a total of 90 @,@ 000 Allied troops ( including 33 U.S. maneuver battalions ) were conducting operations inside Cambodia . Due to increasing political and domestic turbulence in the U.S. , President Nixon issued a directive on 7 May limiting the distance and duration of U.S. operations to a depth of 30 kilometers ( 19 mi ) and setting a deadline of 30 June for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces to South Vietnam .
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South Vietnamese forces were not constrained by the time and geographic limitations placed upon U.S. units . From the provincial capital of Svay Rieng , ARVN elements pressed westward to Kampong Trabek , where on 14 May their 8th and 15th Armored Cavalry regiments defeated the 88th PAVN Infantry Regiment . On 23 May , the South Vietnamese pushed beyond the deepest U.S. penetrations and attacked the town of Krek .
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= = = Binh Tay and Cuu Long = = =
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In the II Corps area , Operation Binh Tay I ( Operation Tame the West ) was launched by the 1st and 2nd Brigades of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division and the 40th ARVN Infantry Regiment against Base Area 702 ( the traditional headquarters of the communist B @-@ 2 Front ) in northeastern Cambodia from 5 – 25 May . Following airstrikes , the initial American forces , assaulting via helicopter , were driven back by intense anti @-@ aircraft fire . On the following day , the 3rd Battalion , 506th Infantry ( on loan from the U.S. 101st Airborne Division ) , landed without opposition . Its sister unit , the 1st Battalion , 14th Infantry was also unopposed . The 3rd Battalion of the 8th Infantry , however , inserted only 60 men before intense PAVN fire ( which shot down one helicopter and damaged two others ) shut down the landing zone , leaving them stranded and surrounded overnight . By the following morning , PAVN forces had left the area .
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