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| 1976, Sept.–Nov |
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| Events prompted Pol Pot to disappear—to “retire” from public view—for one month. Hundreds of party members were targeted for execution. | 1 |
| Cambodian forces attacked Vietnam targets along the border early in the year, in order to regain territory taken by Vietnam several hundred years earlier in which sizable numbers of Cambodian minorities still resided. Until the end of 1976, relations between the two countries remained chilly but correct. | 2 |
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| 1976–78 |
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| More than 4,000 “confessions” were extracted from individuals who were then tortured and put to death. The entire population was drafted. A complete restructuring of society included the nationalization of private property, the abolition of money, suppression of the Buddhist church, and enforcement of communal living for everyone. | 3 |
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| 1978 |
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| Now engaged in open hostilities, the Vietnamese began to support Cambodian forces hostile to Pol Pot, especially in eastern Cambodia on the Vietnam border (See Dec). | 4 |
| By mid-1978, Cambodia was involved in a civil war as well as an international war. Pol Pot responded by instituting a policy of terror. In addition to many deaths from political executions, over a million people are believed to have died from disease, overwork, and malnutrition. All this served to delegitimize Pol Pot's rule in the eyes of the people. | 5 |
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| 1979, Jan |
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| Phnom Penh fell. Within one month a pro-Vietnamese regime, the People's Republic of Kampuchea, was installed. Pol Pot's forces fled to the forests along the Thai border. Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians fled the country as refugees to France, Canada, the U.S., and other destinations. Pol Pot received support from Thailand and China. | 6 |
| When the Vietnamese attacked early in the year, they met with no resistance except from the retreating Khmer Rouge army. | 7 |
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| March |
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| China launched an attack in the northern provinces of Vietnam (See 1979, Feb.–March), which lasted only a few weeks but was costly to both sides and worsened relations between the countries. It also affected Sino-Soviet relations because the Soviets supported Vietnam. | 8 |
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