High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Operation Eagle Pull was the American evacuation by air of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 12 April, 1975. At the beginning of April 1975, Phnom Penh, the last remaining stronghold of the Khmer Republic, was surrounded by the Khmer Rouge and totally dependent on aerial resupply through Pochentong Airport. With a Khmer Rouge victory imminent, the United States made contingency plans for the evacuation of US nationals and at-risk Cambodians by helicopter to ships in the Gulf of Thailand. Operation Eagle Pull took place on the morning of 12 April 1975 and was a tactical success carried out without any loss of life. On 17 April 1975 the Khmer Republic collapsed and the Khmer Rouge occupied Phnom Penh.