Dien Del

Dien Del
General Dien Del in Kien Svay, Cambodia, January 2008.
Born	1932 Sóc Trăng, French Indochina
Died	13 February 2013(2013-02-13) (aged 81) Tuek Thla, Phnom Penh
Allegiance
Years of service	1951-2001
Rank	Brigadier General
Commands held	2nd FANK Division; Governor and Commander of Territorial Forces, Kandal Province; Chief of General Staff KPNLAF; Inspector General of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces General Staff
Battles/wars	Cambodian Civil War: Chenla II, 1971; Defense of Phnom Penh, 1975; Defense of Ampil Refugee Camp, 1985

General Dien Del (1932-2013) is a distinguished military figure who directed combat operations in Cambodia, first as a general in the Army of the Khmer Republic (1970–1975) and then as a leader of Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF) guerrilla forces fighting against the Vietnamese occupation (1979–1992).

Dien Del died in a hospital in Phnom Penh on February 13, 2013. His body was cremated at the Tuek Thla Pagoda in Tuek Thla, Phnom Penh.

Dien Del was born to an ethnic Khmer Krom family in 1932 at Sóc Trăng. He attended the prestigious Lycée Sisowath in Phnom Penh from 1946 to 1952, then entered military service in the French colonial Cambodian Army. From 1953 to 1956 he was a company commander in the 6th Battalion at Kampong Speu. He came to Phnom Penh in 1957 and was a member of the Royal Khmer Armed Forces (FARK) Headquarters G-1 Office. He studied at the Royal Military Academy in 1957-58, and returned to headquarters as the Deputy Chief of G-1.

From 1959 to 1960 he attended a French military administration school at Montpellier, France. He returned to Cambodia in 1961 and assumed the post of Deputy Chief of Headquarters G-1. In 1962 he joined the Royal Armed Forces General Staff, and in 1964 he was promoted to Major and became Commander of the 24th Intervention Battalion.

In 1970 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK) and assumed the Command of the 2nd Brigade at Prey Sar near Phnom Penh. Also during this time he was involved in the evacuation of Cambodian forces from positions along National Route 19 to Vietnam with the help of American troops. In 1971 he was elevated to the rank of Colonel in command of the 2nd Group, which consisted of the 2nd Brigade and two other brigades. His unit was involved in the disastrous Chenla II Operation, an attempt to clear National Route 6 in Kampong Thom Province in 1971. After this he was sent to study at the South Vietnamese High Command near Saigon. He returned to Cambodia in January 1972 and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in command of the 2nd Division. In May 1974 he was appointed Governor and Commander of Territorial Forces in Kandal Province.