Pol Pot

=== Against Sihanouk ===
In January 1968, the war was launched with an attack on the Bay Damran army post south of [[Battambang]].{{sfnm|1a1=Chandler|1y=1992|1p=84|2a1=Short|2y=2004|2p=174}} Further attacks targeted police and soldiers and seized weaponry.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=174}} The government responded with [[scorched earth|scorched-earth]] policies, aerially bombarding areas where rebels were active.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=175}} The army's brutality aided the insurgents' cause;{{sfnm|1a1=Chandler|1y=1992|1p=86|2a1=Short|2y=2004|2pp=175–76}} as the uprising spread, over 100,000 villagers joined them.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=174}} In the summer, Sâr relocated his base {{convert|48|km}} north to the more mountainous Naga's Tail, to avoid encroaching government troops.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=176}} At this base, called K-5, he increased his dominance over the party and had his own separate encampment, staff, and guards. No outsider was allowed to meet him without an escort.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=176}} He took over from Sary as the Secretary of the North East Zone.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=177}} In November 1969, Sâr trekked to Hanoi to persuade the North Vietnamese government to provide direct military assistance. They refused, urging him to revert to a political struggle.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=188}} In January 1970 he flew to Beijing.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=188}} There, his wife began showing early signs of the [[Paranoid schizophrenia|chronic paranoid schizophrenia]] she would later be diagnosed with.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=210}}