 John Shaw and other historians , military and civilian , have based the conclusions of their work on the incursion on the premise that the North Vietnamese logistical system in Cambodia had been so badly damaged that it was rendered ineffective . The next large @-@ scale North Vietnamese offensive , the Nguyen <unk> Offensive of 1972 ( called the Easter Offensive in the West ) would be launched out of southern North Vietnam and western Laos , not from Cambodia , was cited as proof positive that the Cambodian operations had succeeded . The fact that PAVN forces were otherwise occupied in Cambodia and had no such offensive plan ( so far as is known ) was seemingly irrelevant . The fact that <unk> , a northern offensive ( especially a conventional one backed by armour and heavy artillery ) would be launched closer to its source of manpower and supply also seemed to be of little consequence . 
