Battle of long tan casualties

The battle of Long Tan was fought on 18 August

D Company was on a company patrol named "Operation Vendetta" that remained in place until approximately hours 18 August The Task Force then commenced "Operation Smithfield". The Battle of Long Tan occurred in the late afternoon of 18 August in a rubber plantation some metres to the east of the Task Force base at Nui Dat. The events of previous days set the scene. They were trying to locate enemy identified in the latest intelligence reports.

Battle of long tan casualties

Although the Australians were heavily outnumbered and almost overwhelmed by the Viet Cong the battle ended in a decisive victory for them, establishing their dominance over the province. This has included the possibility that the Viet Cong had intended to attack and overwhelm Nui Dat, with the initial plan to mortar the base to draw a response force into an ambush after which the base would be attacked and captured, but that they had been prevented from doing so after clashing with D Company, 6 RAR. A second possibility was that they may have had the more limited aim of drawing D Company into an ambush to destroy it and secure a small victory over an isolated force. Finally, it was possible no ambush was planned at all, and that the Viet Cong had been moving on Nui Dat in regimental strength when they unexpectedly ran into D Company, resulting in an encounter battle. Later interviews conducted by an Australian veteran of the battle Terry Burstall, with commanders of the th Battalion and D Battalion including the battle commander and later Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Thoi Bung indicate that mortaring was intended to draw out the 6 RAR out of their base, in which an ambush was to occur followed by a retreat before artillery and air support can be utilised, typical of the grab-by-the-belt tactic. After two months it had moved beyond the initial requirements of establishing itself and securing its immediate approaches, beginning operations to open the province. For several weeks Australian signals intelligence SIGINT had tracked a radio transmitter moving westwards to a position just north of Long Tan; however, extensive patrolling failed to find the unit. A number of weapon pits were subsequently found, as were the positions of the mortars and RCLs. D Company took over the pursuit around midday on 18 August. At the lead element, 11 Platoon, clashed with a Viet Cong squad and forced them to withdraw. Shortly after resuming the advance, at the platoon came under small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire from a flank after drawing ahead of the other platoons and was isolated. Pinned down, they called for artillery support as a monsoon rain began, reducing visibility. Beginning as an encounter battle , heavy fighting ensued as the advancing battalions of the Viet Cong th Regiment attempted to encircle and destroy the Australians.

At the same time, 12 pl was sent out to approach 11 pl from its west. Cameron, David Age has not wearied him.

Harry Smith. American intervention Post- Paris Peace Accords — Lists of allied operations. Facing a larger force, D Company called in artillery support.

Harry Smith. American intervention Post- Paris Peace Accords — Lists of allied operations. Facing a larger force, D Company called in artillery support. Heavy fighting ensued as the VC attempted to encircle and destroy the Australians, who were resupplied several hours later by two UH-1B Iroquois from No. With the help of strong artillery fire, D Company held off a regimental assault before a relief force of M armoured personnel carriers and infantry from Nui Dat reinforced them that night. Australian forces then pulled back to evacuate their casualties and formed a defensive position; when they swept through the area next day, the VC had withdrawn and the operation ended on 21 August.

Battle of long tan casualties

Australian soldiers fought in scores of fierce actions during the war in Vietnam. Few were as intense or dramatic as the actionin the Long Tan rubber plantation on 18 August An isolated infantry company of men, cut off and outnumbered by at least ten to one, withstood massed Viet Cong attacks for three hours.

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Soldiers went to ground there and withstood repeated enemy attacks, including massed human-wave assaults. The VC also considered it a victory, due to the political success of an effective ambush and securing of the area around the village. Now D Company was patrolling towards the same area. At the time, the allocation of medals under the Imperial honours system was based on a quota, resulting in many of the original recommendations being downgraded or not awarded, with Smith initially nominated for the DSO, Sabben and Kendall the MC, and Sharp a posthumous mention in despatches. Poorly trained and unable to rely on being reinforced, they provided little opposition to the VC. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Handling the dead and wounded proved a slow process but with the casualties finally loaded onto the carriers D Company left at , while B and A Companies departed on foot 45 minutes later. Having been repulsed on the left, Smith tried the right flank. Article Talk. Soon after the aerial of the platoon's radio was shot away and communications lost. The going in the late afternoon torrential downpour was very slow and the move was not without its problems, the departure from base having been delayed for over an hour and a crossing of the flooded Suoi Da Bang River yet to be negotiated. He was 33 when he commanded his company of early year-olds from south Queensland in the battle for their lives.

Pipers flank the men who fought in the battle of Long Tan during the dedication ceremony. Erected in memory of the 18 young men who died in one of the most intense and dramatic actions of the Vietnam War, the cross has been adopted by veterans to symbolise all Australians who died or were wounded in that conflict. At its recent unveiling, the men who fought in the now famous battle of Long Tan joined with those who built the cross and placed it on the battle site, to reflect on its significance.

Archived from the original on 20 July At that distance, the spacing between the Australians was now greater than the maximum effective range of their weapons. Who could forget the mateship that was shown that evening given by all who served the guns in whatever capacity they served in the Regiment. The battle ended and the monsoonal storm abated, as suddenly as both began. Radio interference and faulty equipment meant that the company was unable to report the information until extraction two days later. View image in fullscreen. The Conversation. Due to the likely presence of a significant force nearby, the Australians remained cautious as they searched for the VC. Any other unresolved concerns regarding individual awards for Long Tan will be referred to the independent Defence Honours and Awards Tribunal. The Encyclopaedia of Australia's Battles Second ed.