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, battle of long tan casualties, 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 Battle of long tan casualties Company into an ambush to destroy it and secure a small victory over an isolated force.

The defining battle of the Vietnam war is now the subject of the film Danger Close. Harry Smith recalls the afternoon that changed his life. There was so much blood. In the days after the three savage hours that was the battle of Long Tan, his soldiers were finding body parts, carnage and corpses spread across the battlefield. Long Tan had been a battle fought against almost impossible odds. A ferocious battle, a defining action of the Vietnam war.

Battle of long tan casualties

The battle of Long Tan was fought on 18 August During the battle, 17 Australians were killed and a further 25 were wounded, one of whom later died of wounds. This was the highest number of Australian casualties incurred in any one engagement of the Vietnam War. The losses on the Vietnamese side were at least dead, an estimated wounded, and three captured. The battle of Long Tan was Australia's most costly battle in Vietnam. In the years immediately following the battle of Long Tan, the main focus of Australian task force operations gradually shifted to the more remote regions of Phuoc Tuy province and beyond. Few Australians visited the site of the battle in the Long Tan rubber plantation, although it lay less than five kilometres from the task force base at Nui Dat. 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. This epic battle reinforced traits for which Australian soldiers have become world renowned: courage and determination, mateship and teamwork, leadership and tenacity, compassion and humour," said Major General Jeffery on the 40th anniversary of the battle of Long Tan. On 18th August a large force of Viet Cong advancing through a rain-swept rubber plantation encountered infantrymen from D Company, 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment. Standing their ground against impossible odds, the Australians prevailed, killing at least enemy, but losing 18 of their comrades in action. Left behind on the chaotic battlefield the next morning was a considerable quantity of enemy equipment — personal belongings, items of clothing, and a large number of weapons. This online exhibition focuses on the popular song, I was only 19 , which gives a first-person account of an Australian soldier's experience of the Vietnam War.

Now, 86, Smith is sitting on the patio of his Sunshine Coast home as he recalls that desperate day, 53 years ago, now the subject of the feature film Danger Close.

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. They suffered the heaviest Australian casualties in a single engagement in Vietnam, but prevailed against the odds. Their valiant stand became a defining action of the war.

On August 18, , in a rubber plantation near the small village of Long Tan, Australian and New Zealand soldiers found themselves encircled by an overwhelming force of over 2, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops. These men, vastly outnumbered, fought for their lives in the face of insurmountable odds. What led to this dramatic confrontation in the jungle? And how did a small contingent of ANZAC troops manage to hold their ground against such a formidable enemy? The Vietnam War , a protracted conflict that lasted from to , had entered one of its most intense phases by the mids. This period saw increased involvement from the United States and its allies, including Australia and New Zealand, in support of South Vietnam against the North Vietnamese forces and their Viet Cong allies. The region, known for its rubber plantations and dense jungle, became a focal point for operations against the Viet Cong. In early August , the Australian forces initiated a series of operations to disrupt the Viet Cong, who were believed to be planning an attack on the Nui Dat base. The Viet Cong, reinforced by units of the North Vietnamese Army, had been preparing for a significant engagement. Their objective was to inflict a decisive blow against the Australian forces, thus weakening the resolve of the foreign intervention in Vietnam.

Battle of long tan casualties

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.

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I mean you did not even attempt to follow us up. Beginning the advance at , 3 Troop prepared for a frontal assault on the VC force. Main article: Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War. Reuse this content. An older defensive position of approximately 40 pits was also found, while C Company located a makeshift hospital close by containing 14 graves. British Broadcasting Corporation. Likely forming-up positions and withdrawal routes had also been heavily engaged throughout the battle. One platoon has been almost completely destroyed. Relations between the Army and RAAF over the use of the helicopters had become increasingly bitter in the preceding months, and were still tenuous despite recent improvements. Retrieved 30 May At that moment a heavy monsoon rain began which reduced visibility to just 50 metres 55 yd and turned the ground to mud. It would protect them in a defensive position, with the bullets going just over their heads. According to Loc the Viet Cong were concerned about 1 ATF's capabilities and would attempt to avoid contact in future. There were also 1, missing from the units.

Pipers flank the men who fought in the battle of Long Tan during the dedication ceremony.

A Company disembarked and took up firing positions between the vehicles, joining 2 Platoon. 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. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. 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. Retrieved 3 September The bodies of the missing from 11 Platoon were also located. With the likely firing point plotted, rounds were fired that made the mortaring cease. The Company had hastily reorganised into all-round defence and the ammunition resupply was distributed, just as the enemy launched another series of massive wave-style attacks on the Coy front. That keeps me involved in other things. A company-sized VC force formed up to the south on a broad frontage which threatened to engulf them. This online exhibition focuses on the popular song, I was only 19 , which gives a first-person account of an Australian soldier's experience of the Vietnam War.