By Bob Hall During the Vietnam War, major units such as infantry battalions regularly compiled ‘lessons learned’ documents critically assessing their operations, noting problems that had arisen and suggesting solutions. These ‘lessons’ documents were widely distributed throughout the Army and provide insights into the tactical successes and failures of the campaign. In April 1971, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Scott, CO 3RAR … Read More
Defending the Nui Dat base
By Bob Hall When combat elements of 1ATF were deployed on operations it was essential that the Nui Dat base remained secure. Headquarters 1ATF Standing Operating Procedures set out the requirements for base defence. Under routine circumstances, the Nui Dat base used what was termed ‘unit defence’. This required that each unit within the base was responsible for the security … Read More
Snapshot: The Australian Army 1969/70
By Bob Hall Throughout the Vietnam War the Australian Army remained quite small compared to the other forces involved in the campaign such as the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), the US Army and the Army of the Republic of Korea.[1] As of 30 June 1970 the full time duty component of the Australian Army consisted of 27,999 … Read More
The National Intelligence Committee Reports
By Bob Hall In early 1970, Malcolm Fraser, then Minister for Defence in the Gorton-led Coalition government, visited Vietnam to ‘survey the political situation, the prospects of the Saigon Government, and the progress in pacification of the countryside’.[1] According to the Departmental Secretary, Arthur Tange, Fraser was dissatisfied with what he saw. In particular Fraser believed that reporting from Saigon … Read More
Artillery Forward Observer at Nui Le
By Greg Gilbert In September 1971 4 RAR/NZ (ANZAC) was engaged on Operation Ivanhoe in the north of Phước Tuy Province. On the morning of 21 September D Company made contact with a bunker system in the vicinity of the Núi Lé feature. We suffered casualties, including one Killed in Action (KIA) from the shrapnel from a Rocket Propelled Grenade … Read More
Việt Cộng Capture ARVN Soldiers 9 December 1966
By Ernie Chamberlain, The 5th Việt Cộng Division – with an estimated strength 4,500[1], comprised two main force infantry regiments: the 274th (aka 4th) Regiment and the 275th (aka 5th) Regiment. During the Battle of Long Tân against Australian forces on 18 August 1966, the 275th Regiment suffered heavy casualties – over 200 killed.[2] The 274th Regiment – the more … Read More
Việt Cộng Intelligence Report on the “Enemy” in Phước Tuy
By Ernie Chamberlain. In the afternoon of 27 November 1967, 12 Platoon, D Company, 7RAR engaged about 30 Việt Cộng near an unoccupied base camp at YS 336708 – about 10 kilometres north-east of 1 ATF’s Núi Đất base, during Operation Forrest. Casualties in the engagement were reported as one Australian killed and 17 wounded, and three Việt Cộng killed … Read More
Gallup Polls #2 – Australian support for Vietnam deployment
By Bob Hall Following the Second World War, elements of the Australian Defence Forces were deployed on the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan, the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency and on Confrontation. In the early 1960s, public attention was drawn to the possibility that Australian forces may again be deployed on combat operations, this time in Vietnam. The following … Read More
Gallup Polls #1 – National Service
By Bob Hall In May 1964 the Australian government introduced the National Service Scheme. Under the scheme, young men were selected by ballot for two years compulsory military service which could include service overseas in a war zone. National servicemen first deployed to Vietnam as part of the 1st Australian Task Force in May-June 1966. The 1RAR Battalion Group, which … Read More
The real story: First battle of Coral
By Ian F. Ahearn Background – Operation Toan Thang Operation Toan Thang (Complete Victory) was launched on 8 April 1968. It was a combined operation deploying 70,000 US, Vietnamese, Australian, New Zealand and Thai troops with the initial aim of destroying enemy forces in the III Corps area. Australian participation in the combined operation commenced on 21 April 1968 with the … Read More