By Bob Hall and Amy Griffin Counterinsurgency campaigns are essentially politics with guns. Unlike conventional war, victory in counterinsurgency campaigns rarely comes through military action. Instead, although military action remains a key component of any campaign, counterinsurgencies tend to be resolved politically or diplomatically. This was well understood by the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) and the … Read More
V Company and the Captured Car
By Noel Hains In 1968-69, Victor Company (and W Company), Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment was attached to 4RAR creating 4RAR/NZ (ANZAC). While on Operation Capital II near the Courtenay Rubber Plantation in the north of Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam, a Victor Company forward scout saw something that looked out of place in the thick scrub in front of … Read More
2 Squadron RAAF Canberra Bombers in Vietnam
by Lance Halvorson No 2 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, deployed from Butterworth, Malaysia to Phan Rang air base, 35 kilometres south of Cam Ranh Bay, a large USAF base in the far east of South Vietnam, on 19 April 1967. 2 Squadron ‘Magpies’ were part of the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing and were tasked by HQ 7th Air Force … Read More
Other RAN Deployments in Support of Australian Forces
Royal Australian Navy Fleet Band In 1970, the Fleet Bandmaster, Lieutenant W.W. Farrell, RAN, put forward a proposal that the RAN Fleet Band conduct a concert tour in South Vietnam during the forthcoming Far East deployment in HMAS Melbourne. Once the tour had been sanctioned by the Naval Board and COMAFC, the Naval Staff in Saigon, Commander I.W. Hall, RAN, … Read More
Naval Operations in Vietnam
Naval Operations in Vietnam By Jozef Straczek, originally published at http://www.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/naval-operations-vietnam Between 1965 and 1972 elements of the RAN undertook continuous operational service in Vietnam. During this period the Navy performed a variety of operational tasks at sea, ashore and in the air. The RAN‘s primary contribution consisted of destroyers, Fleet Air Arm personnel attached to a United States (US) Army assault helicopter company … Read More
Keeping Troops in the Field Part 3: Resupply
Bob Hall and Andrew Ross The system and frequency of resupply affected the soldier’s load. The length of the gap between resupplies determined how many days of rations and water the soldier was required to carry. The ability to deliver an emergency resupply of ammunition when necessary could also influence the ammunition load the soldier carried. Background Counterinsurgency operations in … Read More
Farewell Jim Hughes, Commanding Officer 4RAR/NZ (ANZAC)
By Greg Dodds We buried Jim Hughes last month. Sunny Jim, a man welcome at any Diggers’ booze up and the scourge of any flaky officer. The Colonel who took 4RAR/NZ (ANZAC) to Vietnam in 1971 and who came within inches of losing an entire company of 120 men to the dreaded 33 Regiment of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). … Read More
Australians Missing in Action – Vietnam
At the end of the Vietnam War six Australian servicemen (4 Army and 2 Air Force) were still listed as “Missing in Action”.
About the 1 RAR Battalion Group Data
This website contains data relating to the 1 RAR battalion group tour of duty in Vietnam from May 1965 to June 1966.
Keeping the Troops in the Field. Part 1: Rations
In counterinsurgency campaigns in a jungle environment, rations and water can become a very large component of the soldier’s load.