active 2 days, 10 hours ago
Robert Hall
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Robert Hall wrote a new post, Now's the time to record your place in history 2 months, 3 weeks ago
Now that COVID-19 is confining us to our homes, you may be finding that you’ve got time on your hands. One way of making good use of that time is to help make the Australia’s Vietnam War website the best it can […]
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By Bob Hall
Throughout the course of the Vietnam War, Gallup Polls were regularly conducted in the United States. Beginning in 1965 the polls asked a standard question:In view of the developments since we […]
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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 […]
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Robert Hall wrote a new post, New articles posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago
To mark National Serviceman’s Day (14 February), we’ve posted an article titled ‘Gallup Polls #1 – National Service’. The article graphs the level of public support for the National Service Scheme, according […]
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Robert Hall wrote a new post, Gallup Polls #1 – National Service 4 months, 2 weeks ago
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 […]
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Robert Hall wrote a new post, The real story: First battle of Coral 4 months, 2 weeks ago
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 an […]
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Robert Hall wrote a new post, Hoa Long Dance gone wrong 4 months, 4 weeks ago
By Derrill de Heer
From March 1970 until November 1970 I was in charge of one air and two ground teams at 1st Psychological Operations Unit in Nui Dat. One night there was an urgent request for a ground team w […]
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Robert Hall commented on the post, Australian Psyops in Vietnam 1970 8 months ago
From Ernie Chamberlain: The extract from Derrill de Heer’s MA Thesis is a very important detailed and “first-hand” contribution to our understanding of 1 ATF’s Psychological Operations and “Chiêu Hồi/Rallier/Open Arms” programs (see also pp.138-142 in Ekins, A with McNeill, I., Fighting to the Finish, Allen & Unwin/AWM, 2012). Statistics for the Chiêu Hồi program in Phước Tuy were rep…Read More
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Robert Hall wrote a new post, Australian Psyops in Vietnam 1970 8 months, 3 weeks ago
By Derrill De Heer[1]
One hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skilful
Subduing the other’s military without battle is the most skilful.
Sun Tzu. 500 B.C.
From Chapter 3 strategy of Att […]
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Robert Hall commented on the post, Nui Le: The last battle, 21 Sep 1971 8 months, 3 weeks ago
The following members of 4RAR/NZ (ANZAC) were killed or wounded in action during the intense fighting at the battle of Nui Le on 21 September 1971.
Killed in action
Private B. C. Beilken, 11 Platoon, D Company (National Serviceman) Gunshot
Private J. Duff, 12 Platoon, D Company, (National Serviceman) Gunshot and RPG shrapnel
Private Kingston-Powles, 11 Platoon, D Company, (Regular…Read More -
Robert Hall wrote a new post, Nui Le: The last battle, 21 Sep 1971 9 months ago
By Gary McKay
In late September 1971 I was a 23 year-old rifle platoon commander in Delta Company of the 4th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment. We were on operations in the north of Phuoc Tuy Province […]
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Robert Hall wrote a new post, Operation Tong: 7-8 June 1969 11 months, 2 weeks ago
By Claude Ducker[1] The men of C Company 5 RAR may not have been aware of it at the time, but President Nixon was meeting with the South Vietnamese President Thieu on Midway Island on 7/8th June 1969. The main […]
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Robert Hall wrote a new post, Strategic context: The battle of Binh Ba 1 year ago
By Bob Hall
What we call ‘the battle of Binh Ba’ was fought 50 years ago. Elements of 33 PAVN Regiment occupied the hamlet of Binh Ba on the night of 5/6 June 1969.[1] At 0810 hours on the morning of 6 June, two […]
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Robert Hall wrote a new post, May 1969: The switch to pacification 1 year, 1 month ago
By Bob Hall
In July 1968 the Psyops advisor in Phuoc Tuy Province, Major Desmal C. Smith Jr. was nearing the end of his tenure in the job. He was writing his end-of-tour report giving an overall assessment of […]
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Robert Hall wrote a new post, Hamburger Hill – 50 years ago 1 year, 1 month ago
About 50 years ago last week the battle of Hamburger Hill was fought in the jungle covered terrain of the A Shau valley west of Hue. It was a major battle marked by the courage and determination of both sides as […]
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Robert Hall wrote a new post, An Australian at Hamburger Hill 1 year, 1 month ago
By Bob Hall
The Background
In mid-1968 General Westmoreland was replaced as Commander US Military Assistance Command Vietnam (COMUSMACV), by General Creighton Abrams. Following the heavy losses suffered by […]
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Robert Hall wrote a new post, The ARVN: Was their performance misunderstood? 1 year, 5 months ago
By Bob Hall
The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), especially their Regional Force and Popular Force (RF/PF) components, had a reputation for poor combat performance. Brigadier S.P. Weir, Commander 1ATF […]
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Robert Hall wrote a new post, Comparison: Force strengths and casualties 1 year, 5 months ago
By Bob Hall
The contribution of Australia and New Zealand to the Vietnam War is significant to Australians and New Zealanders, but in the wider context of the war it was minor. The Republic of Vietnam Armed […]
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Robert Hall commented on the post, 33 PAVN Regiment morale and the ‘red rats of Phuoc Tuy’ 1 year, 5 months ago
This is an interesting glimpse into the approach to the management of morale in PAVN/VC units and formations. An issue that has long interested me is the often hyperbolic accounts of the damage inflicted on 1ATF units (and presumably other allied units) contained in documents produced by the PAVN/VC. Sometimes these exaggerated accounts are included in documents that are for serious…Read More
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Robert Hall wrote a new post, New article on 1ATF combat efficiency 1 year, 8 months ago
An article titled ‘Shots per casualty: an indicator of combat efficiency for the first Australian task force in South Vietnam’ has recently been published by Andrew Ross and Bob Hall in Defense & Security Ana […]
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