By Bob Hall Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker, United States Ambassador to the Republic of Vietnam from 5 April 1967 to 11 May 1973, wrote lengthy monthly reports to Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. Bunker wrote a final report to President Johnson on the President’s last days in office, on 16 January 1969. It ran to 56 pages. In it, Bunker … Read More
Gallup Polls #3 – US attitudes to the Vietnam War
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 entered the fighting in Vietnam, do you think the US made a mistake sending troops to fight in Vietnam?[1] The graph below shows the polling … 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
Hoa Long Dance gone wrong
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 with their loudspeaker capabilities, to report to 1st Australian Reinforcement Unit (1 ARU) within Nui Dat. On arrival at … Read More
Australian Psyops in Vietnam 1970
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 Attack[2] When the 1st Australian Task Force deployed to Vietnam in May-June 1966 the Australian Army had already developed doctrine for the conduct of … Read More
Nui Le: The last battle, 21 Sep 1971
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 searching for and hoping to destroy our enemy; the highly trained, strictly disciplined and deeply motivated soldiers from the North Vietnamese Army’s 33rd … Read More
Operation Tong: 7-8 June 1969
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 purpose of this meeting was to make the South Vietnamese take greater responsibility for the war; and Richard Nixon announced … Read More
Strategic context: The battle of Binh Ba
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 1ATF armoured vehicles of 4 Troop, B Squadron, 1 Armoured Regiment – a Centurion tank and … Read More