Lord Sidious
17th August 2011, 02:39
Greetings avalonuggets.
I have for you today the story of the battle of Long Tan in south vietnam.
The events you will see and hear if you download the audio, began this day in 1966.
I am not posting this to glorify the battle or war in general, but to remember what these men had to go through.
Both sides.
On the 18th of August 1966, units from 1ATF at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy province, inflicted a massive defeat on viet cong and nva units.
The battle of Long Tan took place inside a rubber plantation in a monsoon rain. The meeting was unexpected by both sides. Let me give you some details.
Prior to the battle, from radio intercepts (sigint) and from recon conducted by the SASR, there were reports of regimental + sized forces operating in the general area.
On the night of 16/17 August, 1966, the viet forces mortared Nui Dat. The theory is that they wanted to lure out a force to ambush as a prelude to an attack on the task force base itself. Bad idea! An SASR patrol found the baseplates to the mortars as the viets couldn't remove them from the mud after firing them.
On the 18th of August, 1966, D company, of the 6th battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment were moving through Long Tan rubber plantation in a 2 up, 1 back formation. This is like a triangle with the company headquarters in the middle. At around 15.15 hrs, they encountered a vc patrol, exchanged small arms fire and wounded some and killed one vc. Around 50 minutes later, the main body of 275 regiment of the nva arrived and engaged the Australian forces with mortars, small arms and machine guns.
http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/vietnam/images/longtanmap.jpg
D company called up artillery support from Nui Dat to the west. They also received artillery support from a us battery of 155mm mobile howitzers.
http://www.rsa.org.nz/review/art2006august/gfx/161bty.jpg
Here is 161 Battery, RNZA.
http://www.rsa.org.nz/review/art2006august/gfx/stanley.jpg
And here is one of the forward observers who called in the fire missions.
Captain Morrie Stanley RNZA
http://www.hotkey.net.au/~marshalle/vcambush/LTNAIR2.jpg
At about 17.00 hrs, the company requested ammunition resupply as they were running low. 2 Iroquois helicopters delivered the ammunition in boxes, still wrapped in the brown paper and on clips to the battlefield.
D company suffered wave after wave of attacks from the nva and vc units. This went on for about 3 hours. The usaf was requested to provide air strikes, but couldn't find the targets so they hit an area to the east, which by chance, hit the rear echelons of the viet force.
All during this time, the nz forward observers were calling down fire support from Nui Dat on the viet forces. During the fire missions they fire upwards of 3000 rounds. The guns were eventually fed by a human chain from the magazine as they had expended their ready rounds.
Major Harry Smith, OC of D company, had requested reinforcements to help extract his unit from the engagement. HQ, at Nui Dat, had tasked A company and 1 Sqn, 3 Cav Regt to provide the reinforcements. As the armoured vehicles reached the battlefield, they found they had arrived in the viet staging area and were on their left flank. They found this out by driving right upto and into the troops forming up for the next attacks. The combination of armoured vehicles and the fire from the machine guns on them, was enough to convince the viets that is was time to retreat.
http://www.doyle.com.au/images/long_tan.jpg
Here is the famous painting depicting the reinforcements arriving.
As was normal for the viets, they extracted as many bodies on the retreat as they could. They did this by tieing ropes from the back of their webbing belts to the camouflage loops on the smocks of the dead.
After the viets had retreated, the remnants of D company and A company, mounted the apcs and withdrew to the west where they formed a night harbour. The next day, they returned to the battlefield where they found 245 dead viets and a vast array of weapons.
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/08/11/Long_Tan_060811012145218_wideweb__300x375.jpg
Here is a pic of the day after.
http://vietnam-war.commemoration.gov.au/combat/images/long-tan/gallery/for_66_0659_vn.jpg
Here is one of the prisoners captured on the battlefield the next day.
I have for you today the story of the battle of Long Tan in south vietnam.
The events you will see and hear if you download the audio, began this day in 1966.
I am not posting this to glorify the battle or war in general, but to remember what these men had to go through.
Both sides.
On the 18th of August 1966, units from 1ATF at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy province, inflicted a massive defeat on viet cong and nva units.
The battle of Long Tan took place inside a rubber plantation in a monsoon rain. The meeting was unexpected by both sides. Let me give you some details.
Prior to the battle, from radio intercepts (sigint) and from recon conducted by the SASR, there were reports of regimental + sized forces operating in the general area.
On the night of 16/17 August, 1966, the viet forces mortared Nui Dat. The theory is that they wanted to lure out a force to ambush as a prelude to an attack on the task force base itself. Bad idea! An SASR patrol found the baseplates to the mortars as the viets couldn't remove them from the mud after firing them.
On the 18th of August, 1966, D company, of the 6th battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment were moving through Long Tan rubber plantation in a 2 up, 1 back formation. This is like a triangle with the company headquarters in the middle. At around 15.15 hrs, they encountered a vc patrol, exchanged small arms fire and wounded some and killed one vc. Around 50 minutes later, the main body of 275 regiment of the nva arrived and engaged the Australian forces with mortars, small arms and machine guns.
http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/vietnam/images/longtanmap.jpg
D company called up artillery support from Nui Dat to the west. They also received artillery support from a us battery of 155mm mobile howitzers.
http://www.rsa.org.nz/review/art2006august/gfx/161bty.jpg
Here is 161 Battery, RNZA.
http://www.rsa.org.nz/review/art2006august/gfx/stanley.jpg
And here is one of the forward observers who called in the fire missions.
Captain Morrie Stanley RNZA
http://www.hotkey.net.au/~marshalle/vcambush/LTNAIR2.jpg
At about 17.00 hrs, the company requested ammunition resupply as they were running low. 2 Iroquois helicopters delivered the ammunition in boxes, still wrapped in the brown paper and on clips to the battlefield.
D company suffered wave after wave of attacks from the nva and vc units. This went on for about 3 hours. The usaf was requested to provide air strikes, but couldn't find the targets so they hit an area to the east, which by chance, hit the rear echelons of the viet force.
All during this time, the nz forward observers were calling down fire support from Nui Dat on the viet forces. During the fire missions they fire upwards of 3000 rounds. The guns were eventually fed by a human chain from the magazine as they had expended their ready rounds.
Major Harry Smith, OC of D company, had requested reinforcements to help extract his unit from the engagement. HQ, at Nui Dat, had tasked A company and 1 Sqn, 3 Cav Regt to provide the reinforcements. As the armoured vehicles reached the battlefield, they found they had arrived in the viet staging area and were on their left flank. They found this out by driving right upto and into the troops forming up for the next attacks. The combination of armoured vehicles and the fire from the machine guns on them, was enough to convince the viets that is was time to retreat.
http://www.doyle.com.au/images/long_tan.jpg
Here is the famous painting depicting the reinforcements arriving.
As was normal for the viets, they extracted as many bodies on the retreat as they could. They did this by tieing ropes from the back of their webbing belts to the camouflage loops on the smocks of the dead.
After the viets had retreated, the remnants of D company and A company, mounted the apcs and withdrew to the west where they formed a night harbour. The next day, they returned to the battlefield where they found 245 dead viets and a vast array of weapons.
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/08/11/Long_Tan_060811012145218_wideweb__300x375.jpg
Here is a pic of the day after.
http://vietnam-war.commemoration.gov.au/combat/images/long-tan/gallery/for_66_0659_vn.jpg
Here is one of the prisoners captured on the battlefield the next day.