The following is an online translation of this battle in Chinese. I made some changes to make the sentence more fluent. (battleoflongtan.com)
In May 1966, the first group of soldiers from the 6th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment arrived in South Vietnam; the rest of the troops also arrived in June. In two months, the members of this battalion found themselves involved in one of the largest Australian battles in the Vietnam War.
By August 1966, though, the Australian task force had only stayed at the Nui Dat base for 3 months. However, the Viet Cong was so concerned about this bridgehead position and determined to eradicate the Australian army as soon as possible. A few days before the battle, radio signals showed that there were strong Vietcong forces within 5 kilometers of the base, but the patrol officers found nothing.
First, the cause:
The catalyst for this battle was the Viet Cong’s attack on the Australian operational base Nui Dat. The attack took place in the early morning of August 17, 1966. The Viet Cong used mortars and recoilless guns.
The Australians only recently established a base in Nui Dat. They tried to use the base as a springboard to control Phuoc Tuy province so that they could take the military initiative in the province. Although the attack caused only limited damage, it disturbed Brigadier Oliver Jackson, the commander of the Australian Task Force.
In response to the attack, the 6th Battalion B Company of the Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) was ordered to patrol from the base to determine the position of the Vietcong bombardment. After B Company completed this task, it was replaced by D Company at noon on August 18. D Company followed the retreating trucks of the Vietnamese army all the way, from the mortar position, into a rubber plantation, and towards the abandoned Longtan Village.
Second, the encounter:
Fighting suddenly broke out in this rubber plantation about 4 kilometers east of Nui Dat. As D Company passed through the rubber plantation (two in the front and one in the back), the 11th Platoon commanded by Lieutenant Gordon Sharp encountered a Vietnamese army patrol on the right flank of Australia. After a brief exchange of fire, the enemy lured the 11th platoon to track eastward.
The Australians had no idea that they were about to encounter the main force of the enemy. Just after 4 pm, the 11th row was suppressed on the ground and unable to move under the fierce fire. Lieutenant Geoff Kendall led the 10th platoon (in the front left position) and was ordered to support the 11th platoon; however, his platoon was blocked by the same fierce fire before providing support. Behind the two forward platoons of Company D, the company commander, Major Harry Smith, led the 12th platoon and company to Nui Dat, requesting support for his troubled company.
As soon as the battle began, the sky became gloomy, and a heavy rain in the afternoon added to the atmosphere of terror in the rubber plantation. The emergence of "mud fog" aggravated the chaos in the plantation and reduced visibility, making it difficult for both parties to visually identify the target. This phenomenon was common during the Vietnam War, when the monsoon brought so much rainfall that the churning red clay splashed 50 cm high of water and stained everything it touched. To further complicate the situation is the interruption of communication, and the radios in rows 10 and 11 were damaged by artillery fire.
As the 10th platoon could not support the 11th platoon, Lieutenant Kendall was ordered to withdraw from his platoon and return to the company. At this time, Lieutenant David Saben received the order to call out two columns from his 12th platoon, trying to initiate rescue from the other direction to the 11th platoon. On the way, Saben's team also encountered stubborn resistance and could not reach the goal.
At 6 pm, the 12th platoon was attacked from all sides while trying to support the 11th platoon. As can be seen from the figure below, the Vietnamese army used the tactics of divided encirclement and circuitous interspersed, but unfortunately it did not have the support of heavy firepower.
If you postpone the battle until night, and stop the Australian armored forces. Then D Company may be wiped out.
Third, the stalemate state:
Therefore, Company D is now divided and surrounded by enemy forces, and every soldier in the encirclement is under attack by the Viet Cong. Among them, 11 platoons are in danger of being annihilated. Within an hour and a half after the first exchange of fire, more than half of the 28 soldiers were injured in the first 20 minutes.
Let us return to Nui Dat, the Australian base is in a mess, because the battle report from Longtan keeps increasing the number of enemy estimates. The coalition artillery has opened fire on the Viet Cong, and the target is determined by the forward observers of the D Company. They also requested air support from the United States, and the Americans enthusiastically agreed to help. However, when the three F4 Phantom fighters flew into the battle zone, they could not identify ground targets through the thick clouds, and all the shells deviated from the enemy's position.
Only, two brave Royal Australian Air Force pilots from 9th Squadron dropped a few boxes of ammunition from the height of the tree top to Company D in bad weather to make up for their lack of ammunition.
In the late afternoon, the mission to reinforce D Company was approved. First, Company B (their previous mission was to return to the Nui Dat base) was ordered to turn around to find Company D. Second, the third armoured personnel carrier unit was approved to go to D Company for support. Then ten armored personnel carriers left Nui Dat with B company. On the way, the armored personnel carrier had a skirmish with a group of Viet Cong trying to outflank the Australian positions. Afterwards, the troops regrouped and moved quickly in the direction of Longtan.
Fourth, retreat
The 13 surviving members of the 11th row finally rushed out of the enemy's encirclement before the evening and moved closer to the 12th row under the cover of smoke bombs. After half an hour, taking advantage of the temporary calm, the 11th and 12th platoons were able to regroup with the rest of the troops, and for the first time consolidated the position of D Company in the battle.
In the next half an hour, D Company encountered a ruthless human charge. Fortunately, they occupied a backslope position, which provided them with some protection from rifles and machine guns, which mostly flew safely over their heads. The Vietnamese army’s charge was extremely determined, and they were willing to use their courage to prove that they were willing to continue the offensive even if they suffered heavy casualties.
When night fell at 7 o'clock in the evening, the rubber plantation was completely dark, and D Company's reinforcements finally arrived. Their 50-caliber heavy machine guns fired at the rubber plantation, dispersing the attacking Vietnamese army. The Battle of Longtan is over.
After the battle, some D Company members wanted to immediately return to the 11th row to find survivors. However, Lieutenant Colonel Colin Townsend, who commanded B Company reinforcements, still decided to retreat the Australian troops to the west of the rubber plantation and prioritize the evacuation of the surrounding areas. Wounded. The Australians were frustrated and thought they had suffered a disastrous defeat. However, in the next few days, the results of the battle gradually became clear. In short, a 108-man Australian infantry company survived an accidental encounter with two Viet Cong forces. These two Viet Cong forces were later identified as the 275 Viet Cong Main Regiment and the D445 Battalion. The number of people fighting in Australia may be as many as 1,000.
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