Battlefield 3 Game File Part 18.rar 238 Mb
Christal Rasband
Australian signals intelligence (SIGINT) had tracked the VC 275th Regiment and D445 Battalion moving to a position just north of Long Tan. By 16 August, it was positioned near Long Tan outside the range of the 1 ATF artillery at Nui Dat. Using mortars and recoilless rifles (RCLs), on the night of 16/17 August, the VC attacked Nui Dat from a position 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the east, until counter-battery fire made it stop. The next morning D Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (6 RAR), departed Nui Dat to locate the firing positions and determine the direction of the VC withdrawal. D Company found weapon pits and firing positions for mortars and RCLs, and around midday on 18 August made contact with VC elements.
Facing a larger force, D Company called in artillery support. Heavy fighting ensued as the VC attempted to encircle and destroy the Australians, who were resupplied several hours later by two UH-1B Iroquois from No. 9 Squadron RAAF. With the help of strong artillery fire, D Company held off a regimental assault before a relief force of M113 armoured personnel carriers and infantry from Nui Dat reinforced them that night. Australian forces then pulled back to evacuate their casualties and formed a defensive position; when they swept through the area next day, the VC had withdrawn and the operation ended on 21 August.
Although 1 ATF initially viewed Long Tan as a defeat, the action was later re-assessed as a strategic victory since it prevented the VC moving against Nui Dat. The VC also considered it a victory, due to the political success of an effective ambush and securing of the area around the village. Whether the battle impaired the capabilities of the VC is disputed.
The 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) began arriving in Phước Tuy Province of South Vietnam between April and June 1966.[1] Following the establishment of its base at Nui Dat in Operation Hardihood, standing patrols were established outside the base in the evening and clearing patrols sent out every morning and evening along the 12-kilometre (7.5 mi) perimeter.[2] Daily platoon patrols and ambushes were initially conducted out to Line Alpha (4,000 metres (4,400 yd)), which was the range of the Viet Cong (VC) mortars, but were later extended out to Line Bravo (10,000 metres (11,000 yd)) to counter the threat from artillery.[3]
All inhabitants of Long Phước and Long Hải villages within Line Alpha were removed, and resettled nearby. A protective security zone was established and a free-fire zone declared. Although unusual for allied installations in Vietnam, many of which were located near populated areas, the Australians hoped to deny the VC observation of Nui Dat, and afford greater security to patrols entering and exiting the area.[4][5] While adding to the physical security of the base through disrupting a major VC support area and removing the local population from danger,[6] such measures may have been counter-productive.[5] The resettlement resulted in widespread resentment.[7][8]
The VC continued to observe the base from the Nui Dinh hills.[3] Movement was heard around the perimeter over the first few nights as they attempted to locate the Australian defences under the cover of darkness and heavy rain. Although no clashes occurred and the reconnaissance soon ceased, they were believed to be preparations for an attack. On 10 June reports indicated that a VC regiment was moving towards Nui Dat from the north west and was about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away.[9] The same day three 120 mm mortar rounds landed just outside the base.[10] That night Australian artillery fired on suspected movement along Route 2, but no casualties were found the next day. Further warnings of an attack hastened the call-forward of 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (6 RAR), which arrived from Vũng Tu 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the south on 14 June.[9] No attack occurred, and the initial reaction to 1 ATF's lodgement proved unexpectedly limited.[11]
ARVN forces included the 52nd Ranger Battalion, a unit that had previously earned a US Presidential Unit Citation defeating the 275th Regiment the year before, and relatively weak territorial forces of 17 Regional Force (RF) companies and 47 Popular Force (PF) platoons, in total some 4,500 men.[24][25][26] Most villages were garrisoned by an RF company operating from a fortified compound, and PF platoons guarded most hamlets and important infrastructure, but their value was questionable.[12] RF companies were technically available for tasks throughout the province, while PF platoons were mostly restricted to operating around their village. While RF and PF units occasionally defended themselves successfully they rarely conducted offensive operations, and when they did they were usually limited.[27] Mostly recruited from the same population as their opponents, they often suffered equally at the hands of the VC and a largely inept government. Poorly trained and unable to rely on being reinforced, they provided little opposition to the VC.[28] A US Advisory Team operated in support, as did a few Australians from the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV);[24] despite their efforts, the capabilities of the ARVN remained limited.[25] The arrival of 1 ATF further restricted their ability to operate in Phước Tuy as it increasingly came to dominate the province.[29]
Initially, 1 ATF, under the command of Brigadier Oliver David Jackson,[30] consisted of two infantry battalions: the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (5 RAR), commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Warr, and 6 RAR under Lieutenant Colonel Colin Townsend.[31] Other units included the 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron operating M113 armoured personnel carriers (APCs); 1st Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, consisting of the New Zealand 161st Battery, two Australian batteries equipped with eighteen 105 mm L5 Pack Howitzers, and six 155 mm M109 self-propelled howitzers from the US A Battery, 2nd Battalion, 35th Artillery Regiment; 3rd SAS Squadron; 1st Field Squadron and 21st Engineer Support Troop; 103rd Signals Squadron; 161st Reconnaissance Flight operating Cessna 180s and Bell H-13 Sioux light observation helicopters; and an intelligence detachment.[32] Support was provided by the 1st Australian Logistic Support Group (1 ALSG) at Vũng Tu, and eight UH-1B Iroquois helicopters from No. 9 Squadron RAAF.[33] US forces provided considerable support including artillery, close air support, helicopter gunships, and utility, medium and heavy lift helicopters.[34] The largest Australian force deployed since the Second World War, it had been rapidly assembled. Although many of its officers and non-commissioned personnel had extensive operational experience, it included many National Servicemen. Few had direct experience of counter-insurgency operations, or first-hand understanding of the situation in Vietnam. The task force was unable to train together before departure.[35]
By the end of July, a large VC force had been detected by SAS patrols east of Nui Dat, near the abandoned village of Long Tn.[36] In response, 6 RAR launched a battalion search and destroy operation. In a series of fire-fights on 25 July, a company from D445 Battalion attacked C Company, and in the process of retreating assaulted B Company occupying a blocking position.[42] Over the following days, further clashes occurred around Long Tan, resulting in 13 VC killed and 19 wounded, and Australian losses of three killed and 19 wounded. Yet with the inhabitants resettled, the village fortified and the perimeter regularly patrolled, the Australians considered the area secure.[36] Believing VC sympathisers had returned to Long Tn, they searched the area again on 29 July. That afternoon, as 6 RAR commenced a detailed search following its initial sweep, Jackson ordered its immediate return to Nui Dat in response to South Vietnamese reports of a large VC presence close to the base.[43] Although the warnings were unconfirmed and an attack against Nui Dat was considered unlikely, 1 ATF was re-postured. Company patrols were sent out in each direction over the following days, but found little of significance. Jackson had seemed to over-react, and his requests for assistance from US II Field Force, Vietnam (II FFV) were denied. Later intelligence discredited the original reporting and the crisis subsided, but it was indicative of the alarms experienced during the first months of 1 ATF's lodgement, and their effect.[44]
For several weeks, Australian signals intelligence (SIGINT) had used direction finding to track a VC radio transmitter from the headquarters of the 275th Regiment westwards to a position just north of Long Tn. Extensive patrolling failed to find the unit. The reports began on 29 July at the height of the false alarm, with the radio detected moving towards Nui Dat from a position north of Xuyn Mộc. The movement continued at a rate of 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) a day and by 13 August was located near the Nui Dat 2 feature, a hill in the vicinity of Long Tn, 5,000 metres (5,500 yd) east of Nui Dat. While direction finding indicated the movement of the radio, no actual communications had been intercepted. However it suggested the presence of the 275th Regiment or at least a reconnaissance party of that unit. Jackson could not rule out deception and therefore took the threat seriously when he decided to send company patrols out.[47] The existence of a SIGINT capability was a closely guarded secret, and knowledge of the source of the reports was limited to Jackson, his two intelligence officers, and the 1 ATF operations officer; neither battalion commander had access.[48] On 15 August D Company, 6 RAR patrolled to Nui Dat 2 and returned through the Long Tn rubber plantation. The following day A Company, 6 RAR departed on a three-day patrol on a route which included Nui Dat 2 and the ridge to the north west. Any sizeable VC force in the vicinity would have been located, but neither patrol found anything of significance.[49] SAS patrols focused on the Ni Dinh hills to the west.[50]
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