

The
Battalion's First Tour of Duty
The Republic of South
Vietnam, (as it was then) is a country of
great differences. From the rugged mountains
to the north through to the rich plains
around Saigon, (Ho-Chi Minh City) down to
the rich rice producing areas of the Mekong
Delta. The geographical differences allowed
for the dividing of the country into 4
corps
areas from which the fight against the Viet
Cong would be controlled. In each of these
areas, there were one to two ARVN divisions.
The 3 Corps area borders on the southern
extremity of the Annamite mountains,
essentially a broad plain of some hundreds
of miles in diameter. The area includes
approaches to Saigon and the rice fields and
rubber plantations. The Mekong Delta begins
20 miles south of Saigon at a line linking
the sea with the long tongue of Cambodia.
3 Corps Area
The
VC strongholds of War Zone C and War Zone D.
Both these bases were erected during the
1940's for use against the French and were
being used to direct the war in South
Vietnam. Phuoc Tuy Province was a part of 3
Corps and to which the Australian 5th and
6th Battalions comprising the Infantry
element of the First Australian Task Force
(1ATF) would be committed.
Phuoc Tuy Province
The Viet Cong first
appeared in Phuoc Tuy Province in 1959. They
primarily concerned themselves with setting
up a political infrastructure, holding
meetings, recruiting and generating
propaganda. In 1961 the first armed bands of
VC began to challenge Government authority.
By 1966 the entire province of Phuoc Tuy had
come under Viet
Cong
control with the exception of the Vung Tau
Peninsula, and highway 2 running north to
the provincial capital of Baria. With only
three months training at full strength, the
5th Battalion arrived in Vung Tau by air and
sea in March and April 1966. At that time
the Battalion had no training with close
support of Artillery, or in large scale
assaults in helicopters. But the American
Army, through the 68th Army Aviation
Company, supplied the Battalion with the
appropriate training during its short stay
in Vung Tau. 1ATF was to establish a base at
Nui Dat and from there return the province
back to government control.
The enemy forces in the province opposing
the battalion consisted of two main force
regiments, 274 and 275, each of three
battalions and a support weapon battalion.
These battalions though well equipped lacked
effective communications, artillery and air
support but they had the advantages of
recent battle experience being able to
operate in their own familiar territory and
having the support of the local people. In
addition there was in the province the 2445
Provincial Mobile Battalion and four
district companies of guerrillas.
The two infantry
battalions of 1ATF had to operate against an
experienced enemy force of eight battalions.
This difference in strength would require a
great deal of flexibility of the 5th
Battalion in the coming months. Except for
the provincial capital Baria and a few
villages, the rest of the province was
controlled by the VC. It was expected that
Baria would fall to the VC at any moment and
when this occurred the major port at Vung
Tau would be directly threatened. Route 15
from Vung Tau to Saigon was controlled by
the enemy. The first task for the battalion
was to clear and establish a base at Nui
Dat. The battalion carried it out
successfully in 'Operation Hardihood' with
an air assault under the command of the US
173rd Airborne Brigade. During the next 14
days the battalion was in constant contact
with the enemy who was resisting any attempt
to establish a permanent base. At this time
battalion headquarters (BHQ) and A Company
were systematically probed by the Viet Cong.
It was obvious that the VC were making a
detailed reconnaissance to obtain
information on the layout of the defences.
After several nights the probing by the VC
had stopped. It was then clear that the VC
had completed its reconnaissance and a night
attack was imminent within the next two
or
three nights. Information obtained from
captured documents some months later
indicated that the VC had sustained a number
of casualties when probing the perimeter.
The VC tactics were to attack with eight to
ten times the forces of the enemy. The
Australians therefore anticipated an assault
by two to three main force battalions. Such
a force would have to come from 274 or 275
main force regiments. The attack would be at
night to maximise surprise and lessen the
effectiveness of air support.
The 274 and 275 Regiments were located to
the north west and north east of the
province and to be able to move into
position to attack the battalion quickly, it
was believed that the VC would use Route 2
as the most likely approach route so a small
patrol was positioned to watch the road
along Route 2 and report any large scale
troop movements along that road.
The patrol confirmed
large scale movement along the road which
were 2 battalions of the 274 Regiment. They
were immediately engaged by our artillery
and mortars. The enemy reached the battalion
perimeter but were defeated and withdrew
without any casualties to the battalion. the
5th Battalion had inflicted considerable
casualties on the enemy.
Because the villagers leave first thing in
the morning and don't return until last
light, it became apparent that to search the
village by day would be futile, so it was
decided to set up the cordon at night so at
first light the next day, to systematically
search the village and interrogate the
people with the help of the police and local
government officials to identify the VC
cadres. In July 1966 the battalion cordoned
the village of Duc My seven kilometres north
west of 1ATF. Air reconnaissance had
indicated a number of bunkers in the village
It was known that over 25 VC visited Duc My
regularly. The cordon and search was highly
successful with a number of VC killed and
wounded.
During the next 12 months, cordon and search
operations in villages throughout Phuoc Tuy
Province accounted for 240 VC killed,
wounded or captured. for the loss of 4
members killed and 5 wounded all by booby
traps.
In October 1966 the Battalion was required
to clear the Nui Thi Vai mountains in the
south west of the province. This strongly
held VC position controlled Route 15, which
was the main route from the port of Vung Tau
to Saigon. It was essential that the road
was kept open to allow the newly arrived
Americans troops to be moved to the west.
The approaches to and in the Nui Thi Vi's
were riddled with mines and booby traps. As
a result of the successful operation, the VC
were removed from an area he had been using
and developing for some years.
In October it was decided to cordon and
search the village of Phuoc Hoa and then a
heliborne assault onto Long Son Island. The
island was held by the VC as a rest and
training area and a natural staging post. No
main force VC units used the island since
our arrival in Nui Dat, but the VC Chau Duc
District Company were in residence. The
operation was successful with the clearing
of most of the VC from the island.
Slowly but surely the VC were finding it
increasingly difficult to operate in
populated areas of the province. They were
also losing their control and influence over
the population.

February 1967 the Battalion mounted an
operation in the Long Hai Hills where the
Viet Cong had established bases so they
could raid the local villages. The area was
heavily mined and booby trapped and the
clearance was difficult and expensive in
terms of casualties sustained. Almost
constant fire fights at platoon and section
level resulted in large numbers of the enemy
killed or wounded and a significant number
of weapons captured.
The remaining two months of the battalion's
tour was taken up with patrolling and
ambushing operations east and south of 1ATF
with considerable success.
In
summing up the battalion's achievements at
the completion of its first tour, the
Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel John
Warr said.
"Like all battalions of the Royal Australian
Regiment, the 5th developed its own
reputation and characterises particularly
its first tour of South Vietnam. It soon
became recognised as being fiercely
independent, professionally efficient and
possessing considerable initiative and
fighting tenacity. During its 12 months tour
of South Vietnam, the 5th Battalion had
encountered and defeated forces from the
main force regiments, the provincial
battalion and the guerrilla units of the
province. Over 90% of the people of Phuoc
Tuy had been brought under government
control and the influence and effectiveness
of the VC had been considerably reduced. The
stage was now set for the Task Force to
develop operations of a different nature
beyond the borders of the province. The men
of the 5th Battalion have maintained the
standards and the fighting traditions of
their forefathers, from the shores of
Gallipoli, the fields of France, in the
deserts of North Africa and in the jungles
of New Guinea."
During its tour of South Vietnam the
Battalion had suffered the loss of 25 killed
in action or died of wounds and 79 wounded
in action. The Battalion were accorded 32
awards and returned to Australia in
April,1967.
Operations carried out by the 5th Battalion
During its First Tour
HARDIHOOD |
24 MAY 1966 |
4 JUNE 1966 |
SYDNEY ONE |
6 JULY |
7 JULY |
SYDNEY TWO |
19 JULY |
20 JULY |
HOLSWORTHY
|
7 AUGUST |
18 AUGUST |
DARLINGHURST |
26 AUGUST |
31 AUGUST |
TOLEDO |
2 SEPTEMBER |
8 SEPTEMBER |
CROWSNEST
|
1 OCTOBER |
3 OCTOBER |
CANBERRA |
6 OCTOBER |
10 OCTOBER |
ROBIN |
11 OCTOBER |
16 OCTOBER |
QUEANBEYAN |
17 OCTOBER |
26 OCTOBER |
YASS |
6 NOVEMBER |
7 NOVEMBER |
HAYMAN |
8 NOVEMBER |
12 NOVEMBER |
INGHAM |
18 NOVEMBER |
3 DECEMBER |
CANARY |
4 DECEMBER |
14 DECEMBER |
CAMDEN
|
1 JANUARY 1967 |
31 JANUARY
1967 |
CALOUNDRA |
9 JANUARY |
10 JANUARY |
BEAUMARIS |
13 FEBRUARY |
14 FEBRUARY |
RENMARK |
18 FEBRUARY |
22 FEBRUARY |
Bibliography
Video Cassette
The History of the Fifth Battalions VHS Colour,
Copyright 1993, 5th Battalion R.A.R. Association
O'Neill J. Robert (1968), Vietnam Task,
Melbourne Australia, Cassel Australia Ltd
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