Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War
Encyclopedia
Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War
began as a small commitment of 30 men in 1962, and increased over the following decade to a peak of 7,672 Australians deployed in South Vietnam or in support of Australian forces there. The Vietnam War was the longest and most controversial war Australia has ever fought. Although initially enjoying broad support due to concerns about the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia, as Australia's military involvement increased a vocal anti-war movement developed. To a large extent this focused upon conscription
, which had been an issue in Australia dating back to the First World War, however, considerable portions of society were opposed to the war on political and moral grounds.
The withdrawal of Australia's forces from South Vietnam began in November 1970 when 8 RAR
completed its tour of duty and was not replaced. A phased withdrawal followed, and by 11 January 1973 Australian involvement in hostilities in Vietnam had ceased. Nevertheless, Australian troops from the Australian Embassy Platoon remained deployed in the country until 1 July 1973, and Australian forces were deployed briefly in April 1975, during the Fall of Saigon
, to evacuate personnel from the Australian embassy.
Approximately 60,000 Australians served in the war; 521 were killed and more than 3,000 were wounded.
was driven largely by the rise of communism
in Southeast Asia after the Second World War, and the fear of its spread which developed in Australia during the 1950s and early 1960s. Following the end of the Second World War the French had sought to reassert control over French Indochina
. In 1950 as the communist-backed Viet Minh
, led by Ho Chi Minh
, began to gain the ascendency in the First Indochina War
, the Vietnamese nation had two parallel administrations; the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) (recognised by the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China
), and the State of Vietnam
(SoV), an associated state in the French Union
(recognised by the non-communist world). In 1954, after the defeat of the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu
, the Geneva Accords
of 1954 split the country geographically, with the DRV to the north of the 17th parallel and the SoV in the south.
The Geneva Accords imposed a deadline of July 1956 for the governments of the two Vietnams to hold elections, with a view to uniting the country under one government. In 1955, Ngo Dinh Diem
, the prime minister of the State of Vietnam, deposed the head of state Bảo Đại
in a fraudulent referendum and declared himself President of the newly proclaimed Republic of Vietnam. He then refused to take part in the elections, claiming that the communist north would engage in election fraud and that as a result they would win because they had more people. After this deadline passed, the military commanders in the North began preparing an invasion of the South. Over the course of the late 1950s and early 1960s this invasion took root in a campaign of insurgency, subversion and sabotage in the South employing guerilla warfare tactics. In September 1957, Diem visited Australia and was given strong support by both the ruling Liberal Party of Australia
of Prime Minister Robert Menzies
and the opposition Australian Labor Party
. Diem was particularly feted by the Catholic community, as he pursued policies that discriminated in favour of the Catholic minority in his country and gave special powers to the Catholic Church.
By 1962 the situation in South Vietnam had become bad enough that Diem submitted a request for assistance to the United States and its allies in order to counter the growing insurgency and the threat that it posed to South Vietnam's security. Following this the US began to send a large number of advisors to provide tactical and logistical advice to the South Vietnamese. At the same time, the US sought to increase the legitimacy of the South Vietnamese government by instituting the Many Flags
program, hoping to counter the communist propaganda that South Vietnam was merely a US puppet state and to involve as many nations as possible. Thus Australia, as an ally of the United States with obligations under the SEATO and ANZUS
Pacts, and in the hope of shoring up its alliance with the US, became involved in the Vietnam War. Between 1962 and 1972 it would send almost 60,000 personnel to Vietnam, including ground troops, naval forces and air assets and would contribute large amounts of material to the war effort.
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After assisting the British during the Malayan Emergency
, Australian and New Zealand military forces had gained valuable experience in jungle warfare and counter-insurgency. According to historian Paul Ham
, US Secretary of State Dean Rusk "freely admitted to the ANZUS meeting in Canberra in May 1962, that the US armed forces knew little about jungle warfare". Given the experience that Australian forces had gained in Malaya it was felt that initially Australia could contribute to the situation by providing advisors who were experts in the tactics of jungle warfare. In this regard the Australian government's initial response was to send 30 military advisers, dispatched as the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam
(AATTV), also known as "the Team". The Australian military assistance was to be in jungle warfare training, and the Team comprised highly qualified and experienced officers and NCOs, led by Colonel Ted Serong
, many with previous experience from the Malayan Emergency. Their arrival in South Vietnam during July and August 1962 was the beginning of Australia's involvement in the war in Vietnam.
Relationships between the AATTV
and US advisors were generally very cordial. However, there were sometimes significant differences of opinion on the training and tactics that should be employed. For example, when Serong expressed doubt about the value of the Strategic Hamlet Program
at a US counter Insurgency Group meeting in Washington on 23 May 1963, he drew a "violent challenge" from US Marine General Victor ‘Brute’ Krulak
. Captain Barry Petersen's work with raising an anti-communist Montagnard force in the central highlands between 1963 and 1965 highlighted another problem—South Vietnamese officials sometimes found sustained success by a foreigner difficult to accept. Warrant Officer Class Two Kevin Conway of the AATTV
, died on 6 July 1964, side by side with Master Sergeant Gabriel Alamo of the USSF
during a sustained Viet Cong attack on Nam Dong Special Forces Camp
, becoming Australia's first battle casualty
.
In August 1964 the Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF) sent a flight of Caribou transport
s to the port town of Vũng Tàu
. By the end of 1964, there were almost 200 Australian military personnel in the Republic of Vietnam
, including an engineer and surgical team as well as a larger AATTV
team. In order to boost the size of the Army by providing a greater pool for infantrymen, the Australian Government had introduced conscription for compulsory military service for 20 year olds, in November 1964, despite opposition from within the Army and many sections of the broader community. Thereafter, battalions serving with 1 ATF all contained National Servicemen.
On 29 April 1965, Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies
announced that the government had received a request for further military assistance from South Vietnam. "We have decided...in close consultation with the Government of the United States—to provide an infantry battalion for service in Vietnam." He argued that a communist victory in South Vietnam would be a direct military threat to Australia. "It must be seen as part of a thrust by Communist China between the Indian and Pacific Oceans" he added.
The issue of whether a formal request was made by the South Vietnamese government at this time has been disputed, however. Although the South Vietnamese Prime Minister, Tran Van Huong
, made a request in December 1964, Huong's replacement, Phan Huy Quat
, had to be "coerced into accepting an Australian battalion" and stopped short of formally requesting the commitment in writing, simply sending an acceptance of the offer to Canberra the day before Menzies announced it to the Australian parliament. In this regard it has been argued that the decision was made by Australian politicians against advice of the Department of Defence, to coincide with the commitment of US combat troops earlier in the year, and that the decision would have been made regardless of the wishes of the South Vietnamese government.
Nevertheless, as a result of the announcement, the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
(1 RAR) was deployed. Advanced elements of the battalion departed Australia on 27 May 1965. Accompanied by a troop
from the 4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse
as well as logistics personnel, they embarked upon HMAS Sydney and following their arrival in Vietnam, they were attached to the US 173rd Airborne Brigade. Throughout 1965 they undertook several operations in Bien Hoa
province, however, Australian and US military leaders agreed to future deployment of Australian combat forces in a discrete province. This also allowed the Australian army to "fight their own tactical war", independently of the US. In April 1966 1st Australian Task Force
(1 ATF) was established in Phước Tuy Province
, based at Nui Dat
. 1 ATF consisted of two (and after 1967 three) infantry battalion
s, a troop
and later a squadron of armoured personnel carriers from the 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron
and a detachment of the Special Air Service Regiment
as well as various support services under the command of the 1st Australian Logistics Support Group
based in Vũng Tàu
. A squadron of Centurion tanks was added in December 1967. 1 ATF's responsibility was the security of Phước Tuy province, excluding larger towns.
The RAAF contingent was also expanded, growing to include three squadrons—No. 35 Squadron
, flying Caribou STOL
transports, No. 9 Squadron
flying UH-1 Iroquois
battlefield helicopters and No. 2 Squadron
flying Canberra
bombers. The Canberras flew a large number of bombing sorties, and two were lost, while the Caribou transport aircraft supported anti-communist ground forces and the Iroquois helicopters were used in troop-lift, medical evacuation and as gunships. At its peak it included over 750 personnel. The Royal Australian Navy
(RAN) also made a significant contribution, which consisted of a destroyer
on six-month rotations deployed on the gun-line in a shore bombardment role, the RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam, and a RAN Clearance Diving Team
. The ageing aircraft carrier , after being converted to a troop-ship, was used to convey the bulk of Australian ground forces to South Vietnam. Female members of the Army and RAAF nursing services also served in Vietnam from the outset, and as the force grew the medical capability was also expanded with the 1st Australian Field Hospital established at Vung Tau on 1 April 1968.
From an Australian perspective, one of the most famous engagements in the war was the Battle of Long Tan
which took place on 18 and 19 August 1966. During the battle a company from 6 RAR
, despite being heavily outnumbered, fought off a large enemy assault of regimental strength. 18 Australians were killed and 24 wounded, while at least 245 Viet Cong were killed. It was a decisive Australian victory and is often cited as an example of the importance of combining and coordinating infantry, artillery, armour and military aviation. The battle had considerable tactical implications as well, being significant in allowing the Australians to gain dominance over Phước Tuy province, and although there were a number of other large-scale encounters in later years, 1 ATF was not fundamentally challenged again.
Although primarily operating out of Phước Tuy province, the Task Force was also available for deployment elsewhere in the III Corps Tactical Zone
. Indeed with the province progressively coming under control, 1968 saw the Australians spending a significant period of time conducting operations further afield. The communist Tet offensive began on 30 January 1968 with the aim of inciting a general uprising, simulatenously engulfing population centres across South Vietnam. In response, 1 ATF was deployed along likely infiltration routes in order to defend the vital Bien Hoa
-Long Binh
complex near Saigon, as part of Operation Coburg
between January and March. Heavy fighting resulted in 17 Australians killed and 61 wounded, while communist casualties included at least 145 killed, 110 wounded and 5 captured, with many more removed from the battlefield. Meanwhile, Tet also affected Phước Tuy province, and although stretched thin the remaining Australian forces there successfully repelled an attack on Ba Ria
, as well as spoiling an harassing attack on Long Dien
and conducting a sweep of Hoa Long, killing 50 Viet Cong and wounding 25 for the loss of five Australians killed and 24 wounded. In late February the communist offensive collapsed, suffering more than 45,000 killed—against South Vietnamese and allied losses of only 6,000 men. Regardless, Tet proved to be a turning point in the war, and although it had been a tactical disaster for the communists it proved a strategic victory for Hanoi as confidence in the American military and political leadership collapsed, as did public support for the war in the United States.
Tet had a similar effect on Australian public opinion, and caused growing uncertainty in the government about the determination of the United States to remain militarily involved in Southeast Asia. Amid the initial shock, Prime Minister John Gorton
unexpectedly declared that Australia would not increase its military commitment in Vietnam beyond the current level of 8,000 personnel. The war continued without respite however, and between May and June 1968 1 ATF was again deployed away from Phuoc Tuy in response to intelligence reports of another impending offensive. In May 1968 1 RAR
and 3 RAR
with armour and artillery support fought off large-scale attacks during the Battle of Coral-Balmoral. 25 Australians were killed and nearly 100 wounded, while the North Vietnamese lost in excess of 300 killed. Later in June 1969, 5 RAR fought one of the last large-scale actions of the Australian war, during the Battle of Binh Ba
, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of Nui Dat in Phước Tuy province. The battle was unusual in the Australian experience, involving infantry and armour in close-quarter house-to-house fighting through the village of Binh Ba against a combined force of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army. For the loss of one Australian killed at the communists lost 107 killed, six wounded and eight captured in a hard fought but one-sided engagement. Such large-scale battles were not the norm in Phước Tuy province however. Indeed losses suffered at Binh Ba forced the NVA to move out of Phước Tuy into adjoining provinces and although the Australians did encounter main force units in the years to come, the Battle of Binh Ba marked the end of such clashes.
More typical of the Australian war was company-level patrolling and cordon and search
operations which were designed to put pressure on enemy units and disrupt their access to the local population. To the end of Australian operations in Phước Tuy this remained the focus of Australian efforts and was this approach arguably allowed the restoration of government control in the province. Australia's peak commitment at any one time was 7,672 combat troops and New Zealand's, 552, in 1969. New Zealand first committed a detachment of engineers and an artillery battery, and then started sending special forces. New Zealand infantry units were also integrated into RAR battalions serving with 1 ATF after March 1968. These combined battalions being designated "ANZAC Battalions".
—was apparently held in contempt by many 1 ATF and battalion commanders.
In 1966 journalist Gerald Stone described tactics then being used by Australian soldiers newly arrived in Vietnam:
Looking back on ten years of reporting the war in Vietnam and Cambodia, journalist Neil Davis said in 1983; "I was very proud of the Australian troops. They were very professional, very well trained and they fought the people they were sent to fight—the Viet Cong. They tried not to involve civilians and generally there were fewer casualties inflicted by the Australians." Another perspective on Australian operations was provided by David Hackworth, Vietnam's most decorated US soldier. "The Aussies used squads to make contact... and brought in reinforcements to do the killing; they planned in the belief that a platoon on the battlefield could do anything."
For some Viet Cong leaders there was no doubt the Australian jungle warfare approach was effective. One former Viet Cong leader is quoted as saying; "Worse than the Americans were the Australians. The Americans style was to hit us, then call for planes and artillery. Our response was to break contact and disappear if we could...The Australians were more patient than the Americans, better guerilla fighters, better at ambushes. They liked to stay with us instead of calling in the planes. We were more afraid of their style." However, as a junior partner, Australians had little opportunity to influence US strategy in the war. "The American concept [of how the war should be fought] remained unchallenged and it prevailed almost by default."
Overall, the tactics used by the Australian Army in Vietnam were not successful. Like the Americans, Australian tactics were focused on seeking to engage the Communist forces in battle and ultimately failed as the Communists were generally able to evade Australian forces when conditions were not favourable. Moreover, the Australians did not devote sufficient resources to disrupting the logistical infrastructure which supported the Communist forces in Phước Tuy province and popular support for the Communists remained strong. After 1 ATF was withdrawn in 1971 the insurgency in Phước Tuy province rapidly expanded.
The Australian withdrawal effectively commenced in November 1970. As a consequence of the overall allied strategy of Vietnamization
and with the Australian government keen to reduce its own commitment to the war, 8 RAR
was not replaced at the end of its tour of duty. 1 ATF was again reduced to just two infantry battalions, albeit with significant armour, artillery and aviation support remaining. The Australian area of operations remained the same however, with the reduction in forces only adding further to the burden on the remaining battalions. Regardless, following a sustained effort by 1 ATF in Phuoc Tuy province between September 1969 and April 1970, the bulk of communist forces had become inactive and had left the province to recuperate. By 1971 the province had been largely cleared of local VC forces, who were now increasingly reliant on reinforcements from North Vietnam. As a measure of some success, Highway 15, the main route running through Phước Tuy between Saigon and Vũng Tàu, was open to unescorted traffic. Regardless the VC maintained the ability to conduct local operations.
Australian combat forces were further reduced during 1971. The Battle of Long Khanh
on 6–7 June 1971 took place during one of the last major joint US-Australian operations, and resulted in three Australians killed and six wounded during heavy fighting in which an RAAF UH-1H Iroqouis was shot down. On 18 August 1971, Australia and New Zealand decided to withdraw their troops from Vietnam, with the Australian prime minister, William McMahon
, announcing that 1 ATF would cease operations in October, commencing a phased withdrawal. The Battle of Nui Le
21 September proved to be the last major battle fought by Australian forces in the war, and resulted five Australians are killed and 30 wounded. Finally, on 16 October Australian forces handed over control of the base at Nui Dat to South Vietnamese forces, while 4 RAR
, the last Australian infantry battalion in South Vietnam, sailed for Australia on board HMAS Sydney on 9 December 1971.
Australian advisors continued to train Vietnamese troops however, until the announcement by the newly elected Australian Labor government of Gough Whitlam
that the remaining advisors would be withdrawn by 18 December 1972. It was only on 11 January 1973 that the Governor-General of Australia
, Paul Hasluck
, announced the cessation of combat operations against the communists. Whitlam recognised North Vietnam
, which welcomed his electoral success. However, Australian troops remained in Saigon guarding the Australian embassy until 1 July 1973. The withdrawal from Vietnam meant that 1973 was the first time since the beginning of World War II in 1939 that Australia's armed forces were not involved in a conflict somewhere in the world. In total approximately 60,000 Australians—ground troops, air-force and naval personnel—served in Vietnam between 1962 and 1972. 521 died as a result of the war and over 3,000 were wounded. 15,381 conscripted national servicemen served from 1965 to 1972, sustaining 202 killed and 1,279 wounded. In addition there were six Australians listed as missing in action
, although these men are included in the list of Australians killed in action and the last of their remains were finally located and returned to Australia in 2009. Between 1962 and March 1972 the estimated cost of Australia's involvement to the war in Vietnam was $218.4 million.
In March 1975 the Australian Government dispatched RAAF transport aircraft to South Vietnam to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees fleeing the North Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh Campaign
. The first Australian C-130 Hercules
arrived at Tan Son Nhat Airport
on 30 March and the force, which was designated 'Detachment S', reached a strength of eight Hercules by the second week of April. The aircraft of detachment S transported refugees from cities near the front line and evacuated Australians and several hundred Vietnamese orphans from Saigon to Malaysia. In addition, they regularly flew supplies to a large refugee camp at An Thoi on the island of Phú Quốc. The deteriorating security situation forced the Australian aircraft to be withdrawn to Bangkok in mid-April, from where they flew into South Vietnam each day. The last three RAAF flights into Saigon took place on 25 April, when the Australian embassy was evacuated. While all Australians were evacuated, 130 Vietnamese who had worked at the embassy and had been promised evacuation were left behind. Whitlam later refused to accept South Vietnamese refugees following the fall of Saigon
to the communists in April 1975, including Australian embassy staff who were later sent to reeducation camp
s by the communists. The Liberals—led by Malcolm Fraser
—condemned Whitlam, and after defeating Labor in the 1975 federal election
, allowed South Vietnamese refugees to settle in Australia in large numbers
.
(ALP) (in opposition for most of the period), Arthur Calwell
announced that the 1966 federal election
would be fought specifically on the issue of Vietnam the party suffered their biggest political defeat in decades. However, anti-war sentiment escalated rapidly in the late 1960s as more Australian soldiers were killed in battle. The centre-left ALP became more sympathetic to the communists and Calwell stridently denounced South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky
as a "fascist dictator" and a "butcher" ahead of his 1967 visit—at the time Ky was the chief of the Vietnam Air Force
and headed a military junta. Despite the controversy leading up to the visit, Ky's trip was a success. He dealt with the media effectively, despite hostile sentiment from some sections of the press and public.
The introduction of conscription by the Australian government in response to a worsening regional strategic outlook during the war was consistently opposed by the Australian Labor Party and by many sections of society, and some groups resisted the call to military service by burning the letters notifying them of their conscription (which was punishable by imprisonment). Growing public uneasiness about the death toll was fuelled by a series of highly-publicised arrests of conscientious objector
s, and exacerbated by revelations of atrocities committed against Vietnamese civilians, leading to a rapid increase in domestic opposition to the war between 1967 and 1970. Following the 1969 federal election
, which Labor lost again but with a much reduced margin, public debate about Vietnam was increasingly dominated by those opposed to government policy. On 8 May 1970, moratorium
marches were held in major Australian cities to coincide with the marches in the US. The demonstration in Melbourne, led by future deputy prime minister Jim Cairns
, was supported by an estimated 100,000 people. Across Australia, it was estimated that 200,000 people were involved.
Nevertheless, opinion polls taken at the time demonstrated that the moratorium failed to achieve its goals and had only a very limited impact upon public opinion, with over half respondents saying that they still supported national service and slightly less stating that they did not want Australia to pull out of the war. Additionally, the numbers that resisted the draft remained low. Indeed, by 1970 it was estimated that 99.8 per cent of those issued with call up papers complied with them.
Further moratoria were undertaken on 18 September 1970 and again on 30 June 1971. Arguably, however, the peace movement had lost its original spirit, as the political debate degenerated. Dominated by left-wing extremists, the organisers of the events extended invitations to members of the North Vietnamese government to attend, although this was prevented due to a refusal by the Australian government to grant them visas. Attendance at the subsequent marches was lower than that of May 1970, and as a result of a number of factors including confusion over the rules regarding what the protestors were allowed to do, aggressive police tactics, and agitation from extremists the second march devolved into violence. In Sydney, 173 people were arrested, while in Melbourne the police attempted to control the crowd with a baton-charge.
Although initially there was considerable support for Australia's involvement in Vietnam, as opposition to the war increased service in Vietnam came to be seen by sections of the Australian community in less than sympathetic terms and opposition to it generated negative views of veterans in some quarters. In the years following the war, some Vietnam veteran
s experienced social exclusion and problems readjusting to society. Nevertheless, as the tour of duty of each soldier during the Vietnam War was limited to one year (although some soldiers chose to sign up for a second or even a third tour of duty), the number of soldiers suffering from combat stress
was probably more limited than it might otherwise have been.
In addition to the negative sentiments towards returned soldiers from some sections of the anti-war movement, some Second World War veterans also held negative views and attitudes toward the Vietnam War veterans. As a result many Australian Vietnam veterans were excluded from joining the Returned Servicemen's League
during the 1960s and 1970s on the grounds that the Vietnam War veterans did not fight a "real war". The response of the RSL varied across the country, and while some rejected Vietnam veterans, other branches, particularly those in rural areas, were said to be very supportive. Nevertheless, many Vietnam veterans were excluded from marching in ANZAC Day
parades during the 1970s because some soldiers of earlier wars saw the Vietnam veterans as unworthy heirs to the ANZAC
title and tradition, a view which hurt many Vietnam veterans and resulted in continued resentment towards the RSL. Regardless, in 1972 the RSL decided that Vietnam veterans should lead the march, which attracted large crowds throughout the country.
Eventually however, Australian Vietnam veterans were honoured at a "Welcome Home" parade in Sydney on 3 October 1987, and it was then that a campaign for the construction of the Vietnam War Memorial began. This memorial, known as the Vietnam Forces National Memorial
, was established on ANZAC Parade
in Canberra
, and was dedicated on 3 October 1992.
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
began as a small commitment of 30 men in 1962, and increased over the following decade to a peak of 7,672 Australians deployed in South Vietnam or in support of Australian forces there. The Vietnam War was the longest and most controversial war Australia has ever fought. Although initially enjoying broad support due to concerns about the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia, as Australia's military involvement increased a vocal anti-war movement developed. To a large extent this focused upon conscription
Conscription in Australia
Conscription in Australia, or mandatory military service also known as National Service, has a controversial history dating back to the first years of nationhood...
, which had been an issue in Australia dating back to the First World War, however, considerable portions of society were opposed to the war on political and moral grounds.
The withdrawal of Australia's forces from South Vietnam began in November 1970 when 8 RAR
8th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
The 8th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment was an Australian Army Regular infantry battalion. The battalion was formed in July 1966 as part of an expansion of the Australian Army in the mid 1960s due to the perceived threat of Communism in southeast Asia...
completed its tour of duty and was not replaced. A phased withdrawal followed, and by 11 January 1973 Australian involvement in hostilities in Vietnam had ceased. Nevertheless, Australian troops from the Australian Embassy Platoon remained deployed in the country until 1 July 1973, and Australian forces were deployed briefly in April 1975, during the Fall of Saigon
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...
, to evacuate personnel from the Australian embassy.
Approximately 60,000 Australians served in the war; 521 were killed and more than 3,000 were wounded.
Background
Australia's involvement in the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
was driven largely by the rise of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in Southeast Asia after the Second World War, and the fear of its spread which developed in Australia during the 1950s and early 1960s. Following the end of the Second World War the French had sought to reassert control over French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
. In 1950 as the communist-backed Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
, led by Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
, began to gain the ascendency in the First Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
, the Vietnamese nation had two parallel administrations; the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) (recognised by the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
), and the State of Vietnam
State of Vietnam
The State of Vietnam was a state that claimed authority over all of Vietnam during the First Indochina War, and replaced the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam . The provisional government was a brief transitional administration between colonial Cochinchina and an independent state...
(SoV), an associated state in the French Union
French Union
The French Union was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial system, the "French Empire" and to abolish its "indigenous" status.-History:...
(recognised by the non-communist world). In 1954, after the defeat of the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
, the Geneva Accords
Geneva Conference (1954)
The Geneva Conference was a conference which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, whose purpose was to attempt to find a way to unify Korea and discuss the possibility of restoring peace in Indochina...
of 1954 split the country geographically, with the DRV to the north of the 17th parallel and the SoV in the south.
The Geneva Accords imposed a deadline of July 1956 for the governments of the two Vietnams to hold elections, with a view to uniting the country under one government. In 1955, Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...
, the prime minister of the State of Vietnam, deposed the head of state Bảo Đại
Bảo Đài
Bảo Đài is a commune and village in Lục Nam District, Bac Giang Province, in northeastern Vietnam.-References:...
in a fraudulent referendum and declared himself President of the newly proclaimed Republic of Vietnam. He then refused to take part in the elections, claiming that the communist north would engage in election fraud and that as a result they would win because they had more people. After this deadline passed, the military commanders in the North began preparing an invasion of the South. Over the course of the late 1950s and early 1960s this invasion took root in a campaign of insurgency, subversion and sabotage in the South employing guerilla warfare tactics. In September 1957, Diem visited Australia and was given strong support by both the ruling Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
of Prime Minister Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
and the opposition Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
. Diem was particularly feted by the Catholic community, as he pursued policies that discriminated in favour of the Catholic minority in his country and gave special powers to the Catholic Church.
By 1962 the situation in South Vietnam had become bad enough that Diem submitted a request for assistance to the United States and its allies in order to counter the growing insurgency and the threat that it posed to South Vietnam's security. Following this the US began to send a large number of advisors to provide tactical and logistical advice to the South Vietnamese. At the same time, the US sought to increase the legitimacy of the South Vietnamese government by instituting the Many Flags
Many Flags
The Many Flags campaign was an initiative by United States President Lyndon Johnson to get US allies in Asia and the Pacific to participate in the Vietnam War in support of South Vietnam. While it served a military purpose, the program was also a propaganda effort by Johnson to enlist Free World...
program, hoping to counter the communist propaganda that South Vietnam was merely a US puppet state and to involve as many nations as possible. Thus Australia, as an ally of the United States with obligations under the SEATO and ANZUS
ANZUS
The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty is the military alliance which binds Australia and New Zealand and, separately, Australia and the United States to cooperate on defence matters in the Pacific Ocean area, though today the treaty is understood to relate to attacks...
Pacts, and in the hope of shoring up its alliance with the US, became involved in the Vietnam War. Between 1962 and 1972 it would send almost 60,000 personnel to Vietnam, including ground troops, naval forces and air assets and would contribute large amounts of material to the war effort.
Australian Advisors, 1962–1965
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
, Australian and New Zealand military forces had gained valuable experience in jungle warfare and counter-insurgency. According to historian Paul Ham
Paul Ham
Paul Ham is an Australian author and the Australia correspondent of the London Sunday Times. He has a masters degree in Economic History from the London School of Economics. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Mitchell College of Advanced Education in Bathurst, NSW .He wrote...
, US Secretary of State Dean Rusk "freely admitted to the ANZUS meeting in Canberra in May 1962, that the US armed forces knew little about jungle warfare". Given the experience that Australian forces had gained in Malaya it was felt that initially Australia could contribute to the situation by providing advisors who were experts in the tactics of jungle warfare. In this regard the Australian government's initial response was to send 30 military advisers, dispatched as the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam
Australian Army Training Team Vietnam
The Australian Army Training Team Vietnam was a specialist unit of the Australian Army that operated during the Vietnam War. Raised in 1962, the unit was raised solely for service as part of Australia's contribution to the war in Vietnam, providing training and assistance to South Vietnamese forces...
(AATTV), also known as "the Team". The Australian military assistance was to be in jungle warfare training, and the Team comprised highly qualified and experienced officers and NCOs, led by Colonel Ted Serong
Ted Serong
Brigadier Francis Philip "Ted" Serong DSO, OBE was a senior officer of the Australian Army, most notable for his contributions to counter-insurgency and jungle warfare tactics, and as commander of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam from 1962 until 1965.-Early life:The path that took Serong...
, many with previous experience from the Malayan Emergency. Their arrival in South Vietnam during July and August 1962 was the beginning of Australia's involvement in the war in Vietnam.
Relationships between the AATTV
Australian Army Training Team Vietnam
The Australian Army Training Team Vietnam was a specialist unit of the Australian Army that operated during the Vietnam War. Raised in 1962, the unit was raised solely for service as part of Australia's contribution to the war in Vietnam, providing training and assistance to South Vietnamese forces...
and US advisors were generally very cordial. However, there were sometimes significant differences of opinion on the training and tactics that should be employed. For example, when Serong expressed doubt about the value of the Strategic Hamlet Program
Strategic Hamlet Program
The Strategic Hamlet Program was a plan by the governments of South Vietnam and the United States during the Vietnam War to combat the Communist insurgency by means of population transfer.In 1961, U.S...
at a US counter Insurgency Group meeting in Washington on 23 May 1963, he drew a "violent challenge" from US Marine General Victor ‘Brute’ Krulak
Victor H. Krulak
Victor H. Krulak was a decorated United States Marine Corps officer who saw action in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He was born in Denver, Colorado to Jewish parents...
. Captain Barry Petersen's work with raising an anti-communist Montagnard force in the central highlands between 1963 and 1965 highlighted another problem—South Vietnamese officials sometimes found sustained success by a foreigner difficult to accept. Warrant Officer Class Two Kevin Conway of the AATTV
Australian Army Training Team Vietnam
The Australian Army Training Team Vietnam was a specialist unit of the Australian Army that operated during the Vietnam War. Raised in 1962, the unit was raised solely for service as part of Australia's contribution to the war in Vietnam, providing training and assistance to South Vietnamese forces...
, died on 6 July 1964, side by side with Master Sergeant Gabriel Alamo of the USSF
United States Special Operations Forces
United States Special Operations Forces under United States Special Operations Command are active and reserve component forces of U.S. Military...
during a sustained Viet Cong attack on Nam Dong Special Forces Camp
Battle of Nam Dong
The Battle of Nam Dong was fought on July 5 until the next day on in 1964, when the Viet Cong and PAVN attacked the Nam Dong CIDG camp in an attempt to overrun it.-Battle:...
, becoming Australia's first battle casualty
Casualty (person)
A casualty is a person who is the victim of an accident, injury, or trauma. The word casualties is most often used by the news media to describe deaths and injuries resulting from wars or disasters...
.
Increased Australian commitment, 1965–1970
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
(RAAF) sent a flight of Caribou transport
De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou
The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou is a Canadian-designed and produced specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing capability...
s to the port town of Vũng Tàu
Vung Tàu
Vũng Tàu is a city in southern Vietnam. Its population in 2005 was 240,000. The city area is including 13 urban wards and one village. It is the capital of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, and is the crude oil extraction center of Vietnam. It is also known as one of the most beautiful cities of tourism...
. By the end of 1964, there were almost 200 Australian military personnel in the Republic of Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
, including an engineer and surgical team as well as a larger AATTV
Australian Army Training Team Vietnam
The Australian Army Training Team Vietnam was a specialist unit of the Australian Army that operated during the Vietnam War. Raised in 1962, the unit was raised solely for service as part of Australia's contribution to the war in Vietnam, providing training and assistance to South Vietnamese forces...
team. In order to boost the size of the Army by providing a greater pool for infantrymen, the Australian Government had introduced conscription for compulsory military service for 20 year olds, in November 1964, despite opposition from within the Army and many sections of the broader community. Thereafter, battalions serving with 1 ATF all contained National Servicemen.
On 29 April 1965, Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
announced that the government had received a request for further military assistance from South Vietnam. "We have decided...in close consultation with the Government of the United States—to provide an infantry battalion for service in Vietnam." He argued that a communist victory in South Vietnam would be a direct military threat to Australia. "It must be seen as part of a thrust by Communist China between the Indian and Pacific Oceans" he added.
The issue of whether a formal request was made by the South Vietnamese government at this time has been disputed, however. Although the South Vietnamese Prime Minister, Tran Van Huong
Tran Van Huong
Trần Văn Hương was a South Vietnamese politician. He was the penultimate president of South Vietnam prior to its surrender to the communist forces of North Vietnam.-Biography:...
, made a request in December 1964, Huong's replacement, Phan Huy Quat
Phan Huy Quat
Dr. Phan Huy Quát served as acting Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam and also as Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam.-Biography:On July 2, 1949, Dr. Phan Huy Quát was appointed Minister of Education by Head of State Bảo Đại....
, had to be "coerced into accepting an Australian battalion" and stopped short of formally requesting the commitment in writing, simply sending an acceptance of the offer to Canberra the day before Menzies announced it to the Australian parliament. In this regard it has been argued that the decision was made by Australian politicians against advice of the Department of Defence, to coincide with the commitment of US combat troops earlier in the year, and that the decision would have been made regardless of the wishes of the South Vietnamese government.
Nevertheless, as a result of the announcement, the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a regular light infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 1 RAR was first formed as the 65th Australian Infantry Battalion in 1945 and since then has been deployed on active service during the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War...
(1 RAR) was deployed. Advanced elements of the battalion departed Australia on 27 May 1965. Accompanied by a troop
Troop
A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...
from the 4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse
4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse
The 4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse is a cavalry regiment of the Australian Army. The regiment in its current composition was formed in 1948 when the Citizens Military Force was re-raised after the completion of the demoblisation process following the end of the Second World War and it was...
as well as logistics personnel, they embarked upon HMAS Sydney and following their arrival in Vietnam, they were attached to the US 173rd Airborne Brigade. Throughout 1965 they undertook several operations in Bien Hoa
Bien Hoa
Biên Hòa is a city in Dong Nai province, Vietnam, about east of Ho Chi Minh City , to which Bien Hoa is linked by Vietnam Highway 1.- Demographics :In 1989 the estimated population was over 300,000. In 2005, the population wss 541,495...
province, however, Australian and US military leaders agreed to future deployment of Australian combat forces in a discrete province. This also allowed the Australian army to "fight their own tactical war", independently of the US. In April 1966 1st Australian Task Force
1st Australian Task Force
The 1st Australian Task Force commanded the Australian and New Zealand Army units deployed to South Vietnam between 1966 and 1972. 1 ATF was based at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province...
(1 ATF) was established in Phước Tuy Province
Phuoc Tuy Province
Phước Tuy Province was a province of South Vietnam. It now mostly corresponds to Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, just southeast of Ho Chi Minh City....
, based at Nui Dat
Nui Dat
Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province was the location of a prominent Australian military base in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The site was chosen by Lieutenant General John Wilton in 1966 and was built mainly by men from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment...
. 1 ATF consisted of two (and after 1967 three) infantry battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
s, a troop
Troop
A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...
and later a squadron of armoured personnel carriers from the 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron
1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron (Australia)
The 1st Armoured Personnel Squadron was an armoured unit of the Australian Army raised for service during the Vietnam War. Raised in 1965 the unit was deployed to South Vietnam in May 1966 to join the 1st Australian Task Force...
and a detachment of the Special Air Service Regiment
Australian Special Air Service Regiment
The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR but commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army...
as well as various support services under the command of the 1st Australian Logistics Support Group
1st Australian Logistics Support Group
The 1st Australian Logistic Support Group was a ground support unit of the Australian Army during the Vietnam War located at Vũng Tàu. The unit was formed in 1965 as the Australian Logistic Support Company and was redesignated as 1 ALSG in April 1966.1 ALSG commanded logistic support units to all...
based in Vũng Tàu
Vung Tàu
Vũng Tàu is a city in southern Vietnam. Its population in 2005 was 240,000. The city area is including 13 urban wards and one village. It is the capital of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, and is the crude oil extraction center of Vietnam. It is also known as one of the most beautiful cities of tourism...
. A squadron of Centurion tanks was added in December 1967. 1 ATF's responsibility was the security of Phước Tuy province, excluding larger towns.
No. 35 Squadron RAAF
No. 35 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force transport unit. First formed in 1942, No. 35 Squadron saw action in World War II and the Vietnam War.-History:...
, flying Caribou STOL
STOL
STOL is an acronym for short take-off and landing, a term used to describe aircraft with very short runway requirements.-Definitions:There is no one accepted definition of STOL and many different definitions have been used by different authorities and nations at various times and for a myriad of...
transports, No. 9 Squadron
No. 9 Squadron RAAF
No. 9 Squadron was a unit of the Royal Australian Air Force. The Squadron saw active service in World War II and the Vietnam War before being disbanded in 1989.-Fleet co-operation:...
flying UH-1 Iroquois
UH-1 Iroquois
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew...
battlefield helicopters and No. 2 Squadron
No. 2 Squadron RAAF
No. 2 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force squadron. From its formation in 1916, it has operated a variety of aircraft types including fighters, bombers, and Airborne Early Warning & Control.-World War I:No...
flying Canberra
English Electric Canberra
The English Electric Canberra is a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber through the 1950s and set a world altitude record of 70,310 ft in 1957...
bombers. The Canberras flew a large number of bombing sorties, and two were lost, while the Caribou transport aircraft supported anti-communist ground forces and the Iroquois helicopters were used in troop-lift, medical evacuation and as gunships. At its peak it included over 750 personnel. The Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
(RAN) also made a significant contribution, which consisted of a destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
on six-month rotations deployed on the gun-line in a shore bombardment role, the RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam, and a RAN Clearance Diving Team
Clearance Diving Team (RAN)
The Clearance Diving Teams of the Royal Australian Navy also act as commando frogmen: they consist of naval personnel who are qualified in diving, demolitions, underwater repairs, and reconnaissance...
. The ageing aircraft carrier , after being converted to a troop-ship, was used to convey the bulk of Australian ground forces to South Vietnam. Female members of the Army and RAAF nursing services also served in Vietnam from the outset, and as the force grew the medical capability was also expanded with the 1st Australian Field Hospital established at Vung Tau on 1 April 1968.
From an Australian perspective, one of the most famous engagements in the war was the Battle of Long Tan
Battle of Long Tan
The Battle of Long Tân was fought between the Australian Army and Viet Cong forces in a rubber plantation near the village of Long Tân, about north east of Vũng Tàu, South Vietnam...
which took place on 18 and 19 August 1966. During the battle a company from 6 RAR
6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a motorised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in Brisbane, Queensland, on 6 June 1965 and has since then served in a number of overseas deployments and conflicts including South Vietnam, East Timor and Iraq...
, despite being heavily outnumbered, fought off a large enemy assault of regimental strength. 18 Australians were killed and 24 wounded, while at least 245 Viet Cong were killed. It was a decisive Australian victory and is often cited as an example of the importance of combining and coordinating infantry, artillery, armour and military aviation. The battle had considerable tactical implications as well, being significant in allowing the Australians to gain dominance over Phước Tuy province, and although there were a number of other large-scale encounters in later years, 1 ATF was not fundamentally challenged again.
Although primarily operating out of Phước Tuy province, the Task Force was also available for deployment elsewhere in the III Corps Tactical Zone
III Corps (South Vietnam)
III Corps was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975...
. Indeed with the province progressively coming under control, 1968 saw the Australians spending a significant period of time conducting operations further afield. The communist Tet offensive began on 30 January 1968 with the aim of inciting a general uprising, simulatenously engulfing population centres across South Vietnam. In response, 1 ATF was deployed along likely infiltration routes in order to defend the vital Bien Hoa
Bien Hoa
Biên Hòa is a city in Dong Nai province, Vietnam, about east of Ho Chi Minh City , to which Bien Hoa is linked by Vietnam Highway 1.- Demographics :In 1989 the estimated population was over 300,000. In 2005, the population wss 541,495...
-Long Binh
Long Binh
Long Binh is a ward, in District 9 of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.-Long Binh Post:During the Vietnam War, Long Binh Post was located near Bien Hoa, Dong Nai province. Vietnam, 33km from Saigon . The base functioned as a U.S. Army base, logistics center, and major command headquarters for United...
complex near Saigon, as part of Operation Coburg
Operation Coburg
Operation Coburg was an Australian military action during the Vietnam War. The operation saw heavy fighting between the 1st Australian Task Force and North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during the wider fighting around Long Binh and Bien Hoa...
between January and March. Heavy fighting resulted in 17 Australians killed and 61 wounded, while communist casualties included at least 145 killed, 110 wounded and 5 captured, with many more removed from the battlefield. Meanwhile, Tet also affected Phước Tuy province, and although stretched thin the remaining Australian forces there successfully repelled an attack on Ba Ria
Ba Ria
Bà Rịa is a town in Ba Ria–Vung Tau province in the southeast of Vietnam. Ba Ria is split from Vung Tau by a river crossed by Co May Bridge....
, as well as spoiling an harassing attack on Long Dien
Long Dien
Long Dien , is a district of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province in the southeast region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 118,862. The district covers an area of 77 km²...
and conducting a sweep of Hoa Long, killing 50 Viet Cong and wounding 25 for the loss of five Australians killed and 24 wounded. In late February the communist offensive collapsed, suffering more than 45,000 killed—against South Vietnamese and allied losses of only 6,000 men. Regardless, Tet proved to be a turning point in the war, and although it had been a tactical disaster for the communists it proved a strategic victory for Hanoi as confidence in the American military and political leadership collapsed, as did public support for the war in the United States.
Tet had a similar effect on Australian public opinion, and caused growing uncertainty in the government about the determination of the United States to remain militarily involved in Southeast Asia. Amid the initial shock, Prime Minister John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
unexpectedly declared that Australia would not increase its military commitment in Vietnam beyond the current level of 8,000 personnel. The war continued without respite however, and between May and June 1968 1 ATF was again deployed away from Phuoc Tuy in response to intelligence reports of another impending offensive. In May 1968 1 RAR
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a regular light infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 1 RAR was first formed as the 65th Australian Infantry Battalion in 1945 and since then has been deployed on active service during the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War...
and 3 RAR
3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment is a parachute infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Sydney. 3 RAR was initially formed in 1945 as the 67th Battalion and has seen active service in Japan, Korea, Malaya, South Vietnam, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan and Iraq...
with armour and artillery support fought off large-scale attacks during the Battle of Coral-Balmoral. 25 Australians were killed and nearly 100 wounded, while the North Vietnamese lost in excess of 300 killed. Later in June 1969, 5 RAR fought one of the last large-scale actions of the Australian war, during the Battle of Binh Ba
Battle of Binh Ba
The Battle of Binh Ba , also known as Operation Hammer, was a hard fought, but one-sided, battle during the Vietnam War. The action occurred when Australian Army troops from the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment fought a combined communist force of North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong in the...
, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of Nui Dat in Phước Tuy province. The battle was unusual in the Australian experience, involving infantry and armour in close-quarter house-to-house fighting through the village of Binh Ba against a combined force of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army. For the loss of one Australian killed at the communists lost 107 killed, six wounded and eight captured in a hard fought but one-sided engagement. Such large-scale battles were not the norm in Phước Tuy province however. Indeed losses suffered at Binh Ba forced the NVA to move out of Phước Tuy into adjoining provinces and although the Australians did encounter main force units in the years to come, the Battle of Binh Ba marked the end of such clashes.
More typical of the Australian war was company-level patrolling and cordon and search
Cordon and search
Cordon and search is a military tactic to cordon off an area and search the premises for weapons or insurgents. It is one of the basic counter insurgency operation. Other related operations are Cordon and knock and Cordon and kick....
operations which were designed to put pressure on enemy units and disrupt their access to the local population. To the end of Australian operations in Phước Tuy this remained the focus of Australian efforts and was this approach arguably allowed the restoration of government control in the province. Australia's peak commitment at any one time was 7,672 combat troops and New Zealand's, 552, in 1969. New Zealand first committed a detachment of engineers and an artillery battery, and then started sending special forces. New Zealand infantry units were also integrated into RAR battalions serving with 1 ATF after March 1968. These combined battalions being designated "ANZAC Battalions".
Australian counter-insurgency tactics
Historian Albert Palazzo comments that when the Australians entered the Vietnam War, it was with their own "well considered ...concept of war", and this was often contradictory or in conflict with US concepts. The 1 ATF light infantry tactics such as patrolling, searching villages without destroying them (with a view to eventually converting them), and ambush and counter ambush drew criticism from some US commanders. General William Westmoreland is reported to have complained to Major General Tim Vincent that 1 ATF was "not being aggressive enough". By comparison, US forces sought to flush out the enemy and achieve rapid and decisive victory through "brazen scrub bashing" and the use of "massive firepower." Australians acknowledged they had much to learn from the US forces about heliborne assault and joint armour and infantry assaults. Yet the US measure of success—the body countBody count
A body count is the total number of people killed in a particular event. In combat, a body count is often based on the number of confirmed kills, but occasionally only an estimate.-Military use:...
—was apparently held in contempt by many 1 ATF and battalion commanders.
In 1966 journalist Gerald Stone described tactics then being used by Australian soldiers newly arrived in Vietnam:
For some Viet Cong leaders there was no doubt the Australian jungle warfare approach was effective. One former Viet Cong leader is quoted as saying; "Worse than the Americans were the Australians. The Americans style was to hit us, then call for planes and artillery. Our response was to break contact and disappear if we could...The Australians were more patient than the Americans, better guerilla fighters, better at ambushes. They liked to stay with us instead of calling in the planes. We were more afraid of their style." However, as a junior partner, Australians had little opportunity to influence US strategy in the war. "The American concept [of how the war should be fought] remained unchallenged and it prevailed almost by default."
Overall, the tactics used by the Australian Army in Vietnam were not successful. Like the Americans, Australian tactics were focused on seeking to engage the Communist forces in battle and ultimately failed as the Communists were generally able to evade Australian forces when conditions were not favourable. Moreover, the Australians did not devote sufficient resources to disrupting the logistical infrastructure which supported the Communist forces in Phước Tuy province and popular support for the Communists remained strong. After 1 ATF was withdrawn in 1971 the insurgency in Phước Tuy province rapidly expanded.
Withdrawal of Australian forces, 1970–1973
Vietnamization
Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard M. Nixon administration during the Vietnam War, as a result of the Viet Cong's Tet Offensive, to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnam's forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S....
and with the Australian government keen to reduce its own commitment to the war, 8 RAR
8th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
The 8th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment was an Australian Army Regular infantry battalion. The battalion was formed in July 1966 as part of an expansion of the Australian Army in the mid 1960s due to the perceived threat of Communism in southeast Asia...
was not replaced at the end of its tour of duty. 1 ATF was again reduced to just two infantry battalions, albeit with significant armour, artillery and aviation support remaining. The Australian area of operations remained the same however, with the reduction in forces only adding further to the burden on the remaining battalions. Regardless, following a sustained effort by 1 ATF in Phuoc Tuy province between September 1969 and April 1970, the bulk of communist forces had become inactive and had left the province to recuperate. By 1971 the province had been largely cleared of local VC forces, who were now increasingly reliant on reinforcements from North Vietnam. As a measure of some success, Highway 15, the main route running through Phước Tuy between Saigon and Vũng Tàu, was open to unescorted traffic. Regardless the VC maintained the ability to conduct local operations.
Australian combat forces were further reduced during 1971. The Battle of Long Khanh
Battle of Long Khanh
The Battle of Long Khanh was fought during the Vietnam War between elements of 1st Australian Task Force and the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army during Operation Overlord...
on 6–7 June 1971 took place during one of the last major joint US-Australian operations, and resulted in three Australians killed and six wounded during heavy fighting in which an RAAF UH-1H Iroqouis was shot down. On 18 August 1971, Australia and New Zealand decided to withdraw their troops from Vietnam, with the Australian prime minister, William McMahon
William McMahon
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
, announcing that 1 ATF would cease operations in October, commencing a phased withdrawal. The Battle of Nui Le
Battle of Nui Le
The Battle of Nui Le was the last major battle fought by the Australian Army in South Vietnam. The battle was fought between 'B' and 'D' Companies of the 4RAR/NZ Battalion and elements of the 33rd Regiment of the North Vietnamese Army in Phước Tuy Province during Operation...
21 September proved to be the last major battle fought by Australian forces in the war, and resulted five Australians are killed and 30 wounded. Finally, on 16 October Australian forces handed over control of the base at Nui Dat to South Vietnamese forces, while 4 RAR
4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
The 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, was an Australian Army infantry battalion and part of the Royal Australian Regiment. The battalion was formed on 1 February 1964 and was renamed the 2nd Commando Regiment on 19 June 2009....
, the last Australian infantry battalion in South Vietnam, sailed for Australia on board HMAS Sydney on 9 December 1971.
Australian advisors continued to train Vietnamese troops however, until the announcement by the newly elected Australian Labor government of Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
that the remaining advisors would be withdrawn by 18 December 1972. It was only on 11 January 1973 that the Governor-General of Australia
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
, Paul Hasluck
Paul Hasluck
Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
, announced the cessation of combat operations against the communists. Whitlam recognised North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
, which welcomed his electoral success. However, Australian troops remained in Saigon guarding the Australian embassy until 1 July 1973. The withdrawal from Vietnam meant that 1973 was the first time since the beginning of World War II in 1939 that Australia's armed forces were not involved in a conflict somewhere in the world. In total approximately 60,000 Australians—ground troops, air-force and naval personnel—served in Vietnam between 1962 and 1972. 521 died as a result of the war and over 3,000 were wounded. 15,381 conscripted national servicemen served from 1965 to 1972, sustaining 202 killed and 1,279 wounded. In addition there were six Australians listed as missing in action
Australians Missing in Action in the Vietnam War
-Overview:No Australian servicemen remain missing in action from the Vietnam War.At the end of the Vietnam War 6 Australians were among the 2,338 people then listed as missing in action in the Vietnam War. Four Australian army soldiers and two Royal Australian Air Force were classified "missing in...
, although these men are included in the list of Australians killed in action and the last of their remains were finally located and returned to Australia in 2009. Between 1962 and March 1972 the estimated cost of Australia's involvement to the war in Vietnam was $218.4 million.
In March 1975 the Australian Government dispatched RAAF transport aircraft to South Vietnam to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees fleeing the North Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh Campaign
Ho Chi Minh Campaign
The Hồ Chí Minh Campaign was the final title applied to a series of increasingly large-scale and ambitious offensive operations by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam which began on 13 December 1974...
. The first Australian C-130 Hercules
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
arrived at Tan Son Nhat Airport
Tan Son Nhat International Airport
Tan Son Nhat International Airport is Vietnam's largest international airport in terms of area . It has a handling capacity of 15-17 million passengers per year, compared with the capacity of Hanoi - Noi Bai airport of 8 million passengers and Da Nang's 2 million passengers...
on 30 March and the force, which was designated 'Detachment S', reached a strength of eight Hercules by the second week of April. The aircraft of detachment S transported refugees from cities near the front line and evacuated Australians and several hundred Vietnamese orphans from Saigon to Malaysia. In addition, they regularly flew supplies to a large refugee camp at An Thoi on the island of Phú Quốc. The deteriorating security situation forced the Australian aircraft to be withdrawn to Bangkok in mid-April, from where they flew into South Vietnam each day. The last three RAAF flights into Saigon took place on 25 April, when the Australian embassy was evacuated. While all Australians were evacuated, 130 Vietnamese who had worked at the embassy and had been promised evacuation were left behind. Whitlam later refused to accept South Vietnamese refugees following the fall of Saigon
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...
to the communists in April 1975, including Australian embassy staff who were later sent to reeducation camp
Reeducation camp
Reeducation camp is the official title given to the prison camps operated by the government of Vietnam following the end of the Vietnam War. In such "reeducation camps", the government imprisoned several hundred thousand former military officers and government workers from the former regime of...
s by the communists. The Liberals—led by Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
—condemned Whitlam, and after defeating Labor in the 1975 federal election
Australian federal election, 1975
Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election following a double dissolution of both Houses....
, allowed South Vietnamese refugees to settle in Australia in large numbers
Vietnamese Australian
A Vietnamese Australian is an Australian either born in Vietnam or is an Australian descendant of the former. Communities of Overseas Vietnamese are referred to as Việt Kiều or người Việt hải ngoại.-History in Australia:...
.
Protests against the war
In Australia, resistance to the war was at first very limited. Initially public opinion was strongly in support of government policy in Vietnam and when the leader of the Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
(ALP) (in opposition for most of the period), Arthur Calwell
Arthur Calwell
Arthur Augustus Calwell Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1940 to 1972, Immigration Minister in the government of Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949 and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967.-Early life:Calwell was born in...
announced that the 1966 federal election
Australian federal election, 1966
Federal elections were held in Australia on 26 November 1966. All 124 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Harold Holt with coalition partner the Country Party led by John McEwen defeated the...
would be fought specifically on the issue of Vietnam the party suffered their biggest political defeat in decades. However, anti-war sentiment escalated rapidly in the late 1960s as more Australian soldiers were killed in battle. The centre-left ALP became more sympathetic to the communists and Calwell stridently denounced South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky
Nguyen Cao Ky
Nguyễn Cao Kỳ served as the chief of the Vietnam Air Force in the 1960s, before leading the nation as the prime minister of South Vietnam in a military junta from 1965 to 1967...
as a "fascist dictator" and a "butcher" ahead of his 1967 visit—at the time Ky was the chief of the Vietnam Air Force
Vietnam Air Force
The Vietnam Air Force began with a few hand-picked men chosen to fly alongside French pilots during the State of Vietnam era. It eventually grew into the world’s sixth largest air force at the height of its power, in 1974...
and headed a military junta. Despite the controversy leading up to the visit, Ky's trip was a success. He dealt with the media effectively, despite hostile sentiment from some sections of the press and public.
The introduction of conscription by the Australian government in response to a worsening regional strategic outlook during the war was consistently opposed by the Australian Labor Party and by many sections of society, and some groups resisted the call to military service by burning the letters notifying them of their conscription (which was punishable by imprisonment). Growing public uneasiness about the death toll was fuelled by a series of highly-publicised arrests of conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
s, and exacerbated by revelations of atrocities committed against Vietnamese civilians, leading to a rapid increase in domestic opposition to the war between 1967 and 1970. Following the 1969 federal election
Australian federal election, 1969
Federal elections were held in Australia on 25 October 1969. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Gorton with coalition partner the Country Party led by John McEwen defeated the Australian...
, which Labor lost again but with a much reduced margin, public debate about Vietnam was increasingly dominated by those opposed to government policy. On 8 May 1970, moratorium
Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam
The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam was a large demonstration against the United States involvement in the Vietnam War that took place across the United States on October 15, 1969. The Moratorium developed from Jerome Grossman's April 20, 1969, call for a general strike if the war had not...
marches were held in major Australian cities to coincide with the marches in the US. The demonstration in Melbourne, led by future deputy prime minister Jim Cairns
Jim Cairns
James Ford "J. F." Cairns , Australian politician, was prominent in the Labor movement through the 1960s and 1970s, and was briefly Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam government...
, was supported by an estimated 100,000 people. Across Australia, it was estimated that 200,000 people were involved.
Nevertheless, opinion polls taken at the time demonstrated that the moratorium failed to achieve its goals and had only a very limited impact upon public opinion, with over half respondents saying that they still supported national service and slightly less stating that they did not want Australia to pull out of the war. Additionally, the numbers that resisted the draft remained low. Indeed, by 1970 it was estimated that 99.8 per cent of those issued with call up papers complied with them.
Further moratoria were undertaken on 18 September 1970 and again on 30 June 1971. Arguably, however, the peace movement had lost its original spirit, as the political debate degenerated. Dominated by left-wing extremists, the organisers of the events extended invitations to members of the North Vietnamese government to attend, although this was prevented due to a refusal by the Australian government to grant them visas. Attendance at the subsequent marches was lower than that of May 1970, and as a result of a number of factors including confusion over the rules regarding what the protestors were allowed to do, aggressive police tactics, and agitation from extremists the second march devolved into violence. In Sydney, 173 people were arrested, while in Melbourne the police attempted to control the crowd with a baton-charge.
Social attitudes and treatment of veterans
Vietnam veteran
Vietnam veteran is a phrase used to describe someone who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War.The term has been used to describe veterans who were in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States armed forces, and countries allied to them, whether or...
s experienced social exclusion and problems readjusting to society. Nevertheless, as the tour of duty of each soldier during the Vietnam War was limited to one year (although some soldiers chose to sign up for a second or even a third tour of duty), the number of soldiers suffering from combat stress
Combat stress reaction
Combat stress reaction , in the past commonly known as shell shock or battle fatigue, is a range of behaviours resulting from the stress of battle which decrease the combatant's fighting efficiency. The most common symptoms are fatigue, slower reaction times, indecision, disconnection from one's...
was probably more limited than it might otherwise have been.
In addition to the negative sentiments towards returned soldiers from some sections of the anti-war movement, some Second World War veterans also held negative views and attitudes toward the Vietnam War veterans. As a result many Australian Vietnam veterans were excluded from joining the Returned Servicemen's League
Returned and Services League of Australia
The Returned and Services League of Australia is a support organisation for men and women who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force ....
during the 1960s and 1970s on the grounds that the Vietnam War veterans did not fight a "real war". The response of the RSL varied across the country, and while some rejected Vietnam veterans, other branches, particularly those in rural areas, were said to be very supportive. Nevertheless, many Vietnam veterans were excluded from marching in ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
parades during the 1970s because some soldiers of earlier wars saw the Vietnam veterans as unworthy heirs to the ANZAC
ANZAC spirit
The Anzac spirit or Anzac legend is a concept which suggests that Australian and New Zealand soldiers possess shared characteristics, specifically the qualities those soldiers are believed to have shown on the battlefield in World War I. These qualities cluster around several ideas, including...
title and tradition, a view which hurt many Vietnam veterans and resulted in continued resentment towards the RSL. Regardless, in 1972 the RSL decided that Vietnam veterans should lead the march, which attracted large crowds throughout the country.
Eventually however, Australian Vietnam veterans were honoured at a "Welcome Home" parade in Sydney on 3 October 1987, and it was then that a campaign for the construction of the Vietnam War Memorial began. This memorial, known as the Vietnam Forces National Memorial
Vietnam Forces National Memorial, Canberra
The Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial is on ANZAC Parade, the principal ceremonial and memorial avenue in Canberra, the capital city of Australia...
, was established on ANZAC Parade
ANZAC Parade, Canberra
This article is about the road in Canberra. For other uses, see Anzac Parade .ANZAC Parade, a significant road and thoroughfare in the Australian capital Canberra, is used for ceremonial occasions and is the site of many major military memorials.Named in honour of the Australian and New Zealand...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, and was dedicated on 3 October 1992.
Timeline
| 1950 |
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| 1957 |
South Vietnam South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon... 's President Ngo Dinh Diem Ngo Dinh Diem Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a... visits Australia Ngo Dinh Diem presidential visit to Australia The Ngo Dinh Diem presidential visit to Australia from 2 to 9 September 1957 was an official visit by the first President of the Republic of Vietnam. It was part of a year of travelling for Diem, who made official visits to the United States and other anti-communist countries... and Australia's Prime Minister, Robert Menzies Robert Menzies Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia.... reaffirms support. |
| 1962 |
Minister for Defence (Australia) The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:... , Athol Townley Athol Townley Athol Gordon Townley was an Australian politician and Minister for Defence.Townley was born in Hobart and educated at Elizabeth Street State School and Hobart High School, and at Hobart Technical College. He qualified as a pharmaceutical chemist in 1928 and in 1930 found a job looking after... , announces the intention to send 30 army advisers to South Vietnam (SVN). Australian Army Training Team Vietnam The Australian Army Training Team Vietnam was a specialist unit of the Australian Army that operated during the Vietnam War. Raised in 1962, the unit was raised solely for service as part of Australia's contribution to the war in Vietnam, providing training and assistance to South Vietnamese forces... arrive in Vietnam. |
| 1963 |
Arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem The arrest and assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm, then president of South Vietnam, marked the culmination of a successful CIA-backed coup d’état led by General Dương Văn Minh in November 1963... , South Vietnam's first President (1955–1963), and his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu Ngo Dinh Nhu Ngô Ðình Nhu was the younger brother and chief political advisor of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Ðình Diệm. Nhu was widely regarded as the architect of the Ngô family's nepotistic and autocratic rule over South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963... , are assassinated Arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem The arrest and assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm, then president of South Vietnam, marked the culmination of a successful CIA-backed coup d’état led by General Dương Văn Minh in November 1963... in a successful CIA-backed coup d'état 1963 South Vietnamese coup In November 1963, President Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam was deposed by a group of Army of the Republic of Vietnam officers who disagreed with his handling of the Buddhist crisis and, in general, his increasing oppression of national groups in the name of fighting the communist Vietcong.The... led by General Duong Van Minh Duong Van Minh Minh was born on 16 February 1916 in Mỹ Tho Province in the Mekong Delta, the son of a wealthy landowner who served in a prominent position in the Finance Ministry of the French colonial administration... of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam , sometimes parsimoniously referred to as the South Vietnamese Army , was the land-based military forces of the Republic of Vietnam , which existed from October 26, 1955 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975... (ARVN). Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States... becomes US president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy assassination John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas... . Johnson announces that the US will continue support of South Vietnam. By the end of 1963, 15,000 US advisors are serving in Vietnam; the US gives $500m in aid Aid In international relations, aid is a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another, given at least partly with the objective of benefiting the recipient country.... to Vietnam that year. |
| 1964 |
De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou is a Canadian-designed and produced specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing capability... are provided by the Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts... ; RAAF Transport Flight Vietnam is later renamed No. 35 Squadron RAAF No. 35 Squadron RAAF No. 35 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force transport unit. First formed in 1942, No. 35 Squadron saw action in World War II and the Vietnam War.-History:... . National Service Act (1964) The National Service Act , was an Australian federal law, passed on 24 November 1964, which required 20-year-old males to serve in the Army for a period of twenty-four months of continuous service followed by three years in the Reserve... . |
| 1965 |
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a regular light infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 1 RAR was first formed as the 65th Australian Infantry Battalion in 1945 and since then has been deployed on active service during the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War... leaves for Vietnam on . Vung Tàu Vũng Tàu is a city in southern Vietnam. Its population in 2005 was 240,000. The city area is including 13 urban wards and one village. It is the capital of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, and is the crude oil extraction center of Vietnam. It is also known as one of the most beautiful cities of tourism... , South Vietnam, carrying the bulk of the Australian force. Battle of Gang Toi The Battle of Gang Toi was fought during the Vietnam War between Australian troops and the Viet Cong. The battle was one of the first engagements between the two forces during the war and occurred when the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment struck a Viet Cong bunker system defended by... . Two servicemen, Private Richard Parker and Private Peter Gillson, are posted missing believed killed during the fighting. Their bodies are recovered more than forty years later, and returned to Australia for burial. Kevin Arthur Wheatley Kevin Arthur Wheatley, VC was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.... dies while defending a wounded comrade. He is posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories.... for his gallantry. |
| 1966 |
Operation Crimp Operation Crimp , also known as the Battle of the Ho Bo Woods, was a joint US-Australian military operation during the Vietnam War, which took place north of Cu Chi in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam... in the Ho Bo Woods as part of the first divisional Division (military) A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps... -sized operation of the war, targeting an underground Viet Cong headquarters. Battle of Suoi Bong Trang The Battle of Suoi Bong Trang was a major action during the Vietnam War fought between US and Australian troops, and the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army... , while providing protection to US engineers building a tactically important road in the vicinity of Tan Bihn, in central Binh Duong Province Binh Duong Province Bình Dương is a province of Vietnam. It is located in the southeastern part of the country, immediately to the north of Ho Chi Minh City. The province was created from Song Be province on January 1, 1997.-Geography:... . Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years... visits the United States to discuss the war with US President Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States... . Holt confirms the Australian government's full support for the United States' Vietnam policy, and in a speech on 30 June adopts the slogan 'All the way with LBJ'. Battle of Long Tan The Battle of Long Tân was fought between the Australian Army and Viet Cong forces in a rubber plantation near the village of Long Tân, about north east of Vũng Tàu, South Vietnam... , a decisive Australian victory is fought by D Company Company (military unit) A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure... of the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a motorised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in Brisbane, Queensland, on 6 June 1965 and has since then served in a number of overseas deployments and conflicts including South Vietnam, East Timor and Iraq... . The Company earns a US Presidential Unit Citation (Vietnam) Presidential Unit Citation (Vietnam) The Republic of Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation was awarded by the Vietnamese government to all personnel in the Military Assistance Advisory Group, Indo-China, during August and September 1954. The emblem consists of three vertical red stripes on a golden yellow background, in a gold... . |
| 1967 |
Hat Dich Hat Dich was an area within South Vietnam. It covered the area where the borders of Phước Tuy, Long Khánh and Biên Hòa Provinces met.During the Vietnam War, the area was the headquarters for the VC 274th Regiment, and was known as the Hat Dich secret zone and Base Area 301.... area during the Battle of Suoi Chau Pha Battle of Suoi Chau Pha The Battle of Suoi Chau Pha was fought during the Vietnam War between Australian troops and the Viet Cong. The battle took place during Operation Ballarat, an Australian search and destroy operation in the eastern Hat Dich area, north-west of Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy province... . Australian casualties were heavy with five killed, one died of wounds and 19 wounded. A sweep of the area resulted in the recovery of only five dead Viet Cong, however drag marks and extensive blood trails indicated that they had suffered heavily, with perhaps another 33 killed or wounded in the contatct, while a further 200 casualties were estimated from artillery and mortar fire, as well as a number of airstrikes. |
| 1968 |
John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:... , announces that Australia will not increase its commitment to Vietnam. John Zarb John Zarb was an Australian Conscientious objector to military service during the Vietnam War. Objecting to the principle of forced drafting for military purposes under the National Service Act , Zarb refused to nominate for conscription... is the first person to be found guilty of having failed to comply with his call up notice during the Vietnam War. He is convicted in Melbourne and sentenced to two years gaol. He loses his appeal to the full High Court on 25 November 1968. He is released on compassionate grounds in August 1969 after serving 10 months and 7 days in Pentridge Prison. |
| 1969 |
Kon Tum Province Kon Tum province lies in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam and shares borders with Laos and Cambodia. It has an area of 9,934 square km and a population of approximately 330,000. The economy is primarily agricultural.-Name:... , Vietnam, Warrant Officer Class Two Rayene Stewart Simpson Rayene Stewart Simpson Rayene Stewart "Ray" Simpson VC, DCM was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces.-Early life:Simpson was born in Chippendale, New South Wales and educated... rescues a wounded fellow warrant officer and carries out an unsuccessful attack on a strong enemy position. On 11 May, he fights alone against heavy odds to cover the evacuation of a number of casualties. Simpson is later awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallantry in the face of the enemy. Keith Payne Keith Payne VC, OAM is an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces, during the Vietnam War... shows outstanding courage and leadership in saving the lives of many of the soldiers under his command, leading his men to safety under most difficult circumstances after an attack by the enemy in superior strength. He is awarded the Victoria Cross. Battle of Binh Ba The Battle of Binh Ba , also known as Operation Hammer, was a hard fought, but one-sided, battle during the Vietnam War. The action occurred when Australian Army troops from the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment fought a combined communist force of North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong in the... . Non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission... club, 7 km (4 mi) from Da Nang Da Nang Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of... , a civilian pop Pop music Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop... entertainer, Cathy Wayne Cathy Wayne Cathy Wayne was the stage name of Australian entertainer Catherine Anne Warnes who was killed during the Vietnam War by United States Marine Sergeant James Wayne Killen. Wayne had just finished a song for US Marines at a non-commissioned officer's club near Da Nang in South Vietnam... , becomes the first Australian woman killed during the Vietnam War. US Marine Sergeant J. W. Killen is found guilty of her unpremeditated murder. |
| 1970 |
Bourke Street, Melbourne Bourke Street is one of Melbourne's best known streets. Historically been regarded as Melbourne's "second street", with the main street being Collins Street and "busier than Bourke Street" is a popular catchphrase. Bourke Street has traditionally been Melbourne's entertainment hub... . |
| 1971 |
Battle of Long Khanh The Battle of Long Khanh was fought during the Vietnam War between elements of 1st Australian Task Force and the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army during Operation Overlord... takes place when 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment is a parachute infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Sydney. 3 RAR was initially formed in 1945 as the 67th Battalion and has seen active service in Japan, Korea, Malaya, South Vietnam, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan and Iraq... with Centurion tanks in support attack a heavily fortified base camp during Operation Overlord. Although the Australians capture the bunker system, and a second system located to the south, the bulk of the communist forces successfully withdraw. William McMahon Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia... announces that 1 ATF would cease operations in South Vietnam in October, and would begin commencing a phased withdrawal after that. Battle of Nui Le The Battle of Nui Le was the last major battle fought by the Australian Army in South Vietnam. The battle was fought between 'B' and 'D' Companies of the 4RAR/NZ Battalion and elements of the 33rd Regiment of the North Vietnamese Army in Phước Tuy Province during Operation... takes place in Phuoc Tuy province. A tactically inconclusive encounter between troops from the 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment The 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, was an Australian Army infantry battalion and part of the Royal Australian Regiment. The battalion was formed on 1 February 1964 and was renamed the 2nd Commando Regiment on 19 June 2009.... and the NVA 33rd Regiment north of Nui Dat, it proved to be the last major battle fought by Australian forces in the war. Five Australians are killed and 30 wounded. |
| 1972 |
Michael Matteson Michael Matteson was an anti-war activist who resisted conscription into the Australian Army during the Vietnam War, due to his anarchist philosophy and principals.... , from the law.
|
See also
- History of the Australian ArmyHistory of the Australian ArmyThe history of the Australian Army dates back to colonial forces, prior to the Federation of Australia in 1901. Some of colonial forces, which served the states of Australia at the time, were gradual united into federal units between 1899 to 1903; thus forming the beginning of the Australian Army...
- Military History of AustraliaMilitary history of AustraliaThe military history of Australia spans the nation's 220-year modern history, from the early Australian frontier wars between Aborigines and Europeans to the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 21st century...
- New Zealand in the Vietnam WarNew Zealand in the Vietnam WarNew Zealand's involvement in the Vietnam War was highly controversial, sparking widespread protest at home from anti-Vietnam War movements modelled on their American counterparts...
- Role of United States in the Vietnam WarRole of United States in the Vietnam WarThe role of the United States in the Vietnam War began soon after the Second World War and escalated into full commitment during what is termed the Vietnam War from 1955 to 1975.-Woodrow Wilson :Milestones of U.S...