Order of battle for the Battle of Long Tan

This is an order of battle listing the Australian and Viet Cong forces involved in the Battle of Long Tan which occurred in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam on 18 August 1966.

Australian forces

Australia 1st Australian Task Force

Initial contact, 18 August 1966

Operation Smithfield, 19–22 August 1966

Viet Cong forces

5th Division

The final evaluation of the forces confronting D Company, 6 RAR included those in depth and is based on post-battle estimates derived from battle analysis, intelligence reports, captured documents and the interrogation of captured Viet Cong personnel.[8] Although initial estimates of the Viet Cong force ranged from several companies to a battalion, following the battle Australian intelligence assessed it as having totalled between 1,500 and 2,500 men, while 1,000 men were believed to have directly engaged D Company.[8][Note 4] During the battle the division's second main force regiment, 274th Regiment had likely been occupying a position north of Binh Ba astride Route 2 to ambush a squadron from US 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment which they anticipated would attempt to relieve 1 ATF.[22] Allied intelligence later confirmed it subsequently moved west into the Hat Dich after the failure at Long Tan.[16]

See also

Notes

Footnotes
  1. ↑ In 1966 Phuoc Tuy Province was part of the Viet Cong Military Region 1 (MR 1).[9] North Vietnam had a separate numbering system with Phuoc Tuy being part of Military Region 7 (MR 7).[10] In 1971 the VC MR1 was renamed MR 7.[9]
  2. ↑ 1 ATF intelligence believed Sau Chanh commanded the battalion in August 1966; however, following interviews with former PAVN officers in 1988, the Australian official historian concluded Nguyen Van Kiem had done so.[13] Yet according to the D445 Battalion history published in 1991 Chanh was in fact the unit's first commander, while Kiem commanded the Chau Duc District Company during Long Tan and only took over the battalion in early 1968.[14][15]
  3. ↑ While McNeill states that 275th Regiment had been reinforced by at least one regular NVA battalion,[8] recent research suggests no such unit was present. The 275th Regiment was restructured in May 1966, incorporating the North Vietnamese D605 Battalion as its third battalion (which had been disbanded).[17]
  4. ↑ Some Vietnamese sources have previously claimed that the force was much smaller, and was between 700 to 800 men.[19][20] These figures were given by Nguyen Van Kiem—who had commanded D445 Battalion after the fighting at Long Tan, but not during the battle—when questioned by McNeill in 1988; however, much of the information provided by him was later found to be misleading.[21]
Citations
  1. ↑ McNeill 1993, p. 313.
  2. ↑ McGibbon 2010, p. 150.
  3. 1 2 McAulay 1986, p. 24.
  4. ↑ McAulay 1986, p. 25.
  5. ↑ McNeill 1993, p. 275.
  6. ↑ McNeill 1993, pp. 320–321.
  7. ↑ McNeill 1993, p. 448.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 McNeill 1993, p. 351.
  9. 1 2 McNeill 1993, p. 559.
  10. ↑ "North Vietnamese Army NVA - Military Regions / Corps". GlobalSecurity.org. 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 Ham 2007, p. 223.
  12. ↑ Davies & McKay 2012, p. 211.
  13. ↑ McNeill 1993, pp. 221–222 & 532.
  14. ↑ Chamberlain 2011, pp. 41 & 55.
  15. ↑ Davies & McKay 2012, pp. 228 & 622.
  16. 1 2 McNeill 1993, p. 563.
  17. ↑ Davies & McKay 2012, pp. 227–230.
  18. ↑ Ham 2007, p. 701.
  19. ↑ McNeill 1993, pp. 367–368.
  20. ↑ Baker 1996, p. 28.
  21. ↑ Davies & McKay 2012, p. 228.
  22. ↑ McNeill 1993, pp. 369–370.

References

  • Baker, Mark (16 August 1996). "Stilling the Ghosts of Battle". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: Fairfax Media. p. 28. ISSN 0312-6315. 
  • Chamberlain, Ernest (2011). The Viet Cong D445 Battalion: Their Story. Point Lonsdale, Victoria: Ernest Chamberlain. ISBN 9780980562347. 
  • Davies, Bruce; McKay, Gary (2012). Vietnam: The Complete Story of the Australian War. Sydney: Allen and Unwin. ISBN 9781741750287. 
  • Ham, Paul (2007). Vietnam: The Australian War. Sydney, New South Wales: Harper Collins. ISBN 9780732282370. 
  • McAulay, Lex (1986). The Battle of Long Tan: The Legend of Anzac Upheld. London: Arrow Books. ISBN 0099525305. 
  • McGibbon, Ian (2010). New Zealand's Vietnam War: A History of Combat, Commitment and Controversy. Auckland: Exisle. ISBN 0908988966. 
  • McNeill, Ian (1993). To Long Tan: The Australian Army and the Vietnam War 1950–1966. The Official History of Australia's Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1975. Volume Two. St Leonards, New South Wales: Allen and Unwin. ISBN 1863732829. 
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