THE DECISIVE BATTLES OF THE INDO-CHINA WARS THIS

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THE DECISIVE BATTLES OF THE INDO-CHINA WARS THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION WAS PREPARED BY DAVE SABBEN WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © ON CREATIVE CONTENT presented by DAVE SABBEN MG 05 b – Coral/Balmoral May-June 1968

III Corps (Third Military Region) THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION WAS PREPARED BY DAVE SABBEN WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © ON CREATIVE CONTENT 1 ATF & Coral/Balmoral Area of Ops (See next map) 2 of 22 South Viet Nam

BINH DUONG PHUOC THANH Binh My Ben Cat PROVINCE BORDERS Mid-1965 – mid-66 1 RAR with 173 rd Airborne Bde Operates out of Bien Hoa 20 on Tan Uyen Ri 13 ve r Na Do ig ng i River Sa LONG KHANH 16 BIEN HOA Long Binh 1 1 SAIGON GIA DINH August 1966 Battle PRESENTATION at Long Tan foiled NVA/VC plan to eliminate ANZAC base. THIS SLIDE AND Bear Cat WAS PREPARED BY Primary Result: DAVE SABBEN NVA stop major ops in Phuoc Tuy for WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © of 1966, all of 1967 and until rest 2 BIEN HOA ON CREATIVE CONTENT Tet of 1968. But the VC still active. PHUOC TUY Mangrove Swamp N 3 of 22 May/June 1966 1 ATF & 1 ALSG into Phuoc Tuy with 5 RAR, 6 RAR and supporting units. Xuan Loc “Black. Horse” 1 1 15 20 Km BACKGROUND Vung Tau Nui Dat Ba Ria 23 South China Secondary Result: Because of this, 1 ATF considered “under-utilised”, so Westmoreland requested 1 ATF to operate outside Phuoc Tuy province. Feb 1968 – Tet Offensive Hits all major centres in SVN. 1 ATF (3 RAR) fighting in Ba Ria

BINH DUONG PHUOC THANH Binh My Ben Cat PROVINCE BORDERS 20 ig on Tan Uyen Ri 13 ve r SAIGON GIA DINH 20 Km 4 of 22 LONG KHANH 16 1 N Do Sa ng i River Na WAR SITUATION By the end of 1967… The VC/NVA were almost broken. So much so that the North was ready to start Peace Talks in early 1968. Pre-Talk Offensives… BIEN HOA The Communists had a history of Xuan Loc launching major Offensives just prior to 1 Long “Black. Horse” Binh and during Peace Talks: 1 THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION • * Korea, for Panmunjom Talks; 1 Bear Cat • * French Indo. China War, for the WAS PREPARED BY Geneva Peace Accords; DAVE SABBEN • * and now for the “American War”… WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © • …so the West was ready… 2 BIEN HOA ON CREATIVE CONTENT Planning for Tet 1968… PHUOC The Offensives had usually been TUY started during a holiday stand-down 15 and Tet (Lunar New Year) had been Nui Dat used before. So ARVN and US Mangrove Swamp Ba Ria forces kept reserves on duty over the 23 Tet period – just in case. Vung Tau South China Sea Feb 1968 – Tet Offensive When the Tet 68 Offensive started, only the Press was really surprised!

BINH DUONG PHUOC THANH Binh My Ben Cat PROVINCE BORDERS 20 ig on Tan Uyen Ri 13 ve r Do Sa ng i River Na LONG KHANH 16 TET 1968 Why? The mostly-VC Offensive was set to trigger a general population uprising prior to the start of the Paris Talks. Result? All major population centres and military Xuan Loc 1 targets were attacked. Few were taken. Long “Black. Horse” Binh Only one was held than a few 1 THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION Hue. Therefor more uprising. days: was no Bear Cat WAS PREPARED BY The ARVN fought better than expected. The VC were decimated, and they never DAVE SABBEN recovered for the rest of the War. WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © the NVA took part (the few major Where 2 BIEN HOA ON CREATIVE CONTENT centres) they too were defeated. PHUOC “Counter-Attack”… TUY From 19 Feb to 10 Mar, the ARVN BIEN HOA 1 1 SAIGON GIA DINH 15 Mangrove Swamp N 20 Km 5 of 22 Vung Tau Nui Dat Ba Ria 23 South China Sea did Ops to clear up the results of Tet. They then recalled troops to the Saigon area and mounted a major Op to clear around Saigon: Operation “Quyet Thang” (“Determined To Win”) Started 11 Mar. By 7 April, >2600 enemy kia. It was so successful, it was decided to extend it to a Phase 2….

BINH DUONG PHUOC THANH Binh My Ben Cat Operation “Toan Thang” I and II (“Complete Victory”) Started 8 April. 70, 000 troops. Similar success. . 20 on Tan Uyen Ri 13 ve r Na Do ig ng i River Sa LONG KHANH Then, a surrender… On 19 April, a senior NVA officer BIEN HOA surrendered – Col Dac, Assistant Xuan Loc Political Officer for all the VC around 1 Long “Black. Horse” …to 4 May Binh AO MURRAY Saigon. He told of a 10, 000 NVA force 1 BRIDGE: THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION to Saigon for a new offensive AO Hunter headed Bear Cat AO Nepean AO Swan WAS PREPARED BY due early May. With the same aims as the Tet Offensive – win ground, trigger DAVE SABBEN AO Belize an uprising, influence the Paris Talks AO Kennedy AO Lawson WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © this was dubbed “Mini-Tet”. 2 BIEN HOA Allied forces were gathered to Saigon. 16 1 1 SAIGON GIA DINH ON CREATIVE CONTENT From 21 Apr… AO Taupo: AO Sturt AO Hume AO Giles 15 Mangrove Swamp N 20 Km 6 of 22 THE FOLLOW-UP PROVINCE BORDERS Vung Tau PHUOC TUY Nui Dat Ba Ria 23 South China Sea 1 ATF ANZAC As part of the Allied cordon, 1 ATF deployed to the NW of Phuoc Tuy on 21 Apr and then placed 3 RAR outside the province on 23 Apr. Build-up… On 25 April, 2 RAR went even further into Bien Hoa and a 1 ATF forward HQ was established at Bear Cat. On 29 Apr, APCs were also deployed. .

BINH DUONG PHUOC THANH Binh My Ben Cat PROVINCE BORDERS 20 ig on Tan Uyen Ri 13 ve r Do Sa ng i River Na LONG KHANH 5 – 11 May AO COLUMBUS 16 AO Ayre AO Simpson BIEN HOA Long Binh 1 1 SAIGON GIA DINH 1 Xuan Loc “Black. Horse” 1 …to 4 May AO MURRAY BRIDGE: Mini-Tet launched: 4 am, 5 May, co-ordinated attacks on all three cities. 11 Regiments from 7 NVA Div and 9 VC Div – 10, 000 soldiers. The defenders were waiting. AO Hunter AO Nepean AO Swan AO Belize AO Kennedy AO Lawson From 21 Apr… AO Taupo: 15 Mangrove Swamp N 7 of 22 MINI-TET 5 May 68 THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION Bear Cat 1 ATF ANZAC WAS PREPARED BY Once the attacks went in, on 5 May, 1 RAR, 2 RAR, APCs and Artillery DAVE SABBEN redeployed to Ayre and Simpson to © BIEN WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHTcut off enemy withdrawal to the NE. HOA 2 ON CREATIVE CONTENT AO Sturt AO Hume AO Giles 20 Km On 3 May, 3 RAR returned to Nui Dat and was replaced by 1 RAR, which had arrived in VN only 2 months ago. Vung Tau PHUOC TUY Nui Dat Ba Ria 23 South China Sea Result? It was another disaster. By 9 May, half of the 10 k attackers were dead. Backfire… The attacks failed, but it was also a disaster for the US with 652 kia and 2225 wia, it set a new record for US weekly casualties. The US media, fresh from their Tet scare, ignored the victory and stressed the new record.

BINH DUONG PHUOC THANH BINH My. DUONG Binh 12 May – 6 June AO SURFERS Sa AO Newport AO Manly AO Bondi ig on ve r BLOCK POSITIONS i River Tan Uyen Binh 13 My Ri AO NEWPORT ng 16 in June (replaced by 4 RAR). 20 Na Do Ben Cat On 10 May, 3 RAR flew to Simpson to PROVINCE BORDERS BORDER replace 2 RAR which was due to RTA LONG KHANH 5 – 11 May AO COLUMBUS 16 AO Ayre AO Simpson BIEN HOA Long Binh 1 1 SAIGON GIA DINH 1 a Xuan Loc “Black. Horse” 1 1 THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION Allied locations… Bear Cat To the West was the US 1 st Infantry WAS PREPARED BY Div (the Big Red One); to the East, DAVE SABBEN Bns from 101 Airborne; to the South, AO BONDI ARVN WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © 5 Div and to the North, known 2 BIEN HOA NVA territory. ON CREATIVE CONTENT PHUOC TUY 15 AO MANLY Mangrove Swamp N 8 of 22 Nui Dat 16 Ba Ria N BIEN HOA 20 Km New Block position orders: Also on 10 May, 1 ATF was ordered into new cut-off positions to the North of Saigon and Bien Hoa. Approx 5 Km Vung Tau 23 Tan Uyen Nai South ng o China Sea D River AO SURFERS The new position was in the Ba Da Secret Zone – an NVAcontrolled area between the known enemy staging town of Binh My and Tan Uyen. It was 7 or 8 Km of road plus 7 or 8 Km on either side. The whole area was named “AO Surfers” and was divided into three parts – AOs Newport, Bondi and Manly.

PROVINCE BORDER BINH DUONG 1 ATF was given the task of blocking enemy forces withdrawing from the South. The enemy were said to be moving fast, disorganised, with low morale and low on ammo. AO NEWPORT 16 THE TASK: Binh My Little was said of the enemy PRESENTATIONwithin the sanctuary areas to the North. FSB Coogee 1 a THIS SLIDE AND 3 RAR WAS PREPARED BY 1 RAR, 161 Bty 102 DAVE SABBEN Bty AO BONDI FSB Coral WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © 3 RAR ON CREATIVE CONTENT C/1 RAR AO MANLY Approx 5 Km 9 of 22 Tan Uyen g Don Once secure, 102 Bty to fly in, then 1 RAR, then 161 (NZ) Bty. The FSB to be in place by early afternoon. Once 1 RAR at the LZ, C/1 RAR to start to clear road SE to Tan Uyen; and 3 RAR to move West to establish FSB Coogee. 16 N BIEN HOA THE (ORIGINAL) PLAN: 7 am, 12 May – 3 RAR fly in and secure LZ to become FSB Coral. Nai River On 13 May, road convoy would bring 1 ATF HQ, Engineers, US Artillery, APCs etc to FSBs.

THE EXECUTION: PROVINCE BORDER BINH DUONG AO NEWPORT 16 Overnight 11/12 May, US forces, unaware of 1 ATF plans, moved into AO Manly and had a major contact 3000 m West of LZ. The LZ selected for the first Coy was unsuitable – B/3 RAR was landed 1000 m to the SE and had to go to the original LZ and clear it for the others - delay. Binh My THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATIONThe delay compounded, and the US wanted some choppers back 1 RAR, WAS PREPARED BY for their own use during the day. 3 RAR, 102 DAVE SABBEN Bty AO BONDI 3 RAR was not on the ground FSB Coral WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © until noon, and then at both LZs. 161 Bty ON CREATIVE CONTENT 161 Bty arrived before the LZ ready – landed 1000 m SW. 1 a 102 Bty arrived 3 hours late at 2 pm. 1 RAR followed. Last Coy in at 4 pm. Mortars in at 5 pm. AO MANLY 16 N BIEN HOA Approx 5 Km 10 of 22 Tan Uyen g Don Nai River Confusion and disorder at the LZs. No one in overall control or to co-ordinate units & defences. And 9 Km to the East, the NVA Commanders watched, and sent out their recce parties…

THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION WAS PREPARED BY DAVE SABBEN WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © ON CREATIVE CONTENT An Infantry patrol returns to base at FSB Coral. The Terrain was generally flat to gently undulating. Open spaces either cleared or with tall grass and shrubs. Rubber plantations. Open forest (as here) or thick forest. Some jungle. 11 of 22

NIGHTFALL 12 MAY PROVINCE BORDER D/1 RAR BINH DUONG AO NEWPORT 16 A/1 RAR Binh My During the day there had been several small contacts but the enemy had always bugged out – they were the recce parties sent to gather info, not to fight. 11 & 12 Pl D-/3 RAR 16 3 RAR HQ ATk, APnr Mor/1 RAR THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION The 1 RAR and 3 RAR Coys 1 RAR HQ 102 Fd Bty were dispersed for defence, as ATk, APnr 3 RAR WAS PREPARED BY per standard CRW war tactics. 1 RAR 102 DAVE SABBEN Bty Here’s a closer look at FSB AO BONDI FSB Coral B/1 RAR Coral as at nightfall, 12 May… 161 NZ WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © Arty Mor/3 RAR 102 Bty and 1 RAR HQ were 10 Pl D/3 RARON CREATIVE CONTENT C/1 RAR C/3 RAR A/3 RAR 1 a Arty HQ defended by the Mortars, Anti. Tank and Assault Pioneers of 1 RAR, with HQ 3 RAR nearby. AO MANLY B/3 RAR 161 Bty defended by 3 RAR Mortars plus only one Platoon were 1000 m away. 16 N Approx 2 Km 12 of 22 At 6 pm, it rained – heavily. Shallow pits, no wire and no Claymore mines out. Defences were not co-ordinated. N BIEN HOA Tan Uyen C/1 RAR Approx 5 Km 16 16 g Don Nai River The Companies of 1 RAR and 3 RAR were scattered thinly around the FSB up to 2000 m away from the guns.

OVERNIGHT 12/13 MAY D/1 RAR 16 C/3 RAR A/3 RAR The enemy recces renewed At 5: 00 there was acontinued into the night. A few contacts assault at reduced strength. butenemy again breachedoff. The again, quickly broken the Mortar lines, capturing two A/1 RAR Midnight to 3: 30 am, noises out mortar tubes but being unable to front of 1 RAR Mors & ATk Pls. remove them. (Enemy marking assault lines, 11 & 12 Pl MAIN D-/3 RAR Atdigging shell-scrapes etc) first light, 6: 10, the enemy ATTACK again withdrew NE, taking most 3: 30 am – enemy mortars & of their casualties with them. Mor/1 RAR 3 RAR HQ RCLs into FSB for 5 minutes. Arty HQ ATk, APnr THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION Then dawn–the Australians At 3: 40 assault on 1 RAR HQ 102 Fd Bty regained their lines. Bty kia, 28 Mor & Atk and 102 9 fronts. ATk, APnr WAS PREPARED BY wia, of which 5 kia and 8 wia Attacks lasted an hour. DAVE SABBEN were from 1 RAR Mortars of 18 B/1 RAR 161 Bty and the two Mortar 1 gun, mortars damaged. WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © men. indirect 2 support but 102 Pls 161 NZ Arty fired enemy kia buried plus 1 Bty 52 Mor/3 RAR & the Anti-Tank Pl fired splintex 10 Pl D/3 RAR ON CREATIVE CONTENT POW. Many weapons captured. and HE over open sights. US RESULT: air (Spooky, gunships, ground It was a win, but a costly one. As attack aircraft) overhead. at Long Tan, the NVA claimed B/3 RAR Enemyextravagant victory. into an over-ran Mors and 102 Bty lines, reaching two gun positions. Close fighting and a In view of the disorganisation of counterattack took lack of co. C/1 RAR the fly-in and the back 1 gun. ordinated defences, the result is At 4: 40 theto the men in thethe Approx 2 Km a credit attack faltered 16 enemy withdrew to the NE. forward lines (50% Nashos!). N 13 of 22

(TODAY) D/1 RAR A/1 RAR Here’s a Google map image dated 2011 of the Coral area. Note that the kink at the road junction is now gone. The area in the white square is enlarged below – on the corner of the road is a monument to the NVA who died at Coral and Mor/1 RAR nearby is a Shrine to their Arty HQ SLIDE AND PRESENTATION memory. 1 RAR HQ 102 Fd Bty We will visit both these places. ATk, APnr WAS PREPARED BY 11 & 12 Pl D-/3 RAR 16 3 RAR HQ ATk, APnr C/3 RAR THIS DAVE SABBEN B/1 RAR WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © 161 NZ Arty Mor/3 RAR ON CREATIVE CONTENT 10 Pl D/3 RAR A/3 RAR B/3 RAR N Approx 2 Km 13 a of 22 C/1 RAR These two memorials have been placed near the site of the mass grave where the NVA dead were buried after the second attack. The site corresponds to the North- East front of the 102 Bty defences, also to the front of the 1 RAR Mortar Platoon and the 1 RAR Anti-Tank Platoon as will be shown when we replace the air photo with the map we’ve been using. Keep your eye on the white square…. .

THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION WAS PREPARED BY DAVE SABBEN WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © ON CREATIVE CONTENT The 105 mm gun overrun by the NVA at FSB Coral. Note again the terrain – flat, open and with little cover. Normally the guns would have been “dug in” behind earth revetments but these were incomplete when the attack came in. 14 of 22

1 ATF HQ US Arty HQ D/1 RAR HQ Mor/1 RAR 1 ATF maint area US Arty BINH DUONG Day #2 - 13 MAY 131 102 Fd Bty Mor/1 RAR Div As soon as the road was cleared Loc. PROVINCE BORDER by C/1 RAR, two convoys drove to Coral. AO NEWPORT 16 APCs, Engineers, 1 ATF HQ, a US 155 Bty and much-needed defence and ammo stores 11 & 12 Pl arrived. In view of the attacks of D-/3 RAR the previous evening, the C/1 RA R R defences were shrunk and At RA k/1 /1 Mor/1 RAR 3 RAR HQ Atk/1 RAR D RA tightened. Coral became the Arty HQ ATk, APnr R Mor THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION largest FSB established by 102 Fd 1 ATF HQ 1 RAR HQ LZ Ta 102 Fd Bty 1 RAR HQ 1 ATF in SVN. A nk WAS PREPARED BY ATk, APnr P US A/1 RAR Binh My 16 1 R A/ AR En C/3 RAR 2/35 Arty R DAVE SABBEN AOABONDI /1 R B/1 RAR B 161 NZWHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © Arty 3 RAR Mor/3 RAR 161 Bty ON CREATIVE CONTENT APnr/1 RAR 10 Pl D/3 RAR 2 Tp APC e ne gi FSB Coral rs d 1 F FSB Coogee Cs s gt Re A/3 RAR k 1 a AO MANLY ac Tr B/3 RAR 16 N Approx 2 Km 15 of 22 N BIEN HOA Tan Uyen C/1 RAR Approx 5 Km 16 g Don Nai River Moreover, the Australians realised they were no longer. APCs in a CRW war – this was Conventional warfare and required a change of strategy: limited patrols by day and tight defence at night. . FSB COOGEE On the 13 th, the US broke contact and moved back West, allowing 3 RAR to move to their assigned area in AO Manly. They established FSB Coogee with 161 Bty and a Troop. B/1 RAR of (6) APCs.

Day #3 - 14 MAY 4: 00 am Attack 16 Around Coral, Platoon patrols went out 3000 -4000 m. It was active, with 9 contacts resulting in 3 kia, 5 wia for 14 enemy casualties. The enemy was still around, and interested. 5: 15 am Attack Despite this, the night of 14/15 May was quiet. C/1 RA R R RA At k/1 RA R AR 1 R Arty HQ Mor 1 RAR A/ Day #4 - 15 MAY THIS SLIDE 102 Fd PRESENTATION Less action than the 14 th, but AND 1 ATF HQ Ta Bty still contacts with recce parties. 1 RAR HQ A n /1 D 2: 40 am Attack WAS PREPARED BY US 2/35 DAVE SABBEN 2: 40 am AR Arty /1 R B Attack WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © ON CREATIVE CONTENT APnr/1 RAR Fd s 1 er ne gi En PC ks s gt Re ck ra T 60 guns fired in support, plus US air. Another attack at 4: 00 am targeted C Coy and a third attack at 5: 15 am tried to get between C and A Coys. N Approx 2 Km 16 of 22 Night 15/16 MAY At 2: 30 am, Coral was shelled again, followed at 2: 40 by large attacks from the East against A and B Coys. The A Coy position was penetrated. 16 A counterattack reclaimed the A Coy position. Daylight showed 5 kia & 19 wia in 1 RAR with 34 enemy bodies buried.

On 18 May, the CO, 1 ATF, Brig Hughes, went on R&R, command passing to his 2 ic, Colonel Dunstan. BINH ig o n PROVINCE BORDERS 20 13 Ri PHUOC THANH Binh My Ben Cat Sa DUONG ve r Tan Uyen ng Following the failure of their second series of attacks, the enemy left FSB Coral alone. Na i River Do 16 MAY and beyond LONG KHANH 16 BIEN HOA Long Binh In view of the changed conditions at Coral, Dunstan’s THIS first action was to call the tanks up from Nui Dat to AO Surfers. Xuan Loc “Black. Horse” 1 1 1 SLIDE AND PRESENTATION 1 Bear Cat WAS PREPARED BY SAIGON DAVE SABBEN The logistics of the move were WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © BIEN HOA huge – they would leave Nui Dat on 22 May by road via Xuan Loc ON CREATIVE CONTENT (“Blackhorse”) and arrive at Coral on the afternoon of 23 rd – a road trip of 120 Km. The 24 th would have to be reserved for servicing and any repairs and maintenance. It was a big move, both tactically and administratively. There was much opposition to the use of tanks in Vietnam, but there were. also many supporters. 17 of 22 2 GIA DINH PHUOC TUY 15 Mangrove Swamp N 20 Km Vung Tau Nui Dat Ba Ria 23 South China Sea

MEANWHILE, AT COOGEE BINH DUONG Grassland (with many B 52 craters) PROVINCE BORDER AO NEWPORT 16 Binh My Wire 3 RAR with support from 161 Bty at Coral, patrolled and learned the land. A few contacts, but generally quiet after the large US battle a week before. With the lack of enemy in the area, the COMAFV, Maj Gen 10 Pl/D 12 Pl Mc. Donald, suggested to /D /D 11 Pl Dunstan that perhaps 3 RAR D/3 RAR should cross the road to the THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION north and return 161 Bty to Mor/3 RAR Coral. The enemy was evident WAS PREPARED BY north of the road, not south of it. DAVE SABBEN AO BONDI FSB Coral FSB Coogee C/3 RAR B/3 RAR On 24 May… HQ/ WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © B/3 RAR on APCs & D/3 RAR on 3 RAR Admin Wire ON CREATIVE CONTENT foot moved into AO Newport and AP secured an area about 4500 m N nr /3 R of Coral, to become known as AR HQ 2/A/3 Cav and 3 APCs FSB Balmoral. Choppers flew. 1 a AO MANLY Th AP re ree s the 161 guns back to Coral and Th PC Cs e At A 16 k/3 Technically, flew in to the rest of 3 RARBalmoral the RA R was not an “FSB” clearing after massive fire A/3 RAR Tan Uyen since it by not contain suppression did US air. The NVA Clear Forest a Fire Support Unit. were very aware of the arrival of River It was a the night 3 RAR. By “Battalionof the. Wire Nai Approx 5 Km th, Defendedwas a Battalion Approx 100 m g 24 Balmoral Locality”. Don defended position with artillery support from Coral. 18 of 22 Thick Forest N FSB Balmoral N BIEN HOA Thick Forest

The fly-in of 3 RAR to the Balmoral defended location site. B & D/3 RAR with the APCs secured the Balmoral site on 24 May, with the rest of the Battalion flying in to the cleared area to the north of the position. (Note B 52 crater R foreground) THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION WAS PREPARED BY DAVE SABBEN WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © ON CREATIVE CONTENT 18 a of 22

THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION WAS PREPARED BY DAVE SABBEN WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © ON CREATIVE CONTENT 18 b of 22 The 11 Pl/D/3 RAR front line. From the 11 Pl MG pit looking North West, from where came the enemy assaults of the morning of 26 May. The enemy reached the B 52 crater and used it as a fire position for small arms and RPGs.

NIGHT 25/26 MAY 25 MAY Grassland (with many B 52 craters) 4 At 3: 45 am, Balmoralmoved tanks (2 Tp, C Sqn) was from Coral to Balmoral protected shelled, followed immediately by by two Platoonsfrom the North a major assault from B/1 RAR. About half way there, they ran East. The enemy was more into an enemy bunker system. than a Battalion strong, each Wire assault line being about Coy in The Infantry became entrapped Thick thick Thick strength. Forest in the contact. The tanks moved 10 Pl/D 12 Pl /D /D Aforward and, firing canister, diversion was mounted from 11 Pl Night D/3 RAR Positions the South East on the A/3 RAR cleared the jungle, destroyed Positions wire bunkers and allowed the THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATIONseveralwhich was breached by bangaloreswithdraw. In the Infantry to but not exploited. Mor/3 RAR Day WAS PREPARED BY Day process, the tanks killed many Positions The main and near theto breach enemy in attack failed bunkers. DAVE SABBEN the D/3 RAR wire and was C/3 RAR B/3 RAR Having extracted the Infantry, HQ/ WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © repulsed by SA fire with artillery 3 RAR Admin C/3 RAR the column bypassed the B/3 RAR and air support. The tanks, Wire ON CREATIVE CONTENT bunkers and moved on, calling which were not dug in, were not AP nr in arty offer the decisive target. able to & airstrikes on thesupport /3 R AR HQ 2/A/3 Cav They arrived at Balmoral midthey offered later, when dug in and 3 APCs afternoon and the Infantry was T against NVA RPGs. The enemy e APhre hre. Cs e T P Cs choppered back to Coral as the At withdrew at about 5: 00 am. A k/3 RA tanks were put into position. . R 3 RAR had suffered 3 kia and 13 A/3 RAR All the activity in the area had Clear wia. At daylight, 6 enemy Forest given away Balmoral’s security. bodies were buried and huge Enemymarks attestedwere quick Wire drag recce parties to many DIVERSION Approx 100 m to arrive outside the perimeter. ATTACK casualties being cleared from And they the battlefield. for a fight were looking N 19 of 22 MAIN ATTACK

26 MAY Grassland (with many B 52 craters) ATTACK from NW D/1 RAR plus 4 tanks left Coral at 6: 00 am to clear the bunker complex hit on the 25 th. A 3 hour combined Infantry/tank attack caused the enemy to desert the complex. ATTACK from NE Wire Thick Forest Night Positions Wire C/3 RAR At k/3 N Approx 100 m 20 of 22 27 and night 27/28 May 10 Pl/D 12 Pl After more recce on the 27 th, l/D /D 11 P the enemy launched another Night D/3 RAR Positions series of attacks on Balmoral THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION starting 2: 30 am on the 28 th. A two-pronged multi-Battalion Mor/3 RAR Day WASDay PREPARED BY Positions attack from both North West and DAVE SABBEN North East, both hitting D/3 RAR, HQ/ WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © were again supported by a feint 3 RAR Admin A/3 RAR B/3 RAR ON CREATIVE CONTENTWire on. Coral wasfrom the South East. also fired upon to AP disrupt their supporting fire. nr/ 3 R AR HQ 2/A/3 Cav this time, the dug-in tanks were and 3 APCs critically effective and all attacks T e APhree hre. Cs T P Cs were beaten off. A RA R A/3 RAR Clear Forest Wire DIVERSION ATTACK 3 RAR lost 1 kia and 8 wia but found 42 bodies, many weapons and again, huge drag marks. Many of the NVA kia’s were estimated to be just 16 or 17 years old – a sign of the desperation of the North.

OUTCOMES 30 May Tanks again made the decisive The ANZACs had lost 25 kia difference The C/1 RAR and 109 wia. whenenemy had endured a NVA and 38 VC by lost 238 heavy contact 3000 m AO NEWPORT East of Coral. Two tanks more bodycount, with hundreds and 4 APCs were sent to support. dragged away. Hundreds of They drove into the contact, weapons had been captured. rescued the Coy and closed the FSB Balmoral US and C/1 RAR lost 1 kia and contact. ARVN Operations had 7 accounted for 7645 kia, being wia with 24 enemy kia for a loss of 578 buried. 3719 wia. kia and THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION The Media ignored the ratios. It. Actions like this proved the – adopted the Hanoi mantra tanks’ worth, but this was “their WAS PREPARED BY “Ratios don’t count. The only finest hour”. is. Few if any is the thing that important similar DAVE SABBEN AO BONDI actions were experienced in the FSB Coral numbers you lose”. WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT © remainder of the Vietnam War. The battles at Coral and ON CREATIVE CONTENT Action around Coral & Balmoral had been glimpses reduced in frequency and scale of conventional war. as the operations continued. One Company at Long Tan had experienced this in one On 5 June… 16 afternoon – 1 RAR, 3 RAR and …Balmoral was abandoned. supporting Arms experienced On 6 June, Coral was Tan Uyen it for four harrowing Surfers abandoned and AO attacks over two critical area of reverted to a USweeks. River And in each case, responsibility. Nai Approx 5 Km the ANZACs forces returned The Australianhad prevailed. g Don to Phuoc Tuy province. BINH DUONG 16 Binh My FSB Coogee 1 a AO MANLY N BIEN HOA LEST WE FORGET 21 of 22 PROVINCE BORDER

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE THIS SLIDE THE FINE PRINT This Powerpoint show is copyright to Dave Sabben but is freely available for any non-profit use. It may be downloaded free from Dave’s website: www. sabben. com It was prepared for presentation to those who join his Decisive Battlefields and Long Tan Trek Tours of Viet Nam (see green panel for the “commercial”) as introductions for the various battles. THE “COMMERCIAL” As at 2011, Dave Sabben leads one tour per year (second half of October) to visit some of the areas of Australian/ANZAC operations of 1966 -1971. The highlight of these tours is to walk the Long Tan battlefield with Dave (a platoon Commander in that battle). The walk takes about 4 hours – about the time of the battle – so the group goes to all the key locations of the battle and hears about what happened pretty much in “real time”. Because the shows are live presentations, much more is in the narrative than is included in the text on the slides. The shows are intended to be introductions and overviews – not detailed expositions or analyses. Views and conclusions are the author’s and are not offered as the only possible or even as fully comprehensive views. For further enquiry into these tours, please visit: http: //www. sabben. com/longtantrek/ and select VN%20 Long%20 Tan%20 Trek%20 Tours. html or VN%20 Decisive%20 Battlefields%20 Tours. html Copyright holders who want their material either not used or credited, please contact Dave Sabben at http: //www. sabben. com/contact%20 us. html Dien Bien Phu valley (both Viet Minh and French positions). THIS SLIDE AND PRESENTATION WAS PREPARED BY DAVE SABBEN An optional extension to the Long Tan Trek Tour takes in the main WHO RETAINS COPYRIGHT ©South Viet Nam including Da Nang, Hue, US battles of northern Where possible, permissions have been obtained to CREATIVE the DMZ (including Khe Sanh) and the A Shau Valley (Hamburger use maps ON permission. or CONTENT Hill), then visits both Hanoi (‘Hanoi Hilton’, War Museum) and the photos but some have been used without specific Anyone wishing to make an anonymous donation towards the cost and time of putting this show together is invited to make a donation of any amount to (Australian) Westpac bank account BSB# 733 000, Account# 853 546 (branch = 360 Collins St, Melbourne), or (Australian) CBA bank account BSB# 063 550, Account# 1024 7640 (branch = Hampton, Victoria), either account in the name of David Sabben. If passing this slide show to others, please don’t remove this slide. As well as the once –a-year-in-October tours, Dave can arrange a similar tour at any time of year for a group of 20 or more. Dates, durations, standards of accommodation, inclusions etc will be all your call. Please contact Dave (with numbers and preferences) at http: //www. sabben. com/contact%20 us. html Note that these are “battlefield-oriented” tours – they do NOT go to all the popular tourist sites. “Tourist” tours can be added before or after. If passing this slide show to others, please don’t remove this slide.

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