The Battle of Long Tan was a major battle in the Vietnam War. It took place on August 18, 1966, and Vietnam Veterans’ Day is celebrated to honour the sacrifices of all the soldiers.
Vietnam Veterans’ Day 2023
Vietnam Veterans’ Day is a day to honour the men and women who served in the Vietnam War. The war lasted from 1955 to 1975 and was a very divisive conflict. However, the soldiers who fought in Vietnam deserve respect and gratitude.
One of the most famous battles of the Vietnam War was the Battle of Long Tan. It took place on August 18, 1966, and involved a small force of Australian and New Zealand soldiers fighting against a much larger force of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army soldiers. The battle took place in a rubber plantation near Long Tān in Phước Tuy Province, South Vietnam.
The Australian War Memorial states: “The battle of Long Tan was fought on 18 August 1966. One-hundred-and-five men from D Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) and three New Zealanders from an artillery forward observation party from New Zealand’s 161 Field Battery, encountered a force of more than 2,000 Viet Cong soldiers.”
Here are some facts and figures about this war:
- According to the Australian War Memorial, in the course of the battle, 17 Australians were killed and 25 soldiers were wounded, and one of them later died of wounds.
- The Australians were outnumbered during the war. There were over 2000 Vietnamese Troops against 108 Australian soldiers as stated by Battleoflongtan.com.
- Despite being outnumbered, the Australians managed to defeat 245- 800 Vietnamese soldiers.
- There were 105 soldiers from D Coy, 6RAR, Australian Army and a 3 men group from the New Zealand Forward Artillery Observation party, 161 Bty RNZA
- According to Battleoflongtan.com, there were “2,000 soldiers from 275 Viet Cong Main Force Regiment, 500 soldiers from an unidentified North Vietnamese Army Battalion, probably from 33rd NVA Regiment and 550 soldiers from D445 Viet Cong Provincial Mobile Battalion (local force VC)”
- Seven Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Huey UH-1B Iroquois helicopters and one United States Army Medical Company (Air Ambulance) helicopter were used to evacuate the wounded and dead of D Company.
- The VC were well-entrenched in the rubber trees, and they outnumbered the Australians by a ratio of 10 to 1 according to the Australian War Memorial.
- The Australian War Memorial mentions that the war lasted for about three hours.
To conclude, the Battle of Long Tan was a defining moment in the Vietnam War. This day is remembered as a symbol of courage and honours the memory of the soldiers who died during the war.
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Source: HIS Education