The Battle of Long Tan

The Battle of Long Tan The Battle of Long Tan was a very significant part of the Vietnam War era. Of the Battles fought by Australians in the Vietnam War, The Battle of Long Tan was the biggest. The battle was significant through Australia’s victory, as one hundred and eight soldiers were able to fight off several waves of enemy troops, consisting of over two thousand Vietcong and North Vietnamese soldiers, until they were rescued by reinforcements. The Battle was one of the greatest in the Vietnam War to be won against in such odds.On the 18th August 1966, the battle took place near the village of Long Tan in Vietnam.

This was twenty seven kilometres north east of Vung Tau, South Vietnam. The Battle of Long Tan was fought at a rubber plantation which was in the Phuoc Tuy Province. This was a battle between the Australian Army and The Viet Cong forces. D Company of the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, part of the 1st Australian Task Force were ambushed by a swarm of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers, but the ability of the Australian Army to only have eighteen of their soldiers killed in this battle was a victory.

The night before the Battle of Long Tan, the Australian base at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy was attacked by mortar fire. Soldiers of the Australian Army were attacked at night causing the death of one soldier and leaving twenty two others injured. As a result, the Australian Army figured the Viet Cong forces were out there in the jungle. The next day, Australian troops went looking for enemy forces in the pouring rain.

The Australian Army were required to patrol the region around their camp to ensure that it was safe from attacks.Patrols were done to ensure that attacks could be prevented. The Australian Army had left base at 11:15. While patrolling for the enemy, one platoon of Australian soldiers was cut off from the rest and that was when the Viet Cong forces swooped in to attack. The Battle of Long Tan began at 15:40. The Australian Army soldiers were able to hold off the Viet Cong soldiers.

Over time, reinforcements came in for the Australian soldiers and they successfully fought off enemy troops.After three hours of gun fire, The Battle of Long Tan resulted in a victory to the Australian Army with the help of reinforcements and the Australians were able to gain dominance over the Phuoc Tuy province. In the end, the Viet Cong soldiers failed to finish what they had started. Their failure to effectively use artillery had caused them to be defeated with a result two hundred and forty five of their soldiers being killed. Australia’s longest involvement in war was the Vietnam War.It was a controversial war with great amounts of Australian citizens against Australia’s involvement in the war and conscription – the compulsory enlistment of people in national service.

The Vietnam War was also the first war to be viewed live on television. The outcome of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War prevented the spread of communism reaching Australia. ? Annotated Bibliography "Battle of Long Tan. " Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Apr.

2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.

.This article was about the Battle of Long Tan. It features a lot of background information about the battle.Although it has a lot of information, the website isn't exactly reliable unless compared with other sites. This website was the first to appear after searching 'the battle of long tan' into the Google search engine "Vietnam - The Battle of Long Tan.

" ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee (Queensland). Web. 25 Apr. 2012.

.This website seems to be of a trustworthy source as its url is '. org' meaning that it is not for profit. The website has some basic information which helps confirms the information that was found on the Wikipedia link.The information found on this website was slightly useful as most of the information was already seen on other links.

Government, Australian. "Australia. gov. au. " The Battle of Long Tan and the Vietnam War -.

8th Jan. 2009. Web. 25 Apr.

2012. .This website is a very reliable source as it came of the Australian Government website. It features information about the battle of long tan and other information related to Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War. Furthermore, it was last updated in January of 2009, making this source fairly up to date. Combat.

" Australia and the Vietnam War. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. .This source discusses the details of the battle in long tan.

The information provided helps confirms those found on other websites, making this a reliable source to use when conducting research on the battle of long tan. John Howard Tour of Duty. " Newsgroup. NewsComAu. 21 Nov. 2006.

Web. 25 Apr. 2012. .

This news article discusses the significance of the battle of long tan. The article was published in 2006 making this up to date and it is seful by showing readers that the battle of long tan was a great part of Australian history. Bruce, Mike. "Battle of Long Tan - 45th Anniversary. " Courier Mail [Queensland] 14 Aug.

2011. CourierMail. 14 Aug. 2011.

Web. 25 Apr. 2012. .This article is very recent and up to date as it was published within the last year. The source is trushworthy and reliable because the information found in this article shows no biased views.

This article highlights the 45th anniversary since the battle of long tan making it a good contribution to the research conducted.