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 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Cu Chi in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam. The operation targeted a key Viet Cong headquarters that was believed to be concealed underground, and involved two brigades under the command of the US 1st Infantry Division, including the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment which was attached to the US 173rd Airborne Brigade. Heavy fighting resulted in significant casualties on both sides, but the combined American and Australian force was able to uncover an extensive tunnel network covering more than 200 kilometres, at the cost of 8 Australians and 14 Americans killed and 29 Australians and 76 Americans wounded.
The 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a regular motorised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Originally established in 1965 it would serve two tours of South Vietnam before it was linked with the 7th Battalion to form the 5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment in 1973. In late 2006 the two units were de-linked, and 5 RAR again joined the Australian Army's order of battle in its own right. It has since served in Iraq, East Timor and Afghanistan.
The Battle of Binh Ba, also known as Operation Hammer, took place during the Vietnam War. The action occurred when Australian Army troops from the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment fought a combined force of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC), including a company from the PAVN 33rd Regiment and elements of the VC D440 Battalion, in the village of Bình Ba, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province. The battle was unusual in Australian combat experience in South Vietnam as it involved fierce close-quarter house-to-house fighting, although the majority of enemy killed was through heavy artillery and air-bombardment. In response to PAVN/VC attempts to capture Binh Ba the Australians assaulted the village with infantry, armour and helicopter gunships, routing the VC and largely destroying the village itself. Such battles were not the norm in Phuoc Tuy, however, and the heavy losses suffered by the PAVN/VC forced them to temporarily leave the province. Although the Australians did encounter PAVN/VC Main Force units in the years to come, the battle marked the end of such large-scale clashes, and ranks as one of the major Australian victories of the war.
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 A Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment struck a Viet Cong bunker system defended by Company 238 in the Gang Toi Hills, in northern Bien Hoa Province. It occurred during a major joint US-Australian operation codenamed Operation Hump, involving the US 173rd Airborne Brigade, to which 1 RAR was attached. During the latter part of the operation an Australian rifle company clashed with an entrenched company-sized Viet Cong force in well-prepared defensive positions. Meanwhile, an American paratroop battalion was also heavily engaged in fighting on the other side of the Song Dong Nai.
Operation Bribie, also known as the Battle of Ap My An, was fought during the Vietnam War in Phuoc Tuy province between Australian forces from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and two companies of Viet Cong from D445 Battalion, likely reinforced by North Vietnamese regulars. During the night of 16 February the Viet Cong attacked a South Vietnamese Regional Force compound at Lang Phuoc Hai, before withdrawing the following morning after heavy fighting with South Vietnamese forces. Two hours later, a Viet Cong company was reported to have formed a tight perimeter in the rainforest 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of Lang Phuoc Hai, near the abandoned hamlet of Ap My An. In response, the Australians deployed a quick reaction force. Anticipating that the Viet Cong would attempt to withdraw, as they had during previous encounters, forces from the 1st Australian Task Force were inserted to block the likely withdrawal route in the hope of intercepting and destroying them.
The Battle of Hat Dich was a series of military actions fought between an allied contingent, including the 1st Australian Task Force and the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) during the Vietnam War. Under the code name Operation Goodwood, two battalions from 1 ATF deployed away from their base in Phước Tuy Province, operating against suspected PAVN/VC bases in the Hat Dich area, in western Phước Tuy, south-eastern Biên Hòa and south-western Long Khánh provinces as part of a large allied sweep known as Operation Toan Thang II. The Australians and New Zealanders conducted sustained patrolling throughout the Hat Dich and extensively ambushed tracks and river systems in the Rung Sat Special Zone, occupying a series of fire support bases as operations expanded. Meanwhile, American, South Vietnamese and Thai forces also operated in direct support of the Australians as part of the division-sized action.
The Battle of Suoi Bong Trang was an engagement fought between US, Australian and New Zealand forces, and the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War. The battle occurred during Operation Rolling Stone, an American security operation to protect engineers building a tactically important road in the vicinity of Tan Binh, in central Binh Duong Province, 30 kilometres (19 mi) north-west of Bien Hoa airbase. During the fighting, soldiers from the US 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division and the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, which had been attached for the operation, fought off a regimental-sized Viet Cong night assault. Repulsed by massed firepower from artillery and tanks, the Viet Cong suffered heavy casualties and were forced to withdraw by morning. After the attack, the Americans and Australians made no attempt to pursue the Viet Cong, focusing on securing the battlefield and evacuating their own casualties. The Viet Cong continued to harass the American sappers with occasional sniper and mortar fire, but these tactics proved ineffective, and the road was completed by 2 March.
Peter Macquarie Toms was an Australian politician who represented the Electoral district of Maitland between 21 February 1981 and 28 August 1981 for the Liberal Party.
The Battle of Suối Châu Pha was fought during the Vietnam War between Australian troops and the Việt Cộng. The battle took place during Operation Ballarat, an Australian search and destroy operation in the eastern Hát Dịch area, north-west of Núi Đất in Phước Tuy province. Following a covert insertion the day before which had caught a number of Việt Cộng sentries by surprise, A Company, 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment had patrolled forward unaware of the presence of a large Việt Cộng main force unit nearby. Clashing with a reinforced company from the Việt Cộng 3rd Battalion, 274th Regiment, a classic encounter battle ensued between two forces of roughly equal size. Fought at close quarters in dense jungle amid a heavy monsoon rain, both sides suffered heavy casualties as neither was able to gain an advantage. Finally, after a battle lasting several hours, the Australian artillery proved decisive and the Việt Cộng were forced to withdraw, dragging many of their dead from the battlefield after having suffered crippling losses.
Hát Dịch secret zone was an area within South Vietnam. It covered the area where the borders of Phước Tuy, Long Khánh and Biên Hòa Provinces met.
The 4th "Đồng Nai" Regiment was a regiment of the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. The regiment was part of the VC 5th Division and operated in the Bien Hoa, Đồng Nai, Phước Tuy and Long Khánh provinces, in what was known as the Hát Dịch Secret Zone.
Brigadier Stuart Paul Weir, was a senior officer in the Australian Army, seeing service during the Second World War, Korean War, the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War. He subsequently commanded the 1st Australian Task Force in South Vietnam in 1969–70.
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.
The Battle of Long Tan took place on 18 August 1966 in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam during the Vietnam War between Viet Cong and North Vietnamese units from the Viet Cong 275th Regiment, possibly reinforced by at least one North Vietnamese battalion, and D445 Provincial Mobile Battalion, and Australian forces from D Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. Although the Australians were heavily outnumbered and almost overwhelmed by the Viet Cong the battle ended in a decisive victory for them, establishing their dominance over the province. This perspective however sharply contrasts with competing interpretations in which the D445 Battalion had garnered strong political support in Phuoc Tay. Furthermore, the local D445 Battalion was redeployed northwards against the newly deployed 11th Armored Cavalry Taskforce a month later and so the true significance of the battle is called into question.
Part of Operation El Paso II, The Battle of Minh Thanh Road took place on 9 July 1966 when a Viet Cong force attacked a 1st Infantry Division column and in turn was attacked by a larger reaction force based on three infantry battalions and supporting fire. The Viet Cong, primarily armed with RPG-2, recoilless rifles and small arms engaged and destroyed some vehicles in the initial column but were pushed back by the combined reaction force. The attacking Viet Cong unit was able to fall back using the heavy jungle in the area as cover.
Operation Amarillo was an operation conducted by 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division in Bình Dương Province, lasting from 23–31 August 1966.
Operation Marauder was an operation conducted by the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment in the Plain of Reeds, Mekong Delta, lasting from 1 to 8 January 1966.
Operation Akron was an operation in the Vietnam War conducted by the U.S. 1st Brigade, 9th Infantry Division and the 1st & 3rd Squadrons, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Rangers and 18th Division elements in Hát Dịch, lasting from 9 to 29 June 1967.
Major General John Curtis Hartley, is an Australian defence and intelligence strategist and a retired officer of the Australian Army. He joined the army via the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1962, was commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps and spent much of his career in military intelligence. He twice deployed on operations during the Vietnam War, during which he was Mentioned in Despatches on two occasions and seriously wounded, and commanded the Albury–Wodonga Military Area and the Army Apprentices' School (1984–87). He served as General Officer Commanding Training Command (1991–92), Director of the Defence Intelligence Organisation (1992–95), Deputy Chief of Army (1995–98), and Land Commander Australia (1998–00). Since his retirement from the army in 2000, Hartley has been involved in community and veterans' organisations and is an active contributor to discussion on defence and strategic issues.
Major General Justin Frederick Ellwood,, commonly known as Jake Ellwood, is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army. He joined the army via the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1989 and was commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. He commanded the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2006–08), Overwatch Battle Group (West) (2007), Battle Group Tiger (2008) and the Combat Training Centre, and deployed on operations to Kosovo, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. He served as Deputy Chief of Army from May to December 2018, and commanded the 1st Division from December 2018 to November 2021.
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