The Horseshoe | |
---|---|
Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam | |
Coordinates | 10°30′29″N107°16′23″E / 10.508°N 107.273°E |
Site information | |
Condition | abandoned |
Site history | |
Built | 1967 |
In use | 1967–1971 |
Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
Garrison information | |
Occupants | 1st Australian Task Force |
The Horseshoe (also known as Fire Support Base Horseshoe, Horseshoe Hill or Hill 82), is an extinct volcano that was used by the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) as a military base during the Vietnam War.
The Horseshoe is located approximately 9 km southeast of Nui Dat, 1 km north of Đất Đỏ and immediately east of Route TI 52 in Phuoc Tuy Province. [1] The Horseshoe is an extinct volcano with its crescent-shaped remaining walls (giving its Horseshoe shape) rising up to 100 feet (30 m) above the surrounding plains, while the southern end is open.
The base was first established by the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment who air-assaulted into the area on 6 March 1967 in Operation Leeton. [2] : 164 Occupation of the Horseshoe as a fire support base would allow artillery coverage of areas beyond the range of guns at Nui Dat and allow for patrols of the surrounding area. [2] : 164
The Horseshoe was at the north end of the 11 km barrier minefield that ran to Lo Gom on the coast and was intended to stop Vietcong (VC) infiltration from their bases in the northern hills to the populated coastal villages. On 16 March 1967 Australian sappers began constructing two parallel barbed-wire fences 70-100m apart that would enclose the minefield. On 1 May the sappers began laying M16 mines and after a month had laid more than 22,000 M16s for the loss of five Australians killed. [2] : 164 The minefield was a failure with many of the mines stolen by the VC and reused against the Australians. In 1968 1ATF began removing the minefield. [3]
The rocky terrain within the Horseshoe made digging almost impossible and trenches and bunkers had to be blasted out and sandbags were filled with rocks. The temperature was cooler than Nui Dat particularly at night and a well provided ample water. [2] : 172
The Horseshoe was usually garrisoned by one infantry company and one artillery battery which would each be rotated between here and Nui Dat. [2] : 188 From 27 May to 3 July 1967 the Horseshoe was entirely a New Zealand base with V Company, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment and a company of 161 Battery, Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery based there. [2] : 188
From July to December 1969 the base was used to train units from the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 18th Division in small arms handling and small unit tactics. The ARVN were described by the 1ATF deputy commander as "the worst battalion in the worst regiment in the worst division in the world." After training the ARVN units, mixed platoons would then mount patrol operations in the Horseshoe tactical area of responsibility. [2] : 427–8
The base was handed over to the ARVN in June 1971.
The Battle of Long Tan took place in a rubber plantation near Long Tân, in Phước Tuy Province, South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. The action was fought between Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) units and elements of the 1st Australian Task Force.
The Battle of Đồng Xoài was a major battle fought during the Vietnam War as part of the Viet Cong (VC) Summer Offensive of 1965. It took place in Phước Long Province, South Vietnam, between June 9 and 13, 1965.
The 1st Australian Task Force was a brigade-sized formation which commanded Australian and New Zealand Army units deployed to South Vietnam between 1966 and 1972. 1 ATF was based in a rubber plantation at Nui Dat, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north of Bà Rịa in Phuoc Tuy Province and consisted of two and later three infantry battalions, with armour, aviation, engineers and artillery support. While the task force was primarily responsible for securing Phuoc Tuy Province, its units, and the Task Force Headquarters itself, occasionally deployed outside its Tactical Area of Responsibility.
The Battle of Coral–Balmoral was a series of actions fought during the Vietnam War between the 1st Australian Task Force and the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 7th Division and Viet Cong (VC) Main Force units, 40 kilometres (25 mi) north-east of Saigon. Following the defeat of the PAVN/VC Tet offensive in January and February, in late April two Australian infantry battalions—the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR)—with supporting arms, were again deployed from their base at Nui Dat in Phước Tuy Province to positions astride infiltration routes leading to Saigon to interdict renewed movement against the capital. Part of the wider allied Operation Toan Thang I, it was launched in response to intelligence reports of another impending PAVN/VC offensive, yet the Australians experienced little fighting during this period. Meanwhile, the PAVN/VC successfully penetrated the capital on 5 May, plunging Saigon into chaos during the May Offensive in an attempt to influence the upcoming Paris peace talks scheduled to begin on the 13th. During three days of intense fighting the attacks were repelled by US and South Vietnamese forces, and although another attack was launched by the PAVN/VC several days later, the offensive was again defeated with significant losses on both sides, causing extensive damage to Saigon and many civilian casualties. By 12 May the fighting was over, and the PAVN/VC were forced to withdraw having suffered heavy casualties. US casualties were also heavy and it proved to be their most costly week of the war.
The Battle of FSB Mary Ann occurred when Viet Cong (VC) sappers attacked a U.S. firebase located in Quảng Tín Province, South Vietnam early on the morning of 28 March 1971.
The 18th Division was an infantry division in the III Corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). The U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam considered the 18th as undisciplined and was well known throughout the ARVN for its "cowboy" reputation. In 1975 the 18th was made famous for its tenacious defense of Xuân Lộc, the last major battle before the Fall of Saigon.
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.
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Operation Coburg was an Australian and New Zealand military action during the Vietnam War. The operation saw heavy fighting between the 1st Australian Task Force and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) forces during the wider fighting around Long Binh and Bien Hoa.
The Battle of Long Khanh was fought during the Vietnam War between elements of 1st Australian Task Force and the Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) during Operation Overlord. The fighting saw Australian infantry from 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment attack a heavily fortified communist base camp in Long Khanh Province, while Centurion tanks providing close support crushed many bunkers and their occupants. Regardless, the VC fought hard to delay the Australian advance and although the bunker system was subsequently captured, along with a second system further south, the Australians suffered a number of casualties and the loss of a UH-1 Iroquois helicopter. With the Australians unable to concentrate sufficient combat power to achieve a decisive result, the bulk of the VC/PAVN force successfully withdrew intact, although they probably sustained heavy casualties in the process.
Operation Toan Thang I was a U.S. Army, Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), 1st Australian Task Force and Royal Thai Volunteer Regiment operation conducted between 8 April and 31 May 1968 in the Vietnam War. The operation was part of a reaction to the Tet Offensive designed to put pressure on Vietcong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces involving the South Vietnamese III Corps.
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.
Quản Lợi Base Camp is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base east of An Lộc, Binh Phuoc Province, in southern Vietnam.
Operation Double Eagle was a US Marine Corps and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) operation that took place in southern Quảng Ngãi Province, lasting from 28 January to 17 February 1966, during the Vietnam War. The operation was mounted in conjunction with Operation Masher in northern Bình Định Province. The operation was inconclusive as the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Vietcong (VC) had largely slipped away.
Operation Shenandoah II was a security operation conducted during the Vietnam War by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division to secure and repair Highway 13, South Vietnam from 29 September to 19 November 1967.
Phase III of the Tet offensive of 1968 was launched by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) from 17 August to 27 September 1968. The offensive was divided into two waves of attacks from 17 to 31 August 1968 and from 11 to 27 September of that same year.
Operation Hardihood was a security operation conducted from 16 May to 8 June 1966 during the Vietnam War by the U.S. 503rd Infantry Regiment, the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) and the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment in Phước Tuy Province, South Vietnam to secure the area around Nui Dat for the establishment of a base area for the 1st Australian Task Force.
Operation Muscatine was a security operation conducted during the Vietnam War by the US Army in Quảng Ngãi Province, South Vietnam from 18 December 1967 to 10 June 1968. During this operation on 16 March 1968 the 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment and the 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment carried out the My Lai Massacre.
Operation Coronado X was the tenth of the Operation Coronado series of riverine military operations conducted by the U.S. Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) and units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), originally planned as a sweep of western Dinh Tuong Province and eastern Kien Phong Province, however with the outbreak of the Tet Offensive on 31 January 1968 it instead became the MRF reaction to eject Vietcong (VC) forces from Mỹ Tho and Vĩnh Long. It ran from 23 January to 12 February 1968 and resulted in 269 VC killed for the loss of 12 U.S. killed.
The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment contributed companies to the 1st Australian Task Force, deployed in Phước Tuy Province, Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1972.