The Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) is the parent administrative regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army and is the senior infantry regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. It was originally formed in 1948 as a three battalion regiment; however, since then its size has fluctuated as battalions have been raised, amalgamated or disbanded in accordance with the Australian government's strategic requirements. Currently, the regiment consists of seven battalions and has fulfilled various roles including those of light, parachute, motorised and mechanised infantry. Throughout its existence, units of the Royal Australian Regiment have deployed on operations in Japan, Korea, Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam, Somalia, Rwanda, Cambodia, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army, forming part of the Royal Australian Regiment and eventually Special Operations Command. The battalion was formed on 1 February 1964, converted to a special forces unit on 1 February 1997, and was renamed the 2nd Commando Regiment on 19 June 2009.
6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in Brisbane, Queensland, on 6 June 1965 and has since then served in a number of overseas deployments and conflicts including South Vietnam, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. During the Vietnam War, the battalion earned a US Presidential Unit Citation from the United States when members from 'D' Company participated in the Battle of Long Tan on 18–19 August 1966. The battalion is currently based at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane and forms part of the 7th Brigade.
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 5th/7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (Mechanised) was a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. The battalion was based at Robertson Barracks in Holtze, Northern Territory and formed part of the 1st Brigade. It was formed in 1973 by linking both the 5th and 7th Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment together and was disbanded 3 December 2006, as part of the expansion of the Australian Army, when the 5th and 7th Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment were delinked into two separate battalions once again.
The 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Kapyong Lines, Townsville as part of the 3rd Brigade. 3 RAR traces its lineage to 1945 and has seen operational service in Japan, Korea, Malaya, Borneo, South Vietnam, Rifle Company Butterworth, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan and Iraq.
The 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is an amphibious light infantry battalion of the Australian Army part of the 1st Division Amphibious Task Group based at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville.
The 8th/9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a motorised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally formed in 1973 by linking together both the 8th and 9th Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment. Over the next twenty-four years the battalion would remain on the Australian Order of Battle based at Enoggera Barracks in Brisbane, Queensland, until it was disbanded in 1997 amid a number of Defence-wide cutbacks introduced by the Howard government. In 2006 it was announced that the battalion would be re-raised as part of a plan to expand the size of the Army and since then it established itself as a fully deployable motorised infantry battalion as part of 7th Brigade.
The 2nd/4th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment was an Australian Army infantry battalion. 2/4 RAR was formed on 15 August 1973 by linking 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. 2/4 RAR was unlinked to re-form 2 RAR and 4 RAR on 1 February 1995. Throughout its existence 2/4 RAR was based at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville and formed part of the 3rd Brigade.
The 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a regular infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in 1965 as part of Australia's commitment to the Vietnam War and it eventually served two tours in Vietnam in 1967 and 1971. In 1973, following Australia's withdrawal from the conflict, the battalion was amalgamated with the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment to form the 5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.
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 Babang was the fourth and last in a series of successful ambushes conducted between in May and July 1965 by Australian troops from 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, this time at Babang in Kalimantan, during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation. The ambushes were conducted under the wider British-Commonwealth Operation Claret, being cross-border operations mounted from bases in Sarawak up to 10,000 yards (9,100 m) into Indonesian territory with aim of disrupting the movement and resupply of Indonesian forces and to keep them off balance.
The 9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment was a Regular light infantry battalion of the Australian Army. The battalion was raised in November 1967 and deployed to South Vietnam as part of Australia's commitment to the Vietnam War in November 1968. 9 RAR served a year-long tour of duty based out of Nui Dat conducting operations mainly in Phuoc Tuy Province as part of the 1st Australian Task Force. The battalion returned to Australia in November 1969 and was re-formed at Enoggera, Queensland in January 1970 as part of the 6th Task Force, attached to the 1st Division. On 31 November 1973, following the withdrawal of Australian forces from South Vietnam and subsequent reduction of the Australian Army, the battalion was linked with the 8th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment to form the 8th/9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.
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.
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.
The Battle of Núi Lé was the last major battle fought by Australian and New Zealand forces in South Vietnam. The battle was fought in the former Phước Tuy Province between elements of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 33rd Regiment and 4RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Battalion during Operation Ivanhoe. Núi Lé, a small hill within Quang Thanh commune in Chau Duc District, is today in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.
Major General Stuart Clarence Graham, was a senior officer in the Australian Army, seeing service during the Second World War, the Occupation of Japan and the Vietnam War. Born in Ulmarra, New South Wales, he graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1940. Graham subsequently held a series of regimental and staff appointments, serving in a number of infantry and armoured units during the Second World War. In the post-war period he served in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan, and held a number of staff and command positions in the Armoured Corps. In the late 1950s he was posted to Army Headquarters, and later served as Director of Military Intelligence. Commanding the 1st Australian Task Force during fighting in South Vietnam during 1967, he was responsible for establishing the controversial barrier minefield from Dat Do to the coast. Later, Graham filled a range of senior command, staff and diplomatic roles in Australia and overseas, including the position of Deputy Chief of the General Staff (DCGS), before retiring in 1977. He died in 1996.
Major General Ronald Laurence Hughes, was a senior infantry officer in the Australian Army, seeing service during the Second World War, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Joining the Australian Army in 1937, after graduating from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1939 he served in New Guinea and Borneo during the Second World War. He commanded the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment during the static phase of the war in Korea in 1952–1953. Later, he commanded the 1st Australian Task Force in South Vietnam in 1967–68, during some of the heaviest fighting of the war experienced by the Australians. He subsequently filled a number of senior command and staff positions before retiring in 1977.
Major General William George Henderson, was a senior officer in the Australian Army.
