What Australian Troops Did When Vietnamese Officers Refused to Drop Their Weapons
ANZAC's in Vietnam
40,440 views
On August 18 1966 in the heat of South Vietnam 108 soldiers of D Company 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment faced two completely different tests of courage in a single day.
Before the famous battle in the rubber trees began Australian soldiers found themselves in a tense armed standoff with their own South Vietnamese allies during a village search. Instead of asserting dominance or escalating with force Major Harry Smith made the radical choice to disarm the situation with empty hands and mutual respect. That quiet act of diplomacy preserved the allied coalition and uncovered critical intelligence on the local Viet Cong network.
Hours later in the Long Tan rubber plantation that same company was ambushed by over two thousand enemy fighters during a blinding monsoon storm. Surrounded and running low on ammunition the Australians held their ground through disciplined rifle fire danger close artillery support from Nui Dat and a timely armored relief column.
This is the full story of the Battle of Long Tan the morning standoff that saved an alliance and the tactical philosophy of patience and respect that defined the Australian experience in Vietnam.
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - The Standoff at Dawn
02:30 - Major Harry Smith and the Power of De escalation
05:15 - Uncovering the Viet Cong Network
07:10 - Marching into the Long Tan Rubber Plantation
09:20 - The Ambush in the Monsoon
12:15 - Danger Close Artillery and the Armor Relief
15:00 - The Human Cost and Aftermath
17:45 - The Enduring Lessons of Australian Counterinsurgency
HISTORICAL SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
Australian War Memorial - Battle of Long Tan Historical Overview: https://www.awm.gov.au/
Department of Veterans Affairs Australia - Anzac Portal Vietnam War Records: https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/
National Archives of Australia - 1st Australian Task Force Operational Reports: https://www.naa.gov.au/
Ian McNeill - To Long Tan: The Australian Army and the Vietnam War 1950 1966
Harry Smith - Long Tan: The Start of a Lifelong Battle
Bob Buick - All Guts and No Glory: The Story of a Long Tan Warrior
KEY TOPICS COVERED
Battle of Long Tan 1966, D Company 6 RAR, Major Harry Smith, Phuoc Tuy Province Vietnam, Nui Dat task force base, 275th Viet Cong Regiment, D445 Provincial Battalion, Australian counterinsurgency doctrine, Vietnam War military history
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Disclaimer: All historical accounts unit logs and narrative elements are presented strictly for educational and historical preservation purposes.
#BattleOfLongTan #VietnamWar #AustralianMilitaryHistory #6RAR #MilitaryHistory #LongTan #AnzacHistory #CombatHistory #PhuocTuy
8 Comments
It is a criminal rewritting of history.
First, D coy did not wear flak jackets at long tan
Second, Jack Kirby was clean shaven
Third, there was no cordon and search of the village of long tan on the 18th of Aug 66.
Fourth, Major Smith was armed with a M16 like all officers in D coy.
Fifth, the enem were not in the area for weeks maybe days.
There are plenty of real posts about Long Tan which you can read.
Jack Kirby sadly was killed by friendly artillery fire when a new New Zealand FO sent wrong data to the guns.
It was a civil war between
The vietnamese... foreign
Interventions always cost
Lives ...imagine other countries
Intervening in the usa civil war!
What Australian Troops Did When Vietnamese Officers Refused to Drop Their Weapons
ANZAC's in Vietnam
40,440 views
On August 18 1966 in the heat of South Vietnam 108 soldiers of D Company 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment faced two completely different tests of courage in a single day.
Before the famous battle in the rubber trees began Australian soldiers found themselves in a tense armed standoff with their own South Vietnamese allies during a village search. Instead of asserting dominance or escalating with force Major Harry Smith made the radical choice to disarm the situation with empty hands and mutual respect. That quiet act of diplomacy preserved the allied coalition and uncovered critical intelligence on the local Viet Cong network.
Hours later in the Long Tan rubber plantation that same company was ambushed by over two thousand enemy fighters during a blinding monsoon storm. Surrounded and running low on ammunition the Australians held their ground through disciplined rifle fire danger close artillery support from Nui Dat and a timely armored relief column.
This is the full story of the Battle of Long Tan the morning standoff that saved an alliance and the tactical philosophy of patience and respect that defined the Australian experience in Vietnam.
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - The Standoff at Dawn
02:30 - Major Harry Smith and the Power of De escalation
05:15 - Uncovering the Viet Cong Network
07:10 - Marching into the Long Tan Rubber Plantation
09:20 - The Ambush in the Monsoon
12:15 - Danger Close Artillery and the Armor Relief
15:00 - The Human Cost and Aftermath
17:45 - The Enduring Lessons of Australian Counterinsurgency
HISTORICAL SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
Australian War Memorial - Battle of Long Tan Historical Overview: https://www.awm.gov.au/
Department of Veterans Affairs Australia - Anzac Portal Vietnam War Records: https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/
National Archives of Australia - 1st Australian Task Force Operational Reports: https://www.naa.gov.au/
Ian McNeill - To Long Tan: The Australian Army and the Vietnam War 1950 1966
Harry Smith - Long Tan: The Start of a Lifelong Battle
Bob Buick - All Guts and No Glory: The Story of a Long Tan Warrior
KEY TOPICS COVERED
Battle of Long Tan 1966, D Company 6 RAR, Major Harry Smith, Phuoc Tuy Province Vietnam, Nui Dat task force base, 275th Viet Cong Regiment, D445 Provincial Battalion, Australian counterinsurgency doctrine, Vietnam War military history
SUPPORT THE CHANNEL
If you appreciate detailed respectful retellings of military history and the real stories of combat veterans please consider:
Liking the video to help share these stories with more viewers
Leaving your thoughts in the comments
Subscribing and turning on notifications
Disclaimer: All historical accounts unit logs and narrative elements are presented strictly for educational and historical preservation purposes.
#BattleOfLongTan #VietnamWar #AustralianMilitaryHistory #6RAR #MilitaryHistory #LongTan #AnzacHistory #CombatHistory #PhuocTuy