Crossfire Hurricane: The Battle of Long Than – August 1966

The 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment was composed mainly of conscript soldiers. The Viet Cong D445 Local Force Battalion had dominance in this area but the Australians were increasing their activity. Most contacts with the Viet Cong were small squads and so Australian doctrine was to carry light loads and attack aggressively. The local Viet Cong commander, Colonel Nguyen Than Hong, aimed to make a large attack on 6th Bn causing a politically unacceptable loss, hoping to cause its withdrawal. The Viet Cong 275 Regiment moved south intending to attack. The VC continually formed assault waves and moved forward but were decimated by artillery fire. The soldiers of D Company showed excellent discipline holding their line and repulsing any VC that got through the artillery barrage. D Company were supported by 24 105mm and 155mm guns from Australian, New Zealand artillery units and the US 2/35 Battalion, which fired deeper into VC positions. Over 3,000 rounds of artillery were fired. The Australian A Battery fired rounds every 15 seconds for three hours. The VC were decimated with over 500 killed and 750 wounded. Australian losses were 18 killed and 24 wounded.