Battle of Long Tan
1966 CE.
Shown on the map at 10.554°, 107.259°.
The Battle of Long Tan (18–21 August 1966) 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 on one side and elements of the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) on the other. Australian signals intelligence (SIGINT) had tracked the VC 275th Regiment and D445 Battalion moving to a position just north of Long Tan. By 16 August, it was positioned near Long Tan outside the range of the one ATF artillery at Nui Dat. Using mortars and recoilless rifles (RCLs), on the night of 16–17 August, the VC attacked Nui Dat from a position 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the east, until counter-battery fire made it stop. The next morning D Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (6 RAR), departed Nui Dat to locate the firing positions and determine the direction of the VC withdrawal. D Company found weapon pits and firing positions for mortars and RCLs, and around midday on 18 August made contact with VC elements. Facing a larger force, D Company called in artillery support.
Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Long Tan, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.