To all the men who went, to all the Mums who let their sons go, thankyou
People always seem to forget the Mums and Dads
#OTD – Opening shots of the Battle of Long Tan
At 0243 on the 17th of August 1966, the Vietcong launched an artillery strike on the Australian position at Nui Dat. This bombardment marked the opening shots of one of the defining battles of Australian Military History – the Battle of Long Tan.
By August 1966, the Australian position at Nui Dat was only three months old. Concerned at the establishment of such a strong Australian presence in their midst, the Vietcong decided to take early offensive action to remove the Australian presence from the area.
In the early hours of the 17th, the Vietcong fired over 100 rounds from several 82mm mortars, 75mm recoilless rifles and an old Japanese 70mm howitzer in a bombardment that lasted 22 minutes. Numerous vehicles and equipment were damaged, and 24 men were wounded, one of whom later died.
Despite coming under fire, the 1st Field Regiment Royal Australian Artillery quickly commenced counter-battery fire at 0250, just seven minutes after the attack was launched. After plotting the likely enemy position, the Regiment fired a total of 240 rounds on the enemy position from 24 guns and the mortaring ceased.
After the Vietcong barrage, the defenders stood to expecting a further assault but none came. Searches of the area later that day located the mortar sites, but found no bodies.
Although the Australians had withstood the first attack with only minor injuries, worse was yet to come… On the 18th, the Vietcong would launch another attack in force.
Image: Members of 101 Field Battery, Royal Australian Artillery, operating "D" Delta 105 mm L5 Pack Howitzer at Nui Dat, 1966. The four shirtless gunners are firing from a weapon pit surrounded by corrugated iron and reinforced with sandbags. Identified are: 1731284 Gunner (Gnr) Barry Faulkner; 215074 Bombardier (Bdr) Trevor Madeley, operating the gun's breech after firing; 4410891 Gunner (Gnr) David Vonbertough, carrying a ranging disc to determine the charge and range to be used in fire support; and 13538 Sergeant (Sgt) Allan Grice. The numbers and arrows marked on the corrugated wall are direction finders in milliradians.
Note: This image was coloured by AI.
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