Britain at War - 09.2019

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BATTLE OF BINH BA|COMMONWEALTH FORCES IN VIETNAM

A FEROCIOUS FIGHTA FEROCIOUS FIGHTA FEROCIOUS FIGHTA FEROCIOUS FIGHTA FEROCIOUS FIGHTA FEROCIOUS FIGHT

CLAIRE HUNTER OF THE AUSTRALIAN WAR

MEMORIAL TELLS OF A LITTLE- KNOWN

BUT SIGNIFICANT BATTLE INVOLVING

AUSTRALIAN CENTURION TANKS AND

INFANTRY IN VIETNAM DURING 1969.

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grazing his shoulder with its tail fin.

Brian had narrowly escaped death in

what was one of the more significant

actions fought by Australian troops

during the Vietnam War – the battle

of Binh Ba – which took place 50

years ago.

Before the battle, soldiers of the 1st

Australian Task Force had fought

mainly in open country or jungle

settings, but this action took place in

the village of Binh Ba, less than 6.

miles (10km) from the Australian

base in Phuoc Tuy Province, South

Vietnam, against a large, well-armed

communist force.

Former head of military history

at the Australian War Memorial,

Ashley Ekins, researched and wrote

two volumes of the Australian official

history of the Vietnam War: On the

ofensive and Fighting to the Finish.

Looking back at the action, he said:

“It was a furious battle. From the

moment the Australians entered Binh

Ba with their Ready Reaction Force of

infantry, armoured personnel carriers

[APCs] and tanks, they were prepared

for a battle, and the enemy brought on

a battle.”

INTO COMBAT

In early June 1969, the newly arrived

6th Battalion of the Royal Australian

Regiment deployed north of the

Australian Task Force base at Nui

Dat, on Operation Lavarack. The men

immediately began encountering large

groups of North Vietnamese Army

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