History of War – October 2019

his platoon commanders, “We constantly talked

to each other. They would advise me where the

enemy was coming in and I’d tell the artillery

commander to move the artillery to where

it was required. The platoon commanders

controlled their own platoons and they did a

bloody good job. I didn’t tell them what to do.”

On the battlefield itself Smith remained

focussed, “My main aim was to kill the enemy,

which is the role of the infantry, and I had to

get my soldiers in the best situation where

they could do that. Whenever there was a

lull in the battle I would go around the three

platoons and check on how they were doing.

I would also make sure that their machine-

guns were lined up and covering each other

so that we had fields of fire where they could

fire on the enemy.”

The challenges of coordinating the battle

meant that even fear itself was an afterthought,

“People have said to me ‘Were you frightened?’

but I always say I wasn’t because I was too

busy. You’re giving orders to platoons, passing

information back to the CO and talking to the

artillery commander. Certainly, whenever the

enemy put in their main assaults they gave us a

hard time but they never got inside our forward

lines. They were just mown down by artillery

and those that got through were mown down by

my soldiers and their machine-guns.”

1ST AUSTRALIAN TASK FORCE

THOUSANDSOFTROOPSFROMAUSTRALIAANDNEWZEALANDSERVEDIN 1 AFT

BETWEEN1966-72ANDSUSTAINEDMANYCASUALTIES

WhentheAustraliangovernmentinitiallybecameinvolvedin theVietnamWar,it deployed1 RAR

to serveasthethirdinfantrybattalionof theUS173rdAirborneBrigadein 1965.It wassoon

replacedbya muchlargerbrigade-sizedformation,whichbecameknownas1stAustralianTask

Force(1 ATF).Eventuallyconsistingof threeinfantrybattalions,1 AFTalsoincludedarmoured,

aerial,artilleryengineeringandlogisticalunits.

Basedat NuiDat,1 ATFalsoincludeda peaknumberof 552NewZealandersincluding

artillerymen,infantrymenandmembersof theNZSAS.Atitsheight,theTaskForcenumbered

over8,000menandsawextensiveactionfrom 1966 untilitsfinalwithdrawalin March1972.

1 ATFwasnotconfinedto operationsin PhuocTuyandwasoccasionallydeployedoutside

of itsTacticalAreaof Responsibility.ThisincludedOperationCoburgandtheBattleof Coral

Balmoralin 1968,whichwastheTaskForce’slargestbattlein Vietnam.LongTanbecame 1

ATF’smostfamousengagementbuttherewereothersignificantactionsincludingthebattles

of HatDich,BinhBaandLongKhanh.

In total 478 Australiansoldierswerekilledand3,025woundedduringthewaralongwith 37 New

Zealandfatalitiesand 187 wounded.Themajorityof thesecasualtiesweresustainedby1 ATF.

“478AUSTRALIANSOLDIERS

WEREKILLEDAND3,025

WOUNDEDDURING THEWAR

ALONGWITH 37 NEW ZEALAND

FATALITIES AND 187 WOUNDED”

PrivateBruceLarner

of 5 RARwavesin

anAmericanHuey

helicopterduring

OperationCamden,

August 1969

Below: Australian soldiers

march through Sydney

before leaving for Vietnam

Smith (right) pictured

on active duty during

Operation Portsea,

March 1967. He left

with D Company

shortly afterwards

on 30 May 1967

Soldiers of 6 RAR participate in a dedication

ceremony to commemorate the fallen on the

Long Tan battlefield, 18 August 1969

Smith and CSM Jack Kirby (left) with a captured

enemy machine-gun from the battle

ANZACS AT LONG TAN