COMMONWEALTH FORCES IN VIETNAM|BATTLE OF BINH BA
RIGHT
The Australian
War Memorial's
Centurion Mk 5/1
tank, 169110, with
damage to the hull
near the right hand
exhaust shroud,
possibly sustained
in active service.
(AWM)RIGHT
An emotive
photograph taking
at the end of
the Last Post
Ceremony at the
Australian War
Memorial on June
6, 2019. The event
was attended by
Private Teeling’s
family and
approximately 500
Vietnam veterans.
(AWM)22 http://www.britainatwar.comwere damaged,” Ekins said. “The task
force hadn’t destroyed it and hadn’t
saved it, but had severely damaged it.”
The Civil Affairs Unit organised the
distribution of food, water and aid
to villagers, and went on to oversee
repair and reconstruction work in the
village. “The task force took on the
job of repairing it all,” Ekins said. “But
there was no way their actions were
ever going to win the allegiance of
the people.
“It never really became an
Australian-friendly village, but thiswas the nature of the war, and trying
to win hearts and minds when you
have fought a battle like that is a
pretty hard call. This was seen as a
great victory for the task force, but it
had been a ferocious fight.”
The Australians returned to Nui
Dat with one dead and ten wounded.
The Vietnamese casualties were
estimated at more than 100 killed
and six wounded. It was the biggest
engagement involving Australian
soldiers since the fights at Fire
Support Bases Coral and Balmoral ayear earlier. Battle honours were later
awarded to the Australian regiments
involved in the Binh Ba action.WHY DID THE
enemy aTTACK
“We still don’t know with certainty,
even today, what the enemy were
really trying to achieve,” Ekins said.
“They claim they were trying to disrupt
the pacification programme, but why
they brought on a battle so close to the
task force, involving armour, remains
unclear.
“It’s always claimed that we drove the
33rd North Vietnamese Army out of
the province. This was the first time
they came in strength, and they were
routed, but they would be back. They
had sustained pretty heavy losses and
they had tested the Australians and
found that they were a formidable
force, but the war was far from over.
“This was a victory, but at the same
time public opinion was turning, and it
was turning not because of the protests
in the streets, not because of any
anti-war media coverage, rhetoric, or
parliamentary debate. It was turning,
I believe, solely because the casualties
were mounting and, despite claims of
progress, no one could show the war
was any closer to an end.”16-22 AFEROCIOUSFIGHT BAW SEPT2019.indd 22 8/14/2019 5:10:39 PM