09-24-2007, 08:54 PM
6th Royal Australian Regiment. The 6th Battalion had not long been in country and was still undergoing its warm-up or nursery operation which had commenced towards the end of May in an area some 17 km north of Nui Dat. Their supposedly rather benign patrolling southwards had, however, inadvertently begun to encroach upon the cross-country movement of an NVA battalion which was temporarily laying up in the former French rubber plantation village of Binh Ba. On the morning of AUG 18, while on patrol near Binh Ba a RPG which hit the replacement tank -- being accompanied to 6 RAR by an armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) -- seriously wounded the loader/operator and prevented the turret from traversing. The crew commander opened fire with a .30 calibre machine gun and was supported by the fire from two similar weapons on the ARV. The tank continued north to a nearby friendly village post whilst the recovery vehicle withdrew south to Nui Dat.
The tank’s arrival alerted the Vietnamese Regional Force (RF) Company who prepared to react against an enemy of (at that time) unknown strength. In parallel, the tank’s contact report sent by radio to the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) base and a request for assistance from the Vietnamese District Chief resulted in the task force’s ready reaction force -- based on D Company 5 RAR -- being mobilised at about 9 am.
The tank’s arrival alerted the Vietnamese Regional Force (RF) Company who prepared to react against an enemy of (at that time) unknown strength. In parallel, the tank’s contact report sent by radio to the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) base and a request for assistance from the Vietnamese District Chief resulted in the task force’s ready reaction force -- based on D Company 5 RAR -- being mobilised at about 9 am.