The Battle of Long Tan was a major battle in the Vietnam War. It took place on August 18, 1966, and Vietnam Veterans Day is celebrated to honor the sacrifices of all soldiers.
Vietnam Veterans Day 2023
Vietnam Veterans Day is a day honoring the men and women who served in the Vietnam War. The war lasted from 1955 to 1975 and was a very divisive conflict. However, the soldiers who fought in Vietnam deserve respect and gratitude.
One of the most famous battles of the Vietnam War was the Battle of Long Tan. It took place on 18 August 1966, with a small force of Australian and New Zealand soldiers fighting against a much larger force of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops. The battle took place at a rubber plantation near Long Tan, Phuoc Tuy province, South Vietnam.
The Australian War Memorial states: “The Battle of Long Tan took place on 18 August 1966. One hundred and five men from Company D, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) and three New Zealanders from the artillery forward observation team from New Zealand’s 161st Field Battery, encountered a force of more than 2,000 Viet Cong soldiers.
Here are some facts and figures about this war:
- According to the Australian War Memorial, during the battle, 17 Australians were killed and 25 soldiers wounded, and one of them later died from his wounds.
- Australians outnumbered during the war. There were over 2000 Vietnamese troops against 108 Australians as stated by Battleoflongtan.com.
- Although outnumbered, the Australians defeated 245-800 Vietnamese soldiers.
- There were 105 soldiers from D Coy, 6RAR, Australian Army and a team of 3 from the New Zealand Front Artillery Observation group, 161 Bty RNZA
- According to Battleoflongtan.com, there were “2,000 soldiers from the 275th Viet Cong Main Regiment, 500 men from an unidentified North Vietnamese Army Battalion, presumably from the 33rd North Vietnamese Regiment, and 550 men from the Airborne Battalion. Provincial Mobilization D445 Viet Cong (VC local forces)”
- Seven Huey UH-1B Iroquois helicopters of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and one helicopter of the US Army Medical Company (Air Ambulance) were used to evacuate the wounded and the deaths of Company D.
- The VC were very well entrenched in the rubber trees and they outnumbered the Australians by 10 to 1 according to the Australian War Memorial.
- The Australian War Memorial mentions that the war lasted about three hours.
In short, the Battle of Long Tan was a decisive moment in the Vietnam War. This day is remembered as a symbol of courage and honors the memory of soldiers who died in war.
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: pagasa.edu.vn