Battle of Long Tan FAQs

Long Tan FAQs to help answer your questions about the battle.

When did the Battle of Long Tan take place?

18 August 1966.

Where did the Battle of Long Tan take place?

In the Vietnamese rubber plantation called Long Tan in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam, approximately 5km’s from the 1st Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat. The entire battlefield was no larger than two football fields. Take a look at our Battle Sketches for more details of the terrain and sequence of events.

How many Aussies (Australians) died in the Battle of Long Tan?

18 Australians were killed in the battle, 17 from Delta Company, 6RAR and 1 from 1APC Squadron who died from his wounds nine days after the battle. Here is the full list of the Long Tan Casualities.

How many Viet Cong died in the Battle of Long Tan?

Officially, 245 Vietnamese bodies were counted on the battlefield by Australian soldiers. However, even though additional bodies and body parts were found over the following days and weeks, the number of 245 remained the officially recorded casualty figure. More Vietnamese bodies were found over a two-week period after the battle, but the official death toll was never adjusted. There is no official record of how many were wounded in the battle, but estimates put the figure between 200 – 800. Three wounded Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army soldiers were taken prisoner on the battlefield on 19 August.

Photo: A Viet Cong (VC) prisoner captured on the morning of 19 August 1966 is brought by stretcher to the No 9 Squadron, RAAF, helicopter to be flown to Vung Tau from the Task Force Headquarters for medical treatment.

How long did the Long Tan battle last?

Three and a half hours. It began at 3:35pm on 18 August 1966 when 11 Platoon had their first contact with a small party of Main Force Viet Cong at the track crossing. Check out our comprehensive, minute by minute Battle Timeline.

What happened at the Battle of Long Tan?

In response to the 1st Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat being mortared in the early hours of 17 August 1966, Delta Company 6RAR was sent out on a patrol to locate the enemy mortar base plate positions and follow up any signs of Vietnamese forces. When they entered into the Long Tan rubber plantation, the 108 men of Delta company found themselves engaged in a ptiched battle over three and a half hours with a reinforced Main Force Viet Cong Regiment of approximately 2000 – 2500 soldiers.

Photo: Lance Corporal G. Richardson (left) and Sergeant Bob Buick apply first aid to Private Jim Richmond, who was shot twice through the chest and lay all night, face down, at his section post.

What were the terrain and weather conditions during the battle?

The battle took place in a rubber plantation called Long Tan. The trees of the rubber plantation offered little protection to either side. The ground was mostly a red coloured clay type soil with no vegetation. The regular afternoon monsoonal rains began at 4:30pm, intensifying at 4:50pm. The rain began easing at 6:30pm and by last light at 7:00pm the rain had reduced to a light sprinkling. This intense rain actually assisted both sides because the ground was so soaked by water, the rain would hit the ground and bounce up creating a 2 – 3 foot band of mist above the surface. However, the torrential rain significantly increased the risks to the RAAF helicopter ammunition resupply and effectively prevented allied airstrikes from United States Air Force from assisting Delta Company.

Photo: A wounded Viet Cong prisoner, one of three found on the battlefield after D Company 6RAR returned to the Long Tan rubber plantation is questioned by 6RAR intelligence officer Captain Bryan Wickens, with the help of a Vietnamese interpreter.

What was the significance of the Battle of Long Tan?

The battle was the first significant engagement that forces from the 1st Australian Task Force were involved in during the Vietnam War. It was also the first large scale battle that Australian and New Zealand forces had fought in since the Korean War. A stated aim of the Communist Vietnamese forces was to attack the 1st Australian Task Force base which was not yet fully constructed and without sufficient defensive forces to deal a catastrophic fatal blow which would cause a public outcry in Australia and New Zealand forcing their respective governments to withdraw their forces. Further, the Battle of Long Tan dealt a devastating blow to 275 Viet Cong Main Force Regiment and the local D445 Viet Cong Mobile Provincial Battalion and it would take years for them to recover. As a consequence, the 1st Australian Task Force was able to largely pacify their Area of Operations throughout Phuoc Tuy province in South Vietnam and the Communist Vietnamese forces never again directly took on the Australian and New Zealand forces.

Photo: Members of D Company 6RAR display the cigarette cases and dolls received from the South Vietnamese government for their action at Long Tan. Front row, [L-R] Privates (Pte) Noel Grimes, Allan May, Bill Arkell, Neil Bextrum and Lance Corporal (LCpl) Bill Rocher. Back row: Second Lieutenant Geoff Kendall, Sergeant Bob Buick, Pte Geoff Peters, Cpl Bill (Bluey) Moore, LCpl Barry Magnussen, Pte Ian Campbell. AWM CUN/66/750/VN.

How did the battle impact Australia?

The initial 17 Australian deaths in the Battle of Long Tan, rising to 18 nine days later, awakened the Australian and New Zealand public to the Vietnam War and the unfolding realities of that war. Prior to this battle there was little public attention or interest in the events taking place in Vietnam. Further, the Australian and New Zealand victory in the Battle of Long Tan effectively imposed Australian and New Zealand dominance through the Phuoc Tuy province for the duration of their presence in Vietnam.

How long was Australia and New Zealand in Vietnam?

The first Australian troops in Vietnam, advisors with the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV), arrived in on 31 July 1962. The last Australian Army battalion left Nui Dat on 7 November while a handful of AATTV advisers remained. They departed Vietnam on 18 December 1972.

Who was fighting in the Battle of Long Tan?

The two principal opposing forces in the battle were Delta Company, 6RAR, Australian Army, comprising 108 soldiers including three New Zealanders from 161 Bty, Royal New Zealand Artillery, and 275 Viet Cong Main Force Regiment comprising 2000 – 2500 soldiers including D445 Viet Cong Mobile Provincial Battalion. Check out our complete breakdown of the opposing forces who participated in the Battle of Long Tan, Facts & Figures.