Official Documents

Here are some official documents related to the Battle of Long Tan and Australia’s involvement in Vietnam which have been declassified. These include official Australian ‘After Action Reports’, ‘Commander’s Diaries’ and more.

Here are some of the official declassified Australian Army Commander’s Diaries and After Action Reports covering the lead up to the battle, the battle itself and the period after it (1-31 August 1966):

The Battle of Long Tan Documents

• Official Long Tan After Action Reports (.pdf 4MB)
• 6RAR Commander’s Diary 1-31 Aug 1966 (.pdf 17.5MB)
• Part 1 – 1 Australian Task Force Commander’s Diary 1-31 Aug 1966 (.pdf 12MB)
• Part 2 – 1 Australian Task Force Commander’s Diary 1-31 Aug 1966 (.pdf 12MB)
• Long Tan Battle Record by 1ATF Operations Officer Lt Col Dick Hannigan (2.2MB)
• Battle of Long Tan Intelligence Outline (.pdf 505K) – extracted from Ian McNeill’s book ‘To Long Tan: Australian Army and the Vietnam War, 1950-66 (Official History of Australia’s Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts, 1948-75) – Allen & Unwin Australia, 1993.

6RAR Historical Documents

The first Routine Orders (RO) produced for 6RAR, 6 June 1965:

• 6RAR – Routine Orders 1- 65 – Page 1 (.pdf 1.38MB)
• 6RAR – Routine Orders 1- 65 – Page 2 (.pdf 838K)

The first ‘State of the Battalion Report’ for 6RAR:

• 6RAR State of the Battalion 10 Dec 65 (.pdf 6.14MB)

Brief history of 547 Signal Troop, Australian Army:

• History of 547 Signal Troop, Australian Army (.pdf 794K) – secret radio signals intelligence and tracking unit based at Nui Dat during the Vietnam War in support of 1 Australian Task Force