Australian artillery provided essential fire support for infantry throughout the Vietnam War. Using air mobility and fire support bases, gunners delivered accurate strikes that were decisive in major engagements. Their contribution proved vital in protecting allied lives until 1971.
Captain Mike Thompson arrived in the former Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) in early August 1962. A member of the first contingent of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV), Thompson was the only artillery gunner among the group of 36 officers and men selected as military advisers. He was the first Australian gunner to serve in South Vietnam, but neither he nor his successors in the AATTV served with South Vietnamese artillery units.
Not until September 1965 was an Australian battery deployed. Fortunately, the 105th Field Battery had not long completed a training exercise in air mobility, an aspect of the war that would become familiar to all Australian gunners who served in South Vietnam.
Air mobility, usually involving helicopters, provided gunners with a quick, reliable means of moving their artillery pieces from one location to another. It was an important requirement in a war with no front line and in which the enemy could appear almost anywhere.
The 105th Field Battery operated at first with the 1st United States (US) Infantry Division and later in support of the 173rd Airborne Brigade with which the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR), was also operating.
Not surprisingly, the battery soon began registering a number of 'firsts'. Two days after arriving in Bien Hoa Province that September, the 105th fired Australia's first artillery rounds of the war. Then, during Operation Hump in November 1965, it became the first Australian battery to be deployed by an Iroquois helicopter.
During January 1966, the 105th Field Battery was in action during Operation Crimp, when US and Australian forces encountered an extensive Vietcong tunnel complex. By the time Crimp ended on 14 January, the number of Australian war dead had doubled from 8 to 16. Numbered among those killed on the operation was the battery's forward observer, Captain Ken Bade, who was attached to a 1st Battalion (1RAR) rifle company during the operation.
Not long after Operation Crimp, the Menzies government announced an increase in Australia's war commitment.
The battalion that had deployed in 1965 would be followed by a self-contained task force of 2 infantry battalions and supporting elements, including the 1st Field Regiment. It was the first time that the regiment had been committed to operations since its formation after World War II.
The deployment included rotational field regiments with 3 about batteries and independent batteries:
- 1st Field Regiment, RAA, deployed from May 1966 to May 1967, and from February 1969 to February 1970, including 101st, 103rd and 105th Field Batteries
- 4th Field Regiment, RAA, deployed from May 1967 to May 1968, and from February 1970 to February 1971, including 106th, 107th and 108th Field Batteries
- 12th Field Regiment, RAA, deployed from February 1968 to February 1969, including 102nd, 104th and 131st Field Batteries.
The 105th Field Battery, RAA, served an independent tour from September 1965 to May 1966.
Value of artillery
From then on, each Australian battalion had its own support battery whose commander was always located with the battalion commander.
The desperate fighting during the Battle of Long Tan shortly after the Task Force's arrival clearly demonstrated the value of artillery support to an infantry force in peril.
So dire was the situation and the enemy troops so close that artillery was called in on friendly positions. Throughout the terrible hours of fighting, the guns kept up a constant fire as they broke up enemy attacks and struck at likely concentration and forming-up areas. Those who cleared the battlefield the following day estimated that half of the enemy dead had been killed by artillery.
At Long Tan, the infantry fought for their lives, and the armoured vehicles played a vital role in the latter part of the battle. However, accurate and deadly artillery ensured that the heavily outnumbered Australians prevailed.
Long Tan confirmed that, as long as they were within range of the guns, patrols could be sent deep into enemy territory. In the years to follow, artillery became an integral part of battalion operations.
Fire support bases
One means by which artillery could operate in support of infantry patrolling outside the immediate vicinity of Nui Dat was through the establishment of fire support bases.
Generally employing a battalion's artillery, mortars and armour, a temporary fire support base enabled operations well away from the Australian Task Force Base at Nui Dat.
Fire support bases could remain as centres for operations in a particular locale for months at a time. Some of them, such as the 'Horseshoe', became permanent.
Among the most well-known of many Australian fire support bases were those at Coral and Balmoral. Established in mid-1968, both bases came under heavy attack on several occasions. The fighting that raged around these bases during the Battle of Coral–Balmoral became the most protracted battle fought by the Australians in South Vietnam.
At Coral, for the first time since World War II, gunners had to defend their artillery pieces in close-quarter combat.
Withdrawal in 1971
Artillery continued to support Australian infantry until the end of the war.
It's possible to quantify the number of shells fired by Australian guns or the number of operations in which the artillery was involved. But the figure that best sums up the artillery's contribution is one that can never be known: the number of Australian lives saved through their support of the infantry, armoured corps, engineers and others serving in South Vietnam.
The last Australian gunners, from the 104th Battery, left South Vietnam in December 1971. During the war, 14 gunners lost their lives, including 3 forward observers serving with infantry companies.