ANZAC Action in the Vietnam War

their home again these young australians home from war and they march with honor through the streets of sydney they're from the first battalion royal australian regiment and the units attached to it these last 12 months in south vietnam they're part of the first professional army australia has ever fielded and they wear the first medal the queen has ever awarded anzac troops alone their average age of 21 makes them part of today's gear and go-go generation but as soldiers they hold to the traditions of their fathers who fought in world war ii and of their grandfathers the original diggers of world war one who forged the anzac legend more than 50 years ago [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] it is day six of a search and destroy mission in war zone d a viet cong stronghold 40 miles north of saigon the australian first battalion group moves into new positions in the scrub seeking contact with the enemy american battalions supported by armor move into more settled country close by the brigade to which the australians and americans belong has had little contact with the kong though three of his main force regiments are known to be in the area casualties have been few most caused by booby traps the vietcong leaves behind engineers from the battalions attached third field troop royal australian engineers cautiously clear the australian area one of the many dangerous jobs that earned for the sappers the admiration if not the envy of the foot soldiers so with the experience of more than 20 major operations behind them and the world's most thorough jungle training before that the troops quickly turned dense bush into a reasonably comfortable bivouac the companies dig in around the battalion's perimeter and standing patrols are stationed well outside the lines to prevent surprise then as usual there's nothing to do but sit and wait and endure the heat and think of home outlying patrols in contact with the enemy call for more to support [Music] brigade headquarters the target of the main viet cong assault immediately orders in artillery the first guns are those of the australian 105th field battery royal australian artillery covered by us air force jets they're lifted in by chinook helicopters of the brigades tactical transport [Music] company once down the guns are soon in action responding to target information passed on by signalers in the battalion command [Music] post [Music] the combined fire response increases as more batteries of guns come in and the vietcong assault ends as abruptly as it began a daylight action of this scale is practically unheard of we must have stumbled onto something big the soldiers say like the time we found that vc headquarters underground or maybe the kong are politically desperate for a victory who knows except the kong and the troops prepare to face a knight during which the enemy battalions attack again [Music] in the morning the troops saddle up to face day seven in war zone d and all they know for sure about the night's events is that the viet cong didn't win but the lines are buzzing with rumors all the same details of the action will remain uncertain until patrols bring in and count the bodies and collect evidence for intelligence to assess [Music] most of the patrols go out on foot but these men as soon as they finish breakfast will ride a company moves down through a rubber plantation to join a mechanized sweep through surrounding villages whose populations are known or suspected to be sympathetic to the vietcong they travel in fast armored personnel carriers which provide some protection against the mines and ambushes that are the bane of road communications [Music] the carriers are manned by troopers of a renamed unit they were formed from the regular squadron of the 4th 19th prince of wales light horse a citizen military forces regiment but are now redesignated the first apc troop of the new first cavalry regiment royal australian armored corps an american general however has refused to accept the change hell no he says they lend tone to my outfit and describes them in orders as king [Music] the patrol maintains contact with australian army spotter planes or bird dogs which report back any movement on the [Music] ground troops clear the area and check the villagers as they come home last night vietcong soldiers their mortars and placed in this village timed their fire to synchronize with that of an american battery some distance away for a time the americans believe they were being fired on by their own guns when the stratagem was uncovered the kong motors were quickly silenced and this is the result why do you burn my house a villager demands why did you let the cong use it as the reply how can i stop them the answer is where have all the young men gone the young men are with the viet cong and may be lying dead in front of brigade positions now or buried by their comrades in shallow graves an intelligence corporal one of three vietnamese speaking members of the battalion asks permission to set up a medical clinic this is standard practice for the battalion's medical platoon mostly bandsmen who work as stretcher bearers in the field in this village bitter and suspicious few patients come forward for treatment by the battalion's doctor but in other villages many do and maybe even here when the troops move on some will remember that there are soldiers who fight that neither rape nor pillage nor inflict needless pain but try instead to mitigate the misery of war [Music] what happened last night nothing what have you seen today nothing where have all the young men gone i don't know the soldiers are looking for any evidence that will give them a clue to the direction of the vietcong retreat but they find nothing in the deserted villages along the trail [Music] these chinese-made anti-tank rockets were dropped by a wounded or dying man weapons are mostly new and very well made chinese copies of russian arms treasured by owners who have no use for them now more than 200 viet cong bodies have been picked up and buried 20 of them killed by the australians one australian has been slightly wounded american casualties are officially described as light the next and nil casualty rate is counted a stroke of extraordinary good fortune by the australians a river running through the australian lines is more than ordinary good fortune too being able to wash and cool off in vietnam's heat is simple luxury in the field [Music] but iced water and a hot meal in the evening is taken for granted from day two on in any fixed location the meals are brought into the troops as part of the quartermasters resupply [Music] program thanks to helicopters and the quality of the cooks they're the best fed troops in the history of australian arms imagine diggers in the trenches of gallipoli or along the kokoda trail topping off a chicken dinner with a can of cold tomato juice and a fresh apple and also thanks to helicopters and the skill of the medics these soldiers are less likely to die of wounds than any in the history of war when not on patrol or on picket or other duty the troops spine bash in the time-honored fashion of soldiers anywhere and hope that nothing more will happen before the operation ends it is day 10 in war zone d the battalion's colonel tells his orders group that the battalion is moving back to its permanent camp at bienhua the americans move out tonight and in the morning the white or light horse go with them the rest of the battalion stays to cover the extraction of the guns and then lifts out at 14 30 hours tomorrow by 1600 hours there'll be nobody left in war zone d but the kong [Music] [Music] uh so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] huh [Music] engineers every subunit of the battalion group has its pub except for occasions like this they don't open until the working day ends and close again for evening stand to finally shouting at 9 pm [Music] while these soldiers enjoy their hard-earned beer others are out in the battalion's tactical area of responsibility helping to protect one of the busiest and noisiest military air bases in the world [Music] [Music] so [Music] life in vienna is not too rigorous now that most of the comforts of home have been installed but these men after saigon for a day's leave are happy to go leave is regular and every man can expect a week in either hong kong or bangkok before his tour is up and the fact that opportunities to spend his payer limited here means that when on leave he's never short of cash and when he comes back he's never short of work this is a class for junior ncos training for promotion in the ranks of an expanding army training and retraining is continuous here and drill is about as popular in vienhoi as it is back home [Music] this is another kind of school run by the royal australian army educational corps the soldiers here are sitting for a social studies examination at the end of one of a series of courses which can take a man up to matriculation standard the courses are popular though cynics in the ranks suggest that this is because soldiers are released from normal duty to attend a more likely answer is that the better a soldier's education the better his pay and the better his chances of promotion desire for self-improvement is no less common among soldiers than in other parts of the community and the facilities for it are better than most even here after school sport [Music] victory at touch football is sought with considerable sincerity thanks to the gentle advice and encouragement of rival company sergeant majors sports of all kinds are popular with the australians and while it's true that the gunners of 105th battery tend to favor cricket there is no basis to the rumor that the cavalrymen play polo from their carriers [Music] then almost too soon to believe it's time to go again it's a big one warzone d again the target of vietcong headquarters liftoff is 0-700 hours in the morning and the australians go in first heavy opposition to the landing is expected all equipment must be checked and ready today so [Music] the armorers say that on the day before an operation they're as busy as a betting shop on cup day no soldier would go into the field with equipment not in perfect order every man has memories too many memories now [Music] oh [Music] so in the morning nobody talks much every man knows what he's here to do [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] so [Music] you

Channel: Martin Walsh Red Dune Films

Views: 375,749

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Id: _nfDVvDaJfw

Length: 25min 0sec (1500 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 18 2020