page_title: Battle of Long Tan
section_title: Fighting continues
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Long Tan / Battle / Fighting continues
caption_attribution_description: English: 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron F-4Cs flying over Vietnam, late 1965. Both aircraft were later repainted in camouflage. McDonnell F-4C-20-MC Phantom 63-7623 modified as EF-4C Wild Weasel flak suppression aircraft. McDonnell F-4C-20-MC Phantom 63-7664 w/o May 30, 1966 with 555th TFS
context_page_description: The Battle of Long Tan took place in a rubber plantation near Long Tân, in Phước Tuy Province, South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. The action was fought between Viet Cong and People's Army of Vietnam units and elements of the 1st Australian Task Force.
  Australian signals intelligence had tracked the VC 275th Regiment and D445 Battalion moving to a position just north of Long Tan. By 16 August, it was positioned near Long Tan outside the range of the artillery at Nui Dat. On the night of 16/17 August, mortars and recoilless rifles attacked Nui Dat from a position 2 kilometres to the east until counter-battery fire caused it to cease. The next morning D Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, departed Nui Dat to locate the firing points and the direction of the enemy withdrawal. Weapon pits were found including mortars and RCLs. D Company clashed with VC around midday 18 August.
  Facing a larger force, D Company called down artillery. Heavy fighting ensued as the VC attempted to encircle and destroy the Australians. After several hours two UH-1B Iroquois from No. 9 Squadron RAAF arrived overhead to resupply them.
context_section_description: By 16:50, it was apparent to Smith that he was facing a force of at least battalion-strength. Yet with his two forward platoons still separated and unable to support each other, D Company was badly positioned for a defensive battle. 10 Platoon had been prevented from engaging the VC attacking 11 Platoon, and was unable to support its withdrawal. Meanwhile, 11 Platoon had gone to ground in extended line following the initial contact, leaving its flanks vulnerable, while its aggressive push forward prior to the engagement also complicated the application of artillery support, which had to be switched to support each platoon as required rather than allowing it to be concentrated. Unable to see either platoon, the D Company forward observer was unsure of 11 Platoon's exact position. As a consequence 10 and 11 Platoons were each forced to fight their own battles, and despite the weight of the indirect fire increasingly becoming available to support the Australian infantry, the VC were able to apply superior firepower as they tried to isolate and attack each platoon in turn. To retrieve the situation, Smith planned to pull his company into an all-round defensive position, enabling his platoons to support each other fighting a co-ordinated battle and care for the wounded until a relief force could arrive. The VC moved to overrun the beleaguered force, but the dispersal of the Australian platoons made it difficult for them to find D Company's flanks and roll them up, and may have led the VC commander to believe he was engaging a much larger force.
  In the meantime, Buick repaired the 11 Platoon radio and re-established communications with Company Headquarters, and with Stanley, who was again able to adjust the artillery by radio. The VC succeeded in closing to within 50 metres (55 yd) of 11 Platoon's position, and much of the artillery was beginning to fall behind them. Although the fire was probably impacting the VC rear area and causing casualties there, these assault troops had deliberately closed with the Australians to negate its effect. Buick estimated 11 Platoon was being assaulted by at least two companies; down to the last of their ammunition and with just 10 of its 28 men still able to fight, he feared they would soon be overrun, and were unlikely to survive beyond the next 10 to 15 minutes. Confident the rest of D Company would be attempting to reach them, but unable to see how that might occur, Buick requested artillery fire onto his own position despite the danger this entailed. Stanley refused, but after confirming 11 Platoon's precarious situation, he was able to walk the artillery in closer. Landing 50 to 100 metres (160 to 330 ft) to their front, the artillery detonated among a large concentration of VC troops, destroying an entire assault line as they formed up. At 17:00, three US F-4 Phantoms arrived on station for an airstrike arranged by Battalion Headquarters.
caption: US F-4 Phantoms over South Vietnam
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