Battle of Nui Le
| Battle of Núi Lé | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, Vietnam ) | |
| Result | Australian and North Vietnamese tactical withdrawal |
Australia
New Zealand
United States
North Vietnam 4 RAR/NZ (ANZAC)Artillery
U.S. air support
5 killed 30 woundedThe Battle of Núi Lé (21 September 1971) was the last major battle fought by Australian and New Zealand forces in
Background
The decision for the Australian withdrawal from Vietnam, was made by the Australian Government and commenced in November 1970 and combat forces were to be reduced gradually during 1971.
Prelude
On June 5, 1971
V Company were positioned west of
PAVN forces fired rockets and mortars at a
11 Platoon of D Company 4 RAR/NZ made contact with a PAVN platoon on 20 September and after a half-hour skirmish, four dead soldiers were found on the battlefield. Their uniforms and equipment and study of the tactics used during the skirmish pointed toward the unit being from the PAVN. Tracks made by the PAVN force indicated about two hundred soldiers had passed through the area.
The commander of the PAVN 33rd Regiment, Colonel Nguyen Van Thuong, had received reports from VC spies that most of the Australian artillery was being packed up for shipping back to Australia therefore it was expected that any fight between PAVN and Australian forces would be between infantry forces alone. The PAVN commander set a number of ambushes for the expected Australian relief forces, however the Australians did not follow the route that was expected by the PAVN and went around the ambush sites instead.
Battle
Patrols by 11 Platoon, D Company 4 RAR/NZ on the morning of 21 September, found sawn logs near the south eastern part of the Courtenay rubber plantation which suggested that there were major fortified bunker positions nearby.[1] B and D Company 4 RAR/NZ moved forward near Núi Lé to attack these fortifications.[4]
12 Platoon, D Company 4 RAR/NZ made first contact with a bunker system containing the security elements of 33rd Regiment's headquarters, suffering one dead from an RPG and four wounded. An estimated platoon strength assault attacked 11 Platoon, and after a 15-minute firefight the PAVN forces withdrew to their bunkers after removing their dead and wounded from the battlefield.[1] 11 and 12 platoons were ordered to withdraw to an area to the south so airstrikes and artillery could be called in to soften up the bunker systems.
Under the control of the Forward Observer, United States Air Force air strikes were called in and F-4 Phantoms and A37 Dragonflys bombed the area with napalm, air to surface missiles, flechette and 500 pound bombs.[4] Iroquois and Cobra helicopter gunships and Australian artillery strikes also hit the bunker system.[1] The American pilots reported PAVN forces fleeing to the north. However this was a deceptive move by the PAVN in that they deliberately sent soldiers running from the scene of an attack to create the misbelief that they had abandoned the fight.
At 14:00, D Company was ordered forward to
The bodies of the three Australian soldiers who had been killed could not be recovered and orders were given to pull back, which under heavy fire did not happen until 16:00. Just as the sun was setting the ANZAC forces ran into the second PAVN battalion, with the commander of 11 Platoon, Gary McKay being hit twice by a sniper's bullet in the shoulder.[5] It was now pitch black and the forward observer, Captain Greg Gilbert, unable to use his map or compass, and unable to speak to the company commander, Major Jerry Taylor, brought artillery fire to within 25 metres of the company under difficult circumstances as more PAVN forces joined the battle.[5] To compound the artillery problem the company was in range of only three guns and these were at the limit of their range. The PAVN commander subsequently realized the error of the VC intelligence about there being no artillery, and the PAVN disengaged at 21:00 just as the Australians were running low on ammunition.[6]
Aftermath
After a number of hours of fighting the elements of the PAVN 33rd Regiment pulled out of the bunker system and moved north after recovering the dead and wounded they could carry. The Australian wounded were evacuated by helicopter in the morning of 22 September.[5] Five Australians had been killed and 30 wounded. Total PAVN losses are unknown, however 14 bodies were found on the battlefield. On the same day at 17:39 the New Zealanders of V Company RNZIR moved up to reinforce D Company in anticipation of an attack however the day passed with no enemy attack or activity.
On 23 September, D and V companies moved back into the area of the bunkers. V Company began the assault on the PAVN bunker system at 11:05 moving in very short bounds in torrential rainfall through bomb and artillery craters and fallen timber and it was not until 17:25 that they reached the bunkers where they found the bodies of three Australians from 11 Platoon who had been killed in the assault the day before.[7] The PAVN had fully vacated the bunker system. V Company cleared a track to a helicopter winch point and the New Zealand riflemen shouldered arms and formed an impromptu "guard of honour" in tribute as members of D Company moved forward with litters for the fallen.[8] For his role in the battle, Second Lieutenant Garry McKay, who was badly wounded, received the Military Cross.[4] Captain Gilbert was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in 2018 for his actions during the battle.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Rowe 1989, p. 159.
- ^ "Vietnam War 1962–1972". Website. Army History Unit. Archived from the original on 5 September 2006. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
- ^ Ham 2008, p. 552.
- ^ a b c Ham 2008, p. 553.
- ^ a b c d e Rowe 1989, p. 160.
- ^ 'Bad moon rising – how Australians avoided a massacre at Nui Le' Author: Greg Dodds, URL: https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/bad-moon-rising--how-australians-avoided-a-massacre-at-nui-le-20171004-gyu4hl (extract from a draft book on the battle of Núi Lé)
- ^ Price, Alan. "The Battle of Nui Le". The Fighting Fourth: 4 RAR Associations of Australia. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- ^ Ekins, Ashley (3–4 March 2012). "Surrounded By Enemy: Last Stand in Vietnam". Weekend Australian: 17. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
References
- Ham, Paul (2008). Vietnam: The Australian War. Sydney: Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-7322-8237-0.
- Rowe, John (1989). Vietnam: The Australian Experience. Sydney: Time–Life Books Australia and John Ferguson. ISBN 0-949118-07-9.
Further reading
- Ekins, Ashley; McNeill, Ian (2012). Fighting to the Finish: The Australian Army and the Vietnam War 1968–1975. The Official History of Australia's Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1975. Vol. Nine. St Leonards, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781865088242.
- McKay, Gary (1996). Delta Four: Australian Riflemen in Vietnam. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-905-7.
- Taylor, Jerry (2001). Last Out: 4RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Battalion's Second Tour in Vietnam. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-561-8.
- Fairhead, Fred (2017). A Duty Done: A Summary of Operations by the Royal Australian Regiment in the Vietnam War 1965-1972 2nd Ed (PDF). The Royal Australian Regiment Association SA Inc.
External links