When was the Battle of Suoi Chau Pha fought?
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The Battle of Suoi Chau Pha (6 August 1967) was fought during the Vietnam War between Australian troops and the Viet Cong. The battle took place during Operation Ballarat, an Australian search and destroy operation in the eastern Hat Dich area, north-west of Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy province. Following a covert insertion the day before which had caught a number of Viet Cong sentries by surprise, A Company, 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (7 RAR) had patrolled forward unaware of the presence of a large Viet Cong main force unit nearby. Clashing with a reinforced company from the Viet Cong 3rd Battalion, 274th Regiment, a classic encounter battle ensued between two forces of roughly equal size. Fought at close quarters in dense jungle amid a heavy monsoon rain, both sides suffered heavy casualties as neither was able to gain an advantage. Finally, after a battle lasting several hours, the Australian artillery proved decisive and the Viet Cong were forced to withdraw, dragging many of their dead from the battlefield after having suffered crippling losses.
Battle of Suoi Chau Pha
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On the basis of documents captured by the Australians during the battle the Viet Cong were identified as being from C12 Company, 3rd Battalion, 274th Regiment, probably assisted by the battalion Reconnaissance Platoon and a number of local force guides. It was assessed that at least a second company had helped in the recovery of many of the Viet Cong dead. Later, during operations the following day, a recently occupied battalion-sized camp was subsequently located about from the site of the battle, and it was considered likely that the Viet Cong company had fought the vigorous action in order the delay the Australians and enable the withdrawal of the remainder of the battalion from their base camp. Meanwhile, elements of the Chau Duc District Company were also believed to be located in the area.
Battle of Suoi Chau Pha
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A Company, 7 RAR had already been patrolling in the Hat Dich since 3 August when the orders for the operation were issued. Utilising an insertion technique perfected by the Special Air Service Regiment they were subsequently re-supplied early on the evening of 5 August, with the supplies successfully unloaded and the helicopters departing within three minutes. The covert infiltration of the infantry companies went undetected, and on the morning of 6 August A Company began to patrol towards the intended site of their initial patrol base. Under the command of Major Ewart O'Donnell, by-mid morning the Australians were approximately east of Phu My. At 10:40, moving north-west with 2 Platoon leading, the Australians crossed a creek, the Suoi Chau Pha, and shortly afterwards located a fresh track which had only recently been used. O'Donnell ordered the lead platoon into ambush positions astride the track, while he moved forward to conduct a reconnaissance. Minutes later two Viet Cong sentries walked into the ambush with their weapons slung, and they were killed instantly by a short burst from an M60 machine-gun, likely surprised by the silent insertion of the Australians.
Battle of Suoi Chau Pha
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In 1967, 2 and 7 RAR assumed responsibility in Phuoc Tuy from their predecessors and continued the extensive patrolling, and cordon and searches characteristic of this conflict. In August 1967, 7 RAR fought elements of the Viet Cong 3rd Battalion, 274th Regiment in the largely unheralded Battle of Suoi Chau Pha, where extensive artillery support again proved decisive. A third infantry battalion arrived in December 1967 as part of a significant expansion of 1 ATF. By the time of the Tet Offensive in 1968, 1 and 3 RAR were serving in theatre. During actions at Fire Support Base (FSB) Coral by 1 RAR and at FSB Balmoral by 3 RAR in May and June 1968, later known as the Battle of Coral–Balmoral, these two battalions of the regiment would fight battles with conventional attributes not seen since Kapyong. In June 1969, an infantry company from 5 RAR, then on its second tour, and supported by a troop of tanks and another of APCs fought a significant combined arms action against a battalion-sized force of North Vietnamese regulars and Viet Cong local force troops during the Battle of Binh Ba.
Royal Australian Regiment
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By 14:30 the Viet Cong commander finally made the decision to withdraw, with the artillery deciding the battle in favour of the Australians. O'Donnell had commanded the battle with cool resolve under constant fire throughout, setting the standard for his men and on one occasion he had run through heavy fire to drag a wounded medic to safety. Withdrawing through the barrage and a number of airstrikes called in to pursue them, the Viet Cong proceeded to drag their dead from the battlefield, having suffered crippling casualties. B Company, 7 RAR was subsequently inserted by helicopter into blocking positions to the north, however they made no contact and were unable to prevent the withdrawal. Numerous blood trails were later found as the Australians attempted to follow up the Viet Cong.
Battle of Suoi Chau Pha
28633525#1
By the second half of 1967 the Viet Cong seemed to have melted away in Phuoc Tuy province, abandoning many of their bunker systems and avoiding the main roads and towns. The Battle of Long Tan and Operation Bribie had weakened the communist forces in the province, while further operations had restricted their movement and logistics. This prompted the commander of the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF)—Brigadier Stuart Graham—to speculate that the Viet Cong may have fled to the border, perhaps leaving the province altogether. Graham reasoned that a succession of operations in the south-east of the province and the completion of the barrier minefield at Dat Do meant that no single, sizable threat remained to the populated areas of Phuoc Tuy.
Battle of Suoi Chau Pha
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A classic encounter battle, the action had been fought between two forces of roughly equal size in the heavy monsoon rain at close quarters. Both companies had deployed to the high ground at around the same time in a bid to outflank the other, with the Australian infantry skilfully using their supporting artillery while the Viet Cong had attempted to nullify the Australian tactics by remaining in close contact. Ultimately, the artillery had decided the outcome in favour of the Australians however, and the Viet Cong had been forced to withdraw with heavy casualties. In this way the fighting bore many similarities to the victory twelve months earlier at Long Tan, yet it remained largely unheralded in Australia. Eight Australian soldiers received gallantry awards for their actions, including Military Crosses to O'Donnell, Ross and Clark, while Sutherland was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. A number of awards were also made to the RAAF pilots and aircrew, including Cox who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Meanwhile, the bravery evident by the Viet Cong during the battle had also made an impression on the Australians, who later acknowledged their tight fire discipline and the skilfulness of their battle drills and tactics which they found to be similar to those used by the Australians themselves.
Battle of Suoi Chau Pha
28633525#2
The Australians had continued to operate independently within Phuoc Tuy province, and while the war had become a series of big unit search and destroy operations in a war of attrition for the Americans, they had pursued their own counter-insurgency campaign. Regardless, differences of opinion between Australian and American methods had produced friction, and increasingly impatient with the Australian approach, in early 1967 the Commander US MACV, General William Westmoreland, had complained to the Commander Australian Forces Vietnam, Major General Tim Vincent, demanding a more aggressive approach. However, the Australians were convinced that deliberate patrolling techniques were more effective in separating communist forces from the population in the villages while working towards slowly extending government control, and such urgings went largely unheeded.
Battle of Suoi Chau Pha
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O'Donnell attempted to probe the Viet Cong flank, and after locating it on the high ground he committed 1 Platoon—under Second Lieutenant Rod Smith—to conduct a right flanking attack. Beginning at 11:30 the Australian assault soon ran into another Viet Cong platoon conducting a similar manoeuvre, and they became involved in an intense battle at close quarters with each side blocking the manoeuvre of the other. A heavy monsoon rain began, drenching the men as they faced each other at a range of just , with seven Viet Cong machine-guns facing six Australian machine-guns at the height of the battle as the two Viet Cong platoons clashed with two Australian platoons. The Australians suffered heavily, losing two section commanders killed and a dozen men wounded in the first few minutes. The fighting continued for another two hours as both forces traded shots, with neither the Australians nor the Viet Cong able to achieve a decisive advantage.
Battle of Suoi Chau Pha
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The highway to Xuyen Moc in the east had been reopened by the Australians in March and April, and with the Viet Cong 275th Regiment believed to have been severely weakened following Long Tan, a series of operations aimed at destroying the Viet Cong 274th Regiment were subsequently launched by 1 ATF. Australian assessments of the Viet Cong 275th Regiment were seemingly reinforced by its unsuccessful attempt to ambush a convoy from US 11th Armoured Cavalry Regiment (11 ACR) on 2 December 1966. Meanwhile, after Westmoreland had again pressed Vincent on what he saw as the limited results achieved by Australian tactics, a large joint US-Australian operation was mounted against the May Tao mountains in Phuoc Tuy, moving against the communist bases in the area. The largest search and destroy operation mounted by the Australians to that point, Operation Paddington (9–15 July) was carried out in co-operation with American and South Vietnamese units based in Bien Hoa province, and targeted the Viet Cong 5th Division.
Battle of Suoi Chau Pha