The Battle of Long Tan

When was the battle of Long Tan

Answer explanation

18 August 1966

Long Tan is Australia's only memorial site in Vietnam

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Other than a memorial for French forces at Dien Bien Phu in the north-west, Long Tan is the only place in Vietnam where a foreign memorial has been permitted.

The Long Tan Cross, which is located approximately 110 kilometres east of Ho Chi Minh City, was erected on August 18, 1969 to mark the site of the battle.

Most monuments and memorials in Vietnam were destroyed following the North Vietnamese victory in 1975.

What were the challenges faced by Australian soldiers as the battled at Long Tan ?

• Outnumbered by the Viet Cong

• Monsoon

• Bad leadership

• Fatigue

Answer explanation

The Anzac forces in the Battle of Long Tan consisted of a mere 105 Australian troops and three New Zealanders.

It is estimated the 108 fighters were facing some 1,500 to 2,500 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces.

The Battle of Long Tan took place over an area no bigger than two football fields, and to add further drama to the already intense environment, a monsoonal lightning storm kicked off almost as soon as the battle began, with artillery positions even being struck by lightning.

Veterans later reported that they were almost blindly shooting into the wet, smoky darkness for hours, and that Vietnamese forces just kept coming in hordes.

One Autralian soldier described the Viet Cong soldiers as being like...

• Lighting

• Tigers

• Zombies

• Ducks

Answer explanation

"They were just walking toward us like zombies and everyone you knocked down there were two to take his place. It was like shooting ducks in a bloody shooting gallery. I would have killed at least 40 blokes that day."

The age range of those killed in the BAttle of Long Tan was (a)  

Answer explanation

True or False

Of those who died (KIA or from wounds in hospital) more than 50% were conscripts into the Army

• True

• False

Answer explanation

A high proportion were National Servicemen, drawing criticism in Australia where conscription for overseas service was increasingly controversial.

The government later limited the number of conscripts to no more than 50 percent of a unit, requiring a rapid and disruptive reorganisation within 1 ATF.

Officially how many Viet Cong casualties were recorded post battle?

• 550

• 1200

• 245

• 300

Answer explanation

An important note; a tactic of the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong was going to extraordinary lengths to remove their dead, wounded and any weapons from the battlefield so no accurate assessment of NVA/VC casualties could be made by the American, South Vietnamese, Australian and other allies.

The battle of Long Tan was the only major battle that the Australians were involved in during the war. It ensured that the Viet Cong were not able to operate in Phuoc Toy province in anything like (major) strength afterwards.

(Ian Sutherland, Conflict in Indo China, Nelson, Melbourne, 1993 p. 82)

Is this assessment of the battle of Long Tan true or false?

• True

• False

Answer explanation

This is very contentious to suggest it was the only major battle.

What Sutherland says about the significance of the battle is accurate.

What was the significance of the Battle of Long Tan?

Answer explanation

* Continuity of the ANZAC legend and spirit: mateship, bravery, duty

* The fact Australia was outnumbered 20:1*

* The number of Australians killed