Mark Dodd | August 15, 2008
ON Wednesday night Harry Smith uncorked two bottles of fine red wine to celebrate the award of gallantry medals to his men for their role in the epic Battle of Long Tan. "The fat lady has finally sung," Smith told The Australian.
Dale Marsh's painting of Teddy Sheean, whose bravery gave his mates time to get away. Picture: Australian War Memorial
On August 18, 1966, it was Major Smith and the gallant 100 men of D Company 6RAR - mostly conscripts - who resoundingly defeated a vastly superior force of 1500 North Vietnamese regular troops and Viet Cong guerillas. That battle, fought in driving monsoon rain at a rubber plantation outside the Australian base at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy province, continues to serve as a classic study in the use of combined arms to defeat a superior enemy. It claimed 18 Australian lives and left 21 wounded, with hundreds killed and wounded among the estimated 1500-strong enemy force.
The battle of Long Tan took place 42 years ago but the medal battle is far from over. There are 11 other Long Tan claimants whose role deserves to be more fully recognised, Smith says
Personal photos of previous trips
Visit to Vung Tau and Long Tan in February 2008
Feature Books by Dave Sabben
Dave is one of seven contributing authors to this factual account of the battle. The book went into a reprint within 12 months of its release. Currently in its third print. Click on the cover to read more...
Available as a book -
http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781741141993
Aug 2005: Dave's first book is a 'faction' story where the 'fiction' is in the characters of the VC and NVA leaders but as much as possible of the rest of the story is fact. Click on the cover to read more...
Available as a book -
http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781741145618
or as an eBook -
http://www.ebooks.com/ebooks/book_display.asp?IID=244610
Download LONG TAN PowerPoint presentation Version01b
Download a 50-slide animated Powerpoint presentation
(new version 01b updated Wed 25 June 2008)
Download LONG TAN PowerPoint presentation by clicking the red text at left. It's a PC version and runs on Powerpoint version 2003 and later. Enjoy - it's free! Careful - it's about 7.2Mb (with the extra pix!)
Or click here for the previous version01a @ 5.Mb.