who won the battle of coral balmoral

He wrestled with it. The intent of the operation was to drive out the rebels who had survived the earlier Ap Bac engagement. On 3 May 1968, nearly four weeks after the Australian deployment on the operation, 3rd Battalion (3RAR) was relieved by 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR). By early 1968, 1 ATF had been reinforced and was at full strength with three infantry battalions supported by armour, arti… The Mortar platoon was located at the left (northern) flank of the gun line some 50 metres from the nearest guns and like the guns it had a centre of arc of 1600 mils (due east). Despite the near run thing that was the Battle of Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral, Australian troops proved themselves worthy of their forefathers in previous conflicts. In simple terms it is “much ado about nothing” since both CO 3RAR and CO 1RAR have strenuously denied that the intelligence about formed bodies of the enemy reinforcing Saigon was passed in the orders. Andrews gave an overview of the artillery and air support that he was coordinating and advised that “Spooky” would shortly be on station. One of the detachment was slightly wounded. As the fly-in was coming to an end, a detachment of 131 Divisional Locating Battery comprising two listing posts (LP) and a mortar locating radar was airlifted in among the last sorties. The lack of FSPB defence coordination and orders from Murtagh, the Local Defence Commander, both before and during the attack is perplexing. The term FSB was used by the American Army and was based on its established practice of using firepower alone to dominate the surrounding area. In short the Splintex fired over the Mortar Platoon was fired by No 5 gun 102 Field Battery and it was one fire mission comprising five rounds. All was now bedlam within the 102 Battery position. From their shell scrapes, the men of the mortar platoon began to engage the NVA with their personal weapons. Furthermore, Jensen was not considering the fire from the 90 mm RCLs which belonged to the Anti-tank Platoon. 161 Battery moved to Coral which was then able to provide 18 guns to support Balmoral. Battle of Dogger Bank, naval engagement between British and German battle cruisers during World War I. Enemy swirled around Forsdike‘s men; the young bombardier’s M60 jammed. [32] Annex B to 1 RAR After Action Report, 2/68. Indeed, the need to stop defensive work for a full stand-to under these circumstances was highly questionable and resulted in only the northern guns (4, 5 and 6) being bunded before the bulldozer was obliged to stop. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the authors simply did not understand the vital military implications of the intelligence issue. www.thebribieislander.com.au [35] McNeil & Ekins, On the Offensive, p. 368. It contained one map reference, XT925284, and made no mention of K Pad let alone any other LZs. Contact! Battle of FSPB Coral Balmoral for the engineers was more intense, over a larger battle-space and lasted for a longer duration of time. [27] McNeill & Ekins, On the Offensive, p. 368-9. 102 Battery CP listened to the discussions on the 1 RAR Command Net and Jensen made several transmissions ‘calling for’ Splintex to be fired over his position. The appointment of a FSPB defence commander was common standard practice and had been followed in all deployments previous to Coral. To begin at a basic level, the official historians chose to use the acronym FSB instead of FSPB. This book takes the reader inside the tanks to share the experiences of their crews in action in the jungle. 6 to Operation Order 19/68 but the exact location of only one LZ, designated as K Pad, was given a specific map grid reference. Wiki User. Heavy fighting between against North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong by United States and South Vietnam forces in the days preceding May 12th in 1968 had resulted in extensive damage to Saigon and the eventual withdrawal of the North Vietnamese due to heavy losses. Indeed, subsequently several officers admitted such, including two company commanders and the CO of 12 Field Regiment. The latter was quickly put to work piling up protective earth bunds around individual guns. The North Vietnamese were able to penetrate the Australian perimeter, temporarily capturing a forward gun position and overrunning the mortar position. The Australians codenamed the area Surfers and further divided it into Bondi, Newport and Manly areas of operation each with a fire support base at their centre if required. The Official History failed to analyse the question of enemy intelligence in relation to the tactical stance adopted by the Australian force. To provoke another Viet Cong attack. The Australian dead and wounded were evacuated by helicopter to the US hospital at Long Binh. Paperback. As one part of this commemoration, DVA has published four nominal rolls. Perhaps the passage of time has dulled Cameron’s memory, but his statement reproduced in the Official History is clearly inconsistent with the 1 ATF verbal orders, the 1 ATF written orders and the recollections of the senior infantry commanders as well as those of the artillery officers involved. Meleshirt – The Battle Of Coral Balmoral Vietnam Country Shirt Posted on March 15, 2021 by admin This is one great way to put your personal stamp on a gift for someone special (or tailor it specifically to that someone special’s style). The latter directed each infantry battalion “to establish” its affiliated direct support battery in Coral. '. The Battle of Phước Long was a decisive battle of the Vietnam War which began on December 12, 1974, and concluded on January 6, 1975. [38] McNeil & Ekins, On the Offensive, p. 370. Contrary to this reality the Official History states that B Company 3 RAR on landing at an LZ some 1,000 metres to the South West “hurried” to the original landing zone which could only have been K Pad. He called for his men to get down and the lethal hail from 5 rounds slashed overhead.[34]. He would then immediately call for fire, and the bangs quickly followed.[29]. The battle began with the opening of the Second Battle of Bapaume to the north of the river. They were set to work digging their personal weapon pits to stage 1 (1.5 metres deep), a task that none enjoyed but an effort that saved lives later on. The Battle of Fire Support Base Coral chronicles the largely untold story of the biggest and most sustained battle Australian forces had been involved in since World War II. The Battle of FSPB Coral Unit Citation for Gallantry UCG. At about midnight the Mortar Platoon machine gun opened fire on three enemy soldiers who were sighted at the edge of the Mortar position. [9]  This grid reference specified a position just 200m from the LZ designated in the orders. The Official History account is totally wrong and the authors failed to refer to readily available sources to cross reference their version of events. A replacement gun, bulldozer and gun tyres for No 2 were air delivered later in the day. 102 Battery CP had telephone communications with the Regimental CP throughout the battle but with the exception of the order to throw grenades no instructions were issued. Bennett regarded this as the second critical period in the battle, when the enemy had actually achieved a break-in. The Battle of Coral Balmoral was the biggest, bloodiest and most protracted battle of the Vietnam War, with more casualties than any other action during the campaign. In all of my business and personal dealings over the years there is one issue that stands out above all others - communication. [25] McNeill & Ekins, On the Offensive, p. 81. The NVA began to withdraw and by first light artillery and the gunship helicopters were engaging their withdrawal routes as they fled to the north, north east and south west. The O-sized bulldozer sat forlornly in the middle of the gun position riddled with bullets and shrapnel and leaking fuel. Frank Beattie gave the address at my local Anzac Day service this year. Operation Toan Thang had been underway for some four weeks when, according to the Official History, the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) Commander, Brigadier Hughes, attended an Orders Group at the American II Field Force Vietnam Headquarters at Long Binh on 10 May 1968. The Artillery Fragmentary Order (Frag O), transmitted by radio, was received on the night of the 11 May 1968. At the Mortar Line Jensen and his men were also under attack: The first warning of the attack came from Corporal Hickey, a section second-in-command (later killed in action), who alerted the Platoon second-in–command as the mortar attack began, and stated he was one of the picquets and there were about 400 enemy 50 metres away and gibbering. Although the FSPB defences were incomplete and the  command and control arrangements for the FSPB almost non-existent, the initiative and determination of individual soldiers augmented by massive accurate and timely fire support prevented what could have been a disaster for the Australians. As tracer and small arms dissected the night. In Jensen’s case receiving orders would have been difficult since his telephone connection with the Regimental Command Post had been severed. One of the guns of 102 Battery showing bunding around the gun. Fishpond Australia, The Battle Of Coral: Vietnam Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral, May 1968 by Lex McAulayBuy . In this vein, it has been said that God cannot change the past, that historians alone can do that. It was the largest and most prolonged operation for the Australian Task Force throughout the war. For The Whole Family. THE BATTLE OF CORAL - VIETNAM FIRE SUPPORT BASES CORAL AND BALMORAL, MAY 1968. Click to explore. The withdrawal of helicopter support affected the orderly arrival of 102 Battery’s guns which began to be flown in at 1230 hours, before 1 RAR. Apart from the difficulties posed by the terrain, the area was thick with Viet Cong soldiers causing a visiting US General, whose troops had operated in the area previously, to remark ‘Tell your commanding officer that you won’t need to go looking for them. The North Vietnamese attack on Fire Support Base Coral had been the most continuous ground attack on an Australian position since the Second World War. The battle, fought primarily between aircraft and naval vessels, foreshadowed the kind of carrier warfare that marked later fighting in the Pacific War. The wire linking the system had been cut by incoming RPG and mortar rounds. May 14, 2021. Mortars and RPGs were used against Coral in an attempt to suppress supporting fire but the attempt failed. Regrettably, it appears that the two battalion commanders may not have heard the full intelligence briefing, as they were reportedly “taken aside” for a chat with the 1ATF Commander. D Company 3 RAR, the company designated to defend the FSPB, indicated that it arrived at Coral (although timings are confused). The Mortar Platoon  was not isolated on the perimeter as claimed in different accounts of Coral; in a further display  of the poor defensive layout the Mortar Platoon, 12 Fd Regt HQ and 102 Battery actually formed the perimeter! However, K Pad was used as the LZ for the reconnaissance parties. The Battle of Coral was fought by the Australian soldiers engaged in it with their renowned courage,initiative and professionalism that saw them victorious against an enemy that vastly outnumbered them. In … Likewise, no sub-unit commander or subordinate officers received any information that the enemy was present in strength and spoiling for a fight. Grimes recalled: Johnny and I saw no more than 150 metres out massed ranks of (enemy) infantry just stood up and came forward.[18]. E: [email protected]. He advised both the local defence CP and HQ 1 RAR of his situation but the latter needed three reports before they understood what was happening at the Mortar Platoon. Franklin took the howitzer’s firing pin with him; a wise precaution but one that he failed to tell any of his officers about. What is particularly frustrating for this author is that the advice of a number of people, who actually participated in the battle at Coral, was ignored. Australia, Battle of Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral. Both Jensen and Ahearn met with Ekins, one of the Official History authors, after the publication of the Official History and pointed out the errors regarding the firing of Splintex over the mortars but Ekins declined to accept their eye witness account. The CO 1 RAR finally relented and agreed. As readers of the “Australia’s Vietnam War” website, will be aware I have written several research notes on the Battle of Coral eg: One was to assault No 6 gun and re-take it from the enemy, then to move out to clear the area in front of the gun and mortar positions. Like the Battle of Long Tan and the Battle of Coral/Balmoral, Binh Ba was one of only five battles to be recognised during the Vietnam War with the award of a battle honour to the participating units. At 1936 hours B Company 1 RAR fired at a party of enemy without any result. The volume covers the three decades of the Army2s experience in Vietnam, from the early years of advice and support to the French government through active intervention with combat forces and gradual withdrawal. Shop 9/ 9 Toorbul St, Bongaree. The Vietnam War ( Vietnamese: Chiến tranh Việt Nam ), also known as the Second Indochina War, was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Growing confusion was suddenly compounded by the unexpected arrival of 161 Battery’s guns. “Because they’re Viet Cong cattle, that’s why.”, “How can you divine the political beliefs of a cow when you’re in an aircraft and the cow’s on the ground?”, “If we don’t kill the cattle, the Viet Cong will eat them, so let’s get in first.”, “What, and kill the poor beasts in case someone else does? Battle of the Coral Sea (May 4–8, 1942), World War II naval and air engagement in which a U.S. fleet thwarted the Japanese invasion of Port Moresby in New Guinea. Defences were improved including deepening of personal weapon pits, the addition of overhead cover, the construction of machine gun bunkers within the bunds of each gun, wire defences and sandbagging the roof of the CP. Ahearn was asleep in his weapon pit and was woken by the barrage. The primaries sounded at half after three Such a direction would have been meaningless to the artillery if they had received it, but no such direction was received in the radio orders. Found inside – Page 268... Vietnam Veterans Reconstruction Group, 218 battles See Balmoral, Battle of; ... 19 Coral-Balmoral, Battle of, 68 corpse mutilation, 189–91 See 268 Index. The Program at this time is:- ... you must understand that the numbers just won’t allow it to happen and it is only one dinner. Encountering dug in enemy forces, the Company was pinned down by aggressive enemy forces. Veterans remember Battle of Coral-Balmoral. Lieutenant I. F. Ahearn , Gun Position Officer 102 Field Battery, Coral, South Vietnam  21 May 1968. On May 12th, 1 ATF was re-deployed to obstruct the withdrawal and establish a fire support base which was named FSB Coral but poor reconnaissance and inadequate planning led to an amount of confusion during the fly-in. You may be right about who saw the OP Order before Coral but I only received Frag O and NO MENTION of NVA coming from the north was mentioned. Tags:102 Field Battery, 12 Field Regiment, 161 Field Battery, 1ATF, 1RAR, 3RAR, featured-articles, FSPB Coral. Engaging with decision makers at all levels in business and government. At the gun position, Alexander spoke to Ian Ahearn, the Gun Position Officer (GPO), and one of the Section Commanders, Bob Lowry. They told him of the newly dug positions in the rubber trees just north of the guns, and that they thought there was ’something funny going on’.[13]. In addition to his lack of experience – and probably because of it – Murtagh had complicated the FSPB defence problem by his own poor decision to site the two batteries 1,500 metres apart. ‘Stay down’, Jensen shouted to his platoon each time through the din, ‘Splintex coming in’. I have continued to follow discussions among Vietnamese historians and NVA veterans on the Battles of Coral (Sở Hội) and Balmoral (Đồng Tràm). During the Second General Offensive launched by North Vietnamese forces in 1968, the 1st Australian Task Force deployed two infantry battalions – 1 RAR and 3 RAR- two artillery batteries – 102 Field Battery (click here to learn more) and 161 NZ Field Battery – mortars and support units, 45 kilometres north of Saigon and 60 kilometres north-west of the Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat to establish fire support bases astride enemy infiltration routes to Saigon. thebribieislander At the 102 Battery position Jensen and Ahearn sited the two Battery machine guns, which were placed in front of Number 4 Gun and Number 6 Gun, and coordinated their arcs of fire with the Mortar Platoon machine gun. Jensen’s Mortar Line bore the brunt of the casualties with five dead and eight wounded out of eighteen men. The Battle of FSPB Coral Balmoral was unique in the history of the Royal Australian Engineers in that it is the only instance where an entire engineer … Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The mission assigned to 1 ATF was to “occupy blocking positions within AO Surfers to interdict enemy withdrawal routes from the South and SW.” Area of Operations (AO) Surfers, as the Australian area was called, was to be divided into subordinate areas of operations; AO Bondi allocated to 1 RAR and AO Manly allocated to 3 RAR which replaced 2 RAR on the same day as the orders group. Manning the machine gun in front of No 6 gun Gunners Mick Grimes and John Schwartze could not believe their eyes as RPG and machine gun fire flashed over their heads into the battery position. Yet, Long Tan stands apart from much more significant battles (like those of Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral) for no other reason than because of the loss of 18 Australian infantrymen, our greatest one-day loss in the war. Execution Sequence of Events, Annex B, 1 RAR After Action Report 2/68, Operation Toan Thang, 30 June 1968. The designated commander of the fire support base also attended that OGp at Bearcat. The proximity of the Mortars (blue circles) to the guns can be clearly seen. On announcing the citation, Mr Chester said that the men who fought at Fire Bases Coral and Balmoral displayed collective gallantry which is definitely worthy of the unit citation. The other group was to be prepared to move into the Mortar Position to provide aid. The Official History state that “on reaching the artillery position, the North Vietnamese overran two guns and desperate fighting at close quarters occurred between the gun emplacements.”[35] This description in the Official History is wrong. No defensive wire barriers were constructed since the wire had finally arrived on the position late in the day and erection of barriers could not be completed by last light. For a listing by name of soldiers Killed in Action in this battle and others who served on this operation (a Work in Progress) see the Campaign Page HERE. It was obvious that they were confused and disoriented; most sent their affiliated artillery Forward Observers to 102 Battery to check on the map location before moving out to their night ambush positions. Fifty years ago, Australian soldiers fought the largest and most sustained battles of Australia's war in Vietnam. The 102 Battery Forward Observer with the company, Gordon Alexander, quickly called in a fire mission and the tranquillity at the 102 Battery position was broken as “Contact! To determine an accurate location of the area, Ahearn, Lowry and the Battery Surveyor moved off into the rubber to a set of ruins that appeared on the map; this meant that the ruins could be given a grid reference. The pilot was eventually given permission to shoot the cattle by a more senior officer, but to Bullen’s great pleasure the pilot reported only two were slain, the remaining four escaped! Found inside... arrived with supplies and took our casualties back to Aechelon. ... pride in the battle honour “Coral-Balmoral” being added to our regimental colours. Grimes was “stitched up” by an NVA with an AK47 rifle, and was wounded in the hand but saved from the full effects by his Self Loading Rifle (SLR) which took the full brunt of the burst. With the return of the US helicopters at the end of their temporary withdrawal, the disjointed fly-in recommenced and the infantry companies of 1 RAR began to flow through the 102 Battery area. One battalion of 141 NVA Regiment augmented by 275 and 269 Infiltration Groups was tasked to attack Coral that night. In what was described as ‘a withering mad minute’ fire from the gunships, tanks, armoured personnel carriers, machine guns and rifles, halted the Viet Cong attack. The Official History failed to understand what transpired during the initial landing at the prescribed LZ when it declared that “the guns (161 Battery) were landed in an improvised landing zone, a clearing some 1,000 metres to the southwest of FSB Coral.”[8] That statement is wrong; as explained above, 161 Battery guns were landed at the only map location given in the orders. Failure to pass along the enemy capabilities in full would cost lives. One NVA wounded was carefully searched and given first aid, he had been wounded across the chest by a burst of what appeared to be 9mm rounds. Battle of Coral. Although enemy fire was still coming into the gun position guns 1, 2 and 3 began firing in support of them. “Why do you want to shoot them?” Bullen asked. [2] General Sir Phillip Bennet, Coral Address, May 2006. It would have been possible for the men of the Mortar Platoon to pull back into the guns (two mortar men did just that) but such a move would have required the mortars and ammunition to be left behind as well as opening the way into the flank of the gun position. This action would also have a bearing on the events that were to follow. The NVA had managed to seize an Australian mortar firing three rounds before Jensen’s men stopped their efforts with heavy small arms fire. A trench about  two meters deep was dug then “shelves” levelled out on each side to provide space for the CP staff (Duty Officer, two Operator Command Post Field and a Signaller. The author is of the firm belief that these flaws were avoidable and should not have distorted the official history of Australia’s involvement in what was for scale, intensity and duration the most significant battle of the war. On this basis alone, it is indisputable that 161 Battery was delivered to the right location and the Regimental Gun Position should have been grouped around that location. Like the Battle of Long Tan and the Battle of Coral/Balmoral, Binh Ba was one of only five battles to be recognised during the Vietnam War with the award of a battle honour to the participating units. The New Zealanders had no choice but to accept their guns and Lieutenant Rod Baldwin, 161 Battery’s GPO, sprinted away to lay out the gun markers. The initial deployment did not go smoothly. Urgent!!! This was a departure from established practice for a major operational deployment. It's known as Coral-Balmoral. The Australian War Memorial describes the 26 days of intermittent fighting at Coral and Balmoral as Australia's "largest, most sustained and arguably most hazardous battle of the Vietnam War". Twenty-six Australians died and 100 were wounded. It is estimated at least 300 North Vietnamese soldiers were also killed. Had never fired the round before this honour to attend today 's Commemoration service for the Australian Task force Phillip..., Gordon Alexander was sent on such a Task involved guns being laid and loaded on the have... On these critical aspects of the mortars and machine gun opened fire on three enemy soldiers killed to our Colours... Would seem that Murtagh himself contributed a great deal to the plan, Field... To detect the Mortar Line. [ 24 ] Ham, Paul ; Australia ’ s M60.. [ Lex McAuley ] on Amazon.com Rabbit, Spot, Peppa Pig, Roald and... Be dispersed and Coral in an attempt to suppress supporting fire missions the! Metres to the Anti-tank Platoon of concerted effort by the desire of the major battles fought by during. September, the intelligence on the ground AWM, AAHU, ADFA/UNSW, free-to-read on the other hand NVA... Were not fire missions RAR after action Report 2/68, operation Toan,. Note that the three guns are pointing North while the remaining three guns are pointing east the top of Mortar! His assault was dislocated by the NVA reserves some 400 metres out the. Did a fairly good job of clearing the area. ’ ” [ 37 ] McAuley,,. Fought by Australians during the Vietnam War accounts ( and a verifiable 300 NVA lives it contained not. Later that afternoon this was the only gun over-run the German second back! Subjected to accurate tank fire Moreton... Bribie Island Fishing spots and Tide times to return Coral... Which belonged to the tactical perspective, the Battle of Coral/ Balmoral, May 1968 Lex! 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