1st Australian Task Force
| 1st Australian Task Force | |
|---|---|
An Australian soldier in South Vietnam
|
|
| Active | 1966–72 |
| Country | Australia New Zealand |
| Allegiance | Free World Military Forces |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Combined arms |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | US II Field Force, Vietnam |
| Garrison/HQ | Nui Dat, Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam |
| Engagements | |
The 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) was a brigade-sized formation which commanded Australian and New Zealand Army units deployed to South Vietnam between 1966 and 1972. 1 ATF was based in a rubber plantation at Nui Dat, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north of Ba Ria in Phuoc Tuy Province and consisted of two and later three infantry battalions, with armour, aviation, engineers and artillery support. At the Battle of Long Tan on 18 August 1966, units of 1 ATF defeated a Viet Cong force of at least regimental strength. While the task force was primarily responsible for securing Phuoc Tuy Province, its units, and the Task Force Headquarters itself, occasionally deployed outside its Tactical Area of Responsibility including during Operation Coburg and the Battle of Coral–Balmoral in 1968. Other significant actions included Hat Dich in late-December 1968 and early 1969, Binh Ba in June 1969, and Long Khanh in June 1971. 1 ATF was withdrawn in late 1971.
In March 1966 the Australian government decided to increase its commitment to the Vietnam War, announcing that the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR), which had been serving as the third infantry battalion of the US 173rd Airborne Brigade since June 1965, would be replaced at the end of its tour by a two-battalion brigade—the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF)—with armour, aviation, engineers and artillery support; in total 4,500 men. Additional Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) elements would also be deployed and with all three services total Australian strength in Vietnam was planned to rise to 6,300. Meanwhile, 1 RAR's attachment to US forces had highlighted the differences between Australian and American operational methods. Whereas the Americans relied on massed firepower and mobility in big-unit search and destroy operations as part of a war of attrition which often resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, the Australians—although not eschewing conventional operations—emphasised deliberate patrolling using dispersed companies supported by artillery, APCs and helicopters to separate the Viet Cong from the population in the villages, while slowly extending government control. Consequently, 1 ATF which would be allocated its own Tactical Area of Responsibility (TAOR) in Phuoc Tuy Province, thereby allowing the Australians to pursue operations more independently using their own methods.
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