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AATTV
The arrival of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) was the beginning of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War. In July 1962 . There was almost 60,000 Australians. -
Period: to
Vietnam War
Australia's involvment in Vietnam War -
National Service Scheme
The Australian taskforce was assigned its own area of operations and included conscripts who had been called up under the National Service Scheme, introduced in 1964. -
Escalastion of the War
By early 1965, when it had become clear that South Vietnam could not stave off the communist insurgents and their North Vietnamese comrades for more than a few months, the US commenced a major escalation of the war. -
Long Tan
In August 1966 a company of 6RAR was engaged in one of Australia's heaviest actions of the war, in a rubber plantation near Long Tan. The 108 soldiers of D Coy held off an enemy force, estimated at over 2000, for four hours in the middle of a tropical downpour. -
Long Tan Result
When the Viet Cong withdrew at night fall in Long Tan they left behind 245 dead, but carried away many more casualties. Seventeen Australians were killed and 25 wounded, with one dying of wounds several days later. -
RAAF
A third RAAF squadron (of Canberra jet bombers) was also committed in 1967, and destroyers of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) joined US patrols off the North Vietnamese coast. -
Nui Dat
For Australian troops, the effects of the offensive were felt around their base at Nui Dat, where a Viet Cong attack on targets around Ba Ria, the provincial capital, was repulsed with few casualties. -
Anti-War Protest in Australia
By 1969 anti-war protests were gathering momentum in Australia. Opposition to conscription mounted, as more people came to believe the war could not be won. A "Don't register" campaign to dissuade young men from registering for conscription gained increasing support and some of the protests grew violent. -
Wind Down
By late 1970 Australia had also begun to wind down its military effort in Vietnam. The 8th Battalion departed in November (and was not replaced), but, to make up for the decrease in troop numbers, the Team's strength was increased and its efforts became concentrated in Phuoc Tuy province. -
Air Units
The withdrawal of troops and all air units continued throughout 1971 – the last battalion left Nui Dat on 7 November, -
Air Unit Troops 2
December 1972 they became the last Australian troops to come home, with their unit having seen continuous service in South Vietnam for ten and a half years.
