Bob Grandin - Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan, as told by the Commanders to Bob Grandin

First published in 2004 as The Battle of Long Tan
This edition published in 2019

Copyright Bob Grandin, Harry Smith, Geoff Kendall, Bob Buick, Dave Sabben,
Morrie Stanley, Adrian Roberts, 2004

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

Allen & Unwin
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Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia
Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100
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ISBN 978 1 76087 726 2
eISBN 978 1 76087 261 8

Front cover: Courtesy of Deeper Water Films

Set by Midland Typesetters, Australia

CONTENTS

Chapter 1
Autobiographies of the Commanders

Chapter 2
Delta Company prepares for Vietnam

Chapter 3
The first two months in Phuoc Tuy Province

Chapter 4
The days preceding the Battle of Long Tan

Chapter 5
Operation Vendetta: The Battle of Long Tan

Chapter 6
The Aftermath: Operation Smithfield

Chapter 7
Where are they now?

Chapter 8
The other battles of Long Tan

MAPS

This is a very important book: an account of a battle that has become synonymous with the Australian Army and the Vietnam WarLong Tan. And it is particularly important because it has been written by the commanders who were closely involved in the fighting.

It was fought on 18 August 1966 by D Company of the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, in torrential rain in a rubber plantation to the east of the Task Force Base at Nui Dat. D Company had the support of gunners of the 1st Field Regiment, who fired 3,198 rounds during the three-hour battle, and were dramatically resupplied mid-battle with ammunition by two RAAF helicopters. In a feat of arms that upheld the finest traditions of the Australian Army, D Company resisted overwhelming odds until a relief column arrived from Nui Dat.

The accounts by the commanders at Long Tan graphically show the face of battle, in all its uncertainty, bravery, fear, demands and danger. It is a valuable insight into what it is like to serve in an infantry company in combat. Also providing valuable insights are the chapters dealing with training for war and the first few months in Phuoc Tuy province.

Just what the Vietnamese intentions were is still unclear, but what is quite clear is that the Nui Dat base at the time was vulnerable to a major attack. Some sort of attempt at a decisive action was in prospect, but D Companys resounding victory put paid to that.

The final chapter deals with a number of issues, but none more contentious that the subject of Honours and Awards and the seeming lack of proper recognition afforded to those who so distinguished themselves.

It is hard to reach any conclusion other than that Harry Smith and a number of those who performed valiantly were treated ungenerously. Long Tan has become a battle that literally defines the Vietnam War for Australians, a battle so decisive in outcome that its anniversary has now become Vietnam Veterans Day: and Harry was awarded a Military Cross for his efforts! The quotas implicit in the awards system then in place is said to have limited what could be done, but what about the flexibility and fair-play we as Australians are supposed to be renowned for? We have recently seen Second World War Resistance heroine Nancy Wake justifiably honoured by Australia, having earlier been well-recognised in British Commonwealth awards. It is not too late for retrospective recognition for those who served their country so well at Long Tan.

I am very honoured to write this foreword, for I have a particular connection with D Company. I was moved across from Charlie Company to join Delta as its artillery forward observer hours after its Company Sergeant Major, Jack Kirby DCM, was killed in a tragic artillery accident in February 1967. I subsequently came to know them as well as any outsider, particularly a Gunner, might. They were proud, somewhat guarded with newcomers, and resentful of their treatment in the aftermath of Long Tan, but self-confident and, above all, competent. You were in no doubt what you were doing with Harry Smith: he was a forceful and confident leader, who knew what he wanted.

This book tells the story of an action that could have been a disaster, but for the valiant efforts of those involved. How the victory was achieved is told in the words of the field commanders. It is a story that has been a long time coming, and I believe the book will take its rightful place as the definitive account of Long Tan.

Steve Gower AO
Director
Australian War Memorial
March 2004

THE STORY

This is a story of an incident in the lives of seven ordinary men who were brought together in extraordinary circumstances on 18 August 1966. They were born just before or during the Second World War and they reflect the thoughts and actions of the youth of the time. These are recounted in the autobiographies they have written about this period of their lives. While each had a very different upbringing, they all took part in active service in the mid-1960s. Their stories illustrate the sense of duty that was prevalent at the time and demonstrate the brashness of youth. The reader is also told about the training experiences that Delta Company, 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) went through before they left Australia, which were meant to prepare them to go into battle.

By June 1966 these seven men had arrived in Phuoc Tuy Province, Vietnam to be a part of the Australian Task Force that was given the responsibility of establishing peace in this district. Their number included members of the infantry, artillery, armour and air force. As they describe their initiation into the conditions of this foreign environment there is little awareness of what was about to happen.

The seven men who tell their story in this book could be called the commanders in the field during the major battle that was to ensue. The infantry soldiers were members of 6RAR. They were Delta Company commander, Major Harry Smith; Delta Company platoon commanders, Lieutenants Geoff Kendall and David Sabben; and Platoon Sergeant Bob Buick. Bob took command of 11 Platoon when his platoon commander, Lieutenant Gordon Sharp, was killed early in the battle. The artillery soldier was the forward observer attached to Delta Company from 161 Battery, Royal New Zealand Artillery, Captain Morrie Stanley, who commanded the use of artillery during the battle. The armour soldier was the troop commander of 3 Troop, 1 Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron, Lieutenant Adrian Roberts, who led the cavalry as they brought reinforcements to the battle. The airman was Flight Lieutenant Bob Grandin, a helicopter pilot with 9 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, who was co-pilot in the lead helicopter that provided an ammunition resupply at a critical time in the battle. Bobs contribution is included to represent the activity of the lead helicopter as Flight Lieutenant Frank Riley, commander of the lead helicopter, has since passed away.