Watch Battle of Long Tan documentary online

[altus]

Hi RedDuneFilms,

Thank you for your response.

Originally Posted by RedDuneFilms

I confirmed these details in person with the following Viet Cong Commanders in 2006 when we filmed their interviews in Vung Tau:

• Former Vice Commander D445 Battalion – Major General Nguyen Minh Ninh
• Former Commander of Company 3, D445 Battalion – Colonel Phan Thanh Binh
• Former Commander of Company 2, D445 Battalion – Colonel Nguyen Duc Thu

Could you please tell who specifically of these three officers confirmed that:

1. There was an element of the 45th regiment dettached to the 275th Regiment.
2. That the strength of this element was 500 men, and all of them took part in the battle.
3. That the strength of the D455 was 550 men, and all of them took part in the battle.
4. That the strength of the 275th regiment was 1600 men, and all of them took part in the battle.

If so, could you please provide the transcripts of these interviews (or the relevant excerpts)?

Did you attempt to locate and interview anyone from the 45th regiment? From the 275th regiment?

Further, these details were also previously confirmed by Lex McAulay author of 'The Battle of Long Tan: The Legend Of ANZAC Upheld‘. Sydney 1986: Arrow published by Random House. ISBN 0099525305 and subsequently by Ian McNeill author of 'To Long Tan. The Australian Army and the Vietnam War 1950-1966. The Official History of Australia’s Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948-1975.’ Sydney 1993: Allen & Unwin in association with the Australian War Memorial. ISBN 1863732829.

Both of these authors also visited Vietnam and interviewed PAVN survivors of the battle. All of us have had access to previously secret Australian and American intelligence from the period which included captured enemy commander's diaries.

Could you please tell which of "these details" was specifically mentioned, or confirmed by whom and how they arrived at their conclusion? Was there any other supplemental source for the presence of the 45th regiment other than prisoner's testimony in the logs?

Thank you,

Altus

[Boonierat]

Altus, did you ever hear about a 45th PAVN Regiment before? I never did, and both chiangshan's orbat and the PAVN official history don't mention it...not refuting the evidence found during the Long Tan research but I have a hard time believing there was a regular PAVN unit in Phuoc Tuy Province in mid-1966, could it have been a confusion back then between 45 and 445? or maybe it was an infiltration group with that designation that was sent to reinforce the 275th?

[altus]

Well, I have not had any new detail since our previous debate in this topic:

http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forum...ad.php?t=62377

(where RedDuneFilms's posts, if I'm not mistaken, on the Battle of Long Tan wiki talk page were cited by DarkCastor)

My tentative theory is that E45 or E Bắc Sơn was a temporary, or even fake, designation used for an infiltration group, element of which was d605. d605 was transferred to e275 as a new d3. Men of the d605 thought their regiment's designation was still e45 when the real one was e275 (or e5). When captured, they told this to their interviewers and e45 designation made it to Australian documents.

[Boonierat]

Originally Posted by altus

Well, I have not had any new detail since our previous debate in this topic:

Forgot about that discussion

Now the question is, how should we consider the southern regroupees in North Vietnam that were sent back to fight in the South? VC or NVA?

[RedDuneFilms]

I've just uploaded the fantastic, animated and interactive Long Tan PowerPoint Presentation created by former officer commanding 12 Platoon, D Company 6RAR at the battle. You can download the PowerPoint, view it in a browser or watch it converted to a video. (The download or browser views are recommended).

Enjoy!

[Boonierat]

[KEN JENSEN]

GR8 little "clip" Boonie! RIP Diggers

I'm surprised they allow a "capitalist enemy" memorial there.

Are there many other ("capitalist enemy" memorials) placed in Vietnam?

[sgnsteve]

I was there for the service. We boarded buses Monday morning in Vung Tau at 3:30am and rode 45 minutes to the Long Tan Memorial. On the bus were many vets from the war and a couple of vets who were in the now famous battle. The celebration goes on for the whole weekend. An Aussie Rules Football match is at the Lam Son Dog Track on Saturday. The football game was originated during the war with various units fielding a team, some of the original team members were present for this, the second annual match played in the Lam Son Stadium, the site of the original games. Saturday night is a banquet with live music and dancing. Sunday was filled with a bus ride to the various battle sites and bases that the Australian and New Zealanders occupied. Monday was the dawn service followed by the 'Gunfire' Breakfast and shots of Bundeburg Rum.http://i553.photobucket.com/albums/jj400/steverfee/SL370014.jpg

[altus]

Originally Posted by KEN JENSEN

I'm surprised they allow a "capitalist enemy" memorial there.

The Aussies, after all, are descendants of the British oppressed proletariat aren't they?

[sgnsteve]

[QUOTE=KEN JENSEN;1820974]GR8 little "clip" Boonie! RIP Diggers

I'm surprised they allow a "capitalist enemy" memorial there.

Are there many other ("capitalist enemy" memorials) placed in Vietnam?


Ken, the only other foreign memorial is the one at Dien Bien Phu.

[altus]

Uncle Ken, this is especially for you from the-one-who-must-not-be-named.

If Hanoi agrees, the plan could result in Australian veterans joining a reconciliation parade with their former enemy, the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong, to coincide with next year's 50th anniversary of the start of Australia's decade-long involvement in the war.

I hope the USAF would follow and secure their own agreement with Hanoi to perform an 40th anniversary Linebacker II reenactment, featuring real BUFFs and Guidelines, well, perhaps without bombs and warheads.

[thejester]

Hey altus, you might be interested in this:

Two weeks ago, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd was in Ho Chi Minh City, where he thanked Vietnamese authorities for helping find the lost Australians. The return of their remains after a terrible conflict had, he said, ''drawn a line under a chapter in our shared history''. Rudd spoke too soon.
Australian researchers - among them former soldiers who buried the dead - think we'll only close this chapter once we've helped Vietnam find its wandering souls.
The researchers know exactly where the bodies are. They also think they can put names to them, by matching battlefield burials mapped by Australian soldiers with Vietnamese records. This will mean Vietnamese families will know not only where the graves are, but who is buried in them.

Bob and Derrill are great blokes; the research they've already done is fascinating and hopefully they get the money to go on with it.

[altus]

Thanks, mate, for this encouraging piece of news. I hope their efforts will bear fruits soon.

[KEN JENSEN]

Originally Posted by ;1822628

Uncle Ken, this is especially for you from the-one-who-must-not-be-named.

From "the LINK"; I completely agree with this (as to America)...

"I have nothing but respect for the NVA fighting soldier," he said. "I have more personal problems with those in AMERICA who actively or passively supported them."

One of my other problems is how your folks dealt with S. Vietnamese villagers. Hey "war" is what it is and folks die.

I hope the USAF would follow and secure their own agreement with Hanoi to perform an 40th anniversary Linebacker II reenactment, featuring real BUFFs and Guidelines, well, perhaps without bombs and warheads.

heeheehee, don't think your going to get any "real" BUFFS for a "reenactment" - some still being used. If they got into the air flying in the direction of China what would you think would happen???? You have to be happy with the ones you shot down. As the Chinese say "So solly Charlie!" (in Vietnamese - "NUMBA 10")



Steve, thx for the DBP memorial info.

[RogerP]

Hello Martin,

This thread seems to have gone a wee bit quiet since mention was made of a movie about Long Tan. I do hope it is still coming some time soon, it's a story of Aussie mateship and heroism that needs to be told along with others I could mention.

Is the movie still happening?

Cheers,
Roger in Oz.
Bendigo, Victoria.