The Battle Of Long Tan

by David W. Cameron

On the afternoon of 18 August 1966, a rubber plantation in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam, Australian troops fought one of their bloodiest, most significant battles of the Vietnam War.

The Australians had arrived at Nui Dat four months earlier to open up the province. While out on patrol, Delta Company of 6RAR, originally numbering just 105 Australians and three New Zealanders, collided with Viet Cong forces numbering around 2500 troops, ahead of a planned Vietnamese ambush.

Completely surrounded, under heavy fire and short on ammunition, the Australians could only guess at the enemy's strength and number. Morning light revealed a shattered woodland, trees bleeding latex - and hundreds of dead enemy soldiers who had fallen in the numerous assaults against the small Anzac force. What was first thought by the Australians to be a significant defeat quickly turned out to be a major victory.

Marking the battle's 50th anniversary, and drawing on unpublished first-hand accounts, David Cameron brings to life the events of this famous battle as it unfolded - minute by minute, hour by hour - and reveals the deeds of heroism and mateship now part of Australia's Vietnam War story. His compelling account commemorates the men who fought in the rubber plantation of Long Tan - and those who did not come home.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Asia, Australia

400 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2016

About the author

David W. Cameron is a Canberra based author and has written several books on Australian military and convict history and human and primate evolution including over 60 internationally peer reviewed papers for various journals and book chapters. He received 1st Class Honours in Prehistoric Archaeology at the University of Sydney and later went on to complete his Ph.D. in palaeoanthropology at the Australian National University.

He is a former Australian Research Council (ARC) Post Doctorial Fellow at the Australian National University (School of Archaeology) and an ARC QEII Fellow at the University of Sydney (Department of Anatomy and Histology). He has participated and led several international fieldwork teams in Australia, the Middle East (Turkey, Jordan, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates); Europe (Hungary) and Asia (Vietnam and India) and has participated in many conferences and museum studies throughout the world.

Reviews

[Lewis Woolston · Rating 5 out of 5]

My interest in the Battle of Long Tan was first sparked in 2011 when i was working as a Prison Officer at the Alice Springs Prison. There was one prisoner we had, an old white guy, alcoholic, he used to come in for a few months at a time usually on alcohol related charges, drink driving, drunk and disorderly, that sort of thing.
I didn't pay him much attention but one of the senior officers told me he was at the battle of Long Tan. I wasn't sure if it was true or not but a couple years later he died and the local Alice Springs newspaper did a big story about him as one of the last survivors of Long Tan.
Then, a couple years after that, i saw the movie "Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan" starring that guy from Vikings.
Great movie, i thoroughly enjoyed it.
This book is the most complete and accurate history of that battle that we are likely to get. The author has really done his homework. He seems to have interviewed every living witness and participant to the events. He has built up an accurate picture of events almost to the minute.
If you want to know about Long Tan this is the book to read. I doubt anyone will ever top it.
The part on the aftermath and cleaning up the battlefield is moving and harrowing.

[Adam Halilovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before this book I will admit that while I had read alot of books about WW1 and WW2 I had rarely read any about Vietnam. I had heard of long tan but that was the extent of my knowledge of the battle. This book is really well written and makes you fell like you were there with those aussies in the most of a situation that in all honestly they were lucky to escape alive but like many australian war history book that I have read it shows that the idea of not letting your mates down has never left the australian armed forces. It doesnt shy away from the brutality of the battle and shows that to use the old adage that war is hell. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading australian military history

[Janice Hull · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read , those in charge and those who fought were so young . Seemingly such an unnecessary war . Unfair to the conscripts who were forced to go and then return to civilian life in eighteen months .

[Wai Zin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the early of Australian involvement in Vietnam war, an Aussie infantry company on patrol unexpectedly met superior enemy and had to fight for their lives. Both sides fought resolutely, Vietnamese for their beliefs and Aussie for their survival. In the end, accurate artillery strikes by NZ & US batteries and timely arrival of reinforcements saved Australian troops from annihilation. Within a few hours of battle, hundreds of lives were lost. This is the story of the Battle of Long Tan.

Author’s clear writing skills makes my efforts to follow the confusing battle easier . It will be difficult for others to top this book. A must read for anyone who is interested in reading Military History.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Held my attention the whole way through.

[Mark Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good history of this famous battle