Analyzing Australian Involvement in the Vietnam War

This essay delves into the Australian involvement in the Vietnam War, highlighting the strategic significance of the Australian military within the broader context of the Cold War. It examines key aspects such as the Battle of Long Tan, where Australian forces demonstrated exceptional courage and skill against a numerically superior Viet Cong force. The essay also analyzes the role of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) in training allied forces in jungle warfare, significantly impacting the war's progression. Furthermore, it discusses the military aid and support provided to the United States, illustrating Australia's commitment to the capitalist camp and its impact on the war's outcomes. The essay concludes by emphasizing the considerable influence the Royal Australian Army had on allied forces, contributing to the war's dynamics and outcomes.

Running Head: AUSTRALIAN INVOLVEMENT IN VIETNAM WAR
AUSTRALIAN INVOLVEMENT IN VIETNAM WAR
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1AUSTRALIAN INVOLVEMENT IN VIETNAM WAR
The Vietnam War is considered to be one of the fiercest battle in the history of post
World War II era. During the Cold War period the clash of ideology between Capitalism and
Marxism led the world to another destruction and further fragmentation. The entire earth tear
apart into two flanges either capitalist order or showing allegiance to communism. In this
context, the Australian military forces joined the capitalist camp along with US and England.
Based on this background, the essay is going to highlight the significance of the Australian army
in Vietnam War. Moreover, it is important to understand the contribution of the Australian
military army to the motive of the allied powers.
The arrival of the first Australian military unit in Vietnamese soil was in 1962 where
almost 60,000 ground, air force and navy personnel joined the capitalist camp. The Australian
government wanted to restrict the communist epidemic all over the world and keeping an
amicable relationship with US since 1960. The major victory for the Australian troops was in
August 1966 when a 108 soldiers’ convoy of the Australian military confronted the Viet Cong
army of around 2000 soldiers (awm.gov.au, 2018). A fierce battle was staged where the Viet
Cong militia supposedly outnumbered the Australian military in a rubber plantation near Long
Tan. However, despite of facing shortage of army personnel the Australian 6RAR battalion
fought heroicly and deployed a severe damage to the Viet Cong militia. As a result of that the
enemies had to fall back with a fatal loss with 245 soldiers in compare to the loss of 17
Australian army men (Valentine, 2013). In fact, the casualties in the Viet Cong army were huge
and proved the excellence and professionalism of the Australian military. It can be argued that
there were a numerous reasons behind that attack by the North Vietnamese army. One possible
plan of the Viet Cong army was to ambush the Australian D Company battalion by mortaring
them so that the soldiers would draw out of their camps. According to an Australian veteran in

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Vietnam, it was a ‘grab by the belt’ tactics which was later prevented by the excellence of the
Royal Australian Regiment.
The initial steps taken by the Australian military in Vietnam were undoubtedly important
for the later victories of allied forces. In 1962, the Australian government decided to deploy an
Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) with the purpose to train the allied forces in
jungle warfare. There were 30 military experts in the team who had enough experience in this
kind of terrain led by Colonel Ted Serong (Edwards, 2014). The AATTV helped by teaching
other soldiers about the pros and cons of battle while fight against the Viet Cong army. By the
end of the 1964, the Australian government sent more AATTV troops including new engineers
and surgical teams. It became beneficial for the allied forces to get some experienced remarks in
order to fight with the enemy and territory that they ever had fought on. Therefore, the measures
of the Australian government proved to be a strategic measure to make the soldiers able to fight
back and reduced the casualties (Hubbard, 2017). Therefore, it can be seen that the Royal
Australian Army not only helped the allied forces to get a victory by deploying its own troops
but also teach the soldiers how to fight in jungle warfare.
In the context of US, it can be stated that the Vietnam War caused a huge casualties to the
US army. The long pride and never loosing mentality of the US forces became shattered by the
continuous ambush and guerrilla techniques of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese army. As a
matter of fact, the US army was not prepared entirely to face such gruesome and fierce
contender. They thought it might be easier for them to annex Northern Vietnam (Gardner &
Clermont 2016). However, in reality they failed to anticipate the situation perfectly. In this
regard, the Royal Australian Army gave them enough support to win over the Northern
Vietnamese. Moreover, it can be argued that between 1967 and 1968 the number of Australian

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troops in Vietnam was increased robustly in order to supply military aid to US in order to
subjugate the territory (Clarke, Gregory & Salomon, 2015). From that point of view, the
Australian Army proved their importance in Vietnam and provided ample support to the
American aggression.
The above discussion shared some light on the role of Australian troops and their military
importance during the Vietnam War. The essay described three significances in the form of the
battle of Long Tan, the training of jungle warfare and other military assistance that facilitated the
importance of the Australian army occupation in Vietnamese soil. Therefore, it can be concluded
the Royal Australian Army casted a great influence on the allied forces and saved the forces from
further catastrophe.

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Reference
awm.gov.au. (2018). Vietnam War 1962–75 | The Australian War Memorial. Retrieved from
https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/event/vietnam
Clarke, P. M., Gregory, R., & Salomon, J. A. (2015). Long-term disability associated with war-
related experience among Vietnam veterans: retrospective cohort study. Medical care, 53(5),
401.
Edwards, P. F. (2014). Australia and the Vietnam War. NewSouth.
Gardner, M. R., & Clermont, H. (2016). Torch. Caring.
Hubbard, C. (2017). Australian and US military cooperation: fighting common enemies.
Routledge.
Valentine, T. (2013). What was Australia role in Vietnam war? - The Vietnam War. Retrieved
from https://thevietnamwar.info/what-was-australia-role-in-vietnam-war/