6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (6 RAR) is a
motorised infantryIn NATO and most other western countries, motorised infantry is infantry which is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured half-tracks or armoured personnel carriers...
battalion of the
Australian ArmyThe Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
. It was originally raised in
BrisbaneBrisbane is the state capital of the Australian state of Queensland and is the largest city in that state. With an estimated population of approximately 2 million, it is also the third most populous city in Australia....
, Queensland, on 6 June 1965 and has since then served in a number of overseas deployments and conflicts including
South VietnamSouth Vietnam refers to a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the State of Vietnam and later as the “Republic of Vietnam” . Its capital was Saigon...
,
East TimorEast Timor, also known as Timor-Leste is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
and
IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
. During the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
the battalion earned a
Presidential Unit CitationThe Presidential Unit Citation is a senior unit award granted to military units which have performed an extremely meritorious or heroic act, usually in the face of an armed enemy...
from the United States, when members from ‘D’ Company participated in the
Battle of Long TanThe Battle of Long Tần was fought between the Australian Army and Viet Cong forces in a rubber plantation near the village of Long Tần, about twenty seven kilometres north east of Vung Tau, South Vietnam on 18 August 1966...
on 18–19 August 1966. The battalion is currently based at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane and forms part of the 7th Brigade.
Formation
6 RAR was raised on 6 June 1965 at Alamein Barracks at
EnoggeraEnoggera Barracks is an Australian Army base in the northwestern Brisbane suburb of Enoggera in Queensland. The base has a long history, having been in existence before World War I and is currently where the majority of 7th Brigade units are located...
in Brisbane, Queensland when a cadre of officers and NCOs and two rifle companies were transferred from
2 RAR2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a Regular light infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 2 RAR was first formed as the Australian 66th Battalion in 1945 and since then it has seen active service during the Korean War, Malayan Emergency and Vietnam War...
to form the nucleus of the new battalion. The battalion was then brought up to full strength when a large intake of national servicemen marched in in September 1965.
The battalion’s first commanding officer was LTCOL Colin Townsend,
DSOThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.The DSO was instituted on 6 September 1886 by...
, whilst WO1 George Chinn,
DCMThe Distinguished Conduct Medal was the second level military decoration awarded other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to non-commissioned personnel of other Commonwealth countries....
came from SAS Campbell Barracks in Perth WA as the battalion’s first regimental sergeant major. It was initially assigned to the 6th Task Force (which was later to become
6th BrigadeThe 6th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Australian Army. Formed during the First World War as part of the Australian Imperial Force, the brigade served at Gallipoli and in France and Belgium on the Western Front...
).
First tour
6 RAR served two tours to
VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
as part of Australia's commitment to the Vietnam War. The first tour was between June 1966 and June 1967 and the second tour was between May 1969 and May 1970. 6 RAR departed for its first tour of Vietnam in May 1966 on HMAS
Sydney, arriving at
Vung TauVũng Tàu is a city in southern Vietnam. Its population in 2005 was 240,000. The city area is 140 km² including 13 urban wards and one village...
in time to celebrate the Battalion's first birthday before moving to Nui Dat, in Phuoc Tuy province, where they joined 5 RAR as part of the
1st Australian Task ForceThe 1st Australian Task Force commanded the Australian and New Zealand Army units deployed to South Vietnam between 1966 and 1971. 1 ATF was based at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province...
(1 ATF).
Initial operations focused upon securing the task force base. After this was achieved 1 ATF began patrolling operations throughout the province in an effort to undermine the operations of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) units that were operating in Phuoc Tuy. Using tactics that the Australians had developed during the
Malayan EmergencyThe Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
1 ATF focused upon reducing the enemy’s contact with the local population to deny them of their main source of sustainment and reinforcement by carrying out cordon and search and search and destroy operations. During this time 6 RAR carried out two major operations. The first operation was codenamed 'Enoggera' and was focused upon clearing the village of Long Phuoc, whilst the second operation, 'Hobart', was a search and destroy mission carried out over the course of five days. Several VC camps were destroyed in these operations and numerous caches of weapons and supplies uncovered, whilst 36 enemy casualties were inflicted.
Between 16–18 August 1966, 6 RAR undertook Operation Smithfield, which was later to become known as the
Battle of Long TanThe Battle of Long Tần was fought between the Australian Army and Viet Cong forces in a rubber plantation near the village of Long Tần, about twenty seven kilometres north east of Vung Tau, South Vietnam on 18 August 1966...
. The battle began on the evening of 16 August when the Task Force base was attacked by a VC force using mortars and recoilless rifles. The next day 'B' Company was sent out to clear the area to the east of the base, before they were replaced by 'D' Company on the morning of 18 August. Whilst performing a sweep through a rubber plantation, 'D' Company was contacted by a regimental sized VC force and they were soon under attack from three sides. Under a torrential downpour and a thick mist that blanketed the plantation, the battle raged for over three hours as the one hundred and eight men from 'D' Company fought for their lives against a force estimated to be up to 2,500 men.
As the rest of the Battalion mobilised to relieve the beleaguered 'D' Company, a patrol from 'B' Company were the first reinforcements to arrive. As the battle continued, a relief force from 'A' Company arrived at a critical moment, on board seven M113 armoured personnel carriers from 3 Troop,
1st Armoured Personnel Carrier SquadronThe 1st Armoured Personnel Squadron was an armoured unit of the Australian Army raised for service during the Vietnam War. Raised in 1965 the unit was deployed to South Vietnam in May 1966 to join the 1st Australian Task Force...
and launched an attack on a VC battalion that had been forming up to launch an attack aimed at 'D' Company's rear. Enemy casualties as a result of this attack were heavy, having come at their flank, and as a result the VC units were forced to retire, leaving the Australians in command of the battlefield. The extent of the Australian victory was not known until the following day, however, when 245 bodies of dead enemy soldiers were counted in the plantation and the surrounding areas. It is believed that many more were also removed during the battle.
Seventeen men from 6 RAR were killed, along with one from the 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron, during the fighting around Long Tan and later 'D' Company was awarded a US Presidential Unit Citation by the then
PresidentThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , served as the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969 after his service as the Vice President of the United States from 1961 to 1963...
. Whilst the men of 'D' Company received this honour, the role of the other 6 RAR men in this battle should not be understated, nor should the contributions of the various Australian, New Zealand and American artillery units, as well as the bravery of the RAAF helicopter crews that flew through weather that would normally have grounded them to resupply the infantry on the ground.
Following this 6 RAR continued to conduct patrolling and security operations throughout Phuoc Tuy as 1 ATF took on a larger role in the province. 6 RAR undertook a further seventeen operations, before being relieved by 2 RAR in May 1967. Having celebrated the Battalion’s second birthday on voyage back to Australia on HMAS
Sydney, 6 RAR arrived back in Brisbane on 14 June.
Second tour
The Battalion returned to Vietnam for its second tour of duty on 19 May 1969. Relieving
4 RARThe 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, was an Australian Army infantry battalion and part of the Royal Australian Regiment...
, the Battalion was re-designated as 6 RAR/NZ (ANZAC) due to the fact that there were two New Zealand rifle companies attached to them at this time, along with two mortar sections and two sections of assault pioneers.
The main focus of 6 RAR's second tour was pacification operations, which essentially involved conducting operations designed to help create a situation of internal stability in order to allow the South Vietnamese government to take more control of the situation in the country. 6 RAR/NZ (ANZAC) carried out its first operation in this program between 30 May and 1 July 1969 when it launched Operation Lavarack. This operation involved the establishment of a number of fire support and patrol bases to the north of the main Task Force base at Nui Dat, from where company sized patrols commenced large-scale reconnaissance-in-force missions. Lavarack proved to be very successful and the Battalion was involved in some 85 contacts with the VC during this time, resulting in over 102 VC killed and at least 22 wounded.
Over the course of the rest of the tour, 6 RAR conducted a further fourteen operations, and as they began to dominate their area of operations they were increasingly called upon to provide support to a number civil community reconstruction projects and assist in the training of local South Vietnamese forces. As a result of the Battalion's efforts, by the end of their tour the enemy presence in their area of operations had been so badly weakened that they were forced to operate in small groups only, engaging the Australians in combat only when it was necessary to survive.
6 RAR’s last operation of the war was Operation Townsville, which was conducted between 23 March and 24 April 1970. A search and destroy mission that was carried out in the north-eastern regions of Phuoc Tuy province, the operation resulted in a huge coup for the Australians when they captured the operational signals codes and one-time cipher pads used by the VC headquarters in charge of the Ba Long province. In May 1970, 6 RAR was relieved by 2 RAR and returned to Australia shortly afterwards. Australia's commitment to the Vietnam War came to an end before the Battalion was called upon to deploy for a third tour.
Summary
Total 6 RAR casualties for both tours were 61 killed and at least 148 wounded. Balanced against this, in its second tour the Battalion was credited with having killed 60 VC, wounded at least another 64 and captured a further 51. Members from the Battalion received the following decorations: 2 DSOs, 7
MCsThe Military Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, 3 DCMs, 6
MMsThe Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
, 3
BEMsThe British Empire Medal , officially the Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the crown. While recipients are not technically members of the Order of the British Empire this...
, 1
QCIn Commonwealth countries, QC refers to Queen's Counsel, a distinguished and experienced legal practitioner.QC may also refer to:* Quad Cities, a group of four cities on the Mississippi river, on both sides of the Iowa/Illinois border...
, and 23 MIDs.
1972–1999
The following is a brief chronology of 6 RAR's history following the Vietnam War:
- Based in Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, lying north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At , Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast...
between August 1971 and December 1973 as part of 28 ANZUK Brigade.
- 'D' Company was reorganised as a parachute company group in early 1980 and continued in this role until November 1983.
- Following ADF
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy, the Australian Army, the Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units....
shortcomings highlighted by the 1987 Fijian coups d'état the battalion trained in the amphibious role.
- Began conversion to a motorised organisation in February 1992 and added a Ready Reserve
The Ready Reserve is a program maintained by the U.S. Department of Defense to maintain a pool of trained service members that may be recalled to Active Duty should the need arise. It is composed of service members that are contracted to serve in the Ready Reserve for a specified period of time as...
company later the same year.
- Reverted to an integrated-regular/reserve battalion in February 1997 and trialed the experimental Army 21 organisation.
East Timor 2000
On
Anzac DayAnzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all those who...
2000 6 RAR relieved
5/7 RARThe 5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment was an Australian mechanised infantry battalion. The battalion was based at Robertson Barracks in Palmerston, Northern Territory and formed part of the Australian 1st Brigade. It was formed in 1973 by linking both the 5th and 7th Battalions of the...
at
BaliboBalibo is a town in East Timor situated approximately 10 kilometres from the Indonesian border. It is located in the Bobonaro district....
in
East TimorEast Timor, also known as Timor-Leste is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
, commencing a six month tour of duty on the western border as part of Operation Taniger. Heavy rain in March had resulted in widespread flooding throughout the border region which had continued into May, however, by June the rivers had subsided and reports of incursions across the border from West Timor by pro-Indonesian militias were received, prompting 6 RAR to conduct extensive patrol operations throughout their tactical area of operations. Through a program of intensive program of active patrolling and tracking, surveillance, blocking and other security operations, the battalion came to dominate the western border regions, however, during May and June there were a number of attacks on 6 RAR's positions.
Over the course of the deployment the Battalion was involved in nine separate contacts, with a number of 6 RAR personnel being wounded. In one of these incidents, Sergeant David Hawkings was awarded the
DSMThe Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action. The DSM was introduced in 1991 and is the second highest distinguished service decoration in the Australian Honours System. Recipients of the...
following an attack on ‘B’ Company’s base at Aidabasalala on 21 June 2000.
As a result of these and attacks on other UN personnel including the attack that resulted in the death of a New Zealand soldier on 24 July, in August 6 RAR began a number of high-tempo operations to counter the activities of the militia in their area of operations. On 2 August, following intelligence reports that indicated that the militia were once again tracking the Australians, trackers found signs of further militia infiltration near
Malianathumb|Village in the sub-district of MalianaMaliana is a city in East Timor, 149 km southwest of Dili, the national capital. It has a population of 22,000. It is the capital of the district of Bobonaro, and is located just a few kilometers from the border with Indonesia.Maliana has the potential...
. A platoon from ‘A’ Company, along with a number of troopers from the SASR were sent out to investigate, conducting a patrol about six kilometres from Maliana.
Further signs of infiltration were found by the lead section and as the scouts tracked the footprints of the militiamen through a dried creek bed they discovered some empty food packets and old cigarette butts, confirming the presence of militia in the area. As the platoon harboured up for a short halt, a sentry on one of the machine guns that had been sited for all round defence spotted a group of three militiamen patrolling along the creek bed and interpreting this as an act of aggression under the
ROEIn military or police operations, the rules of engagement determine when, where, and how force shall be used. Such rules are both general and specific, and there have been large variations between cultures throughout history. The rules may be made public, as in a martial law or curfew situation,...
governing the deployment he opened fire, hitting the lead militiaman with about twenty rounds from the
LSWMinimi can refer to:*The FN Minimi, a belt-fed light machine gun.*The religious order known as the Minimi — see Minim .*Abductor minimi digiti muscle , a muscle in the hand...
, killing him.
As the sentry began to engage a second target, a large of volume of fire began to pour in on the Australian position as a previously unseen group of militia joined in the engagement, returning fire whilst the first group began to withdraw. In an effort to cut off their withdrawal, the Australian platoon launched a quick attack on the militia positions, however, they were unable to prevent the militia from escaping. After the engagement, a second dead militiaman was discovered.
Four days later, on 6 August 2000, 6 RAR was involved in two more contacts, the first near Batugade and the second once again near Maliana. As a result of these contacts three militiamen were wounded, one of whom was captured. After this the militia turned their focus to other areas of operations, focusing mainly on the New Zealand area, where on 10 August, four Nepalese soldiers were wounded in two separate incidents, one of whom eventually died of his wounds.
Contacts with the militia continued throughout the deployment, however, as a result of the offensive carried out by 6 RAR, the Battalion was able to maintain the tactical initiative and prevented the militia from achieving their stated aims of forcing the UN to withdraw from the country. Before they were relieved by 1 RAR in October 2000, the Battalion also assisted in helping with the evacuation of UN and other personnel from Atambua in West Timor, as well as undertaking a host of CIMIC operations.
East Timor
6 RAR returned to East Timor in November 2003 as part of Operation Citadel, taking over as AUSBATT IX from 1 RAR. The task force consisted of just two rifle companies plus an armoured personnel carrier troop from the
2nd/14th Light Horse RegimentThe 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment is a regiment of the Australian Army and forms part of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps. The regiment was formed in 1930 and is currently equipped with ASLAV vehicles used in the armoured reconnaissance role...
, a troop of Blackhawk helicopters from the 5th Aviation Regiment, an engineering troop from the
2nd Combat Engineer RegimentThe 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment is a engineer unit of the Australian Army. It is located at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane, Queensland and is part of 7th Brigade, attached to the 1st Division...
, a CIMIC team from the
1st Field RegimentThe 1st Field Regiment is a close support regiment attached to the 7th Brigade at Enoggera Barracks in Queensland. It is equipped with the L119 Howitzer Field Gun...
and a surgical team from the
2nd Health Support BattalionThe 2nd Health Support Battalion is a unit of the 17th Combat Service Support Brigade of the Australian Army. It is based at the Gallipoli Barracks in Enoggera, Queensland....
.
The threat level in the country at the time was considerably less than the last time that 6 RAR units had deployed there, however, due to a decrease in the number of troops deployed and an expansion of the area in which they were required to operate, meant that the companies had to maintain a very high operational tempo throughout the seven month tour. During this time they were largely deployed in AO Matilda, in the Bobonaro district, although they also had to cover the Liquica, Ermera, Ainaro, Cova Lima and Oecussi districts. This area had a population of over 400,000 people and had previously been covered by three full battalions.
This rotation was the last deployment under Operation Citadel. It was also the longest, a factor which led to the rotation of the force three months in. Advanced elements from 'D' Company deployed first, arriving ahead of the take over time in October. They were then followed by 'C' Company and then finally 'A' Company. Later in the deployment, as the other national forces that were deployed in Timor were drawn down, the battalion task force incorporated a Fijian company, leading to the battalion being renamed the WESTBATT. The force was commanded initially by Lieutenant Colonel Glen Babington and then later, in 2004, by Lieutenant Colonel Shane Caughey.
Due to the size of the area in which they were operating, a system of forward operating bases was established at Moleana, Aidabaleten and Gleno. From these bases the task force undertook a range of tasks including a mixture of highly visible peacekeeping operations, as well as less visible, clandestine surveillance tasks along the border. In June 2004 the AUSBATT/WESTBATT was withdrawn from East Timor and 6 RAR returned to Australia.
In November 2006, elements of 6 RAR were deployed to Timor Leste (as East Timor had become) as part of
Operation AstuteOperation Astute is an Australian-led military deployment to East Timor to quell unrest and return stability in the 2006 East Timor crisis. It is currently headed by Brigadier Bill Sowry, and commenced on 25 May 2006 under the command of Brigadier Michael Slater...
. This time they deployed alongside a platoon from 4 RAR, a company from 1 RAR, and 'G' Company which was a battery from the
16th Air Defence RegimentThe 16th Air Defence Regiment is the youngest regiment of the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery. As the Australian Defence Force's only Ground Based Air Defence unit the Regiment is responsible for protecting a wide range of military assets during wartime, ranging from Army units in the field...
that had been re-roled as an infantry company.
Iraq
Elements of 6 RAR have deployed to Iraq three times as part of the
SECDETThe Security Detachment Iraq is a part of the Australia's contribution to coalition operations in Iraq. SECDET is based on an Australian Army combined arms combat team consisting of an infantry company group and a troop of cavalry equipped with ASLAV vehicles...
based in
BaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is coterminous. Having a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq and the second largest in the Arab World....
. The first deployment was from 'A' Company as part of SECDET 6 in 2004, followed by elements from 'C' Company which deployed on SECDET 7 in 2004–05. The last rotation was SECDET 12, which was based around elements from 'D' Company and deployed from September 2007 to March 2008.
Current structure
6 RAR currently consists of:
- Battalion Headquarters
- Three Rifle companies (A, D and HRR)
- Support Company
- Administration Company
External links