Australian Military Operations in Vietnam by Albert Palazzo

Author:Albert Palazzo
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780980475388
Publisher: Big Sky Publishing

3 RAR Contacts during Operation Pinnaroo. The table highlights the relative infrequency and small scale of the battalion’s contacts. Most of the VC in the Long Hai Hills avoided the Australian sweep.

Mark Wahlert.

Hughes understood the threat the enemy’s mines posed when he planned the operation and took steps to reduce the danger, although he knew it was impossible to eliminate the risk. To increase anti-mine capabilities, the infantry battalions brigaded their pioneers with the sappers of 1 Field Squadron from whom they received mine removal training. Formed into clearance teams of one engineer and one pioneer, they preceded the infantry, searching for mines and booby traps. The infantry, in turn, provided cover for the clearance teams. To assist, the field squadron doubled its normal allocation of mine detectors to 96. Teams worked for no longer than an hour, then another team took over to continue the measured advance which averaged only 50 metres an hour. Hughes was so concerned that he arranged for either five or six B-52 strikes in front of 3 RAR’s route into the hills near Phuoc Long. While the planes targeted VC positions, he also hoped that the exploding bombs would detonate the VC’s minefields.

The engineers assisted in another role too—the destruction of the enemy’s camp and cave systems. During Operation Pinnaroo the sappers employed 2,500 pounds of TNT, 26,000 pounds of C4 and over 38,500 pounds of beehive-shaped charges. On 28 March, for example, 1 Field Squadron destroyed a multi-level cave complex that contained connecting ladders and a supply of fresh water.

Operation Pinnaroo’s casualty toll was almost equally divided between the two sides:

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