Soviet marching compass body : Sapper G J Wilson, 3 Field Troop, Royal Australian Engineers

Places
Accession Number REL35976.001
Collection type Heraldry
Object type Heraldry
Physical description Bakelite, Nylon
Maker Unknown
Place made Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Date made c 1965
Conflict Vietnam, 1962-1975
Description

The bakelite body of a marching compass with lanyard and nylon pouch. The compass has a hinged lid with a metal mirror riveted to the inside, allowing the user to see the aiming point and the compass dial simultaneously. A five centimetre scale is printed along one side of the base, and the underside is marked with an 'A' within a circle. The dial and needle have been removed. A nylon cord lanyard is fitted, and the compass body is held within a drawstring nylon pouch.

History / Summary

Associated with the service of 54810 Sapper George Jeremy Wilson. Born in Middlesex in Britain, Wilson deployed to Vietnam with 3 Field Troop, Royal Australian Engineers in September 1965, and served there for 12 months.

Sapper Wilson retrieved this item from the Viet Cong tunnel system which Australian engineers penetrated during Operation Crimp from 8 to 14 January 1966. The objective of this operation was a series of underground bunkers believed to be in the Ho Bo Woods area of Cu Chi district in Binh Duong Province. Intelligence indicated that these bunkers housed the headquarters for the Communist committee that controlled all Viet Cong activity in the Capital Military District. Over 8000 troops took part in the operation, including a number of Australian units attached to the US 173rd Airborne Brigade.

A large complex of tunnels was subsequently uncovered by 1 Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, which was later discovered to cover approximately 56 square kilometres. It consisted of over 200 kilometres of tunnels in multiple levels, and included living, working and storage areas. Policy at the time was to destroy tunnels and bunkers, but the engineers of 3 Field Troop began searching them, capturing large quantities of weapons, food, equipment and documents. Following these successes, American units throughout Vietnam received orders to clear tunnels before destroying them.