Binh Ba battle DPR/TV/1114

Australian and South Vietnamese soldiers joined in a major action last weekend to clear an estimated 90 enemy from the village of Binh Ba, five miles north of the 1st Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat. With the Australians was Australian Army Public Relations cameraman, Sergeant Chris Bellis, who shot this film. Tanks of "B" Squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment, Royal Australian Armoured Corps, and armoured personnel carriers from the Corps' "B" Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, were deployed in the Binh Ba area with infantrymen of "D" and "B" Companies 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment. They were called in at the request of the South Vietnamese District Chief, Major Tran Van Ngo, after a rocket attack on an Australian tank last Friday (June 6). The Commanding Officer of 5 RAR, Lieutenant-Colonel Colin Khan of Sydney NSW, described the resultant rout of the enemy as one of the most successful team efforts between Australian and Regional Forces. In the seven and a half hour battle and in smaller actions which followed - 66 Viet Cong were killed in the village, more than a dozen were killed in other fighting in the area and nine prisoners were taken. The enemy fought from bunkers in all houses in the little village. On Saturday (June 7), the morning after the main battle, armour and infantry went through the village again, overcoming pockets of resistance, and collecting dead, wounded and captured equipment. The Officer Commanding "D" Company, 5 RAR, Major Murray Blake of Greenmount WA, is seen giving last minute instructions to one of his sergeants, Sgt Brian London, before the final sweep through the village. There were anxious moments still for the Diggers, as they went about the difficult task of dragging bodies out of bunkers, checking buildings for more survivors and collecting abandoned Viet Cong gear. The final check of the village took all Saturday morning and after their sweaty, nerve-tingling work, the Diggers began an assessment of the victory.