The battle of Long Tan : the company commanders story / Harry Smith ; prelude by Toni McRae. Long Tan : the start of a lifelong battle

Collection type	Library
Author	Smith, Harry A., author.; McRae, Toni, author.;
Call Number	959.7043394 S649
Document type	Monograph
Year	2019.
Pagination	336 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 23 cm.
Publisher	Big Sky Publishing,
Note	"Now a major motion picture"--Cover. Previous edition published as: Long Tan : the start of a lifelong battle. Newport, NSW : Big Sky Publishing, 2016. On the afternoon of 18 August 1966, just five kilometres from the main Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat, a group of Viet Cong soldiers walked into the right flank of Delta Company, 6 RAR. Under a blanket of mist and heavy monsoon rain, amid the mud and shattered rubber trees, a dispersed Company of 108 men held its ground with courage and grim determination against a three-sided attack from a force of 2,500 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troops. When the battle subsided, 18 Australian soldiers l ay dead and 24 had been wounded. Battlefield clearance revealed 245 enemy bodies with captured documents later confirming the count at over 500 enemy killed and 800 wounded. These men were led by a gruff and gusty perfectionist, Major Harry Smith. Now, so me 47 years after the battle, Harry tells his story for the first time. But Long Tan is more than just an account of a historic battle. Harry Smith takes his readers on an extraordinary journey - one that ultimately reveals a remarkable cover-up at the hi ghest military and political echelons. Long Tan is also Harry's life story and portrays his many personal battles, from failed marriages to commando-style killing; from a horrific parachute accident through to his modern-day struggles with bureaucracy for recognition for his soldiers. Harry's battles are tempered by his love of sailing, where he has at last found some peace. Long Tan portrays the wrenching, visceral experience of a man who has fought lifelong battles, in a story that he is only now able t o tell. Harry can still hear the gunfire and smell the blood spilt at Long Tan. For him, the fight continues.
Place made	Newport, NSW :

Abstract

Machine generated contents note: 1.Beginnings in Tasmania -- 2.Cannon Fodder to Go -- 3.Murder in Malaya -- 4.Body Parts and Battling Commos -- 5.Battling Rushes of Blood to the Head and Heart -- 6.These Boots Are Made for Walking -- 7.Vietnam: Suicide Mi ssion -- 8.Battle Beginnings -- 9.Into Battle: A `Rorke''s Drift'' in the Rubber -- 10.After the Battle: Uncovering the Truth -- 11.Commando Action, Sailing and Divorce -- 12.Battle with a Parachute: Plunge to Earth and a Crash of Dreams -- 13.Battling the Brass: Australia''s Shame Exposed -- 14.Another War: the Battle for Recognition -- 15.Battles in Life Beyond Army.