Artillery · April 1967 – May 1968, February 1970 – March 1971
4th Field Regiment
- Contacts
- 214
- Operations
- 11
- Dead
- 3
- Australian wounded
- 22
- Enemy killed
- 37
View unit in Battle Map
Year by year #
214 contacts are recorded for the unit and sub-units, from 1 May 1967 to 18 February 1971. It was the unit in contact in 170 of them, and took part in 44 led by other units.
Unit actions #
In the contacts it led, by the task the report records:
| Task | Contacts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Artillery engagement | 164 | 96% |
| Security | 3 | 2% |
| Artillery and mortar fire | 2 | 1% |
| Patrol | 1 | 1% |
Fire support in 44 contacts led by other units: 7 RAR (13), 2 RAR (11), 161 Field Battery, RNZA (New Zealand) (8), V Company, 2 RAR (New Zealand) (5), US Army (4), 8 RAR (1), US Artillery (1), W Company, 2 RAR (New Zealand) (1).
Operations #
| Operation | Dates | Contacts | Australians killed | Enemy killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAOR | 9 May 1967 – 12 June 1967 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Broken Hill | 14 June 1967 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ballarat | 1 August 1967 – 13 August 1967 | 4 | 6 | 16 |
| Ainslie | 7 September 1967 – 20 September 1967 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Santa Fe | 28 October 1967 – 11 November 1967 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| Forrest | 1 December 1967 – 5 January 1968 | 13 | 1 | 14 |
| Duntroon | 16 January 1968 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Coburg | 27 February 1968 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Pinnaroo | 9 March 1968 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Cung Chung | 14 June 1970 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Phoi Hop | 18 February 1971 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Notable contacts #
1 May 1967: Contact #
First · 4 Fd Regt in contact
106 Field Battery fired on suspected enemy mortar positions.
6 August 1967: Bunker, Operation Ballarat #
Significant · Fire support for 7 RAR
Australian: 6 killed, 19 wounded. Enemy: 15 killed, 25 wounded.
Operation Ballarat, in the Hat Dich area. A Company, 7 RAR, had been inserted quietly to ambush trails to enemy camps, and its 2 Platoon killed two enemy who walked into a hasty ambush. Sent along the track after the rest of the enemy squad, the platoon ran into heavy automatic fire from a defended position held by a company of the 274th Regiment's 3rd Battalion, covering the withdrawal of its battalion from a camp nearby. The whole company was committed, supported by air strikes and by 106 Field Battery and a US battery, until the enemy withdrew after about four hours. Six Australians were killed and about twenty wounded; an estimated 15 enemy were killed and 25 wounded by the company, and many more by the artillery and air strikes.
5 November 1967: Security, Operation Santa Fe #
Significant · 4 Fd Regt in contact
Australian: 1 killed.
Several enemy got through the defensive perimeter of 108 Field Battery and set up four Claymore mines aimed at its sleeping quarters. Two were fired, killing one gunner; the other two did not go off. Most of the battery was on duty at the time, or the casualties would have been far higher.
1 December 1967: Security, Operation Forrest #
Typical: security · 4 Fd Regt in contact
106 Field Battery saw two people moving in front of its position and fired Claymore mines. A search of the area found nothing.
2 December 1967: Ambush, Operation Forrest #
Significant · Fire support for 2 RAR
Enemy: 4 killed, 1 wounded.
12 Platoon, D Company, 2 RAR, ambushed six Viet Cong, killing four and wounding one, and captured three weapons. A tracking team followed a blood trail until it was lost at a river, and 108 Field Battery fired on likely escape routes. Papers on one of the dead showed he was the commander of the Xuyen Moc district platoon.
10 December 1967: Security, Operation Forrest #
Significant · 4 Fd Regt in contact
Australian: 1 killed.
106 Field Battery, supporting Operation Forrest from Fire Support Base Bravo, was hit by a single round from outside the perimeter, possibly a grenade or a mortar bomb. One Australian died of wounds, and an investigation began.
2 January 1968: Bunker, Operation Forrest #
Significant · Fire support for 7 RAR
Enemy: 2 killed.
12 Platoon, D Company, 7 RAR, found an enemy camp and met two enemy, who fled; sweeping the area, it met and killed another. 106 Field Battery probably fired in support.
3 January 1968: Ambush, Operation Forrest #
Significant · Fire support for 7 RAR
Enemy: 3 killed.
1 Platoon, A Company, 7 RAR, ambushed three enemy with two Claymore mines, machine-guns and rifles, killing two at once and the third, wounded, in the sweep that followed. Three SKS rifles were captured, and 106 Field Battery fired in support.
27 February 1968: Arty/Mor, Operation Coburg #
Typical: artillery and mortar fire · 4 Fd Regt in contact
C Company, 7 RAR, saw torches 800 metres from its position. 106 Field Battery and mortars fired on them, and the lights went out.
1 March 1968: Contact #
Typical: artillery engagement · 4 Fd Regt in contact
A patrol from 2 RAR saw 30 to 40 armed Viet Cong moving west in close formation along a track, carrying one wounded man on a stretcher. 106 and 108 Field Batteries fired on the area with unknown results.
9 March 1968: Ambush, Operation Pinnaroo #
Significant · Fire support for W Company, 2 RAR (New Zealand)
Enemy: 3 killed.
The perimeter defence of 2 Platoon, W Company, 2 RAR, ambushed five enemy, killing three and capturing one; the company caught the last man at dawn. Four weapons were captured, and 108 Field Battery and a US battery fired in support.
14 June 1970: Bunker, Operation Cung Chung #
Significant · Fire support for 8 RAR
Australian: 1 killed, 3 wounded. Enemy: 1 killed.
A platoon of 8 RAR following a new track saw two enemy near a bunker and killed one; heavy fire from two bunkers then pinned the forward section. The enemy withdrew and reoccupied the bunkers, causing more casualties, which were evacuated under helicopter gunship cover while ammunition was flown in. After holding the enemy for an hour, the platoon pulled back 800 metres for artillery and to join tanks and carriers; the assault later that day met no resistance. One Australian was killed and three wounded.
18 February 1971: Bunker, Operation Phoi Hop #
Last · Fire support for V Company, 2 RAR (New Zealand)
A bunker system found earlier was hit by artillery and air strikes and then assaulted and taken by 3 Platoon, V Company, 2 RAR. The enemy had left.
Sub-units #
106 Field Battery #
99 contacts, 1 May 1967 to 13 August 1970; 6 operations. Australian: 7 killed, 19 wounded. Enemy: 24 killed, 28 wounded.
Actions: artillery engagement 95%, artillery and mortar fire 3%, security 3%.
Most significant contacts:
- 6 August 1967: bunker, Operation Ballarat. Australian: 6 killed, 19 wounded. Enemy: 15 killed.
- 2 January 1968: bunker, Operation Forrest. Enemy: 2 killed.
- 3 January 1968: ambush, Operation Forrest. Enemy: 3 killed.
View 106 Field Battery in Battle Map
108 Field Battery #
126 contacts, 9 June 1967 to 18 March 1968; 6 operations. Australian: 1 killed. Enemy: 12 killed, 8 wounded.
Actions: artillery engagement 99%, security 1%.
Most significant contacts:
- 5 November 1967: security, Operation Santa Fe. Australian: 1 killed.
- 2 December 1967: ambush, Operation Forrest. Enemy: 4 killed.
- 9 March 1968: ambush, Operation Pinnaroo. Enemy: 3 killed.
View 108 Field Battery in Battle Map
Roll of honour #
The unit's 3 dead on the honour roll: those on a tour with the unit when they died, and reinforcements killed in the unit's contacts. Each opens their entry on the honour roll.
Barry Tregear
Gunner
5 November 1967
Robert Graham Birse
Lieutenant
10 December 1967
Ross David Anton
(Temporary) Bombardier
22 March 1970
Photographs #
From the site's collection: pictures linked to the unit's contacts, and others taken near them at the time. Each opens on the Battle Map.
Nui Dat looking from North West to south east over Luscombe Field 1 February 1968
Australian M113 APCs at Laager, the crews having breakfast inside the area that was fenced immediately east of Xa Phuoc Loi. This area became part of the … errol999, 8 April 1967
C Company 8 RAR assaulting into an enemy bunker system in the foothills of the Long Hais (Minh Dam Secret Zone) shortly after a B52 strike had hit the system. Rod Simpson, 22 February 1970
Company Sign Ern arshall, 1 July 1967
Map of the area of Operation Bribie Ern Marshall Unknown
U.S. Army CH-47A Chinook delivering barbed wire for the construction of the minefield fence north of Xa Phuoc Loi 3.1967 errol999
Northern Road Block, temporary bridge over Song Cau, Route 2 Ap An Phu going south to 1 ATF from top of Vietnamese Ox Cart 1.67 Ross Wood
Recoil-less Rifle on Land Rover unknown Digger ErnMarshall
Sioux Chopper Ern Marshall Barry Heard
7 RAR departing 1971 ErnMarshall Geoff Mainke
Number two of the Long Hai\'s in 3D Ern Marshall Oziexplorer
The Minefield look toward the ocean Ern Marshall Bernie Wieze
Sources #
- Tours and arm: the Australian War Memorial's record of the unit.
- Contacts: the Battle Map's records of 214 contacts, each report citing the archival source (most often the commanders' diaries, AWM95).
- The dead: the honour roll, with tours of duty from the nominal roll.
- Summaries of the reports: written by an AI model (Claude) from the reports, and reviewed.