August 18, 1966. Late Afternoon. South Vietnam. For three and a half hours, in the pouring rain, amid the mud and shattered trees of a rubber plantation called Long Tan, Major Harry Smith and his dispersed company of 108 young and mostly inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers are fighting for their lives. They’re holding off an overwhelming force of 2,000 battle-hardened Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers.
With their ammunition running out, their casualties mounting, and the enemy massing for a final assault, each man begins to search for the strength to triumph over an uncertain future with honour, decency and courage. 18 Australians and at least 250 enemy were killed, with some estimations being over 500.
The Battle of Long Tan is one of the most savage and decisive engagements in Australian military history, earning both the United States and South Vietnamese Presidential Unit Citations for gallantry along with many individual awards.
Click here to enter our 'Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan' giveaway.