![]() I worked on the basis that 120 of my steps was equivalent to 100 metres and, using the distance travelled and the direction, I would calculate my position under the jungle canopy by dead reckoning. It was my habit as an FO always to count my steps and use my compass to keep track of direction. We were then sent off in a southerly direction, away from the bunker system, in single file. We withdrew to the area of the winch point from where we had “dusted off” the dead and wounded earlier in the day, and re-grouped. Unfortunately we were unable to retrieve our dead comrades because of the intensity of the fire and so, when we withdrew, we had to leave them behind. We were unable to progress the attack because of the intense machine gun fire so Major Taylor ordered us to withdraw. Within a very short time we had suffered three KIA to machine gun fire and the whole attack propped. ![]() We had not progressed very far when the forward platoons entered the bunker system’s firing lanes. On Major Taylor’s command the platoons commenced moving forward. Company Headquarters, where I was located, was between the attacking platoons and the reserve platoon. He formed the company up with two platoons side by side at the front with the third platoon in reserve at the rear. Later in the afternoon Major Jerry Taylor, Officer Commanding D Company, directed me to stop the artillery and air support and he called an Orders Group to attack the bunker system. Greg Gilbert, Artillery FO with D Company 4RAR/NZ at the battle of Nui Le plots details on a map The LOH flew at treetop level and I assumed he was seeking to draw fire and determine enemy positions as it would have been difficult to resist taking a shot at him. He stood on the skid, completely outside the helicopter with a rifle in his hands and connected only by his harness. I remember marvelling at the audacity of the crewman of the LOH. During the afternoon a combination of artillery and aircraft at three levels, OH-6 Cayuse (LOH) helicopters at treetop level, AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters, and UH-1D Iroquois gun-ships at a higher level and F4 Phantom and A37 Dragonfly jets at the highest level directed fire onto the bunker system. At the same time I called in artillery fire support and air support from the US Army and US Air Force. We withdrew from the bunkers and called in “Dustoff” helicopters to remove the dead and wounded. ![]() ![]() We knew from various intelligence sources that the enemy we were confronting was the 33rd Regiment of the People’s Army of Vietnam (known as the PAVN or NVA), the North Vietnamese regular forces. I recall hearing the distinctive sound of a North Vietnamese 12.7mm machine gun earlier in the day and wondering what we might be in for. We suffered casualties, including one Killed in Action (KIA) from the shrapnel from a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG), which had been fired at a tree adjacent to the soldier, and found that we had hit a substantial bunker position. On the morning of 21 September D Company made contact with a bunker system in the vicinity of the Núi Lé feature. In September 1971 4 RAR/NZ (ANZAC) was engaged on Operation Ivanhoe in the north of Phước Tuy Province. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |