February
3 - The "Strategic Hamlet" program begins in South Vietnam. (Designed to "fortify" strategic villages. Australia provided very large quantities of barbed wire, corrugated iron and generators for lighting. The program failed because of lack of interest by villagers in maintaining the defenses.)
7 - American military strength in South Vietnam reaches 4,000, with the arrival of two additional Army aviation units.
27 - President Diem (President of South Vietnam from 1954 till his death in 1963)escapes injury when two South Vietnamese aircraft attack the Presidential Palace.
March
31 - President Diem writes to Prime Minister Menzies (Prime Minister of Australia), drawing his attention to, "the grave threat to peace in Vietnam".
May
6 - North Vietnamese troops invade Laos.
23 - Australian Government announces that the No 79 Squadron RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force), equipped with Sabre Jet fighters, is to be stationed in Ubon, Thailand (Thailand, a member of SEATO became concerned about North Vietnamese troops movements near it's border).
24 - Australian Government announces that 30 Army Instructors are to be sent to Vietnam.
Athol Townley, the Australian Defence Minister says,
"If the communists were to achieve their aims in Vietnam, this would gravely affect the security of the whole of Southeast Asia and ultimately Australia".
August
3 - 30 Advisors from the Australian Army Training Team(AATTV - Australian Army Training Team Vietnam. Period of Service in Vietnam 31 Jul 1962 - 19 Dec 1972) arrive in South Vietnam and are met by the Australian Ambassador. They become the first Australian troops involved in the Indochina war.
"We are going to win in Vietnam. We will remain here until we do win". Robert Kennedy 1962
Sir Garfield Barwick, Australian Minister for External Affairs
"The courageous people of Vietnam [are in the] front line struggle against communist aggression ... Recruits are obtained by kidnapping and other coercive measures, and sent to North Vietnam for training and indoctrination. Later they come back to form new Viet Cong units".See Australia's Military Involvement in Vietnam The Political Dimension
June
11 - After riots in Hue, South Vietnam, Buddhist monks commit suicide by setting themselves alight. Diem's wife outrages the world by referring to the act as a "barbecue".
November
1 - Transcript of the phone call between Diem and Henry Cabot Lodge.
2 - A military coup overthrows Diem. Diem and his brother are murdered.
6 -General Duong Van Mingh (Called "Big Minh". Born 1916. Military adviser to Diem), takes over the leadership of South Vietnam.
15. President John F.Kennedy announces the withdrawal of 1,000 advisers for December, of what was meant to be an overall reduction of US Forces in Vietnam.
22. John F Kennedy is assassinated at Dallas, Texas. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson becomes President.
General Tran Van Don, South Vietnamese Army;
"I feel that we shall achieve victory in 1964" .
General Paul D. Harkins, US Commander in Vietnam:
"I can safely say that the end of the war is in sight"
January
30 - A junta headed by Major General Nguyen Khanh deposes Duon Van Minh in South Vietnam but little is to change.
March
US Secretary of Defence McNamara (born 1916, US Secretary of Defense, January 1961- February 1968), visits South Vietnam and is convinced that if South Vietnam falls the rest of South East Asia will follow. He returns to Washington and recommends increased aid to South Vietnam.
17- US President Johnson ( (1908-1973) US President after Kennedy's assassination 1963, retired from office 1969) orders an increase in US aid to South Vietnam of $60 million. The President also orders the US Joint Chiefs of Staff to begin planning retaliatory air strikes against North Vietnam, to be launched on 72 hrs notice.
April
SEATO Council meeting in Manilla calls for all SEATO members to fulfill their duty under the agreement. The US is seeking further support in Vietnam.
May - Alan Renouf, Australian Minister in Washington
"Our objective should be....to achieve such an habitual closeness of relations... and sense of mutual alliance that in our time of need ... the United States would have little option but to respond as we would want. The problem of Vietnam is one ... where we could without disproportionate expenditure pick up a lot of credit with the United States".May 29 - Australian Cabinet agrees that the AATTV should be increased (advisors see service in Vietnam. 33 are killed and 122 wounded. 4 Victoria Crosses are won, 113 British decorations, 245 US and 376 RVN awards)
Sir Paul Hasluck, Minister for External Affairs:
"What is happening in South East Asia today is not a local, temporary or isolated situation. It is part of the rivalry of power and the ideological contest which is taking place throughout the world. It is part of the stream of events continuing into the future. In both of those contests the most significant factor in Asia is China".US State Department;
"In Vietnam, a Communist government has set out deliberately to conquer a sovereign people in a neighboring state..[by a] carefully planned program of concealed aggression ... as real as that of an invading army. The war in Vietnam is not a spontaneous and local rebellion against the established government".Richard M. Nixon, former US Vice President;
"The decision by the Australian government to send a battalion to South Vietnam is a grave one and commits Australia to a more direct role in this cockpit of war where the conflict for power between Communist China and the West in South East Asia has been joined... These are inescapable obligations which fall on us because of our geographical position, our treaty commitments and our friendships... There is clearly a United States call to share, even in a small way, more of the burdens..There was no alternative but to respond as we have".
"The Menzies Government has made a reckless decision on Vietnam which this nation may live to regret. It has decided to send Australian soldiers into a savage, revolutionary war in which the Americans are grievously involved - so that America may share a tiny part of her embarrassment. Their decision is wrong, at this time, whichever way we look at it. It is wrong because Australia's contingent can have only insignificant military value, because it will be purely a political pawn in a situation for which Australia has no responsibility whatsoever.May 1 - The West Australian - Australia Faces Up To Reality
It is wrong because it deliberately and coldly runs counter to the mounting wave international anxiety about the of the Vietnam war and the justification and perils of America's military escalation...Neither of the Pacific Defence treaties to which Australia subscribes can honestly be invoked to justify the Menzies Government decision".
"ANZUS cannot apply, because the United States is not under attack. SEATO, more worthless than ever, certainly doesn't apply...
But Australia has lined up her generations against the hatred and contempt of resurgent Asian peoples - without adding one iota of confidence or strength to the tragically embroiled American nation. It could be that our historians will recall this day with tears".
"The Federal government has made a grave decision in committing 800 Australian troops to fight in South Vietnam. Yet, however much Australians might abhor the prospect of becoming physically embroiled in the conflict in Vietnam, the government could not shirk its responsibilities there. The decision gives expression to the fundamentals of our policy in South East Asia. For the United States, the task of halting communism aggression involves mainly the principles of freedom and peace. For Australians, in Borneo and Vietnam, our own security also is at stake, both now and in the future. The United States wants to negotiated settlement in Vietnam. Its stepped-up campaign is designed only to convince the Communists that they cannot take what they want by force. If the Americans lose militarily or diplomatically, so do we".May 1 - The Courier Mail - We Are At War
"This is a grim week-end for every Australian. we are now at war, a war which will touch every one of us far more than most people, even today, will realize. Australia is to fight on the Asian mainland to aid the United States in stopping the advance of Communism, which threatens us directly. We are going with a token, but nonetheless committed and lethal force to support the South Vietnamese Government against the aggression of North Vietnam, backed by communist China".3 - US Army 173rd Airborne arrives in South Vietnam.
Our Government has made the decision in our name, and that is its duty. The nation now has to support that... For us, the cost will not be light. Brave men will die in jungles without even seeing the other side's soldiers; many others will be wounded. At home we will have to commit a great deal of our manpower and our economy to the fight. The easy days ended with the Prime Minister's announcement on Thursday.
"We do not want an expanding struggle with consequences that no one can foresee, nor will we bluster or bully or flaunt our power. But we will not surrender and we will not retreat".August
January - Harold Holt (Australian Prime Minister from 1966 till Dec 67) succeeds Robert Menzies as Prime Minister of Australia.
8 - 1 RAR conduct a "search and destroy Op "Rolling Stone" in the "Hobo Woods". Heavy fighting takes place. Australian casualties are 8 killed and 29 wounded.
January 31 - US bombing of North Vietnam resumes after a 37 day pause.
February
22 - 1 RAR assist the US 1st Division in an operation near Ben Cat. Australia casualties, 1 wounded.
14 - Gen Maxwell Taylor, US Ambassador to South Vietnam 1964-65.
"This country cannot escape its destiny as the champion of the free world - there is no running away".
March
8 - Prime Minister Harold Holt announces the formation of a Task Force for Vietnam consisting of two infantry battalion with combat support. An increase to 4,500 troops (This includes an APC Sqn, an Artillery Regiment, SAS Sqn, signals, engineer and supply units).
The US 1st Division is to support the arrival of the Task Force. Harold Holt states, "... a long period of fighting is the prospect we have to face".
15 - Alan Fairhall, Australian Minister for Defence
"There is not the slightest doubt that the North Vietnamese are the puppets of the Chinese and that the whole conduct of the war, down to the last jot and tittle of it, comes out of the philosophy of Mao Tse-tung... It is perhaps only the first round of an attack by the Chinese Communists in an effort to dominate the world".March 30 - April - 1 RAR join the US 1st Division to support the Australian Task Force arrival.2 battalions of the US 173rd Airborne are assigned to clear the area around Nui Dat and suffer 23 killed and 160 wounded. (Nui Dat - The Australian's Operational Base in Phouc Tuy Province. Situated 32 klms inland from Vung Tau along Route 2, the Australian's objective was to break the hold of Viet Cong(VC) in the province and help reassert government control.)
"...thoroughly professional ... small in numbers and well trained, particularly in anti-guerrilla warfare ... the Australian Army was much like the post-Versailles German Army in which even men in the ranks might have been might have been leaders in some less capable force".Jun 21 - Jul 5. The Sixth Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment(Infantry) conduct Op "Enoggera", the first of 28 operations on their first tour of Vietnam.
"Our men stand together as they have stood before, to check aggression. And I want for every boy that stands there in the rice paddy on this warm summer's day to know that every American and LBJ is with Australia, all the way. You have already shown that your commitment is a matter of policy and action and not rhetoric. And when your Prime Minister(Harold Holt) said symbolically in Washington that he would go "all the way with LBJ", there wasn't a single American that felt that was new information".November
January
8 Jan - 5 Mar. 6 RAR conduct Op "Woolongong"
16 - 17. 6 RAR conduct Op "Camden"
28 Jan - 1 Feb. 6 RAR conduct Op "Seymour"
February
1 - 8. 6 RAR conduct OP "Tamborine" and suffer 4 dead and 14 wounded.
8 - 12. 6 RAR conduct Op "Beechmont".
14 - 5 RAR lose 3 officers killed by landmine.
15 - Ho Chi Minh's Letter to US President Johnson
16 . 6 RAR conduct Op "Dalby".
17 - 18 . 6 RAR conduct Operation "Bribie"and lose 7 killed and 26 wounded.
18 - The first RAN contingent, Clearance Diving Team 3 (CDT3) assume duties at Vung Tau. (CDT's role was to inspect the hull of vessels in harbour for mines and charges and to assist in ordnance disposal, including inspection of objects thought to be mines.)
21 - 5 RAR lose 7 killed and 22 wounded by landmines in the Long Hai Hills.
23 - 27. 6 RAR conduct Op "Kirribilli".
March
7 - 6 RAR conduct Op "Ayr".
7 - Australia provides a guided missile destroyer HMAS Hobart to the US 7th Fleet in the Gulf of Tonkin.
21 - April 16. 6 RAR conduct OP Portsea and lose 4 dead and 6 wounded.
31 - HMAS Hobart comes under enemy fire north of Cap Falaise.
April
8 - 7 RAR main body departs Sydney, Australia on HMAS Sydney.
16 - RAAF No 2 Squadron of eight Canberra Bombers arrive at Phang Rang Air Base. (No 2 Sqn within 3 years struck over 9,000 targets and dropped over 50,000 bombs.)
May - Morgan Gallup Poll indicates 62% of Australians are in favor of the war, 24% in favor of withdrawal, 14% undecide.
16-23. HMAS Hobart in Op "Sea Dragon".
20 - 7 RAR land at Vung Tau and 5 RAR depart on HMAS Sydney.
22 - HMAS Hobart come under enemy fire near Song Ma river.
May
US Forces now at 436,000.
11 - HMAS Hobart under enemy fire off Kien Giang.
12 - 5 RAR arrive back in Sydney.
17. - HMAS Hobart under fire whilst bombarding Truc Li Ferry.
19 - HMAS Sydney departs Brisbane with 2 RAR.
24 - HMAS Hobart under enemy fire near Hon Matt Island.
30 - 2 RAR main body land at Vung Tau and 6 RAR main body depart on HMAS Sydney.
June
14 - 6 RAR main body arrive home at Brisbane completing their first tour. (Casualties on first tour are 37 killed and 110 wounded.)
July
5 - 5 RAR complete their first tour.
Australia announces additional helicopter support including 8 RAN helicopter pilots and supporting staff who join the US Army 135th Assault Helicopter Company.
August
2 - HMAS Hobart under enemy fire at whilst bombarding Cong Phu Railway spur.
6 - A Company 7 RAR lose 6 killed and 17 wounded in a clash with the VC 274 Regiment. Five RAAF helicopters evacuate the casualties.
9 - HMAS Hobart under fire near Sam Son.
26 - First RAN casualty, Able Seaman D.C Tromp is wounded in action Phuoc Tuy province.
September
3 - General Nguyen Van Thieu is elected President of South Vietnam with Nguyen Cao Ky as Vice President.
14 - HMAS Hobart completing it's first tour is relieved by HMAS Perth at Subic Bay.
29 - Thai combat troops arrive in South Vietnam.
October
16 - 8 RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam((RANHFV) pilots and 39 supporting staff join the US Army 135th Assault Helicopter Company (A total of 35 RAN pilots served in the RANHFV and flew a total of 33,734 hours. 5 members of the unit were lost in action) at Vung Tau., within a month they redeploy to Xuan Loc in Long Khan Province.
17 - Harold Holt announces that a third Infantry battalion is to be deployed to Vietnam, with a further 8 helicopters for No 9 Squadron. A squadron of Centurion tanks (Australia's Main Battle Tank) with 250 personnel will also be deployed. Australia's commitment is now 8,000.
18 - HMAS Perth under fire near Sam Son and is hit with one shell that injures 4 crewmen.
General William C. Westmoreland, Commander US Forces, Vietnam
"The war is not a stalemate. We are winning it slowly but steadily".
November
2- 135th Assault Helicopter Coy commence combat operations.
December
3 - HMAS Perth under fire in Bay of Brandon.
16 - 3 RAR main body departs Port Adelaide, South Australia, on board HMAS Sydney.
17 - Prime Minister Harold Holt wades into the surf off Portsea and disappears. His body is never recovered. HMAS Perth under fire off Dong Hoi.
27 - 3 RAR arrive at Vung Tau on HMAS Sydney for their first tour and deploy to Nui Dat.
31 - US military strength now at 486,000. 135th AHC operate from Xuan Loc.
General William C. Westmoreland, Commander US Forces, Vietnam
"The enemy has been defeated at every turn"
1968
January
6 - 3 RAR commence Op "Balaklava".
9 - 11 . 3 RAR conduct Op "Bordertown"
22 - April 7. US forces at Khe Sanh under siege for 77 days. This was meant to be "America's Dien Bein Phu".
23 - 7 RAR and 2 RAR move to the Bien Hoa area in "expectation of an attack". 3 RAR is left to defend Phuoc Tuy Province.
25 - HMAS Perth under fire near Cap St Anne.
29 - C Coy 3 RAR move to FSPB "Harrison", Bien Hoa Province.(Op "Coburg" - 7 RAR)
30 - The "Tet Offensive" erupts throughout South Vietnam, lasting until late February. 80,000 communist troops attack cities and towns throughout South Vietnam.
1968 TET Offensive Massacre at Hue City
More about the TET Offensive
1968 TET Offensive - Viet Cong Aims and Concept
1968 - Viet Cong - Control and Polarization of the Populace
February
1 - Task Force Base is mortared.
1 - 2. D445 Battalion(Enemy Group- VC) attacks the town of Baria(in Phuoc Toy Province)and occupy it. A Coy, 3 RAR respond with 3 Troop A Sqn 3 Cav Regiment and assist US and ARVN (Army Republic Viet Nam) forces.Heavy fighting is encountered.
3-6 . D Coy 3 RAR in action with at Long Dien with the 2/52 ARVN Rangers.
5 - B Coy 3 RAR in action at the village Hoa Long.
7 - 9. B Coy 3 RAR in action at Baria and Long Dien.
10 - 3 RAR relieve 7 RAR on Op "Coburg".
12 - Australian Prime Minister Gorton indicates that Australia will not increase its force in Vietnam.
18 - 3 RAR under ground and mortar attack on FSPB "Andersen".
28 - 3 RAR under mortar and ground attack at FSPB "Andersen".
March
1 - 3 RAR return to Nui Dat from Op "Coburg".
8 - 3 RAR, less D Coy, commence OP "Pinnaroo".
17 - D Coy 3 RAR joins Op "Pinnaroo".
27 - 1 RAR depart Sydney for Vietnam aboard HMAS Sydney.
31 - HMAS Perth is relieved by HMAS Hobart at Subic Bay.
Australian soldiers accused of torturing a young Vietnamese woman.
April
9- 1 RAR main body arrive at Vung Tau. 7 RAR main body depart on HMAS Sydney.
12 - D Coy 3 RAR return from Op "Pinnaroo".
15 - Op "Pinnaroo" completed.
21 - 3 RAR commence Op "Toan Thang"(Phase I).
22 - HMAS Hobart under fire at near Dong Hoi.
23 - HMAS Hobart under fire near Ke Anh.
26 - 7 RAR arrive home in Australia.
May
3 - President Johnson accepts a North Vietnam offer to conduct preliminary peace talks in Paris.
3 RAR return from Op "Toan Thang"(Phase I).
4-5 - A North Vietnamese offensive begins similar to the TET offensive, attacking 109 towns and cities throughout South Vietnam.
10 - 3 RAR continue Op "Toan Thang"(Phase I) relieving 2 RAR at FSPB (Fire Support Patrol Base) "Andersen".
12 - 1 RAR and 3 RAR with artillery support are deployed to Bin Dugong Province and setup FSPB "Coral", in an attempt to block withdrawal and re-supply routes for communist forces attacking Siagon.
May 13 - June 1 RAR including 102 Field Bty and supporting arms, fight pitched battles with communist forces in the The Battle of FSPB "Coral".
13 - 3 RAR take up a blocking position 20 miles north-east of Saigon.
13 - Delegates from the US and North Vietnam hold their first meeting in Paris
16 - Enemy Regimental attacks on FSPB "Coral".
21 - 4 RAR depart Australia on HMAS Sydney.
23 - Centurion tanks arrive at FSPB "Coral" and provide much needed fire support.
24 - 3 RAR move to FSPB "Balmoral".
26 - 3 RAR at FSPB "Balmoral" comes under heavy ground and mortar attacks from communist forces. Mortar attacks at FSPB "Coral".
28 - Regiment sized attacks on 3 RAR at FSPB "Balmoral" by 165 Regiment 7th North Vietnamese Army Division.
May - June Australian casualties during this period are 26 killed and 110 wounded.
June
1 - 4 RAR main body arrives Vung Tau and 2 RAR main body depart for Australia on HMAS Sydney.
5 - 3 RAR return from Op "Toan Thang"(Phase I)
7-9 - Australian Prime Minister Gorton visits Vietnam.
13 - 2 RAR arrive in Australia.
14 - D Coy 3 RAR "cordon and search" Long Dien. HMAS Hobart under fire at Cap Lay.
17 - HMAS Hobart hit by three missiles from a USAF aircraft north of Cap Lay (USAF = United States Air Force. 2 crew are killed and 3 seriously injured).
25 - 30. B Coy 3 RAR conduct Op "Ulladulla" with C Squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment.
July
3 - 3 RAR relieve 1 RAR on OP "Toan Thang(Phase2)" in Area of Operations(AO) Birdsville.
18 - 3 RAR conduct OP "Merino" in AO Yass.
29 - C Coy 3 RAR "cordon and search" north east Hoa Long.
August
2 - 13 . 3 RAR conduct Op "Platypus".
22 - Saigon (Now Known as Ho Chi Minh City) rocketed. 1 RAR and centurion tanks in contact with Viet Cong occupying Long Dien.
23 . 3 RAR conduct Op "Magnetic" on Long Son Island.
28 - 5 Sep. 3 RAR conduct Op "Diamantina".
September
6 - C & D Coys 3 RAR relieve 1 RAR Coys in the Baria and Long Dien area(Op "Nowra").
10 - A Coy 3 RAR relieves C Coy 1 RAR on land clearing Ops in AO Warburton.
15 - B Coy 3RAR return from Baria Stadium defence task.
19 - 25. C Coy 3 RAR Route 2 security OP Ngai Giao area.
24 - D Coy 3 RAR return from Long Dien.
28. 3 RAR tactical HQ, B and D Coy insert into FSPB "Cedar" to commence Op "Windsor".
29 - C Coy 3 RAR join OP "Windsor".
October
2 - A Coy 3 RAR return from land clearing Ops in AO Warburton.
6 - A Coy 3 RAR fly in to join OP "Windsor".
10 - HMAS Perth under fire.
12 - Op "Windsor" concludes. 3 RAR redeploy to AO Garran on OP "Capital".
21 - A, B and D Coys 3 RAR rteurn from Op "Capital".
22 - 3 RAR HQ and C Coy return from OP "Capital". 161 Fd Bty redeploy to FSPB "Wilton".
25 - C Coy 3 RAR commence Op "Harvest".
27 - 3 RAR HQ Group and D Coy Join OP "Harvest".
30 - A Coy 3 RAR commence OP "Diamond Pin" in AO Rapier.
31 - President Johnson announces the cessation of bombing on North Vietnam.
November
1 - US Joint Chiefs of Staff announce all sea, air and land bombardment of North Vietnam is to cease at 2100 hrs that night.
2 - 3 RAR HQ, C and D Coy return to Nui Dat from Op "Harvest". A Coy 3 RAR return from Op "Diamond Pin".
5 - 9 RAR Advance Party arrive at Nui Dat. 3 RAR Advance Party return to Australia by air.
President Nixon elected as US President and promises a gradual troop withdrawal from Vietnam.
9 - 9 RAR main body depart Port Adelaide SA on HMAS Sydney.
20 - 9 RAR main body arrive at Vung Tau and deploy to Nui Dat. First and only tour. 3 RAR main body depart on HMAS Sydney for Australia.
24 - News breaks of the My Lai Massacre by US forces.
December
49% of Australians support the war. 37.2 want our forces withdrawn.
2 - 3 RAR main body arrive home at Port Adelaide, South Australia.
31 - US military strength now at 536,000.