The Vietcong / NVA "Tet Offensive" resulted in the transmission of remarkable scenes into living rooms across the world via television and an army of reporters and correspondents covering the war. Tet, or the Chinese New Year was seen as an opportunity to penetrate into the very heart of Saigon and other key cities in the south.
The Australians at Nui Dat, were in the vicinity of the ingress and egress routes of forces heading to and from Saigon. 1ATF Force elements were manouevered to inderdict some of these routes. At Tet 68, 1 ATF elements engaged VC forces in Bien Hoa Province and in Baria Town in Phuoc Tuy Province. Nui Dat was mortared briefly by elements of the VC C-41 Chau Duc Company.
While the "Tet Offensive" ultimately ended in military defeat for the communists, it was propaganda victory. Military planners began to question if a decisive victory could ever be achieved and the imagery and coverage associated with the offensive stimulated US public opposition to the war. For Australian troops, the effects of the offensive were felt around their base at Nui Dat, where a Viet Cong attack on targets around Ba Ria, the provincial capital, was repulsed with few Australian casualties.
Showing 1 person of interest from campaign
Service number 4719003
Private
3rd Battalion
The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR)
Australian Army (Post WW2)
Born 9 Nov 1946
