(14 & a Wakey)
We had been in the ambush positions now for four days and we were nice and relaxed. It was cool and shady under the jungle canopy. The events of the previous day had alerted us that some serious enemy forces were in the province. But they were several clicks from us, so we weren’t particularly worried. Although we did keep a sharp look out on the track we were ambushing. As the day wore on we continued to hear contact reports over the radio as 4RAR/NZ and it’s supporting arms went into full battle with the North Vietnamese Regular soldiers. As the day wore on we became more and more alert.
Battle of Nui Le
On the morning of the 21 September 1971, patrols by 11 Platoon, D Company 4 RAR/NZ, found sawn logs near the south eastern part of the Courtenay rubber plantation. This suggested that there were major fortified bunker positions nearby. As they moved forward to investigate, they found well-worn tracks that indicated the presence of hundreds of enemy soldiers.
The OC D Coy (Officer Commanding Delta Company) made the decision to draw the company’s platoons together to prevent them from being overrun should they run into a superior number of enemy troops. 12 and 10 platoons moved towards 11 Platoon.
Twelve Platoon made first contact with a bunker system, suffering one dead (the forward scout) from a rocket propelled grenade and four wounded.
The Battle of Nui Le had begun – the last major battle for Australian troops in the Vietnam War.
Then 11 Platoon, D Company 4 RAR/NZ was attacked by an estimated platoon strength assault. After a 15-minute firefight the enemy forces withdrew to their bunkers after removing their dead and wounded from the battlefield. The Australian platoons were ordered to withdraw to an area to the south so that airstrikes and artillery could be called in to soften up the bunker systems.
United States Air Force air strikes were called in and F-4 Phantoms and A37 Dragonflys bombed the area with napalm, air to surface missiles, flechette and 500 pound bombs. Iroquois and Cobra helicopter gunships and artillery strikes also hit the bunker system. After several hours of air strikes, the Forward Air Controller reported the enemy was pulling out and moving north.
A decision was made for 4RAR/NZ to enter the system and clear it before nightfall, and D Coy was to take the lead. At 14:00, D Company 4 RAR/NZ moved forward. The North Vietnamese let the Australians advance some 50 metres into the bunker complex before opening fire. 11 Platoon, suffered three killed and two wounded. Many grenades thrown by the North Vietnamese fortunately did not explode, reducing casualties. This battle would be fought hand to hand as the Centurion Tanks of the 1st Australian Task Force had already left Vietnam. 12 Platoon was also pinned down by enemy fire and could not move forward.
Warren Dowell in an interview with the Army Newspaper noted that “relaying orders was a big problem because there was so much noise, it was very hard for anybody to actually hear orders above the sounds of battle.” The fight lasted for several hours and the light was fading, so the company commander made the decision to break contact and move back 300 metres to form a secure company harbour position for the night.
The bodies of the three Australian soldiers could not be recovered. “Ten Pl was given the task of moving first,” remembers Dowell. “They hadn’t gone too far when they ran straight into another bunker system where the RHQ of the 33 NVA Regt was located. With 10 Platoon fighting in the rear 11 Pl and 12 Pl tried to extract themselves from the bunker system in the front.”
Under heavy fire 11 Platoon was finally able to withdraw at 16:00. Just as the sun was setting they ran into another enemy force, with the commanding officer of 11 Platoon, Gary McKay being hit twice by a sniper's bullet in the shoulder. Now at night time, the company discovered that it had established a night defensive position in between the Headquarters of 33 Regiment, North Vietnamese Army and 2nd Battalion, 33 Regiment, North Vietnamese Army.
“We were in contact all the way around and the NVA from RHQ had observation posts in the trees, which were directing fire into us. There were wounded within our position that had to stay there because they couldn’t get them out. As it started to get darker and quieter, it became a bit spooky as well. We didn’t think the enemy had withdrawn, as they had shown during the day that they wanted to fight. The thought in my mind was that the enemy wanted to knock us over to prove they’d pushed the Australians out. During the night, as the adrenalin started to wear off, your thoughts start to wander. You think ‘maybe I should have done something different years ago,’ and ‘am I going to get through this?’”
Warren remembers how his training took over from the natural instinct to flee. “While you were scared, nobody was so scared that they couldn’t perform their tasks. You didn’t want to let your mates down,” he says.
Ralph Niblett died after he was loaded onto a medical evacuation helicopter at Nui Le, he was due to return to Australia in a few weeks time.
The bunker system they had come across was found later to be the 33rd Regiment's Headquarters. Artillery fire was brought down onto the surrounding area as more North Vietnamese forces joined the battle. The North Vietnamese finally disengaged at 21:00, just as the Australians were running low on ammunition.
Gun Shot Wound to head
during bunker contact
East of Courtenay.
Body left on battle field.
Gun Shot Wound to head during bunker contact East of Courtenay.
SPRIGG Roderick J, 21, of Merredin, WA, was working as a farmhand when he was called up on January 27, 1971.
Gun Shot & RPG Wounds during bunker contact East of Courtenay.
Body left on battle field.
DUFF James, 21, of Tallangatta, Victoria, worked on a dairy farm and at the Mitta Mitta sawmill when called up in July 1970. The private with D Company 4RAR, was the last Australian killed in action in Vietnam.
Gun Shot Wounds to chest during bunker contact East of Courtenay.
Body left on battle field.
NIBLETT Ralph J, 22, of Melbourne, Victoria, was a rifleman private when 4RAR/NZ sailed from Townsville to Vung Tau on May 13, 1971. He was shot dead by VC soldiers during the Battle of Nui Le.
Gun Shot Wounds to chest during bunker contact East of Courtenay.
Body left on battle field.
BEILKEN Brian C, 21, of Cottesloe, Western Australia, was a boilermaker when he was called up in January, 1971.
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