top of page
krenenlatisandbou

Entombed Back To The Front Rar: A Guide to the Tracks and Features of the Century Media Record



A face is carved in the back of Abraham Lincoln's head.Many visitors to the memorial peer around the side of Daniel Chester French's statue of Abraham Lincoln looking for a face ambiguously carved in Lincoln's hair. However, not all can agree on whose face it is, or even where it is on the statue. The most plausible explanation is that it is Robert E. Lee's face, looking toward his old home Arlington House across the Potomac River. The truth is that the "face" is nothing more than the viewer's interpretation of Lincoln's hair. The true meanings of the Lincoln Memorial - strength, peace, and union - are much more overt than a pareidolia in a barely visible part of the statue. For the overt symbol of the Lincoln/Lee connection, or more accurately the Union/Confederate connection, look no further than the Arlington Memorial Bridge. Status: False.


Westmoreland planned to develop a series of defensive positions around Saigon before expanding operations to pacify the South Vietnamese country-side and as a result a number of sites close to Viet Cong dominated areas were subsequently chosen to be developed into semi-permanent divisional-level bases. Such areas included Di An which was intended to become the headquarters of the US 1st Infantry Division, while the US 25th Infantry Division would be based in the vicinity of Cu Chi. However, large-scale military operations to clear the intended base areas had to wait until the dry season.[5] Yet the allied enclave strategy proved only transitory and further setbacks led to additional troop increases to halt the losing trend.[6] With the situation reaching crisis point during the Viet Cong wet season offensive in June 1965, Westmoreland requested further reinforcement and US and allied forces increased to 44 battalions which would be used to directly bolster the ARVN.[7]




Entombed Back To The Front Rar



The US 3rd Brigade subsequently also uncovered a significant tunnel complex, after Sergeant Stewart Green from US 1/28th Battalion accidentally sat down on a nail and uncovered a trap door on 11 January. Volunteering to enter the tunnel, Green then located an underground dispensary occupied by more than 30 Viet Cong who subsequently escaped. Later a smoke machine was used to pump smoke into the tunnel system, and this was successful in locating numerous tunnel entrances and bunkers as the smoke rose above the jungle canopy.[58] They were the first American troops to enter the tunnels, and they proceeded to attack them with CS gas, and later explosives.[61] However, such tactics met with limited success with the tear gas flushing out large numbers of women and children, but few Viet Cong.[48] Led by Green, a squad of Americans equipped with flashlights, pistols and a field telephone penetrated over 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) of the tunnel system before becoming involved in a fire-fight with the Viet Cong. Wearing gas-masks the Americans threw gas grenades and fought their way back to the tunnel entrance, but one soldier became lost in the darkness and Green re-entered the tunnel to find him. The Viet Cong subsequently withdrew.[62]


The same day, however, the Australian efforts to clear the tunnels had suffered a setback after an engineer, Corporal Robert "Bob" Bowtell, became stuck in a trap door between one underground gallery and another, more than 2 metres (6.6 ft) below the surface. Despite the efforts of his comrades, he could not be recovered and died from asphyxiation after being overcome by a combination of tear gas, carbon monoxide, and lack of oxygen when he dislodged his respirator during the struggle to free himself.[54] After days of living in close proximity to the enemy, the constant strain of sniper fire and the pressure of searching the tunnels was also beginning to take its toll, and a number of Australians were killed and wounded in otherwise avoidable friendly fire incidents on the evenings of 10 and 12 January.[70] During the early afternoon of 12 January the Australians encountered a large group of armed Viet Cong during a tunnel clearance and called on them to surrender. However, they failed to emerge and the tunnel was subsequently demolished, probably killing eight Viet Cong who were believed to have been entombed as it collapsed.[71]


At 11 am on 11 November 1918, the guns on the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of continuous warfare. The allied armies had driven the German invaders back, having inflicted heavy defeats upon them over the preceding four months.


On the second anniversary of the Armistice on 11 November 1920, the commemoration was given added significance when it became a funeral, with the return of the remains of an unknown soldier from the battlefields of the Western Front. Unknown soldiers were interred with full military honours in Westminster Abbey in London and at the Arc de Triumph in Paris. The entombment in London attracted over one million people within a week to pay their respects at the unknown soldier's tomb. Most other allied nations adopted the tradition of entombing unknown soldiers over the following decade. In Australia on the 75th anniversary of the armistice in 1993, Remembrance Day ceremonies again became the focus of national attention. The remains of an unknown Australian soldier, exhumed from a First World War military cemetery in France, were ceremonially entombed in the Australian War Memorial's Hall of Memory. Remembrance Day ceremonies were conducted simultaneously in towns and cities all over the country, culminating at the moment of burial at 11.00am and coinciding with the traditional two minutes' silence.


Finally at 03:30, rocket and mortar fire began falling on FSB Coral, concentrating on the 102nd Field Battery and the 1 RAR Mortar Platoon positions in an intense bombardment lasting five minutes.[53] Following a ten-minute pause a number of flares signalled the start of the assault. Intending to capture the field guns, two PAVN companies rushed the Australians from the north-east firing their AK-47 assault rifles, with the 1 RAR Mortar Platoon taking the brunt of the initial attack, while the 1 ATF Defence Platoon was also pinned down by heavy machine-gun fire.[54] The New Zealand howitzers and 3 RAR mortars began firing in support, however they failed to halt the PAVN and the initial assault succeeded in over-running the 1 RAR mortars, killing five and wounding eight. The flank of the main assault force then ran through the position at speed before moving on towards the gun position.[55][56] During their earlier reconnaissance, the PAVN had likely observed the guns to be laid facing east and had probably planned to assault from the north as a result, yet shortly before the main attack the battery had fired a mission to the north and the guns were now directly facing their axis of assault. Moving in long straight lines across a frontage of 150 to 200 men, the main PAVN assault moved against the gun position as the Australian gunners opened fire over open sights with flechette rounds at point blank range, with thousands of darts ripping through their ranks and breaking up successive waves into small groups. Amid the confusion, follow-up sections hesitated upon reaching the mortar position, while other groups skirmished around the flanks and between the artillery and mortars.[57]


Although the PAVN troops were well trained and equipped, they were ultimately unable to prevail against the superior firepower of the Australian infantry and gunners, which had turned the battle in their favour.[60] Throughout the night, fire support was co-ordinated by the 1 RAR command post and the fire support co-ordinating centre, which controlled integral fires from 102nd Field Battery, its direct support battery, as well as from 161st Battery RNZA and the 81 mm mortars from 3 RAR.[59] Yet the Australian gunners soon ran out of flechette rounds, and they were forced to use standard high-explosive with their direct-action fuses set to 'delay'. The guns were then depressed to fire the shell at the ground approximately 40 to 50 metres (44 to 55 yd) in front of the emplacement, which caused the round to ricochet and explode in the air above the heads of the assaulting force, an expedient which proved very effective.[56] The Australians were also supported by artillery from a number of neighbouring American batteries that were in range, as well as by aerial strafing from helicopter gunships and continuous illumination by flares. Forward observers adjusted the artillery to within 20 metres (22 yd) of the Australian position, while AC-47 Spooky gunships fired thousands of rounds into the assaulting forces.[56]


By 04:00 A Company was still heavily engaged and the Australians called in helicopter light-fire teams and AC-47 gunships, which dropped flares continuously from 04:30 to illuminate the battlefield. By 05:00 the main attack was halted and the PAVN began withdrawing, just as the Australians were beginning to run low on ammunition. During the lull A Company was resupplied by APC, while the Australians pushed an RCL team forward to provide additional support.[79] At 05:15 the PAVN attacked again, targeting the boundary between A and C Companies on the northern edge of the perimeter, only to be repulsed by mortar fire. Later a two-battalion attack on A, B and C Companies was also turned back. The Australians then counter-attacked with elements of A Company supported by APCs, regaining the lost 3 Platoon section post.[79] Finally, after a six-hour battle the PAVN broke contact at 06:30 and withdrew with their dead and wounded, fighting a series of rearguard actions to prevent follow-up.[82] The Australians also began collecting their casualties for evacuation, while another resupply was completed with APCs. 1 RAR subsequently commenced a clearance of the area, with the four Australian rifle companies patrolling to a depth of 1,000 metres (1,100 yd), killing one PAVN soldier and capturing another.[83] Five Australians had been killed and 19 wounded, while two US artillerymen were also wounded during the fighting.[84] Only 34 PAVN bodies were counted on the perimeter at dawn, however intelligence later indicated that fewer than 100 of the 790 attacking troops had survived unwounded.[23] Meanwhile, in an attempt to disrupt the PAVN withdrawal, Keldie led a troop of cavalry from Coral, engaging a PAVN battalion during a pursuit that lasted until 15:00.[85] 2ff7e9595c


0 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Commentaires


bottom of page