Long Tan
A veteran returns to Vietnam and re-lives the Battle of Long Tan where he and just 107 others won a decisive battle against overwhelming odds. Many programmes have dealt with the subject of returning veterans to Vietnam but this man is different. He’s not American;, he’s an Australian.  The Vietnam War has long been thought of as an American War, and although the United States committed thousands of men to the conflict, other countries such as South Korea, Australia and New Zealand also committed men and equipment. Little is known about Australian involvement in the Vietnam War outside of Australia and New Zealand
In August 1966 the 1st Australian Task Force was based at Nui Dak Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province. The day after a mortar attack on its base, D Company, 6th Royal Australian Regiment was patrolling near Long Tan during the afternoon when it encountered three battalions of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and afour battalions of Viet Cong. After two hours of platoon manouvering, The Australians were forced into a defensive perimeter.
They would have probably been overrun had it not been for the sustained artillery fire of two Australian and three New Zealand Royal Artillery field batteries of 105’s and a US howitzer battery or 155’s, which fired non-stop for several hours.  A relief column of A Company mounted in Armoured Personnel cCarriers reached Long Tan right on dark and, with the artillery still firing, overran enemy positionsproved the final straw for the enemy who then broke contact and withdrew.
The Battle of Long Tan was a classic example of the aggressive use of a firebase as a platform from which strong reinforcements can retaliate against enemy attacks use of Infantry small-unit saturation patrolling combined with the close, accurate and sustained support of Artillery. The programme follows the veteran and other Australian veterans as they return to Vietnam for the first time to recount their experiences and answer the question: why and how did they win?