Page "Battle of Long Tan" Paragraph 60

Smith attempted place his depleted platoons into a position from which they could defend themselves, yet D Company's position had been dictated by the actions of the Viet Cong and the need to care for the wounded and as a result they had little choice of the ground on which to make their stand.

Yet with the Australians occupying a shallow fold in the ground on a reverse slope the terrain now proved decisive.

Against this position the Viet Cong found it difficult to use their heavy calibre weapons effectively and as a result they could only engage the Australians at close range.

Meanwhile, the jungle covered Nui Dat 2 feature lay to the north-east, while an impenetrable wall of thick bamboo and scrub abutted the lower slopes to its west, following the northern edge of the rubber plantation from D Company's position, running north-east to west.

In contrast, the remainder of the position faced the relatively open rubber plantation.

Believing the northern approach unsuitable for a major assault, Smith assessed the most likely Viet Cong course of action to be a frontal assault from the east, or a flanking attack from either the south or south-west.

As a consequence he placed 10 and 12 Platoons in positions on the southern and eastern flanks, while the badly mauled 11 Platoon was allocated a position to the north-west.

Company headquarters was located in the south-west.

During the lull Smith walked around the position to gain an understanding of the situation and check the condition of the wounded.

With one platoon almost destroyed, and the other two at approximately 75 percent of their original strength, D Company had been battered but their morale remained high.

While Smith tied in the position, Kirby completed the distribution of ammunition and Stanley plotted new defensive fire tasks for the artillery.