Arguably the most well known action ever fought by the 5th Battalion was the Battle of Binh Ba, which took place between 6 and 8 June 1969 and saw the defeat of a well armed and determined People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) battalion. The action began at 08:10 hours on 6 June when a Centurion tank and armoured recovery vehicle moving to a fire support base manned by 6 RAR was fired on by a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) from one of the houses in the village, located about north of the Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat. D Company, 5 RAR was the Task Force quick reaction force, which also included a tank troop and an APC troop, and was sent out in response to a request for assistance from the local District chief. Whilst determining that the village was clear of civilians, the force came under heavy RPG fire. The Commanding Officer's Tactical Party and B Company joined the action at midday, with B Company being placed in a blocking position to the east of the village. By this time D Company and its supporting arms had fought their way into the centre of the village. 'The fighting was so fierce and confused for two hours that a detailed description is impossible'. By 14:00 hours D Company formed up west of the village and began a second sweep, with infantry leading and the tanks and APCs close behind. A difficult combined arms clearance supported by Bushranger helicopter gunships and artillery then took place against determined opposition of the 1st Battalion of the PAVN 33rd Regiment. 'The raw leadership of the soldiers was outstanding. Of the twenty one rifle sections involved, twelve were commanded by private soldiers. Two platoons were led by sergeants and one by a corporal... The sweep stopped at last light with the whole force exhausted after eight hours of continual contact'. The clearance of the village and surrounding areas continued over the next two days, involving much of the Battalion. Arthur Burke 'at the gun end of 105 Battery' wrote, 'We've fired more rounds in the last 48 hours than the first 20 days of last month – 2,000 rounds'. One Australian was killed and eight wounded during the battle, whilst more than 90 VC and PAVN soldiers were known to have been killed.5 RAR, War Diary, narrative, operations log and annexes for the period 1 to 30 June 1969; Capt M.D. Battle (ed), The Year of the Tigers, 5th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, Sydney, 1970; Captain Mike Battle, 'Operation Hammer – The Battle of Binh Ba, 6 to 8 June 1969', www.5rar.asn.au/ops/hammer.htm, accessed 26 Dec 08; Arthur Burke, 'D-Day 25 Years On – The Battle of Binh Ba', www.anzacday.org.au/history/vietnam/binh_ba.html, accessed 26 Dec 08.
