First action for youngest Australian Battalion DPR/TV/990

Australia's youngest infantry battalion, the 9th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, had its baptism under fire last night in the paddy fields of South Vietnam. The first exchange of fire with the enemy took place during the cordon and search of the village of An Nhut, five miles south of the Australian Task Force base of Nui Dat. The battalion deployed from Nui Dat yesterday afternoon and established a tight cordon around the village during the night. Three enemy who had been in the village collecting supplies attempted to penetrate the cordon during the early hours of this morning. They twice engaged elements of "D" Company who returned their fire. There were no casualties and the enemy retreated into the village. At first light, the 1350 inhabitants were concentrated at the edge of the village for an identification check, while troops of 9 RAR conducted a through search of the houses. As the search progressed, one of the three involved in the contact surrendered to members of "A' Company and another a woman was identified after questioning. Screening of the villagers resulted in the identification of at least 20 Viet Cong suspects. Quantities of money, documents and explosives were unearthed during the search of the houses. A group from the Vietnamese Government Cultural Drama Team entertained the villagers as they waited for the search to be completed. Meanwhile, medical and dental treatment was provided by the 1st Australian Civil Affairs Unit. The operation was the first major activity for the battalion since it arrived in Vietnam on November 20. Until yesterday the troops had been undergoing familiarisation and acclimatisation training around the Nui Dat base.