| Accession Number | P04959.049 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Negative |
| Maker |
Page, Timothy John |
| Place made | Vietnam: Phuoc Tuy Province |
| Date made | 6 - 12 November 1966 |
| Conflict |
Vietnam, 1962-1975 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: AWM Licensed copyright |
| Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
A large group of villagers watch from a temporary barbed wire compound as members of the 5th ...
Description
A large group of villagers watch from a temporary barbed wire compound as members of the 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR), cordon and search a village, probably Lang Phuoc Hoa, near the Rung Sat area. The Nui Thi Vai mountains are in the background. 5RAR is searching for Viet Cong suspects and sympathisers in the village which is on the road to Vung Tau. From 6 to 12 November 1966 5RAR participated in a two sequential operations in the Rung Sat area. The preliminary operation from 6 to 7 November was known to 5RAR as Operation Yass and was later referred to as Phase 1 of Operation Hayman. It involved a cordon and search of Lang Phuoc Hoa village on Route 15 on the edge of the Rung Sat. On 8 November the main stage of Operation Hayman commenced when 5RAR were helicoptered onto Long Son Island in the middle of the Rung Sat. From 8 to 12 November the battalion carried out a search and destroy operation. The Rung Sat is a vast tangle of waterways and mangrove swamps between Vung Tau and Saigon which had long been used by the Viet Cong to infiltrate troops from North Vietnam, food and supplies.