A DUTY DONE
Meanwhile further to the south west, B Company (Maj NE Ford) was deployed in a harbour to have lunch and was in a position to possibly block the enemy withdrawal (5). 6 Platoon (2Lt HD Shortt) had deployed two sentries (Ptes J Darby and JM Stevens) some 50 metres to the front to cover the approach on the axis of a well used bullock track. At approximately 2 pm, the sentries engaged an approaching enemy (I), an advance group which then deployed across 6 Platoon’s front (II); the enemy engaged the platoon with automatic fire and grenades wounding one man (Pte AT Purcell.). As it turned out this action was to cover the deployment of the enemy main body. After about 10 minutes the enemy ceased firing and was thought to have withdrawn but in fact was deploying to attack the platoon. After about 20 minutes of silence, 6 Platoon was ordered to conduct a sweep of the contact area and as it commenced to do so was engaged by heavy fire at close range (III) causing a number of casualties including a Section Commander (Cpl RW Walker) and the Platoon Sergeant (Sgt KJ Brady) who was replaced by a Section Commander (Cpl RBD Rutherford) who tended the wounded and distributed ammunition while under heavy mortar fire. The enemy, now estimated at company strength, began to probe the flanks of 4 Platoon (2Lt WL Kingston) and using bugles as signals moved against 6 Platoon (IV); simultaneously the enemy began to mortar the company position with 60 mm mortars impacting initially in 5 Platoon (2Lt JP O’Halloran). At this time a 6 Platoon Section Commander (Cpl JW Norris) was killed by mortar fire as was the wounded Pte Purcell; enemy small arms and mortar fire plus artillery tree bursts wounded a further five in 6 Platoon (Ptes BG Kesterton, RW Moody, JM Stevens, RPM Vikuckis and AJ Wynd). At Company HQ the FO (Capt KP Murphy, 161 Bty RNZA,) the CSM (WO2 RL McCall) and two of the FO Party (LBdr PP Collins and Gnr RG Edwards) were also wounded by shrapnel from enemy mortar fire. After about an hour, the enemy made a clean break and orderly withdrawal to the southeast. The Company Commander’s assessment of the enemy at the time was that they were determined, had good battle skills and impressive firepower. This was an important action because it demonstrated that the fighting ability of the enemy was clearly far superior to the opposition which the Regiment had faced previously in Malaya and Borneo. Operation Hobart continued to 29 July discovering a number of recently occupied enemy company size base camps (6) identifying D445 Battalion thus disrupting it’s capacity to operate in the area; however, the enemy’s ability to concentrate significant forces within 1ATF’s TAOR was given stark realism a week or so later when another, more savage encounter was to occur just some two kilometres due west of the B Company experience ie, the Battle of Long Tan.
The following awards were made for the contacts on 25 July: Military Medal: Cpl RBD Rutherford, Sect Comd, 6 Pl; Pte WJ Winterford, MG No1, C Coy. Mentioned In Despatches: Capt KP Murphy RNZA
Maj NE Ford, OC B Coy on the radio with 2Lt WE Kingston, OC 4 Platoon on his left. AWM FOR/66/0607/VN
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