Battle for Balmoral Coral 

The early battles of Coral. 1968

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On the 12th of May 1968, after an arduous task of setting up Fire Support Base Coral (FSB) in an area of operations just north of Saigon, members of 1 and 3 RAR (Royal Australian Regiment) had no idea that just 250 metres from their base perimeter the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) was waiting.

 

The stillness in the darkness, erupted, around 3am on the 13th, the mortars and rocket fire rained down on FSB Coral. The heaviest concentration of fire power fell on 102 Field Battery and 1 RAR Mortar Platoon, as signal flares lit up the night sky the NVA rushed the Australian position.

 

The Australian soldiers held on, and by the time the second assault came on the 15th May, the soldiers were ready and better prepared, but the onslaught continued, mortars and rocket propelled grenades continued to fall with 1 RAR’s Alpha, Bravo and Charlie companies taking the brunt of it, full force.

 

The attack on FSB Coral had been the most sustained ground attack on an Australian gun position since World War II. Five soldiers had lost their lives and 19 had been wounded. Today we remember them, we honour the service that those who fought at Coral gave to their country, and we thank them for their service. Lest We Forget.

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The images supplied in this post are the property of the Australian War memorial, and supplied via the DVA ANZAC Portal. For more information about this battle the link is below

https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/.../battle-of-coral-balmoral