Battle of Suoi Chau Pha
The Battle of Suoi Chau Pha (6 August 1967) was fought during the Vietnam War between Australian troops and the Viet Cong. The battle took place during Operation Ballarat, an Australian search and destroy operation in the eastern Hat Dich area, north-west of Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy province. Following a covert insertion the day before which had caught a number of Viet Cong sentries by surprise, A Company, 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (7 RAR) had patrolled forward unaware of the presence of a large Viet Cong main force unit nearby. Clashing with a reinforced company from the Viet Cong 3rd Battalion, 274th Regiment, a classic encounter battle ensued between two forces of roughly equal size. Fought at close quarters in dense jungle amid a heavy monsoon rain, both sides suffered heavy casualties as neither was able to gain an advantage. Finally, after a battle lasting several hours, the Australian artillery proved decisive and the Viet Cong were forced to withdraw, dragging many of their dead from the battlefield after having suffered crippling losses.
Battle of Suoi Chau Pha
Despite the optimistic Australian assessments of Viet Cong capability, rather than having left Phuoc Tuy the communists were more likely reinforcing and consolidating in preparation for future operations, avoiding battle with the Australians in order to preserve their strength. Regardless, D445 Battalion had suffered heavy casualties and posed a diminished threat, while the headquarters of the Viet Cong 5th Division was located near the northern border, west of the May Tao mountains, with its fighting formations widely dispersed. The Viet Cong 275th Regiment was reported to have moved north to War Zone D for retraining and refitting, and the Viet Cong 274th Regiment had moved from its scattered locations in the north-west Hat Dich to replace it in the north-east of the province, and was now operating in unfamiliar terrain. Meanwhile, casualties, illness and poor local recruitment meant they were now largely reliant on reinforcements from North Vietnam. Unsure of the next move, the Viet Cong 5th Division adopted a cautious posture, with only the 1st Battalion, 275th Regiment remaining in the May Tao mountains while the 274th Regiment dispersed east of Route 2 for the remainder of the month.