The Australian and New Zealand commitment
Along with US forces, Australia and New Zealand sent ground troops to Vietnam. After assisting the British in the Malayan Emergency, both nations had gained valuable experience at Jungle Warfare and counter-insurgency. They also believed that the domino theory was playing out, and that they could be a victim of communism too. Australia's peak commitment was 7672 combat troops and New Zealand 552. To achieve this, both Australia and New Zealand re-introduced conscription, a highly controversial act since conscripts had never previously been able to be sent overseas. Australia, like the US, first sent advisors to Vietnam, the number of which continued to rise steadily until 1965 when combat troops were committed. New Zealand first committed a detachment of engineers and an Artillery Bty, and then started sending special forces. The New Zealanders in 161 Artillery Bty were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation 1st Class. [4]
Unlike their US counterparts, the Australian and New Zealand soldiers used small scale guerilla warfare rather than large scale assaults. They never used paths or trails, always carried extra water and fired less ammunition. They also employed counter-insurgency operations that were much less destructive than the search and destroy operations that the US used. Consequently, the ANZACs received more support from the local population and suffered fewer casualties than US forces. However, the US complained that these operations were too detailed for a place like Vietnam, and the body count was significantly lower than that achieved by US soldiers. One thing the US could not complain about were the Australian and New Zealand Special Forces, the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) and the Special Air Service of New Zealand (NZ SAS). Together they achieved a stunning kill ratio of 500:1, the highest of any unit in Vietnam. ANZAC regular forces were committed to the province of Phuoc Tuy, south east of Saigon.
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