Battle of Suoi Chau Pha

Battle of Suối Châu Pha
Part of the Vietnam War
Operations east of Saigon, June to October 1967
Date 6 August 1967 Location Eastern Hát Dịch area, Phước Tuy Province, South Vietnam Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Australia  United States  New Zealand	Việt Cộng  North Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
Eric Smith Ewart O'Donnell	Ut Thoi
Units involved
7 RAR	274th Regiment
Strength
~120 men artillery	~300 men
Casualties and losses
6 killed 20 wounded	7 bodies recovered 33 more believed killed or wounded 200 further estimated casualties

The Battle of Suối Châu Pha (6 August 1967) was fought during the Vietnam War between Australian troops and the Việt Cộng. The battle took place during Operation Ballarat, an Australian search and destroy operation in the eastern Hát Dịch area, north-west of Núi Đất in Phước Tuy province. Following a covert insertion the day before which had caught a number of Việt Cộng sentries by surprise, A Company, 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (7 RAR) had patrolled forward unaware of the presence of a large Việt Cộng main force unit nearby. Clashing with a reinforced company from the Việt Cộng 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 Việt Cộng were forced to withdraw, dragging many of their dead from the battlefield after having suffered crippling losses.