1st Armoured Regiment’s Legacy

Prior to returning from Vietnam, the Commanding Officer of 4RAR/NZ, Lt Col Jim Hughes, MC (later Maj Gen) wrote to the officer commanding the tank squadron which had supported his unit. He started by saying … “The effort and outstanding esprit-de-corps of your unit have truly been a major factor in the success of 1ATF units”.

It’s unsurprising that he refers to ‘esprit-de-corps’. In a tank unit this is built on the bond formed within and between crews; something which permeates all parts of the unit and makes it a unique entity. Living, training, and fighting in the close confines of your steel monster creates a work-place and a work ethic like no other. The crew grow into a tight cohesive group; becoming a living part of their armoured beast, knowing it and its idiosyncrasies inside out. Trust is one of the key elements; you trust them and they trust you. When fighting as a crew, rank is irrelevant and trust in each other and in each other’s skill, is paramount. To this end, everyone knows his job inside out … fail in your job and you fail your crew.

Heritage develops, in part, in the crucible of battle and contributes to a unit’s esprit-de-corps. Lt Col Hughes went on to say: “There is no doubt in my mind that casualties would have been much greater without your unfailing support and willingness to accept calculated risks to assist my men, especially in bunker contacts, and thereby carry the day in the true spirit of armoured-infantry co-operation”. Such co-operation is at the heart of close tank support. Learnt only through total commitment to training and continual improvement, it becomes part of the ‘raison d’etre’ of a tank unit.

But it was the value of tanks and the Squadron’s contribution to armoured warfare, that the CO 4RAR/NZ emphasised most: “So much has been achieved in once again proving the worth of armoured forces in jungle warfare that even the most determined ‘doubting Thomas’ must now be a staunch believer”. 1st Armoured Regiment, the whole unit, laboured constantly to prepare its squadrons (deployed one after the other) for service in Vietnam; all the while having to deal with those who argued that any involvement by tanks was a waste of effort and resources. A tank regiment standing proud in its own right, facilitates the lessons of armoured warfare being inculcated and passed on.

The letter finished on this note: “Without you [i.e. tank support] our task is obviously more difficult, but should we ever be committed to fight a war again – and we probably will be –then the infantry could ask for no better comrades in arms than C Squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment. I ask you to pass on to your men our gratitude for the professionalism and skill your men have displayed and assure them that they are held in the highest esteem by the Anzac Battalion.”

The professionalism and skills of tank crews have to be continually nurtured. In Vietnam, it was the esprit-de-corps developed within 1 Armoured Regiment, which enabled this to happen. The late Maj Gen Hughes AO, DSO, MC made further comments about the value of tanks in a subsequent interview: “Tanks are wonderful to use when you’re taking bunkers”; Without tanks it would’ve been a much harder battle”; and finally, “The tanks were superb”.

Chief of Army recently stripped 1 Armd Regt of its tanks and gave it a new role as a non-combatant. How sad is it that the unit heritage compiled during 75 years’ service crewing tanks (together with three battle honours and a Unit Citation for Gallantry), can no longer be passed on to tank crews of the future.

Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Cameron, MC, RAAC (Ret’d)

 

FILE PHOTO: Centurion tanks from 1st Armoured Regiment, and armoured personnel carriers from B Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, move along the main road of Binh Ba village. Over three days, armour and infantry dislodged a strong North Vietnamese Army group that had entered the village, for the loss of one Australian killed in action. AWM BEL/69/0389/VN. Binh Ba. 

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