<P> Due to the losses suffered at Binh Ba forced the NVA to move out of Phuoc Tuy into adjoining provinces and although the Australians did encounter main force units in the years to come, the Battle of Binh Ba marked the end of such clashes . Yet while the Viet Cong had largely been forced to withdraw to the borders of the province by 1968--69, the situation in Phuoc Tuy was challenged on several occasions in the following years, including during the 1968 Tet Offensive, as well as in mid-1969 following the incursion of the North Vietnamese 33rd Regiment, again in mid-1971 with further incursions by the 33rd Regiment and several Viet Cong main force units, and finally during the Easter Offensive in 1972 . Attacks on RF outposts and incursions into the villages had also continued . </P> <P> Such large - scale battles were not the norm in Phuoc Tuy Province . More typical of the Australian war was company - level patrolling and cordon and search operations which were designed to put pressure on enemy units and disrupt their access to the local population . To the end of Australian operations in Phuoc Tuy this remained the focus of Australian efforts and was this approach arguably allowed the restoration of government control in the province . Australia's peak commitment at any one time was 7,672 combat troops and New Zealand's, 552, in 1969 . New Zealand first committed a detachment of engineers and an artillery battery . New Zealand infantry units were also deployed in 1967 and were integrated into Australian battalions serving with 1 ATF after March 1968 . These combined battalions being designated "ANZAC Battalions". Special forces from the New Zealand Special Air Service were also attached to each Australian SASR squadron from late 1968 . </P> <P> During this time the AATTV had continued to operate in support of the South Vietnamese forces, with an area of operations stretching from the far south to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) forming the border between North Vietnam and South Vietnam . Members of the team were involved in many combat operations, often commanding formations of Vietnamese soldiers . Some advisors worked with regular ARVN units and formations, while others worked with the Montagnard hill tribes in conjunction with US Special Forces . A few were involved in the controversial Phoenix Program run by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which was designed to target the Viet Cong infrastructure through infiltration, arrest and assassination . The AATTV became Australia's most decorated unit of the war, including all four Victoria Crosses awarded during the conflict . </P> <P> Historian Albert Palazzo comments that when the Australians entered the Vietnam War, it was with their own "well considered...concept of war", and this was often contradictory or in conflict with US concepts . The 1 ATF light infantry tactics such as patrolling, searching villages without destroying them (with a view to eventually converting them), and ambush and counter ambush drew criticism from some US commanders . General William Westmoreland is reported to have complained to Major General Tim Vincent that 1 ATF was "not being aggressive enough". By comparison, US forces sought to flush out the enemy and achieve rapid and decisive victory through "brazen scrub bashing" and the use of "massive firepower ." Australians acknowledged they had much to learn from the US forces about heliborne assault and joint armour and infantry assaults . Yet the US measure of success--the body count--was apparently held in contempt by many 1 ATF battalion commanders . </P>

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