First Ambush, 27 May 1965
The first Australian fighting patrol into Kalimantan began on 24 May with two platoons, 5 and 11 Platoon, from B Company and a forward observation party, departing the company base at Bukit Knuckle under the command of Major William Broderick. The patrol—designated Operation Article—involved an ambush patrol along the bank of the Sungei Koemba river. After several days of careful and laborious movement through the thick jungle Broderick established a patrol base on the high ground overlooking the river on 26 May and sent forward a small reconnaissance party of three men with Lieutenant Patrick Beale. The forward element subsequently detected a party of Indonesians in a re-entrant below, talking loudly and firing random shots, seemingly unaware of the proximity of the Australians and unconcerned with basic notions of security.
The following morning Broderick moved the company down the spur line in order to establish a firm base, while Beale moved 5 Platoon forward. Four 7.62 mm L4A4 Bren light machine-guns were incorporated into the patrol. The Australians encountered a track, beyond which lay the river, while to the north across a shallow creek, movement of the Indonesians could still be heard. The presence of the Indonesians so close to the Australian position made the chances of detection too great and as such no more troops were brought forward. Instead Beale deployed his platoon into two positions, one covering the track with two Brens in order to secure it from the Indonesians in the re-entrant, as well as another position on a bend in the river. Only the sentry on the right-hand flank, Private Lawrence Jackson, could see around the bend, which narrowed to just 33 yards (30 m) at that point.
At 11:32 am, after occupying the position for only 40 minutes, motors were heard approaching along the river, with two 10-foot (3.0 m) motor boats coming into view. Each vessel contained five armed and uniformed Indonesian soldiers, including one fair haired European, who was later identified as a Dutch mercenary. The Australians had not been detected and allowed the boats to draw closer before the ambush was sprung. With the boats just 38 yards (35 m) away they opened fire, raking them with automatic fire which emptied the boats of their occupants. The first boat sank and the second drifted down stream. Two Indonesians were observed swimming for the far bank and were subsequently shot, with the other eight also killed. Unknown to the Australians, however, two more boats had been following the first two, and as the third boat rounded the bend in the river Private Jackson engaged the Indonesians, killing all five occupants from a range of just 11 yards (10 m). The fourth vessel subsequently pulled quickly to the shore out of sight of the remainder of the Australians, with Jackson engaging it with two grenades and small arms fire before his weapon jammed.
The action had lasted just two minutes to this point, yet already a party of approximately 10 Indonesians across the river began to engage the Australians with heavy automatic fire, although it was largely inaccurate. Beale ordered a withdrawal to link up with the rest of B Company, with the ambush party subsequently rejoining the rest of 5 Platoon while 11 Platoon covered their withdrawal. The forward observation officer subsequently called in a defensive artillery fire mission onto the abandoned position, reducing the volume of Indonesian fire and allowing the Australians to break contact. Shortly after an Indonesian 81-millimetre (3.2 in) mortar began to fire, dropping rounds into the jungle towards Siding, away from B Company's escape route. Elements of D Company and Support Company had been deployed so as to support the withdrawal, and the patrol subsequently recrossed the border into Sarawak without further incident, returning to Bukit Knuckle later that evening.
No Australian casualties were incurred and at least 15 Indonesians were believed to have been killed. Later that night an Indonesian radio broadcast announced that 23 Indonesian military personnel had been accidentally killed during a training exercise. Jackson was subsequently awarded the Military Medal for his "complete disregard for his own safety, prevented the Indonesians from landing on the near bank and attacking the other members of the ambush. He contributed much to the overwhelming success of the engagement"; while Beale received the Military Cross for "his personal bravery, inspiring leadership, judgment and skill". Further Claret operations followed in quick succession, making June the most intensive month of the Australian battalion's tour in Borneo, and its most successful.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Sungei Koemba, Battle