patrolling operations throughout the province in an effort to undermine the operations of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) units that were operating in Phuoc Tuy. Using tactics that the Australians had developed during the Malayan Emergency 1 ATF focused upon reducing the enemy's contact with the local population to deny them of their main source of sustainment and reinforcement; this was completed by carrying out cordon and search, and search and destroy operations. During this time 6 RAR carried out two major operations. The first operation was codenamed "Enoggera" and was focused upon clearing the village of Long Phuoc, while the second operation, "Hobart", was a search and destroy mission carried out over the course of five days. Several VC camps were destroyed in these operations and numerous caches of weapons and supplies uncovered, while 36 enemy casualties were inflicted. Between 16 and 18 August 1966, 6 RAR undertook Operation Smithfield, which was later to become known as the Battle of Long Tan. The battle began on the evening of 16 August when Nui Dat was attacked by a VC force using mortars and recoilless rifles. The next day 'B' Company was sent out to clear the area to the east of the base, before they were replaced by 'D' Company on the morning of 18 August. While performing a sweep through a rubber plantation, 'D' Company was contacted by a regimental-sized VC force and they were soon under attack from three sides. Under a torrential downpour and a thick mist that blanketed the plantation, the battle raged for over three hours as the 108 men from 'D' Company fought for their lives against a force estimated to be up to 2,500 men. As the rest of the battalion mobilised to relieve the beleaguered 'D' Company, a patrol from 'B' Company were the first reinforcements to arrive. As the battle continued, a relief force from 'A' Company arrived at a critical moment, on board seven M113 armoured personnel carriers from 3 Troop, 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron and launched an attack on a VC battalion that had been forming up to launch an attack aimed at 'D' Company's rear. Enemy casualties as a result of this attack were heavy, having come at their flank, and as a result the VC units were forced to retire, leaving the Australians in command of the battlefield.