Series Number

AWM385

Series title

Records of Captain Robert O’Neill, Intelligence Officer, 5 Royal Australian Regiment (5 RAR) in Vietnam 1966-67

Series contents range

1965-1968

Extent

1.2m

Access conditions

Subject to the Archives Act 1983

Agency controlling

Department of Defence

Custodial Agency

Australian War Memorial

Function and provenance 

These records were accumulated by Robert John O’Neill both in his role as Intelligence Officer of 5RAR, and as part of his research when preparing the book Vietnam Task: The 5th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, 1966/67.  They are mostly defence records that were held in his custody until donated to the Australian War Memorial in 1982.

Professor Robert J. O’Neill AO FASSA has enjoyed a distinguished career as an historian and strategic analyst, notably as the Chichele Professor of the History of War at the University of Oxford. He has published widely on military history, strategic issues, global history and international relations.

Robert O’Neill graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1958 and from 1958 to 1968 served as an officer in the Australian Regular Army. As an infantry captain and intelligence officer on active service in South Vietnam with 5th Battalion the Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR) in 1965-1966 he was mentioned in despatches. In 1961 he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and in 1965 completed his D.Phil thesis at Oxford University titled,The relationship between the German Army and the Nazi Party, 1933–39. He served as Senior Lecturer in History at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, 1968–1969. He was Senior Fellow in International Relations, 1969-1977, Professorial Fellow, 1977-1982, and Head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University, 1971–1982. In 1982 he became Director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

From1987, Robert O’Neill was the Chichele Professor of the History of War and a Fellow of All Souls College at the University of Oxford, until he retired in September 2001. He was also Chairman of the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, 1996–2001; Chairman of Trustees of the Imperial War Museum 1997–2001; a director of the International Peace Academy, New York, 1990–2001; founding Chairman of the Council of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) in Canberra, 2001–2005; and Deputy Chair of the Council of the Graduate School of Government at the University of Sydney, 2002–2005. He helped to establish the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, 2006-07 and was Chairman of its International Academic Advisory Committee from 2008 to 2011. He was a board member of the Lowy Institute for International Policy, 2003-2012. With other senior historians he has conducted the Blackheath History Forum since 2009.

Professor O’Neill’s long list of publications includes the official history of Australia’s involvement in the Korean War, which was published in two volumes, Strategy and Diplomacy (1981) and Combat Operations (1985). He was also general editor of the re-issued twelve-volume series, The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 (University of Queensland Press in association with the Australian War Memorial, 1981–1989). His many publications include: The German Army and the Nazi Party, 1933–1939 (1966), Vietnam Task; the 5th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, 1966/67 (1968), General Giap; politician and strategist (1969), The strategy of General Giap since 1964 (1969). He has lectured and taught on the Vietnam War since 1967.

5RAR was created at Holsworthy on 1 March 1965.  The core of 5RAR was made up of 1RAR members, but it was to be the first Battalion to be deployed to Vietnam with a mix of regular and national servicemen in its ranks.  Known as the “Tiger” Battalion it left Australia for Vietnam in April 1966.

Working alongside two American Battalions from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, 5RAR cleared the site of Nui Dat to be used as the base for 1ATF (1st Australian Task Force) as Operation Hardihood.

The tour of 5RAR then consisted of a range of operations designed to re-establish the control of the Government of Southern Vietnam over the province of Phuoc Tuy.  With the arrival of 7RAR in late April 1967 5RAR began its withdrawal.  The tour had been a success with Government control re-established over the majority of the population of Phuoc Tuy.

Content

The contents of this series are records that were collected by Robert O’Neill, either in the conduct of his duties as an officer in 5RAR during its first tour of Vietnam, and also afterwards as he prepared to publish the book Vietnam Task.

The accession is in two main parts, the first are copies of the 5RAR Commanders Diaries for the 1966-67 period.  These are almost exact duplicates of those held in AWM95, however there are 23 pages in this set which do not appear in AWM95.  These pages have been separately digitised and are available on the Memorial’s website alongside the AWM95 images.

The second part is a large collection of mixed documentation.  These were carefully examined before they were accessioned and it was found that they were a mixed jumble.  Given there was no discernible order, and the documents were loose, a decision was made to arrange them into a series of topics.  This is an arbitrary imposed order, and only will assist researchers in locating documents of similar provenance; it will not give any clues as to how the documents were originally stored.  To assist researchers most of the entries have notes attached at the item level which list the contents of each file.

System of arrangement and control

Two part imposed numbers.  The first number simple identifies if it is part of the Commander’s Diaries [1/*] or the mixed documents [2/*]

Using the series

Each item in the series is recorded on the RecordSearch database which researchers can view on the internet.  Further assistance in finding relevant information may be gained from related series of records (click on Series Links at the bottom of this page). 

Sources

AWM372 Series dossier

O’Neill, Robert J., Vietnam Task: The 5th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, 1966/67. Cassell Australia (1968), p.256