Operation Perth was an

Australian military The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...

operation in

Orūzgān Province Uruzgan (Dari), also spelled as Urozgan or Oruzgan, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Uruzgan is located in the center of the country. The population is 436,079, and the province is mostly a tribal society. Tarinkot serves as th ...

undertaken in July 2006 during the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

. The nine-day search and destroy operation occurred as part of a wider multi-national coalition operation to clear the Chora Valley, north-east of

Tarin Kowt Tarīnkōṭ ( prs, ترين کوت), also spelled as Tarin Kowt, is the capital of Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan in the Tarinkot District. Tarinkot city has a population of 71,604 (2015), with some 200 small shops in the city's bazaar ...

, involving more than 500 troops from six nations, including the Netherlands

Korps Commandotroepen The (KCT) ( en, Commando Corps) is the elite special forces unit of the Royal Netherlands Army. The KCT traces its origins to the Second World War with the founding of No. 2 (Dutch) Troop, and the founding of the during the Indonesian War of I ...

. The operation was undertaken by the Australian Special Operations Task Group, including personnel from

4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment The 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (4 RAR) was an Australian Army infantry battalion and part of the Royal Australian Regiment. The battalion was formed on 1 February 1964 and was renamed the 2nd Commando Regiment on 19 June 2009. His ...

and the

Special Air Service Regiment The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The reg ...

, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Mark Smethurst. Fixed and rotary wing support was provided by a range of Coalition air assets, including Australian

CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Rotorcraft Systems#Background, Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is a ...

s from the 5th Aviation Regiment. Heavy fighting with

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

insurgents resulted, and during the intense combat the Australians fought their way through the valley, clearing it in a series of synchronised and closely coordinated operations. Despite meeting stiff resistance from several hundred insurgents, the operation was ultimately successful with the Taliban sustaining heavy casualties and eventually fleeing the valley. During the later stages of the operation a Coalition force came under heavy

rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are a ...

, mortar and

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

fire. Pinned down, an Australian commando

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

fought its way across the valley in order to arrange its extraction. The Taliban force resisted strongly, firing repeated RPG volleys which resulted in the death of one soldier and the wounding of thirteen others, including six Australians. Despite losing a third of their strength the Australians continued the assault and amid heavy fighting the commandos successfully neutralised the insurgents before arranging the evacuation of the wounded. The fighting had been intense and a number of Australians suffered serious injuries, including one soldier whose jaw was blown off, while the company sergeant major suffered extensive leg injuries. One Commando received shrapnel damage to his foot which did not stop him from continuing on fighting. Another Commando, thrown to the ground by the blast, had serious lacerations to his arm and was seen by the medic in the heat of the battle. The interpreter received a wound to his buttocks and the explosive detection dog was rendered unconscious for a moment in the same blast. Meanwhile, three US AC-130 Spectre gunships ran out of ammunition for their cannon and machine-guns while supporting the Australians. Likewise the Australian long-range patrol vehicles also ran out of ammunition, including for their

Javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

anti-armor missiles and machine-guns. In total, six Australians were wounded during Operation Perth making it the bloodiest battle for Australian forces since the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

at the time. Yet ultimately, superior weaponry and overwhelming airborne fire support had allowed the Australians to destroy a large and well-armed Taliban force and a number of Australians later received gallantry awards for their actions during the fighting. Taliban losses were estimated at 150 killed.

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