As the fighting intensified, the Australians of 11th Platoon found themselves pinned down, with machine gunfire whizzing overhead, mortar shells exploding all around them and rifle fire ricocheting from the trees. Realizing the severity of the situation, Platoon Commander Second Lieutenant Gordon Sharp called in artillery support from the New Zealand battery unit at Nui Dat. But because of the torrential rainstorm that had just broken out, wreaking havoc on visibility and turning the plantation underfoot into mire, they couldn’t find the target. Sharp rose from cover in attempt to redirect them but was shot and killed. Taking over command, Buick then radioed for more ammunition before a stray bullet ripped his antenna off.
Buick soon got the radio fixed, and by 16:50 was in contact with Captain Maurice Stanley of the 161st Artillery, trying to redirect their fire to the approaching Viet Cong assault force. Problematically, though, this force had now advanced to within 50 meters of the Platoon, which was running dangerously low on ammunition and now just had ten of its 28 men in fighting condition. Accepting imminent defeat, and in a remarkable act of self-sacrifice, he ordered artillery strikes on his own position. But Stanley refused, and as all hope looked lost he brought his artillery closer and fired on the forming Viet Cong assault line, inflicting heavy casualties and breaking up the attack.
The artillery attack offered a momentary lifeline, but the 11th Platoon was still isolated and in real danger. It had become separated from 10th Platoon in the opening stages of the battle, which had intercepted and killed a skirmishing party, also found itself attacked from three sides and its radio destroyed. This prompted Radio Operator Private William Arkell to make the dangerous dash from Company HQ to locate 10th Platoon Commander, Second Lieutenant Bob Kendall and bring him a new radio—a feat that would subsequently earn him a Mention in Dispatches. The restoration of 10th Platoon’s radio, however, spelled bad news for 11th Platoon, as HQ ordered Kendall and his men to retreat back to base.
Buick and his men in 11th Platoon fought on bravely though. Several times they were encircled and almost destroyed, but effective decisive action taken either by HQ reinforcements or the New Zealander, Australian or American artillery units, kept the men (and their morale) alive. At around 17:30, the 12th Platoon stumbled across a unit of Viet Cong who were trying to outflank the 11th Platoon. The men opened fire immediately, routing the Vietnamese but suffering eight wounds themselves. Fifteen minutes later, seven APCs (armored personnel carriers) were dispatched from Nui Dat to help retrieve Delta Company. It would, however, take over an hour for them to arrive.
During the course of the battle, the monsoon prevented the Australians from identifying how many men they were up against—though after the battle had worn on for 20 minutes, and fire tearing into them from the front and both flanks had killed a third of 11th platoon, it became clear that they were heavily outnumbered. It would also make life more than a little difficult for the two RAAF supply helicopters which, responding to D Company’s call for help, arrived shortly after 18:00. But it didn’t stop them from doing their job. And hovering at tree height and under a barrage of heavy fire from the Vietnamese, they managed to drop much-needed ammunition and blankets to the stranded troops below.