At the Battle of Long Tan on 18 August 1966, D Company 6 RAR with considerable artillery support held off and defeated a Viet Cong force of at least regimental strength. 18 Australians were killed and 24 wounded, while 245 communist dead were later recovered from the battlefield. A decisive Australian victory, Long Tan proved a major local setback for the Viet Cong, indefinitely forestalling an imminent movement against Nui Dat. Although there were other large-scale encounters in later years, 1 ATF was not fundamentally challenged again. The battle established the task force's dominance over the province, and allowed it to pursue operations to restore government authority. Regardless, during February 1967 the Australians suffered their heaviest casualties in the war to that point, losing 16 men killed and 55 wounded in a single week, the bulk during "Operation Bribie". 5 RAR and 6 RAR completed their tours in mid-1967 and were replaced by 7 RAR and 2 RAR. The first New Zealand infantry, Victor Company RNZIR, arrived in May 1967 from Malaysia and served with the outgoing 6 RAR before and then with the newly arrived 2 RAR.