by Mukul Deva
And it did not just end there. The next morning, Himmeth even took Mehta for a farewell round of golf. One for the road, as it were!
‘A few hours later, we went to war,’ Raj paused, as though now surprised by the sudden contrast. ‘Almost immediately, we ran into miles and miles of slush and marsh.’
Another half hour later, Raj and his tanks were being hammered by Pakistani artillery fire.
Before long, they had sailed into the hailstorm of bombs and bullets that had engulfed Akhaura. And all that stood between him and the enemy was a flimsy piece of pagri tied around his waist, masking the gap hole in the seat of his trousers.
The fourteen PT 76 tanks that could have proved invaluable in keeping the Pakistanis at bay were firmly stuck in the slush. A curtain of darkness kept them safe. But come morning, they would be sitting ducks for the Pakistani Air Force, the tanks and the two RCL guns of 4 Guards, which Himmeth so desperately needed upfront, with his rifle companies.
DAY THREE
03 DECEMBER 1971
‘Both our RCL guns were still stuck at the nullah with the tanks when Captain Sahni found us. He told us what was happening up ahead, and how desperately we needed to get the RCL guns up to the rifle companies. He ordered us to get one detachment ready to move forward with 18 Rajput and join the battalion. We all knew how tough it was going to be to man-pack the RCL, but there was no choice; our boys needed us to hold the Pakistani tanks at bay.’
Mukund said this simply, without any embellishments. However, I could well imagine the mammoth task they had undertaken. I did not have to close my eyes to visualize them getting the guns off the tanks and carrying them through the slush. Dragging them through it would have been impossible, so they would have to be physically carried; no mean task considering the barrel alone weighs one hundred and fourteen kilograms and the gun mount another ninety-seven kilograms. Mukund must have been doing some mind reading since his next words vocalized what I was thinking.
‘We knew we would not be able to carry the gun through the slush so we cut some bamboos and made stretchers to man-pack the gun, the mount and the ammunition on three separate stretchers,’ he said.
I have handled the RCL during my days in uniform, and knew even that would have not made the task much easier.
How much worse had the Pakistani artillery and Air Force pounding at them made it? I could only imagine. For a moment my mind wandered away, gripped by a random thought—what is it about war and adversity that brings out such determination and resilience in men?
Mukund’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts as he resumed the narrative.
‘Somehow we managed to get that RCL across the railway line along which Bravo Company was deployed. The Rajputs crossed from the left of Bravo and we were right behind them. I would never have imagined it could get worse, but it did. The mud and slush across the railway line was terrible; neck deep at times. Despite all our precautions the barrel slipped and landed in the mud. Everything was so slippery that we were unable to get it out of the slush. That is when I hurt my back, while we were trying to pick up the barrel again.’ Returning to the present he gave me a long look: ‘It hurts even now.’
There was nothing for me to say. I didn’t. He continued.
‘You know, every time I think about that day, all I can remember is that there was no clear thought in my head. It was as though we were swimming through a sea of uncertainty and confusion, and lots of slush!’
I have been in battle. I knew that feeling. Perhaps that is why I had to ask: ‘So tell me, what kept you guys going forward?’
‘Only the knowledge that our boys needed us to get the RCL guns up. Otherwise they would have been totally at the mercy of the Pakistani tanks. We all knew they were banking on us to get there as fast as possible. So we somehow got the barrel out of the mud and then washed it clean in the river. Then about five hundred metres from the railway line, we hit a small bamboo cluster and halted there. By now, most of us had even run out of drinking water. The funny thing was that despite the cold, we were sweating like crazy. And, of course, by now all of us were totally covered in mud. I was so desperate for a drink of water that I finally requested one of the Rajput NCOs passing by for a drink. He gave me his water bottle. One sip and I almost gagged. It was filled with rum!’
All of us in the room joined in when he laughed.
‘You don’t drink?’ I asked.
‘I used to, but not so much, and in any case rum hardly quenches your thirst. When you need water, you need water!’ Mukund gave me that when-you-gotta-go-you gotta-go look and a sheepish smile.
‘Captain Saini told me that the paltan was close by, so we should get in touch right away. We established radio contact with the paltan and then leaving the gun in the bamboo grove with some of the boys, we went forward to link up. It was very tough finding anyone since enemy artillery was continuously going hammer and tongs at us. Finally, we spotted Lieutenant K.S. Yadav, the IO.’
Yadav must have noticed that the RCL detachment were at the end of their tether. He ordered some men from the admin group to carry the guns ahead and they finally reached the battalion HQ on the morning of 03 December 1971. Himmeth immediately ordered them to take up position in Alpha Company location since he knew they were the ones under maximum pressure.
Unknown to the guardsmen embroiled in battle with the Pakistanis at Akhaura, strange events had started unfolding in Jaipur.
‘We only learnt much later,’ Tuffy explained, ‘that the Pakistanis had recovered our operational orders and the artillery fire plan from the body of MP Singh’s radio operator.’
A little later, Pakistani radio announced that 4 Guards had been decimated and many of them also captured. No one could really confirm how this news mutated, but picking up on it, BBC shortly announced that Himmeth had been killed during this operation.
Several people the world over heard the BBC telecast. Amongst them were Major Durga Das and Colonel Govind Singh, both retired Armoured Corps officers living in Jaipur, which was also where Himmeth’s home was.
Shocked, both officers went to Himmeth’s house to pay their respects and offer their condolences. They were even more shocked when they found Himmeth’s wife happily spending family time with his brother and sister-in-law. Not sure what to make of it, both of them left after a while without saying a word to her about Himmeth’s demise.
‘It was only much later, when it became clear that Himmeth was still alive,’ Paunchy said with a laugh, ‘that they mentioned this to Himmeth’s wife. They told her that when they’d seen her so happy and cheerful, they did not have the heart to break the horrid news to her.’
Meanwhile, back on the battlefield, the RCL detachment had yet to reach Kodda when, on 03 December, at about 1100 hours, the Pakistanis launched a full-scale attack, with two companies drawn from 33 Baluch, 12 Azad Kashmir (AK) and 12 Frontier Force. The enemy attacked with full josh, and no matter how the battle ended, one cannot go on without a mention of the valour shown by the Pakistani soldiers.
The Pakistani Battalion Commander chose to launch two companies in a full frontal assault in broad daylight. Perhaps he had believed that Alpha Company would be jittered out of position just by seeing the mass effect of this Greek type of formation. However, when that did not happen, he decided to go ahead with the attack.
‘We were lucky the Pakistanis did not use the north-south axis for their attack, although there was a clear gap they could have exploited,’ Paunchy explained. ‘They did not do that for the strangest possible reason. You see, earlier that morning, the Pakistanis sent a cow into the gap between the water tanks, the one where we had planted the few mines. They must have wanted to probe the gap for landmines.’
The cow did no damage. However, the Pakistanis did not relent. They now sent in a local, a Bengali villager.
The Alpha Company men saw the villager approaching the mined area and tried to scare him away by shouting at him. However, that did not deter him; he must obvio
usly have been ordered by the Pakistani soldiers not to stop, and would have been mindful of their guns trained on him.
‘I even took a shot at him to scare him away,’ Paunchy did not look very happy about that. ‘It was at a very extreme range for a carbine, but I think I grazed him by mistake because he shouted and clutched his wrist.’
Just then the cow stumbled back into the gap and stepped on one of the M-14 mines. The mine leaped out and exploded with a roar and a dirty black cloud. It killed both the cow and the hapless Bengali who’d been pushed forward by the Pakistanis.
That must have convinced the Pakistanis that the Indians had mined this gap, and they decided to stay away from it.
‘They could not have known that we had barely used five or six mines,’ Paunchy grinned, ‘luckily for us, because an attack along that axis would have split our defences and we would have been in trouble.’
Due to this, the Pakistani attack came across open paddy fields and was subject to brutally effective enfilade fire from the Indian machine guns. Also, having utilized the night gainfully, by now Alpha Company was dug in and much more firmly deployed. Seeing the attack developing, Paunchy now called for artillery and mortar support.
By now, all the artillery resources available to the brigade had been pooled in and made available to Mahipal Singh to support Alpha Company. Though under constant enemy fire, and unmindful of his personal safety, Singh used them skillfully. He wreaked havoc on the Pakistani attackers.
‘We kept calling for artillery fire even when the Pakistanis were as close as thirty metres to our trenches,’ Paunchy clarified. ‘Mahipal had warned me that we were too close, and friendly fire could cause our own causalties, but the attack was so massive that my choices were limited.’
As it turned out, both Paunchy and Mahipal were right. The Indian 5.5 inch medium battery shells did help break up the Pakistani assault. And they did cause a couple of Indian casualties also. One of the unfortunates was Lieutnant Karmakar, the Alpha Company officer.
‘Even today, the poor guy lives with about twenty shell splinters in his back,’ Paunchy shook his head ruefully.
Tuffy Marwah saw the Pakistanis begin to gather in the west. He did the math and knew an attack on Alpha Company was imminent. He saw the enemy’s fire support group move into position.
Tuffy immediately realized that if he could move a team about five hundred metres forward, he would be able to make life very difficult for the Pakistani fire support group. Up ahead in the distance, he could even spot the ideal position from which he would be able to bring deadly effective, enfilade fire on them. The problem was that between him and that position was five hundred metres of flat, open ground. There wasn’t an iota of cover available anywhere. Tuffy knew that he could well be signing the death warrant of whomsoever he sent out for this job. It took him only a moment to decide. Warning Paunchy and Himmeth, he moved.
Marshalling three LMGs from the nearest platoon, Tuffy headed for the firing position he had chosen. The Pakistanis spotted him immediately. Within seconds, a hailstorm of bullets and bombs was headed his way.
Perhaps fortune does favour the brave. It seemed as though there was a protective bubble around Tuffy and his band of machine gunners. Barring a few scrapes, bumps and the odd splinter injury, they reached their objective unscathed.
Now it was the turn of the Pakistani fire support group to suffer. Right through the Pakistani attack on Alpha Company, Tuffy forced their fire support group to keep their heads down, reducing their effectiveness to near negligible levels.
Tuffy was still there when the Pakistani attack faltered, broke, and they began to fall back in shambles. Many more fell to his waiting guns.
It is certain that every Pakistani soldier who took part would have known the sheer folly of such an assault, yet not one of them faltered. The result was a foregone conclusion, yet one has to salute such bravery, even in the enemy. The attack was as ill-conceived as the charge of the Light Brigade. The result was certainly as unfortunate—33 Baluch lost seventy-five men and 12 AK had thirty killed, including an officer. So intense and accurate was the Indian firing that the Pakistanis, in their hurry to get away, left sixty-six of their bodies behind.
‘That was the exact number,’ Paunchy said with conviction, ‘because when I went back to Kodda last year, I actually spoke to one of the villagers who had been there at that time. He remembered they had buried sixty-six Pakistani bodies. I have it on videotape.’
With the back of the attack broken, the Pakistani troops began to fall back in disarray.
By now, the guardsmen of Alpha Company were running low on ammunition. Realizing this, the Company Senior JCO Subedar Makhan decided to innovate a bit. A Jat from Haryana, Makhan was a World War II veteran and had also seen intense action in Kashmir. He was a solid, unflappable man, fast on his feet and seldom perturbed by anything, no matter how fraught the situation.
Ordering his boys to use the 303 rifles they had captured earlier that morning from the Pakistani Razakars, Alpha Company began to pick off the fleeing enemy.
So intense was the carnage that several Pakistani soldiers hit the ground and played dead. Unfortunately, a smoke grenade being carried by one of the Pakistani soldiers exploded and set fire to the dry paddy that had been harvested only recently. The fire stampeded those who had been pretending to play dead and they got up to run. None of them got very far.
The Pakistani companies that had been decimated during this brave, but ill-conceived attack had constituted the 14 Pak Infantry Divison reserves. Their loss seriously unsettled the Pakistanis. So much so that they now called for an air strike.
Moments later, four F-86 Sabre jets screamed in. They carried out three rocketing and strafing runs over the target area. Luckily for the guardsmen, they were so close to the Pakistani frontline that the Sabres left them alone. However, 18 Rajputs, a little further away, took the brunt of this airstrike. Luckily, they suffered no major damage.
As soon as the attack broke, Paunchy moved forward with a section to mop up and ensure there was no enemy still lingering in the area. They were sweeping over the company front when something on the wrist of one of the dead Pakistani soldiers caught his eye. It looked familiar. Paunchy went closer. It was.
Paunchy retrieved the HMT wristwatch that he had not so long ago gifted to his batman, Lance Naik Pirbhu Ram.
Perhaps this was God’s way of delivering punishment on the now dead Pakistani, a soldier from 33 Baluch: all professional soldiers frown upon looting and pilfering: it is not the warrior’s way.
Paunchy tucked the HMT watch in his pocket, and resolved to deliver it to Pirabhu’s family. He knew they would cherish it as much as Pirabhu had.
Seeing the Pakistani attack building up against Alpha Company, Captain Maneck brought the battalion 81 mm Mortars into action immediately. Directed by the Mortar OP with Alpha Company, the mortars began to rain fire on the Pakistanis as they gathered for the assault. The mortar platoon was deployed near Chandi, and Maneck could actually eyeball the incoming assault; perhaps that is why his mortar fire had such deadly effect.
By now, however, the Pakistani artillery was also in action. Within minutes, the 4 Guards Mortar platoon drew their ire. The very first Pakistani artillery salvo scored, taking out the mortar on the extreme left.
‘That is when we lost Uday Bhan,’ Sube’s gaze was fixed on something in the distance. He obviously found the memory upsetting even now. ‘Uday Bhan was a rock solid guy. The boys were very upset when we lost him. But we kept going … there was no time to think.’ He was silent for a little while, and when he did resume his tone, it had gone mellow. ‘We kept firing almost non-stop, moving from one fire task to the other.’
Despite the intense counter-bombardment, egged on by Maneck, the remaining mortars continued providing defensive fire to Alpha Company. However, Alpha Company’s problems were mounting. They increased further as, once again, a Pakistani tank came into view. Following closely behind it was
some Pakistani infantry.
Seeing the tank bearing down on them, Paunchy thanked his stars that at least one of the RCL guns was with him now. Sahni had delivered it just moments ago.
‘Major C.K. sahib was very happy to see us when we reached with our RCL,’ said Mukund, with a smile that communicated relief, which must have been mutual: Paunchy’s at finally getting an anti-tank weapon, and for Mukund’s detachment, at the opportunity to be able to support their rifle companies after being stuck in the mud and blasted by enemy artillery and air for all these hours.
They had just finished deploying the RCL near the MMG detachment commanded by Naik Didar Singh when first light arrived. With it came another Pakistani assault, led by a tank, which came thundering up along the railway line.
‘Didar was amazing. He took out several Pakistani soldiers before the tank began to lay down suppressive fire. The tank was using its machine gun, not the main gun, but its fire was very effective. Nothing happened to Didar, but one of the tank machine gun rounds smashed into the charging handle of my RCL’s spotting rifle,’ Mukund gave an exasperated cluck. ‘It got jammed, and no matter what we tried, we could not free it.’
Captain Sahni, who had helped deliver the RCL gun to Alpha Company, saw them struggling with the charging handle. Realizing something was amiss, he made his way forward and tried to hammer the charging handle loose. Sahni was doing that when his knee accidentally hit the firing knob and the RCL main gun, which had just been loaded, fired.
‘The RCL was already pointed in the general direction of the Pakistani tank,’ Mukund’s smile was full of mischief. ‘It didn’t hit the tank but must have spooked him enough to take off.’
After that, the enemy tanks did not venture near Alpha Company. In fact, things began to actually quieten down a bit.
