Capt who saved the day, and lives

PC Dogra

I joined the Army as an Emergency Commissioned Officer in 1963. In the 1965 war, I was serving in 10 Mahar as a Captain. Orders came for our unit to move to the Jammu (RS Pura)-Sialkot border. I was commanding Alpha Company. We mobilised near RS Pura. Maj SD Mehta, the adjutant of the battalion, asked me to come to the sand model room for operational orders from our Commanding Officer, who told me in lighter vein, "Puran, it is not an exercise. We are really going into battle this time."

Our task was to enter Pakistan, attack Muhadipur and Rang Pur Jattan villages, capture and thereafter hold them. We marched into Pakistan in the middle of the night in a single-line formation. We were to form up about 100 yards in front of our target and launch a bayonet attack. The moment we entered Pakistan, we were subjected to heavy artillery shelling; their guns were booming and the sky was scarlet red, spitting hellfire everywhere around us.

My orderly, Nain Singh, who was advancing along with me, was suddenly hit by an artillery shell. He died on the spot. I could do nothing more except to entrust his body to our medical detachment and continue advancing.

We finally launched a battalion attack but to our surprise, the villages were deserted, and the Pakistani army had withdrawn. We took up positions there. My company was in the reserve. Charlie and another company were deployed with a small detachment of tanks in the front. Just a day before the declaration of ceasefire, Pakistan launched a well-planned and determined attack on our positions. We had to face heavy shelling. Their attack formations had moved very close to our forward positions. 

Our Charlie Company had to retreat from its forward position. I was asked to launch a counter-attack and reoccupy the position vacated by the company.

We expected hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, but we got huge artillery support from our redoubtable support company commander Capt Ajit Singh. He set up his 3-inch mortars perfectly, zeroed in on to the FUP (Forming Up Place) of the Pakistan army unit, where the enemy troops had formed up for a final and frontal attack on us.

They came under effective and direct fire of our unit mortars. They had tanks for support. It was a question of minutes and we would have been engaged in a hand-to-hand fight and there certainly would have been heavy casualties on both sides. In fact, the Pakistanis had breached our forward lines in another company front and a few of their soldiers had come close to our tactical headquarters.

Our unit intelligence officer Lt Harjit Singh Pawar was killed by the infiltrating enemy troops. 

The targeted mortar shelling by Capt Ajit Singh played havoc with the Pakistani assault line. It spread chaos and mortal fear in the enemy ranks and they had to withdraw.

When I moved to the forward position, we came under direct tank shelling of the enemy. I had a tank deployed by my side. It was not responding and retaliating. I was surprised and annoyed. I decided to crawl up to the tank to find out and admonish them to act fast. I went up to the tank, got up to see inside, but found the body of a crew member with his head slanging out. I saluted the soldier and crawled back.

We did not have to fight at all in the end. The hero for us was Capt Ajit Singh, who demolished the assault line of the enemy. His valour remains etched in my memory. A salute to you! 

The writer retired as DGP, Punjab