Recalling Battle of Gitian

Col Surjit Sandhu (Retd)

IT wasn’t even a year old when 6 Dogra found itself in the thick of a bloody battle in 1965. The battalion was raised at Meerut Cantonment on October 1, 1964 by Lt Col SS Khokhar. Its other officers were Major BK Mehta (second-in-command), two Captains and 13 young subalterns. The battalion was inducted in Jammu and Kashmir in April, 1965 to be a part of 68 Infantry Brigade.

After anti-infiltration operations in Gulmarg, Tangmarg and Srinagar airfield areas in August, it was ordered to move to Hajipir Pass in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. We climbed up through heavy rain and reached on September 3, relieving 1 Para, which had captured the Pass. The road from Hajipir Pass to Poonch in the south follows a nullah that joins the Batar Nullah at Kahuta. Point 7720 is located 4 km south-east of the Pass; Point 8777 lies 2 km south of the Pass; and Gitian another 1 km ahead of Point 8777. Clearing the Hajipir Pass-Poonch Road meant clearing these areas of the enemy.

Point 7720 was defended by one company of the enemy with support weapons. Maj Mehta was to lead two companies in a silent attack to capture the peak. ‘A’ company, commanded by Maj HS Sachdev, was to assault and ‘C’ company was in the reserve.

At 4 am on September 9, as the company formed near the objective, a fierce battle ensued. Maj Sachdev was wounded but kept pushing on; the objective was captured by 7.30 am. 6 Dogra lost three soldiers. Maj Sachdev and late Sepoy Jarnail Singh would later be awarded the Sena Medal for bravery. Point 7720 was named “Dogra Hills”.

On September 11, a patrol led by Maj Mehta established the critical link at Kahuta Bridge with 3 Dogra, which was part of the brigade located at Poonch.

6 Dogra was now ordered to capture Gitian by attacking from the east. The battalion started the approach march from Hajipir Pass to Kahuta on September 15. ‘D’ company was left at Dogra Hills. The troops did not have any special clothing and it was cold at that height. To make matters worse, it drizzled through the night. The ammunition load was so heavy that most of us threw away our blankets and the heavy steel helmets. We reached Kahuta by first light on September 16. The battalion occupied the slopes around a school and the school building. 

At night, we, the subalterns, planned to sleep in the school verandah. Maj Hazara Singh, quartermaster, advised us against it. We slept at different places. Around midnight, the enemy’s machine gun opened up from a nearby hill. Its target was the school and the verandah. The fire was returned. There was no casualty; the experience of a senior officer had saved the lives of seven or eight young officers, including the writer.

On September 17, we moved up the slopes leading to Gitian. 19 Punjab was there to provide us firm base for the attack. There was firing by the enemy from Gitian and also by 19 Punjab all day. I deployed two mortars and fired one bomb from each on the enemy location for “bedding in” and one more for ranging, which landed bang on target. I could not afford to fire more. 

In the afternoon, Lt Col Khokhar, Maj Mehta and order group (‘O’ group) moved to the forward company location of 19 Punjab and it was decided that the troops would climb through the cliffs from where the enemy would least expect them. Suddenly, a rocket hit the stone on which Maj Mehta was sitting. He could barely move but refused to be evacuated and took part in the attack with the support of a stick.

H-hour – the scheduled time of an attack – was fixed at 2.30 am, September 19. But on the orders of the brigade commander, it was postponed to September 19/20 and then, 20th/21st.

Gitian consists of three features: Tree Hill, Hut Hill (including SAR) and Knoll. ‘B’ company was to capture Tree Hill’; ‘C’ was to seize Hut Hill; and ‘A’ was in reserve. Knoll was to be captured later. Maj Mehta was also part of the attack. It was a silent attack with mortars and artillery on standby. ‘B’ company was commanded by Maj Darshan Singh Lalli. Both ‘B’ and ‘C’ companies had one subaltern each — Zoru Chaudhary in ‘B’ and Kakkar in ‘C’.

The troops were 200 yards from the objective when the enemy opened heavy fire. It had also laid a minefield. The company suffered heavy casualties but pressed home the attack. There was close-quarter fight throughout the night.  By first light on September 21, ‘B’ Company had captured Tree Hill, ‘C’ a part of Hut Hill. Maj Lalli was killed during the night. He had told the battalion commander, “I shall meet you at Tree Hill, alive or dead.”

At first light, the enemy launched a counter-attack at Tree Hill, which was repulsed by Zoru’s boys, supported by my mortar fire. Thereafter, another counter-attack was repulsed. All bombs of the 3-inch mortar had been used up, so I was ordered to join Zoru at Tree Hill. There were about 50 troops left. We decided to cover each spot of Tree Hill and reorganise the defence. There was heavy firing by the enemy from the uncaptured area of Hut Hill and Point 8777. At one point, when I was passing a message to the battalion commander, a bullet hit the radio operator sitting next to me. He was killed.

On the night of September 21/22, the enemy launched two counter-attacks on Tree Hill, which were repulsed. Hut Hill was cleared of the enemy by the night of September 21. By September 22, Knoll was also captured.

The next day — 3.30 am, September 23 — the UN-mediated ceasefire was announced. We had lost two officers, one JCO and 22 brave soldiers. The Pakistanis left behind 90 dead and carried away at least a hundred wounded.

6 Dogra was honoured with one Maha Vir Chakra and two Vir Chakras (posthumously). It stayed at Gitian till February 24, 1966 and vacated it under the Tashkent Agreement.