Saga of great Captains & brave ‘Bhullas’

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 27

Under the command of Lt Col Ujagar Singh, the 2 Garhwal Rifles battalion was tasked with attacking and capturing OP Hill by October 7. Commanding Officer Lt Col Ujagar Singh along with his Adjutant and a company Commander carried out a recce of the objective. However, due to time constraint to capture OP Hill, it was decided to attack from the northwest direction. The battalion of Garhwali “Bhullas” moved from the concentration area at Galuti to the forward concentration area at Mendhar where they received their orders, collected stores and moved to the assembly area at Balnoi. Within 36 hours, the battalion moved its mortar, RCL, ammunition and re-organised stores to the forward assembly area on the man pack basis, which in itself was a big achievement. On October 6, immediately after arriving at the forward assembly area, the companies moved to the forward position for attack.

On the intervening night of October 6 and 7 at 9 pm, ‘A’ and ‘C’ companies of the battalion led the assault on OP Hill despite lack of accurate information about the enemy strategy and their disposition. Despite inadequate artillery supplies, they launched fierce attacks on the enemy positions though they were being targeted with heavy firing from six MMGs.

‘A’ company under Capt Satish Khera and ‘C’ company under Maj SC Sethi attacked the enemy with grit and determination and got partial success. However, due to lack of fire support from the mortar platoon and Mountain Battery, the companies failed to maintain the stronghold on the captured positions. The ‘B’ and ‘D’ companies were ordered to reinforce the ‘A’ and ‘C’ companies, respectively. But by that time, it was too late and the enemy brought heavy MMG, mortar and artillery fire on our troops, who were in the open. Capt Satish Khera along with gallant JCOs and troops fought till the last breath and refused to be evacuated till the end. On October 7, the brigade headquarters called off the attack and the battalion was finally ordered to withdraw in order to reconsolidate itself.

The battalion captured Pakistan Officer Capt Ahsan Bhatti from Odha, who told the Indian Army officers that the Pakistan battalion occupying OP Hill had been given a pendant for its outstanding performance against the brave Garhwali “Bhullas”. According to him, had the attack been sustained or another company of Indian troops was available, their withdrawal orders would not have been cancelled and OP Hill would have fallen on the intervening night of October 6 and 7. But that was not to be.

During the first attack, deeds of great valour and sacrifice were witnessed. Subedar Govind Singh Gariya, who lay mortally wounded inside enemy barbed wires at ‘White Rocks’, refused to be evacuated by his men. Before dying, he handed over his stun gun and a wrist watch to his buddy saying the government property should not fall into enemy hands. Officers and men disregarding enemy shelling and fire evacuated wounded personnel who, otherwise, would have died of wounds. The ‘A’ company men followed their company Commander Capt Satish Khera unmindful of the casualties and stuck with him till the end. Those who knew Capt Satish Khera were not surprised. Wounded men refused to be evacuated after the battle saying they wanted to stay on.

The battalion lost two officers, one JCO and 19 jawans in the first battle of OP Hill while four officers, three JCOs and 68 jawans sustained battle wounds.

The first attack on OP Hill was a grim lesson for the entire Division. These lessons were taken note of and duly applied for the next attack on OP Hill that was launched on the intervening night of November 2 and 3 with brigade strength after nearly a month of the first attack by the Garhwalis on the same enemy occupying the same defence. A sister battalion ordered to capture ‘Twin Pimples’ could not do so. Another battalion could make no headway to the ‘Lone Tree’ area where an enemy LMG held the battalion at bay till first light. Only 5 Sikh (LI), attacking from the ‘Chohi Gali’ area, managed to get across and wrap up the enemy defence during the battle for ‘OP Hill’. The battalion fiercely penetrated the enemy positions and ensured a consolidated position being maintained after each success. Despite heavy enemy shelling, the battalion held the position till March 8, 1966, before being relieved by 14 Rajputana Rifles. In the second attack on OP Hill, the battalion lost one jawan while an officer and 11 jawans were wounded.

Capt Chander Narain Singh, MVC

Capt CN Singh was attached with HQ 120 Infantry Brigade. On August 5, information was received about the presence of 100 enemy infiltrators in the general area Dabrot. The Brigade Commander tasked Capt CN Singh with leading a platoon to the area to ascertain the veracity of the report. Capt CN Singh and his party were reconnoitering the area at a height of 4,000 ft when Pakistan infiltrators opened a heavy volume of fire and lobbed grenades at them.     

Even though Capt CN Singh was having a small strength of men in his party, he decided to attack the enemy position at night. During this daring act, Capt CN Singh and his party neutralized six enemy soldiers and injured many others, forcing them to retreat from the occupied positions. The infiltrators launched a covert attack during which a burst of LMG fire hit the gallant officer on the head. The brave officer continued to direct his men forward and refused to be evacuated, finally achieving martyrdom. For his act of unflinching act of bravery, Capt CN Singh was awarded Mahavir Chakra posthumously. 

Supreme sacrifice

The leading platoon of the ‘C’ company under Lt Bhim Sain led the assault on OP Hill. Lt Bhim Sain, displaying tremendous resolve, grit and determination with utter disregard to personal safety, led from the front and succeeded in capturing OP Hill by 1 am. While the follow on platoon was beginning to launch an assault on the next objective, the enemy opened heavy artillery and support weapon fire on our troops who were in the open without any cover. During this fight, all platoon commanders, including Lt Bhim Sain, achieved martyrdom.

Gritty commander

Commanding Officer Lt Col Ujagar Singh led a team for reconnaissance of OP Hill to find out the position and strenght of the enemy. On the intervening night of October 6 and 7, ‘A’ and ‘C’ companies of the battalion led the assault on OP Hill despite lack of accurate information about the enemy strategy and their disposition. The battalion lost two officers, one JCO and 20 jawans while five officers, three JCOs and 79 jawans sustained battle wounds.

OP Hill captured

The ‘A’ company less a platoon under Capt Satish Khera reached the area of ‘OP Hill’ via Black Rocks and personally attacked the enemy post commander, severely wounding him. The leading platoon of the ‘A’ company succeeded in capturing a portion of OP Hill despite severe resistance and greater enemy numerical strength. The ‘A’ company under Capt Satish Khera continued the assault and succeeded in capturing OP Hill. Despite being left with just nine men, the brave Garhwali “Bhullas” held on to OP Hill before sacrificing their lives for the motherland.