![]() We captured nearly 100 Pakistani tanks, damaged as well as functional tanks.ĭespite odds, we did fairly well in 21-day long war imposed on us. Close to a thousand tanks, on both sides, took part in the pitched battles and offensives. The tank battle in Khem Karan still remains the largest and the most intense tank battles in military history between the World War II and 1965. That's how the Battle Honour of Asal Uttar was awarded to us. Lt Gen Joginder Singh Dhillon had smashed the Pakistani armour, poised to head for Beas bridge and then onto Delhi, in the opening days of war. Pakistan was surprised and totally confused by it and committed many mistakes, which formed its graveyard in Patton Nagar. Had we not opened Amritsar-Lahore front, we could have lost Akhnoor and even Samba. We knew we were weak in the Amritsar-Lahore front southward, without knowing that Pakistan was planning to launch a major offensive against us in that sector with two Brigades - 7 and 62 of the 4 Mountain Division when we attacked their main attacking force. Despite the loss of one-third of my battalion yet the remaining men were ready for another attack. My battalion had lost 52 men (killed), 50 were taken as PoWs and 85 others were wounded and evacuated. I was moving my battalion 1 JAK Rifles from Nagaland to Assam when I was suddenly asked to take over 9 JAK Rifles in Khem Karan in the Asal Uttar area.Īlthough my battalion, as all other battalions involved in the attack, had suffered heavily yet their morale was not low. The war was well planned by Pakistan, firstly by diverting the attention of Indian Army to J&K to deal with the infiltrators followed by an attack on Jammu via Chhamb, so that the Indian Army's entire attention was diverted towards J&K or up to Gurdaspur so that Pakistan could launch a major offensive from Khem Karan on Delhi. The battle of Asal Uttar had created a 'graveyard' of Pakistan's tanks near Khem Karan.īut frankly, we were not ready for a war after the conflict with China and perhaps that is why Pakistan attacked us. My boys had watered the fields before using anti-tank guns to hit the fleet of Pakistani tanks, which were stuck in muddy fields and were nothing more than sitting ducks for us. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |