They fought the Chinese in 1962 against all odds. They had no warm clothing and little artillery. All that the soldiers had was indomitable courage
October 20 came and went. How many of us remembered that it was the day in 1962 when the Chinese attacked IndiaIJ We suffered a humiliating defeat, the responsibility for which rested squarely with the civilian Government of the day, headed by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, which failed to read the Chinese intentions from the beginning and, virtually at the last moment, cobbled together a frantic response, the gross inadequacy of which was compounded by then Union Minister for Defence Krishna Menon's disastrous handling of his charge, particularly his failure to equip the Armed Forces adequately, and arbitrary and unwarranted interference in Army promotions.
If there was a redeeming feature of the events of 1962, it was the brave fight that officers and jawans of the Indian Army put up in the teeth of impossible odds. They had often to fight from politically-dictated positions, which were tactically hard to defend. They were outgunned — the Chinese had far superior weaponry — outnumbered and short-supplied with ammunition. On a number of occasions they charged the Chinese and engaged in hand-to-hand combat after running out of bullets and shells.
Consider, for instance, the odds which C Company of 13 Kumaon Regiment had to contend with at Rezang la in the Chushul sector, where it scripted a chapter in rare heroism. It had to defend a two-kilometre wide frontage of a three-kilometre long valley at an altitude of roughly 16,000 feet. The Ahirs, who constituted the company, had been rushed from a much lower altitude and, hence, were not acclimatised to such heights. They felt breathless after a few steps. Yet they had to physically dig their defences as they had no mechanical equipment for the purpose. It was particularly difficult during the first few days and nights as no warm clothing, sleeping bags and even rations had reached.
Militarily, they were at a gross disadvantage. They did not have proper bunkers.The high mountain crest behind then prevented artillery support, which the Chinese had in plenty. They were equipped with antiquated bolt-action .303 rifles of World War II vintage with about 600 rounds of ammunition per head, six light machine guns and several two inch mortars. Their radio sets did not function because the batteries froze. On the other hand, the Chinese troops were acclimatised and equipped with 7.62 self-loading rifles, besides sufficient ammunition, rations, heavy engineering equipment, and support from artillery, which included 75 mm recoilless guns and 132 mm rockets. Besides, their tanks could come up to their terminal post on the Spanggur Gap to which they had built a road.
Nevertheless, C Company, led by Major Shaitan Singh, who received a posthumous Param Vir Chakra, repeatedly repulsed the Chinese who attacked on November 18 in an estimated strength of 5,000 to 6,000 men. Finally, the overwhelming odds prevailed though C Company fought to the last round. One hundred and nine men out of its total strength of 118 were killed, five were taken prisoners of war, and four escaped. According to one estimate, the Chinese casualties were over 500 dead and wounded.
Comparable heroism was displayed in the Walong sector in the East by officers and men of 6 Kumaon, 4 Sikh and 3/3 Gorkha regiments who, besides battling overwhelming odds, had to contend with changes in command which put them under three different headquarters in a 10-day period after October 23, with adverse effect on their preparedness that can be easily imagined.
How does one honour the memories of men who died so gallantlyIJ By putting country before self in everything one does and making sure that our Armed Forces have never to contend with such odds again!