THE GARUD STRIKES by Mukul Deva Read Free Book Online Page A

one day Himmeth was returning from his daily round of golf when he saw us practising with the RCL gun.’ My rucksack query got swept aside by Lieutenant Colonel Midha. ‘We were doing the usual mount-dismount drill, when Himmeth happened to be driving past. He stopped the jeep and gave us a shouting right there and then, telling us to stop the nonsense. He said: “Just make sure that every soldier in your company can point the gun at the enemy tanks, aim it and fire it. That’s all that is needed.”’
    Much as I was relishing this picture of the man who had led the battalion to war, I now felt the urge to get to the war itself.
    ‘So you were saying,’ I turned again to Granthi, ‘that it felt just like any other exercise.’
    ‘Like he said,’ before Granthi could get started, Midha broke in, ‘we were all very much in the training mode. So much so that even when we were waiting in the assembly area near the International Border, for the operation to begin, many of us fell asleep.’ He looked around at the others for confirmation. ‘I know I did. The whole day had been so hectic; gathering our stores, distributing them and the ammunition amongst the men, checking weapons, writing letters to our families, just in case…’
    Just in case… The words held my attention. That’s how it always is for soldiers, in any uniform, in any country, in any era. Three simple words: just in case … they never come back , being the unsaid part of it.
    Midha’s voice intruded my thoughts. ‘There had been a hundred things to do. None of us had slept a wink the past twenty-thirty hours. That is why many of us fell asleep the minute we got to the assembly area,’ he said. ‘In fact, when we got orders to start the operation, some of us kept on sleeping and so there was considerable confusion. The ones who got up late had lost sight of the men in front and had no idea where to go. It was pretty dark, and visibility was terrible. Himmeth got so mad at Major Kharbanda, our company commander, that he really yelled at him,’ he continued.
    Naik Hoshiar Singh, the radio operator who had been with Himmeth almost every minute of those sixteen days, must have witnessed the confusion first hand. He was nodding vigorously.
    ‘Commandant sahib was with the soldiers in front. He ordered them to fire tracer rounds so that the Bravo Company could see them and catch up,’ he said.
    ‘Tracers?’ I was surprised. ‘That must have done wonders to the element of surprise.’

    Honorary Captain Subedar
Major Hoshiar Singh (Retd.)
    ‘Surprise?’ Midha laughed a very sarcastic laugh. ‘What surprise? The Pakistanis had started firing on us almost as soon as we crossed the border. We had barely gone hundred yards when they started off with mortars and artillery.’
    ‘True.’ That was Glucose. ‘They may not have known what was being thrown at them, but they certainly knew we were up and about. They were holding Akhaura in strength and were very well-prepared to defend.’
    The Pakistanis had done their homework. Fields of fire had been carefully worked out and cleared. Artillery and mortars had identified defensive fire tasks along the most likely approaches to Akhaura and were stocked up for an extended engagement. Armour, too, had been sited along tankable approaches. Barbed wire and minefields lay in a deadly ring around Akhaura.
     
     
     
    Located almost directly opposite Agartala, the East Pakistani town of Akhaura was an important rail, road and water communication centre close to the Indian border. It was imperative to capture it and secure the area up to the west bank of the Titas river since not only was it the first major hurdle on the road to Dacca, but also because the Pakistani artillery located there was often used to shell Agartala and the Indian BOPs.

    In keeping with the Pakistani High Command’s strategy of halting any Indian offensive on the border itself, all major towns and cities on all possible approaches to