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Col Arshad Nazir Chisty, then a Leuitenant and a Platoon Commander, recalls the actions of his battalion on 8th Sept 1965 at Chawinda, with a sense of absolute pride and sparks in his eyes:
13 Frontier Force, a Recce and Support Battalion of Pakistan Army was deployed in defence of Sialkot sector on the night between 7th and 8th Sept when the Indian attack commenced shortly after midnight, with heavy shelling of Border Posts thinly manned by Rangers and two Companys of 3 FF infantry Battalion. As a second line of defence, B company of 13 FF was positioned as a thin screen, three to four kilometers behind the Border Posts to cover the huge gaps between the Border Posts, holding an impossible frontage of 35 kilometers, from Aik Nalla to Degh Nalla.
The Recce and Support Battalion consisted of some 150 Jeeps mounted with Recoiless Rifles, Machnie Guns and Medium Machine Guns, distributed into 4 Companies i.e A, B, C & D Companies. These companies were further distributed into Platoons, commanded by young Leuitenants.
No 5 Pl (platoon) of B Coy 13 (R&S) was spread out along a frontage of 15 kms from Village Harpal including to excluding village Charwa. Its weapons were 3000 to 4000 yds from each other. The men of this platoon were watching that enemy was trying to move through the gaps of their weapon sites. The central section of NO.5 Platoon was due north of B Coy 3 FF which was attacked by 69 Mtn(Mountain) Bde and 18 tanks of 62 Cavalry.
In the low star light the Platoon Commander was scampering hard to get a hold of his scattered platoon in view of the communication break down in wake of heavy enemy shelling. His detachment comds were fumbling through to their pre selected RV near the road Charwa -- Chobara -- Chawinda to get together.
At 07:30 a.m on the morning of 8th Sept, LO AND BEHOLD!!! they looked in a north easterly direction and they saw tanks of Indian 16th Cavalry coming charging at a gallop, kicking up huge clouds of dust.
They immediately started hiding themselves in the meandering banks of a deep, dry nullah. Those bends gave them courage and they started laying their weapons onto the tanks, but held their fire.
As soon as 7 or 8 tanks had decended into the nalla's bed to cross over, the Platoon Commander yelled at his men to begin fire. They fired at Ranges of 25 to 50 meters at the unsuspecting tanks of 16 Cavalry and wrecked havoc. Within two minutes, some 8 Centurions lay burning in the nullaha.
16 Cavalry was badly hurt and that hitherto galloping regiment was not now moving despite having been pushed hard by Brig KK Singh. He demanded from his GOC Gen Sparrow that he should get 16 Cavalry disbanded. But how could Gen Sparrow get 16 Cavalry disbanded wherein Gen JN Chuadhry had been commissioned.
Having destroyed so many tanks of 16 Cavalry the detachment Commander of No 5 Pl of B Coy 13 FF FILTERED OUT IN ONES AND TWOS bringing most of their weapons and jeeps with them. Only one of their Jeep was lost to the fire of 16 Cavalry.
Having had that drubbing at the hands No 5 Pl of B Coy 13 FF(R&S), 16 Cavalry now started moving on its LIMP MARCH. It was contacted by B Sqn(squadron) of 25 Cavalry at 09:00 AM.
It was a great tank versus tank battle in a great fire fight, B Sqn 25 Cavalry destroyed many tanks of 16 Cavalry. At the right flank, A Sqn 25 Cavalry destroyed four tanks of 17 Poona Horse. In the over all 25 Cavalry destroyed 11 tanks of 16 Cavalry and 17 Poona Horse at a loss of only four tanks of their own. C Sqn and B Sqn 25 Cavalry pressed hard and pushed 16 Cavalry by 4 kms back beyond Gadgore.
Brig KK Singh was now satisfied having positioned 4 Hodson's Horse towards the right flank. He was now thinking of his flank open on the left flank. The Left Flanking Force C Sqn 62 Cavalry was not keeping well up with the speed of his Bde advance. Through this open flank came the onslaught by the two R&S pls commanded by 2/Lt Farid Ahmad Bokhari of B Coy 13 FF (R&S).
The No 4 Platoon of B Coy 13 FF (R&S) was spread along a frontage of 13 kms from left including Charwa to including the point where DEG NADI enters Pakistan territory. There were only 10 men at Charwa (three on one RR, three men on one machine gun and four on the two LMGs).
99 Mtn Bde from 6 Mtn Div attacked Charwa. 35 Bde of 14 Inf Div was following behind as reserve. 2/Lt Farid Bokhari called those ten men back.
Now from here the attacking Bharati brigades were advancing to attack C Coy 3 FF at Binni Sulehriyan. The direction was such as No 4 Platoon of 13 FF would soon be cut off. The communication with his coy comd was not there so he fell back with his platoon to his alternative position near Pindi Devinian.
At HQ 15 Div Colonel Staff ordered CO 13 FF to send some force to Kangre/Mastpur to make a blocking position against those withdrawing Bharati tanks. CO 13 FF ordered 2/Lt Farid Ahmad Bokhari to make this blocking position with his No 4 Pl of B Coy 13 FF(R&S). He gave him one more pl from D Coy 13 FF (R&S).
2/Lt Farid Ahmad Bokhari, the off spring of a very noble and an educated family moved from his alternative position with his men. They were super charged with their duty of patriotism and their deep spirit and resolve TO DO OR DIE. His 15 jeeps went charging through the crops.
With a strange resolve they were moving fast and jumping over the agricultural perimeter markings. Very soon they were face to face with the Indian 71 Medium Regiment Artillery. Farid let go and ordered FIRE. All eight RRs blasted away. Master pieces of results. Three tanks destroyed; all six medium guns destroyed--- one gun out of them totally charred.
They also destroyed those seven GUN TO-ERs carrying gun ammunition. A huge ball of fire rose and kept on blazing for many hours. Those men now started moving, their hands and arms dancing in the air.
The real effects of such a tremendous raid started appearing slowly. This was the eastern flank which Brig KK Singh had thought was vulnerable. He thought he should extend his flank backwards. He ordered 17 Poona Horse to take position in village PINDI BHAGO. That was like going back by 8 kms over the area that had been captured by 1 Armored Bde in the morning.
APNAY PIND KO BHAGO
The order passed over the wireless set was misconstrued as APNAY PIND KO BHAGO. CO 17 POONA Horse swung his tank main gun back and so did the rest of the tanks of his regiment AND THEY STARTED RUNNING ON A GALLOP (I take great pleasure in calling them as RUNNING ON A DHURRHKEE).
Since they were running on a DURRHKEE on reaching PINDI BHAGO they did not stop there because they were running back to their own village --- and they continued on that DURRHKEE and collided against the Indian 43 Lorried Bde unit 2 Lancers at Azizpur road cross. Two tanks of 2 Lancers were promptly destroyed by 17 Poona Horse before they could recognise that they were fighting among each other.
THE TREMENDOUS RESULTS PRODUCED OWING TO THE VERY OFFENSIVE ACTIONS OF 13 FF R&S PLATOONS ARE WRITTEN LARGE ON THE STRATEGIC SCENARIO OF THAT 8 SEPTEMBER DAY.
The Bharati Armored Div could not break through that gap of 27 kms between Sialkot and Chawinda because their attention became rivetted towards the east.
Gen BM Kaul had recorded in his book titled CONFRONTATION WITH PAKISTAN that WE WERE THREATENED WITH AN ATTACK BY TWO REGIMENTS OF PATTON TANKS AND SO WE WENT BACK BY TEN KMs.
If the Bharati 1 Corps had looked towards that gap towards the west they could have broken through and got behind Sialkot by 09 Sep 1965. That would have been THE MOMENT OF TRUTH in the history of the sub continent.
The ambush laid by No 5 Platoon of 13 FF on the tanks of 16 Cavalry is best described in the words of Brig J.S Bhullar who then was a young Captain in the Indian 1st Armored Division:
""""Our main armoured offensive with our elite Black Elephant Division with Poona Horse, Hodson Horse, 16 Cav, 62 Cav and 2nd Lancers was opposed on the first day by nothing more than jeep mounted machine guns and the antitank recoiless guns of a Recce and Support battalion. This Pak battalion defended ground by mobility and fire power.
16 Cav is a renowned regiment of Indian Army. On the first day of our offensive in the Sialkot Sector, its Centurions were blazing along when all of a sudden it reached a very small undulation marking the bed of a dry stream. Mark you, this was not even marked on the map but it was enough to hide a strong camouflaged detachment of the Pak Recce and Support Battalion. This detachment held its fire until the leading tanks were barely a meter or two away.
And then with the first fusilade of point blank anti tank gun fire, all hell broke loose. The tanks did not know what had hit them as it had been enough to set fire to well nigh a squadron worth of tanks. Such was the confusion that some tanks which had not been hit carried on full throttle forward getting the hell out of that bedeviled area.
It was in this action that one of the finest officers of the Army, Lt Jojo Sengupta lost both eyes when his turret received a direct hit and the flash and splinters scythed his face.
Of course the advance of our force ground to a halt and the CO had a hard time getting hold of his command. It was after a while when another regiment reported that a group of enemy tanks were charging straight at them and to their horror they were Centurions. Because no one had ever heard of Pakistan having Centurions!!!
Luckily the Regiment held its fire because soon it became evident that these were our own 16 Cav tanks that had gone ahead and then making a wide loop were returning back.
Though such stuff happens in war, yet Brig KK Singh was furious and he later even recommended that this great unit be disbanded. The same would no doubt have happened had it not been for of course the Chief, Gen Chaudhri who belonged to this regiment."""""
13 Frontier Force, a Recce and Support Battalion of Pakistan Army was deployed in defence of Sialkot sector on the night between 7th and 8th Sept when the Indian attack commenced shortly after midnight, with heavy shelling of Border Posts thinly manned by Rangers and two Companys of 3 FF infantry Battalion. As a second line of defence, B company of 13 FF was positioned as a thin screen, three to four kilometers behind the Border Posts to cover the huge gaps between the Border Posts, holding an impossible frontage of 35 kilometers, from Aik Nalla to Degh Nalla.
The Recce and Support Battalion consisted of some 150 Jeeps mounted with Recoiless Rifles, Machnie Guns and Medium Machine Guns, distributed into 4 Companies i.e A, B, C & D Companies. These companies were further distributed into Platoons, commanded by young Leuitenants.
No 5 Pl (platoon) of B Coy 13 (R&S) was spread out along a frontage of 15 kms from Village Harpal including to excluding village Charwa. Its weapons were 3000 to 4000 yds from each other. The men of this platoon were watching that enemy was trying to move through the gaps of their weapon sites. The central section of NO.5 Platoon was due north of B Coy 3 FF which was attacked by 69 Mtn(Mountain) Bde and 18 tanks of 62 Cavalry.
In the low star light the Platoon Commander was scampering hard to get a hold of his scattered platoon in view of the communication break down in wake of heavy enemy shelling. His detachment comds were fumbling through to their pre selected RV near the road Charwa -- Chobara -- Chawinda to get together.
At 07:30 a.m on the morning of 8th Sept, LO AND BEHOLD!!! they looked in a north easterly direction and they saw tanks of Indian 16th Cavalry coming charging at a gallop, kicking up huge clouds of dust.
They immediately started hiding themselves in the meandering banks of a deep, dry nullah. Those bends gave them courage and they started laying their weapons onto the tanks, but held their fire.
As soon as 7 or 8 tanks had decended into the nalla's bed to cross over, the Platoon Commander yelled at his men to begin fire. They fired at Ranges of 25 to 50 meters at the unsuspecting tanks of 16 Cavalry and wrecked havoc. Within two minutes, some 8 Centurions lay burning in the nullaha.
16 Cavalry was badly hurt and that hitherto galloping regiment was not now moving despite having been pushed hard by Brig KK Singh. He demanded from his GOC Gen Sparrow that he should get 16 Cavalry disbanded. But how could Gen Sparrow get 16 Cavalry disbanded wherein Gen JN Chuadhry had been commissioned.
Having destroyed so many tanks of 16 Cavalry the detachment Commander of No 5 Pl of B Coy 13 FF FILTERED OUT IN ONES AND TWOS bringing most of their weapons and jeeps with them. Only one of their Jeep was lost to the fire of 16 Cavalry.
Having had that drubbing at the hands No 5 Pl of B Coy 13 FF(R&S), 16 Cavalry now started moving on its LIMP MARCH. It was contacted by B Sqn(squadron) of 25 Cavalry at 09:00 AM.
It was a great tank versus tank battle in a great fire fight, B Sqn 25 Cavalry destroyed many tanks of 16 Cavalry. At the right flank, A Sqn 25 Cavalry destroyed four tanks of 17 Poona Horse. In the over all 25 Cavalry destroyed 11 tanks of 16 Cavalry and 17 Poona Horse at a loss of only four tanks of their own. C Sqn and B Sqn 25 Cavalry pressed hard and pushed 16 Cavalry by 4 kms back beyond Gadgore.
Brig KK Singh was now satisfied having positioned 4 Hodson's Horse towards the right flank. He was now thinking of his flank open on the left flank. The Left Flanking Force C Sqn 62 Cavalry was not keeping well up with the speed of his Bde advance. Through this open flank came the onslaught by the two R&S pls commanded by 2/Lt Farid Ahmad Bokhari of B Coy 13 FF (R&S).
The No 4 Platoon of B Coy 13 FF (R&S) was spread along a frontage of 13 kms from left including Charwa to including the point where DEG NADI enters Pakistan territory. There were only 10 men at Charwa (three on one RR, three men on one machine gun and four on the two LMGs).
99 Mtn Bde from 6 Mtn Div attacked Charwa. 35 Bde of 14 Inf Div was following behind as reserve. 2/Lt Farid Bokhari called those ten men back.
Now from here the attacking Bharati brigades were advancing to attack C Coy 3 FF at Binni Sulehriyan. The direction was such as No 4 Platoon of 13 FF would soon be cut off. The communication with his coy comd was not there so he fell back with his platoon to his alternative position near Pindi Devinian.
At HQ 15 Div Colonel Staff ordered CO 13 FF to send some force to Kangre/Mastpur to make a blocking position against those withdrawing Bharati tanks. CO 13 FF ordered 2/Lt Farid Ahmad Bokhari to make this blocking position with his No 4 Pl of B Coy 13 FF(R&S). He gave him one more pl from D Coy 13 FF (R&S).
2/Lt Farid Ahmad Bokhari, the off spring of a very noble and an educated family moved from his alternative position with his men. They were super charged with their duty of patriotism and their deep spirit and resolve TO DO OR DIE. His 15 jeeps went charging through the crops.
With a strange resolve they were moving fast and jumping over the agricultural perimeter markings. Very soon they were face to face with the Indian 71 Medium Regiment Artillery. Farid let go and ordered FIRE. All eight RRs blasted away. Master pieces of results. Three tanks destroyed; all six medium guns destroyed--- one gun out of them totally charred.
They also destroyed those seven GUN TO-ERs carrying gun ammunition. A huge ball of fire rose and kept on blazing for many hours. Those men now started moving, their hands and arms dancing in the air.
The real effects of such a tremendous raid started appearing slowly. This was the eastern flank which Brig KK Singh had thought was vulnerable. He thought he should extend his flank backwards. He ordered 17 Poona Horse to take position in village PINDI BHAGO. That was like going back by 8 kms over the area that had been captured by 1 Armored Bde in the morning.
APNAY PIND KO BHAGO
The order passed over the wireless set was misconstrued as APNAY PIND KO BHAGO. CO 17 POONA Horse swung his tank main gun back and so did the rest of the tanks of his regiment AND THEY STARTED RUNNING ON A GALLOP (I take great pleasure in calling them as RUNNING ON A DHURRHKEE).
Since they were running on a DURRHKEE on reaching PINDI BHAGO they did not stop there because they were running back to their own village --- and they continued on that DURRHKEE and collided against the Indian 43 Lorried Bde unit 2 Lancers at Azizpur road cross. Two tanks of 2 Lancers were promptly destroyed by 17 Poona Horse before they could recognise that they were fighting among each other.
THE TREMENDOUS RESULTS PRODUCED OWING TO THE VERY OFFENSIVE ACTIONS OF 13 FF R&S PLATOONS ARE WRITTEN LARGE ON THE STRATEGIC SCENARIO OF THAT 8 SEPTEMBER DAY.
The Bharati Armored Div could not break through that gap of 27 kms between Sialkot and Chawinda because their attention became rivetted towards the east.
Gen BM Kaul had recorded in his book titled CONFRONTATION WITH PAKISTAN that WE WERE THREATENED WITH AN ATTACK BY TWO REGIMENTS OF PATTON TANKS AND SO WE WENT BACK BY TEN KMs.
If the Bharati 1 Corps had looked towards that gap towards the west they could have broken through and got behind Sialkot by 09 Sep 1965. That would have been THE MOMENT OF TRUTH in the history of the sub continent.
The ambush laid by No 5 Platoon of 13 FF on the tanks of 16 Cavalry is best described in the words of Brig J.S Bhullar who then was a young Captain in the Indian 1st Armored Division:
""""Our main armoured offensive with our elite Black Elephant Division with Poona Horse, Hodson Horse, 16 Cav, 62 Cav and 2nd Lancers was opposed on the first day by nothing more than jeep mounted machine guns and the antitank recoiless guns of a Recce and Support battalion. This Pak battalion defended ground by mobility and fire power.
16 Cav is a renowned regiment of Indian Army. On the first day of our offensive in the Sialkot Sector, its Centurions were blazing along when all of a sudden it reached a very small undulation marking the bed of a dry stream. Mark you, this was not even marked on the map but it was enough to hide a strong camouflaged detachment of the Pak Recce and Support Battalion. This detachment held its fire until the leading tanks were barely a meter or two away.
And then with the first fusilade of point blank anti tank gun fire, all hell broke loose. The tanks did not know what had hit them as it had been enough to set fire to well nigh a squadron worth of tanks. Such was the confusion that some tanks which had not been hit carried on full throttle forward getting the hell out of that bedeviled area.
It was in this action that one of the finest officers of the Army, Lt Jojo Sengupta lost both eyes when his turret received a direct hit and the flash and splinters scythed his face.
Of course the advance of our force ground to a halt and the CO had a hard time getting hold of his command. It was after a while when another regiment reported that a group of enemy tanks were charging straight at them and to their horror they were Centurions. Because no one had ever heard of Pakistan having Centurions!!!
Luckily the Regiment held its fire because soon it became evident that these were our own 16 Cav tanks that had gone ahead and then making a wide loop were returning back.
Though such stuff happens in war, yet Brig KK Singh was furious and he later even recommended that this great unit be disbanded. The same would no doubt have happened had it not been for of course the Chief, Gen Chaudhri who belonged to this regiment."""""
