mayankmatador
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2010
- Messages
- 352
- Reaction score
- 0
THE TOLOLING BATTLE
KARGIL WAR
This battle will probably alter the course of the war.
Indian soldiers in Drass have by now got used to interruptions in radio messages. These are frequency intercepts by the Pakistani Army. They cut in with sophisticated electronic jammers to blank out radio sets. Sometimes, mujahideen and Pakistani soldiers shout curses and war cries.
At 4.10 a.m. on June 13, there was no such problem when Colonel M.B. Ravindranath, commanding officer of the 2 Rajputana Rifles, radioed the commander of the 8 Mountain Division Major-General Mohinder Puri, camping some 20 km away.
It was a simple, terse message: "Sir, I'm on Tololing Top."
Minutes earlier, his troops had recaptured the key ridge in the Drass Sector after a fierce, night-long hand-to-hand battle. One officer, two JCOs and seven jawans lay dead before him on a moonscape of tortured rock that often tilted at 80 degrees, where cover is a prayer and ammunition a combination of bayonet, bare hands and bravery.
Later that day, Ravindranath would weep in his tent as he counted the price of gaining a height that has probably changed the course of the Kargil war. This is the place that claimed Major Rajesh Adhikari, Captain Vivek Gupta and Lt-Colonel G. Viswanathan, the place that has accounted for more than half the dead in this war.
The recapture of Tololing was one of the most crucial tasks undertaken by the Indian Army during 'Op Vijay'. Due to its height of over 15000 ft and its proximity to NH 1A, Tololing is considered one of the most important features of the Kargil-Dras sector. From this height, the intruders could observe movement on the Indian side and also disrupt traffic on NH 1A, thereby dominating the entire area. The height was also important from the point of view of executing further operations during 'Op Vijay'. With the recapture of Tololing the Armed Forces achieved a major success in evicting the armed Pakistani intruders from the area.
The Indian forces suffered numerable losses before they were able to recapture this feature. It was clear right from the beginning that the task was Herculean, as the enemy was safely lodged in crevices and bunkers. The Indian soldiers were at a disadvantage with the enemy using firepower effectively to stop the ascending Indian soldiers, who had no cover from the onslaught of enemy bullets and artillery. But the brave soldiers ploughed on regardless of all odds.
The battle for Tololing began on the 20th May 1999 when the task of recapturing the height was handed over to 18 Grenadiers. The Grenadiers commenced operations on the 21st May 1999. A tridentate strategy was used to attack the height from three sides as the height can be divided into four sections, the Tololing Top, the Barbad Bunker, the Area Flat and Point 4590. The odds were immense, with the enemy entrenched at safe heights and able to observe even the slightest of movement of the Indian soldiers. The Unit inched forward against all odds. It was the raw courage of the Indian soldier that saw them through the day.
The battle was rough and the going was tough. On 12th June 1999, 2 Raj Rif was brought in to take advantage of the inroads made by the Grenadiers and to keep the pressure on the enemy. 2 Raj Rif launched a multi directional attack on the Tololing height with one company and a company reserve on both the SE and the SW axis. All the companies launched the attack at 2300 hrs. The enemy used intense automatic fire of UMGs and HMGs and heavy artillery shelling to thwart the efforts of the advancing Indian soldiers. After fierce hand to hand encounters, enemy resistance finally fell and on the early morning of 13th Jun 1999, our brave soldiers recaptured Tololing.
Jai Hind
KARGIL WAR
This battle will probably alter the course of the war.
Indian soldiers in Drass have by now got used to interruptions in radio messages. These are frequency intercepts by the Pakistani Army. They cut in with sophisticated electronic jammers to blank out radio sets. Sometimes, mujahideen and Pakistani soldiers shout curses and war cries.
At 4.10 a.m. on June 13, there was no such problem when Colonel M.B. Ravindranath, commanding officer of the 2 Rajputana Rifles, radioed the commander of the 8 Mountain Division Major-General Mohinder Puri, camping some 20 km away.
It was a simple, terse message: "Sir, I'm on Tololing Top."
Minutes earlier, his troops had recaptured the key ridge in the Drass Sector after a fierce, night-long hand-to-hand battle. One officer, two JCOs and seven jawans lay dead before him on a moonscape of tortured rock that often tilted at 80 degrees, where cover is a prayer and ammunition a combination of bayonet, bare hands and bravery.
Later that day, Ravindranath would weep in his tent as he counted the price of gaining a height that has probably changed the course of the Kargil war. This is the place that claimed Major Rajesh Adhikari, Captain Vivek Gupta and Lt-Colonel G. Viswanathan, the place that has accounted for more than half the dead in this war.
The recapture of Tololing was one of the most crucial tasks undertaken by the Indian Army during 'Op Vijay'. Due to its height of over 15000 ft and its proximity to NH 1A, Tololing is considered one of the most important features of the Kargil-Dras sector. From this height, the intruders could observe movement on the Indian side and also disrupt traffic on NH 1A, thereby dominating the entire area. The height was also important from the point of view of executing further operations during 'Op Vijay'. With the recapture of Tololing the Armed Forces achieved a major success in evicting the armed Pakistani intruders from the area.
The Indian forces suffered numerable losses before they were able to recapture this feature. It was clear right from the beginning that the task was Herculean, as the enemy was safely lodged in crevices and bunkers. The Indian soldiers were at a disadvantage with the enemy using firepower effectively to stop the ascending Indian soldiers, who had no cover from the onslaught of enemy bullets and artillery. But the brave soldiers ploughed on regardless of all odds.
The battle for Tololing began on the 20th May 1999 when the task of recapturing the height was handed over to 18 Grenadiers. The Grenadiers commenced operations on the 21st May 1999. A tridentate strategy was used to attack the height from three sides as the height can be divided into four sections, the Tololing Top, the Barbad Bunker, the Area Flat and Point 4590. The odds were immense, with the enemy entrenched at safe heights and able to observe even the slightest of movement of the Indian soldiers. The Unit inched forward against all odds. It was the raw courage of the Indian soldier that saw them through the day.
The battle was rough and the going was tough. On 12th June 1999, 2 Raj Rif was brought in to take advantage of the inroads made by the Grenadiers and to keep the pressure on the enemy. 2 Raj Rif launched a multi directional attack on the Tololing height with one company and a company reserve on both the SE and the SW axis. All the companies launched the attack at 2300 hrs. The enemy used intense automatic fire of UMGs and HMGs and heavy artillery shelling to thwart the efforts of the advancing Indian soldiers. After fierce hand to hand encounters, enemy resistance finally fell and on the early morning of 13th Jun 1999, our brave soldiers recaptured Tololing.
Jai Hind
