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I saw the film Border in childhood so don”t remember it much. But it is just shocking that they stigmatised and tried to show badly one of our brave soldiers just because of his faith.
I was a bit Lucky having worked at that place for our national oil firmfor three years before our rig was shifted.Feel ecastic and proud of our soldiers with stories of thier heroic deeds there.Hope it continues as defence is the best offence.Jai hind
Atul
In military matters,it is imperative that truth MUST prevail. The General has very aptly and straightforwardly explained the Indians never expected Pakistani Armour attack from the Flanks. The obvious reason being that a series of sand dunes run parallel to the International Border in that area these sand dunes and the height of these sand dunes varies between 4 to 5 hundred feet. The direction of the wind is from India to Pakistan meaning that the Side of the dunes towards Pakistan is soft and does not allow movement by tracked vehicles. The Pakistanis took the gamble and surprised Jacob’s Corps by utter surprise. Maj Gen Khambatta had been frantically pleading with the Hunters wing at Jaisalmeer during the night to attack the Pakistani Tanks. On first light the Hunters did come but since Friend OR Foe Tanks cannot be recognised from the air, they were ordered to fire at any tank in sight . A lot of Pakistani tanks had bogged down on the reverse slopes of these dunes which were sitting ducks for the Hunters. It is this precise reason that the Pakistanis did not suffer human casualties in teh aerial attacks by teh Hunters, It was the resultant utter confusion which forced General Jacob and Maj Gen Khambatta to scrap their attack on Rahimyar Khan. It took a lot of convincing , dismay and much to the consternation of General SAM Manekshaw to approve cancellation of the plan of attack on Rahimyar Khan since there was a grave danger of exposing the flanks to Superior Pakistani Armour. Though the Pakistanis suffered heavy armour casualties, they achieved complete surprise and forced the Indian High Command to abandon their plan of capturing Rahimyar Khan and cutting the main line connecting Karachi with the Upper half of the country. I think as Brave soldiers we must acknowledge the achivements and daring of the enemy as well.The Pakistani attack in the direction of Jaisalmeer was no doubt audicious and daring though foolhardy as we may consider.
Sir, I came across many reasons of Pak debacle other than the bad terrain. Poor planning, conflicting orders, desertions by soldiers, insubordination by officers, absence of PAF, absence of infantry support, exposed supply columns, tying of fuel drums onto tanks, change in objectives.
Decent account, but “ambivalent light ” is a bit surprising . Considering this was one company which was under attack. And the credit for the def goes to Company Commander Maj Chandpuri as the retd senior officer himself accepted.
I saw the film Border in childhood so don”t remember it much. But it is just shocking that they stigmatised and tried to show badly one of our brave soldiers just because of his faith.
I was a bit Lucky having worked at that place for our national oil firmfor three years before our rig was shifted.Feel ecastic and proud of our soldiers with stories of thier heroic deeds there.Hope it continues as defence is the best offence.Jai hind
Atul
In military matters,it is imperative that truth MUST prevail. The General has very aptly and straightforwardly explained the Indians never expected Pakistani Armour attack from the Flanks. The obvious reason being that a series of sand dunes run parallel to the International Border in that area these sand dunes and the height of these sand dunes varies between 4 to 5 hundred feet. The direction of the wind is from India to Pakistan meaning that the Side of the dunes towards Pakistan is soft and does not allow movement by tracked vehicles. The Pakistanis took the gamble and surprised Jacob’s Corps by utter surprise. Maj Gen Khambatta had been frantically pleading with the Hunters wing at Jaisalmeer during the night to attack the Pakistani Tanks. On first light the Hunters did come but since Friend OR Foe Tanks cannot be recognised from the air, they were ordered to fire at any tank in sight . A lot of Pakistani tanks had bogged down on the reverse slopes of these dunes which were sitting ducks for the Hunters. It is this precise reason that the Pakistanis did not suffer human casualties in teh aerial attacks by teh Hunters, It was the resultant utter confusion which forced General Jacob and Maj Gen Khambatta to scrap their attack on Rahimyar Khan. It took a lot of convincing , dismay and much to the consternation of General SAM Manekshaw to approve cancellation of the plan of attack on Rahimyar Khan since there was a grave danger of exposing the flanks to Superior Pakistani Armour. Though the Pakistanis suffered heavy armour casualties, they achieved complete surprise and forced the Indian High Command to abandon their plan of capturing Rahimyar Khan and cutting the main line connecting Karachi with the Upper half of the country. I think as Brave soldiers we must acknowledge the achivements and daring of the enemy as well.The Pakistani attack in the direction of Jaisalmeer was no doubt audicious and daring though foolhardy as we may consider.
Sir, I came across many reasons of Pak debacle other than the bad terrain. Poor planning, conflicting orders, desertions by soldiers, insubordination by officers, absence of PAF, absence of infantry support, exposed supply columns, tying of fuel drums onto tanks, change in objectives.
Bharat Mata Ki Jai ??
Well written and articulated. Good show.
Great article, thank you, General. I am curious to know whether the Indian Army did attack RYK and with what result.
Decent account, but “ambivalent light ” is a bit surprising . Considering this was one company which was under attack. And the credit for the def goes to Company Commander Maj Chandpuri as the retd senior officer himself accepted.