by Vivek Ahuja
EAST OF THE LINE OF ACTUAL CONTROL
NORTHERN LADAKH
DAY 5 + 1445 HRS
The silence was hypnotic.
The gray skies above never looked better to Captain Kongara as he lay on his back, dazed and hazy. There was no cold or hot that he could feel. Kongara felt as if he was somewhere else.
So peaceful…
He turned to his side and saw his hand was for some reason covered in what seemed like his own blood.
Why…
It didn’t make sense to him. He stared at it in confusion as the blood slowly poured out. He stared at the hand for several seconds and then tried getting up. That was when the biting pain sliced through his senses…
The sky above was now darker and he saw what looked like lines of tracers slicing across it. The distant crackle of rifle and cannon fire reached his ears.
He rolled on his side and saw his left thigh bleeding profusely and he couldn’t move. As his senses started coming back he realized that his hands were touching cold rocks as he sat upright. There was no snow where he was but the peaks around him were still covered with it. It was then that he looked clearly and focused and through the haze in front of his eyes he began to see what appeared to be his BMP-II burning ferociously. The tracks had been blown off. There was dust and bullets flying everywhere.
He looked around now to see where his crew was and saw his gunner right there on the ground, next to the vehicle. His body was torn to pieces. His chest surrounded by a darkened pool of blood.
No!
He tried dragging himself closer to the mutilated body of his gunner but the blinding pain in his legs didn’t let him…
Ahhh!
He shouted in pain at his helplessness. Just then he saw a section of Sikh soldiers running by, a few dozen meters away. As he watched them run, a line of tracers sliced through them and several of the soldiers were struck, the bullets tearing through their bodies in muffled thumps. Those that got hit instantly died and fell into the gravel below.
Then there were other sounds and for the first time Kongara looked to his other side and saw a couple of BMP-IIs moving back to the south in tactical progression. They were reversing, but engaging some Chinese targets to the north as they did.
The flash-boom sequence of the auto-cannons on the two vehicles was hypnotizing. The Chinese were taking casualties, but were not pinned down. As the two Indian vehicles moved and fired, tank shells were exploding around them. One of the two vehicles finally took a jarring hit on the underside of its sloped forward glacis and the turret flew off underneath an orange fireball. Steel and aluminum fragments from the chassis flew off in all directions and Kongara ducked for cover, screeching with pain as the pain in his leg intensified. He heard the metallic pings of steel hitting steel as some of the fragments hit his burning vehicle…
The other surviving Indian vehicle spent no time deploying smoke and disappearing behind it.
Kongara looked around and could see no other friendly forces now other than a few crew members from another vehicle straggling back to the south on their feet. That was when the seriousness of the situation came to him and he started to get back on his feet with no small amount of struggle and pain.
I have to get out of here!
A new sound reached his ear and he recognized the diesel engines. As he faced north, he saw two familiar vehicles coming out of the smoke cloud the retreating Indian vehicles had deployed. He watched in fascination as he saw the bright red star emblazoned on the turret of the two T-99s that had now come to a halt a few hundred meters away from him, their turrets searching for Indian vehicles.
Kongara tore off a piece of his uniform and tied a makeshift bandage around his leg wound and his hand. But the two tanks now to his east would see him as soon as he stepped away from his destroyed vehicle.
He was still deciding to make a run for it when one of the two T-99s suddenly blew up in an earth shattering explosion, its turret shaken from its position and the forward part of its glacis smashed. Flames leapt out of the turret hatches.
No survivors.
The second tank suddenly rumbled to life and retreated back. This distraction gave Kongara the opportunity he needed to make a run for it. And he took the opportunity. He looked one last time at the body of his gunner and then turned away. As he staggered south, he saw the battlefield littered with destroyed Chinese and 10TH Mechanized Battalion vehicles…
The battle had been horrendous for both sides.
But the arrival of the fresh reinforcements along their main divisional MSR had been the shot in the arm the Chinese forces had needed. And despite the presence of attack helicopters from 199 HU, the advance had been crushed. Colonel Sudarshan had ordered a general retreat back to the launch point several kilometers to the south.
Kongara looked around to see the remains of his unit littered around the frozen battlefield and could not avoid the feeling of gloom it brought. His eagle eyes spotted something moving in the skies to the southwest and he looked up, seeing what looked like a UAV flying just above the hills in that region. As Kongara watched, the small black speck flying to the southwest turned away and headed off. He was now all alone. He again applied pressure on his blood soaked bandage and headed though the dusty battlefield to reach friendly lines to the south.
THE LINE OF ACTUAL CONTROL
NORTHERN LADAKH
DAY 5 + 1520 HRS
Colonel Sudarshan was standing with his staff officers when the UAV left the combat zone to refuel and the feed stopped streaming. There was silence all around except for the incoming radio chatter.
Sudarshan walked off to the map board. The 10TH Mechanized had been forced to retreat. The vastly superior logistical arteries feeding the Chinese army in the region had made its mark on the outcome of the battle.
There was no hiding it now.
The Chinese were in a position of strength once again and could possibly renew their offensive to take Daulat-beg-oldi. All that stood between them were combat depleted Battalions of Brigadier Adesara’s Brigade, the exhausted 10TH Mechanized and the 3RD and 4TH Mechanized Battalions…
“Contact 4TH Mechanized and tell them to pull back and support the 10TH Mechanized hold its positions. We cannot afford a breach in our lines there. Once the 3RD Mechanized starts arriving with its vehicles, send them east to act as Brigade mobile reserve. We are going on the defensive for the time being. I just see no other choice!” Sudarshan noted.
The enemy just took back the tactical initiative!
Sudarshan leaned over the map table, lost in thought.
And we need to take it back.
But with what?
The Chinese are continually reinforcing their units daily and my reinforcements are coming along a single vulnerable road once every two days!
We are losing the battle for logistics!
SASER
LADAKH
DAY 5 + 1600 HRS
Dutt exited his LCH as soon as everything had been switched off and the main rotor blades stopped rotating above his head. Already the ground crews were busy reloading the next round of weapons and ammunition from the dispersals nearby.
There was more demand for anti-tank weapons of all kinds than anti-infantry weapons, of which the Indian army possessed enough. Dutt and his crews were now feeling the exhaustion of battle, flying round the clock.
Sleep and a decent meal were now luxuries long forgotten.
“Where’s the next delivery?” Dutt asked Major Narayana as he stepped away from the helicopter.
“10TH Mechanized sector again, followed by 4TH Mechanized sector. Battles are on the way in both sectors,” Narayana said.
Dutt lit up a cigarette once both men were well away from the parked helicopter. It was one of the only luxuries he had out here. His WSO and the other crew joined them. They had to wait as the sound of a Mi-17 lifting into the sky drowned the valley with echoes.
“Well, what did you think?” Dutt asked his other pilot.
“Bad, sir. The armored forces chaps are banged up like hell. We took out six tanks though, but it wasn’t enough. We saw one Dhruv take some fire as well. But it made it back to base. The skies were lit up all around us like Diwali. Our bird took few shrapnel hits too. Nothing serious though.”
Dutt nodded in silence and took a puff from his cigarette. He tossed it into the ground a few seconds later and crushed it under his boots before speaking:
“The 10TH Mechanized is gone! They had to retreat the hell out of there once the Chinese tank reinforcements broke through. Took serious casualties. We got to nail a few buggers before we went bingo on fuel. My last Nag sent a commie tank crew straight to hell before we left. Got to see a nice fireball in the midst of all that smoke and dust. That was beautiful, but it didn’t change the outcome of the battle.”
He looked north to see their neighbors, the Smerch launchers, moving into position for yet another strike on the Chinese positions.
“There are just not enough of us out here to make a difference. We need to go deep and hit the Chinese supply routes and convoys inside the Aksai Chin. Out here it’s like trying to stop a tidal wave!”
“Okay, but the Chinese have the area well protected by the S-300s near Qara-Tagh La. They won’t let us get anywhere close to their supply convoys,” Narayana responded dismissively.
The latter shook his head as he pondered the problem.
“Well, then we need to figure out a way to get around that problem.”
NORTHEASTERN BHUTAN
DAY 5 + 1650 HRS
Major-General Dhillon looked outside the glass windows to see white clouds hugging the brown mountains in serenity, oblivious to what was happening around them. Dhillon leaned back from the windows into his seat and closed his eyes to take a power nap.
Maybe the world would be saner by then.
He hoped as his eyes drifted asleep.
Up front in the cockpit of the Dhruv, the army pilots were busy flying within the valleys of Bhutan as they headed up to Lhuntse from IMTRAT headquarters at Haa-Dzong. Few hundred meters behind, a Lancer light-attack helicopter provided escort.
Dhillon was the IMTRAT deputy-commander in Bhutan. The role of the IMTRAT had changed quite rapidly in the last two days. With the Chinese Highland Division invading Bhutan and make quick progress towards the capital Thimpu as well as in eastern Bhutan, the security of India’s eastern frontlines was at risk.
The Chinese could not be allowed to take Bhutan at any cost. Otherwise it would give them a solid political and militarily useful gain in the near future.
In theory, anyway.
In practical terms on the ground, it was still unclear what the Chinese could actually achieve with one Division, elite as it may very well be.
But already the invasion of Bhutan solved one problem for them. Their left flank in the Chumbi valley was secure and if they could make their way south to Thimpu and hold it, it also gave them depth in that direction. And it was also diverting crucial Indian military resources away from the main offensive taking place under Operation Chimera in the Chumbi valley.
For now, the Highland Division was making quick progress to the south and the Bhutanese had taken heavy losses. The lightly armed and equipped RBA was in tatters along most of the Bhutanese northern borders. What stood between now and the collapse of Bhutan was an Indian intervention on the ground…
Three hours ago, the King of Bhutan had handed over control of the Royal Bhutanese Army to the Indian Army. General Yadav had wasted no time in taking advantage of the existing IMTRAT infrastructure inside Bhutan to full effect. Lieutenant-General Potgam, the current IMTRAT commander had been named as the commander of Joint-Force-Bhutan or JFB. This command had the sole responsibility of defending Bhutan.
A tall order under the circumstances…
Regardless, Potgam had gotten to work immediately. He had taken over basic command and control of JFB from the IMTRAT headquarters at Haa-Dzong and more C3I equipment and personnel were being airlifted there for his use from the army’s eastern command.
One of the two most crucial pieces of equipment that had already come in had been a pair of ALH Dhruv transport helicopters and one Lancer light-attack helicopter from the Army Aviation Corps for immediate personnel movement. The eighteen-hole golf-course at Haa-Dzong had been converted into a temporary FARP for the three helicopters.
As vulnerable as Haa-Dzong might have been for an Indian theatre headquarters, Thimpu was in a worse situation. The collapse of a RBA Battalion north of the small city over the day had effectively opened the gates to Thimpu for the Highland Division forward units.
The situation on the streets of Thimpu was near panic. The Royal family had been evacuated to the south into Indian Territory by helicopters. The only defensive forces around Thimpu were the Royal Bhutanese Guard units and some police forces. Nearest Indian forces were sixty kilometres away.
Potgam had decided to take direct control of that sector. But he needed someone else to take control on the more rural sectors of eastern Bhutan. It was for that reason that he had dispatched Dhillon to take charge…
“You see that, sir?” the co-pilot said
“Oh man! That can’t be good,” the Major piloting the helicopter observed. The conversation sparked interest amongst the passengers in the cabin behind. Dhillon awoke from his nap and peered out of the side glass.
“What is it, Ravi?” he asked.
“Sir, we are seeing large smoke columns south of our primary LZ. It’s possible that the Chinese have overrun the area or are at least hitting the RBA forces around the LZ area pretty hard. We definitely have either a hostile LZ or at least a very hot one. What do you want to do, sir?” the Major replied from the cockpit.
Dhillon stepped forward from his seat and poked through the gap between the two pilot’s seats. The Major positioned the helicopter in hover several kilometres south of their landing-zone. Dhillon saw the Lancer moving forward of them now and positioning itself ahead to provide suppressive fire in case they began taking hits from the ground. He was actively scanning the horizon and the smoke clouds for signs of fires or explosions. He found none.
“See any traffic on the road below?” he asked the two pilots who leaned forward in their seats to see through the forward and side glass.
“Yes sir! Several RBA trucks one kilometre to the north,” the Major reported.
“Put us down by that truck convoy,” Dhillon ordered. “They must belong to the RBA Battalion that should have arrived here this morning. I know the Colonel in charge. Let’s see if he’s still alive down there.”
“Roger that, sir!”
The Major said as he brought the helicopter out of hover and reduced main rotor collective. They approached a small clearing near the road where the trucks were parked.
“Keep the Lancer on close leash while we are on the ground,” Dhillon continued and got a nod from the Major.
A few seconds later the Dhruv main rotors pushed up a dust cloud around the trucks and touched down gingerly. One of the army Majors in Dhillon’s staff slid open the doors and jumped out with his INSAS rifle in hand, followed on the other side of the helicopter by the rest of the officers, each armed with rifles and radios.
Dhillon pulled out his personal sidearm as well.
There was no way to tell what was going on over here. And they weren’t taking any chances. The Lancer flew over and banked away to the north, looking for trouble and not finding any. Dhillon waved the Dhruv pilots to take off immediately and they did so a few seconds later.
“Movement! I have movement!” one of the Captains said
Dhillon turned and saw a couple of figures heading towards them as the dust from the helicopter rotors settled.
“Halt! Halt right there or we will open fire!” the Captain shouted.
“Hold fire! RBA!” one of the men shouted.
“Hold fire!” Dhillon ordered.
He stood up and put his sidearm away when he saw
the Colonel Toshum and his Bhutanese officers. Toshum snapped off a salute as Dhillon dusted off his uniform and returned the favour. Formalities asides, Toshum smiled:
“Welcome to hell, my friend!”
“Toshum, what the devil is going on over here? Your CP looks deserted from the skies,” Dhillon said.
“Sir, almost all of my men who haven’t fled under panic are fighting on the frontlines. We are trying to buy some time so we can get these civilians out. The Chinese have been bombarding us for some time now. I think they may even have UAVs above us. It’s very dangerous for you to be here right now, but I am glad you are here!” Toshum said.
Both men walked back to a few tables with maps on them lined up behind a parked truck. It was the Bhutanese command post. Dhillon’s staff officers were already getting to work in there while two of the Captains held on to their rifles, just in case.
“What do you need to hold, Toshum?” Dhillon asked.
“Everything you can spare!” the Bhutanese officer responded.
HAA DZONG
SOUTH-WESTERN BHUTAN
DAY 5 + 1840 HRS
The downwash from the Dhruv helicopter lifting off the grassy field on the golf course provided an unintended break in the discussion as all of Lieutenant-General Potgam’s officers grabbed their caps and held on to their papers. As soon as the wind reduced, Potgam turned back to see the grassy field.
“So you can chop down those trees over there to make room?”
“Yes sir. Once that happens, we can begin medium lift operations using Mi-17s. But I should warn you: this grassy field won’t last long under sustained operations,” The army-aviation Colonel reminded him.
“We don’t have a choice!” Potgam shot back, “Get it done now! Blow those trees down using explosives if you have to! All I want to know is how soon we start operations from here?”
“In a few hours. Most of the Mi-17 crews are night-ops capable. After that we can start bringing in the light artillery units.”