Battle of Rezang La: When handful Indian soldiers annihilated Chinese
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re: 13 Kumaon at Rezang La: 1962
Bhadra
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re: 13 Kumaon at Rezang La: 1962
According to Ajaya Shukla's Mud Corps theory they all ran away..... I only wish he was there to be in the forefront of those runaways .. Huh...
Victor Sierra
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Re: 1962 War 'Nobody believed we had killed so many Chinese'
Looking for Haqeeqat can't found the DVD or torrent anywhere..
Anyways would love to know Why no thanks to LOC Kargil?
Saw Border & LOC Kargil many times, simply loved...
Looking for Haqeeqat can't found the DVD or torrent anywhere..
Anyways would love to know Why no thanks to LOC Kargil?
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Re: 1962 War 'Nobody believed we had killed so many Chinese'
You cannot find Haqeeqat over net, I purchased from store 100/-..
You cannot find Haqeeqat over net, I purchased from store 100/-..
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Re: 13 Kumaon at Rezang La: 1962
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Re: 13 Kumaon at Rezang La: 1962
mayankkrishna
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Re: 13 Kumaon at Rezang La: 1962
I notice.. ! What is that aircraft type of thing depicted at upper right corner...?
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Re: 13 Kumaon at Rezang La: 1962
May be wrong description..
May be wrong description..
JBH22
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Re: 1962 War 'Nobody believed we had killed so many Chinese'
Because LOC Kargil is a disaster for war movie complete crap infact a 3hour torture.
H.A.
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Re: 13 Kumaon at Rezang La: 1962
Don't forget the heroes of Rezang La
The greatest acts of heroism and valour often happen when the odds are hopeless and death and defeat are inevitable. Throughout history, nations have always glorified such episodes in ballads and poems, by honouring heroes and commemorating such events. It is the common perception of such episodes in a people's history that forge a sense of nationhood. Why else would we celebrate the deaths of a Prithviraj Chauhan or a Tipu Sultan? Or a Porus or a Shivaji who battled great armies with little more than a handful of brave comrades and immense courage? Of course we rejoice in the triumphs of an Ashoka or Chandragupta or even an Akbar, but that is about greatness and not heroism.
Even if it is true that the end of history is at hand, we can be sure that the annals of heroism will never cease being written. However endless these may be, the heroic stand of C Company of the 13 Kumaon at Rezang La on November 18, 1962 will always remain a more glorious chapter. The monument that stands at Chushul asks: "How can a man die better/Than facing fearful odds/For the ashes of his fathers/And the temples of his gods." C Company was fighting for neither ashes nor temples, for there were none at Chushul. The loss of Chushul would not even have had much bearing on the ultimate defence of Ladakh. But in those dark days of 1962, Chushul became a matter of national honour.
Pivotal frontier point
Chushul is only 15 miles from the border as the crow flies and had an all-weather landing strip. It was the pivotal point of our frontier posts in this sector as it was astride the second route into Tibet from Leh about 120 miles further west. The road built after 1962 rises to nearly 17,000 feet, crossing the Ladakh range at the desolate and windblown Chang La pass, steeply descends into Tangtse and then goes on to Chushul. Between the Chang La and Tangtse, the road traverses beautiful scenery with dramatic sightings of wildlife. Golden marmots dart in and out of their holes and in the distance you can sometimes spot a snow leopard warily keeping an eye on man as it stalks ibex on the craggy heights
Chushul is at 14,230 feet and a village in a narrow sandy valley about 25 miles long and four miles wide, flanked by mountains that rise to over 19,000 feet. At the northern end it touches the Pangong Tso, a deep saltwater lake nearly a hundred miles long and which makes for a glorious sight. Also near Chushul is a gap in the mountains called the Spanggur Gap that leads to a beautiful lake, the Spanggur Tso that, like the Pangong, extends well into Chinese territory. China had built a road from Rudok in Tibet right up to the Spanggur Gap capable of carrying tanks. In the first phase of their assault on Ladakh in October 1962, the Chinese had overrun Indian border posts on the line between Daulat Beg Oldi near the Karakoram Pass to Damchok astride the Indus on the border with Tibet. Chushul was the solitary Indian position east of the Ladakh range. Geography favoured the Chinese and they were able to make a major concentration of men and material for an attack on Chushul.
Till September 1962, the defence of all of Ladakh was vested with 114 Infantry Brigade commanded by Brig. T.N. Raina (later General and Chief of Army Staff). It consisted of just two infantry battalions, the 1/8 Gorkha Rifles and 5 Jat. Initially, only the Gorkhas were deployed in the Chushul sector and when the gravity of the Chinese threat was realised, 13 Kumaon, which was at Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, was sent in to reinforce 114 Brigade. In the first week of October, the 3 Himalayan (later Mountain) Division was formed for the overall defence of Ladakh and the Chushul sector was entirely left to 114 Brigade. On October 26, 114 Brigade set up its headquarters at Chushul and braced for the attack.
The newly arrived 13 Kumaon began deploying on October 24 in the lull that followed the first phase of the attack. The forward defences of Chushul were on a series of hill features that were given evocative names such as Gurung Hill, Gun Hill and Mugger Hill. But C Company of 13 Kumaon got Rezang La which was about 19 miles south of Chushul. Rezang La, as the name suggests, is a pass on the southeastern approach to Chushul valley. The feature was 3,000 yards long and 2,000 yards wide and at an average height of 16,000 feet. Digging defensive positions and building shelters was hard going, for the men were still not acclimatised. Wintry winds made life even harder. At this altitude it took hours to bring a kettle to boil for tea. Whatever fruit and vegetables that came were frozen hard. Potatoes, even oranges, acquired weapon-grade hardness. More than the thin air and cold, the location of Rezang La had a more serious drawback. It was "crested" to Indian artillery because of an intervening feature. This meant defenders had to fight without the protective comfort of artillery. Both sides prepared feverishly, mostly within sight of each other, for the next attack, which came on that cold Sunday — November 18.
Most Kumaon battalions are mixed formations made up of hill men from the Kumaon Hills, Ahirs from Haryana and Brahmins from the northern plains. 13 Kumaon was the Kumaon Regiment's only all Ahir battalion. The Ahirs, concentrated in the Gurgaon/Mewat region of Haryana, are hardy cattlemen and farmers. When the order to move to Chushul came, its commanding officer Lt. Col. H.S. Dhingra was in hospital. But he cajoled the doctors into letting him go with his men. Maj. Shaitan Singh, a Rajput from Jodhpur commanded C Company of 13 Kumaon. C Company's three platoons were numbered 7,8 and 9 and had .303 rifles with about 600 rounds per head, and between them six light machine guns (LMG), and a handful of 2 inch mortars. The Chinese infantry had 7.62 mm self-loading rifles; medium machine guns and LMG's; 120 mm, 81 mm and 60 mm mortars; 132 mm rockets; and 75 mm and 57 mm recoilless guns to bust bunkers. They were much more numerous and began swarming up the gullies to assault Rezang La at 4 a.m., even as light snow was falling.
The Ahirs waited till the Chinese came into range and opened up with everything they had. The gullies were soon full of dead and wounded Chinese. Having failed in a frontal attack the Chinese let loose deadly shelling. Under the cover of this intense shelling the Chinese infantry came again in swarms. C Company, now severely depleted, let them have it once again. Position after position fell fighting till the last man. C Company had three junior commissioned officers and 124 other ranks with Maj. Shaitan Singh. When the smoke and din cleared, only 14 survived, nine of them severely wounded. 13 Kumaon regrouped and 114 Brigade held on to Chushul. But the battalion war diary records that they were now "less our C Company."
Ceasefire and after
The Chinese announced a unilateral ceasefire on November 21, but little more than what the survivors had brought back was known about C Company. In January 1963 a shepherd wandered on to Rezang La. It was as if the very last moment of battle had turned into a tableau. The freezing cold had frozen the dead in their battle positions and the snow had laid a shroud over the battlefield. Arrangements were then made to recover the dead under International Red Cross supervision. Brig. Raina led the Indian party, which recorded the scene for posterity with movie and still cameras. This tableau showed what had happened that Sunday morning. Every man had died a hero. Maj. Shaitan Singh was conferred the Param Vir Chakra. Eight more received the Vir Chakra while four others the Sena Medal. 13 Kumaon received "The battle honour Rezang La," that it wears so proudly.
Few events in the annals of heroism can match this. C Company gave its all to defend Chushul, a small Ladakhi village, which for one brief moment in our history came to symbolise India's national honour. At Thermopylae on September 18, 480 BC, 1,200 Greeks led by King Leonidas of Sparta died fighting the Persian King Xerxes' mighty bodyguard called the Anusya or Companions. But Leonidas was fighting for a great prize. In July 481 BC, the Oracle of Delphi told him that in the next war with Persia either the King would die or Sparta be destroyed. Leonidas chose to die to save Sparta.
But C Company willingly sacrificed itself to save a little village and that makes its sacrifice all the more glorious. That is why we must never forget Rezang La.
The Hindu : Today's Paper / OPINION : Don't forget the heroes of Rezang La
Don't forget the heroes of Rezang La
The greatest acts of heroism and valour often happen when the odds are hopeless and death and defeat are inevitable. Throughout history, nations have always glorified such episodes in ballads and poems, by honouring heroes and commemorating such events. It is the common perception of such episodes in a people's history that forge a sense of nationhood. Why else would we celebrate the deaths of a Prithviraj Chauhan or a Tipu Sultan? Or a Porus or a Shivaji who battled great armies with little more than a handful of brave comrades and immense courage? Of course we rejoice in the triumphs of an Ashoka or Chandragupta or even an Akbar, but that is about greatness and not heroism.
Even if it is true that the end of history is at hand, we can be sure that the annals of heroism will never cease being written. However endless these may be, the heroic stand of C Company of the 13 Kumaon at Rezang La on November 18, 1962 will always remain a more glorious chapter. The monument that stands at Chushul asks: "How can a man die better/Than facing fearful odds/For the ashes of his fathers/And the temples of his gods." C Company was fighting for neither ashes nor temples, for there were none at Chushul. The loss of Chushul would not even have had much bearing on the ultimate defence of Ladakh. But in those dark days of 1962, Chushul became a matter of national honour.
Pivotal frontier point
Chushul is only 15 miles from the border as the crow flies and had an all-weather landing strip. It was the pivotal point of our frontier posts in this sector as it was astride the second route into Tibet from Leh about 120 miles further west. The road built after 1962 rises to nearly 17,000 feet, crossing the Ladakh range at the desolate and windblown Chang La pass, steeply descends into Tangtse and then goes on to Chushul. Between the Chang La and Tangtse, the road traverses beautiful scenery with dramatic sightings of wildlife. Golden marmots dart in and out of their holes and in the distance you can sometimes spot a snow leopard warily keeping an eye on man as it stalks ibex on the craggy heights
Chushul is at 14,230 feet and a village in a narrow sandy valley about 25 miles long and four miles wide, flanked by mountains that rise to over 19,000 feet. At the northern end it touches the Pangong Tso, a deep saltwater lake nearly a hundred miles long and which makes for a glorious sight. Also near Chushul is a gap in the mountains called the Spanggur Gap that leads to a beautiful lake, the Spanggur Tso that, like the Pangong, extends well into Chinese territory. China had built a road from Rudok in Tibet right up to the Spanggur Gap capable of carrying tanks. In the first phase of their assault on Ladakh in October 1962, the Chinese had overrun Indian border posts on the line between Daulat Beg Oldi near the Karakoram Pass to Damchok astride the Indus on the border with Tibet. Chushul was the solitary Indian position east of the Ladakh range. Geography favoured the Chinese and they were able to make a major concentration of men and material for an attack on Chushul.
Till September 1962, the defence of all of Ladakh was vested with 114 Infantry Brigade commanded by Brig. T.N. Raina (later General and Chief of Army Staff). It consisted of just two infantry battalions, the 1/8 Gorkha Rifles and 5 Jat. Initially, only the Gorkhas were deployed in the Chushul sector and when the gravity of the Chinese threat was realised, 13 Kumaon, which was at Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, was sent in to reinforce 114 Brigade. In the first week of October, the 3 Himalayan (later Mountain) Division was formed for the overall defence of Ladakh and the Chushul sector was entirely left to 114 Brigade. On October 26, 114 Brigade set up its headquarters at Chushul and braced for the attack.
The newly arrived 13 Kumaon began deploying on October 24 in the lull that followed the first phase of the attack. The forward defences of Chushul were on a series of hill features that were given evocative names such as Gurung Hill, Gun Hill and Mugger Hill. But C Company of 13 Kumaon got Rezang La which was about 19 miles south of Chushul. Rezang La, as the name suggests, is a pass on the southeastern approach to Chushul valley. The feature was 3,000 yards long and 2,000 yards wide and at an average height of 16,000 feet. Digging defensive positions and building shelters was hard going, for the men were still not acclimatised. Wintry winds made life even harder. At this altitude it took hours to bring a kettle to boil for tea. Whatever fruit and vegetables that came were frozen hard. Potatoes, even oranges, acquired weapon-grade hardness. More than the thin air and cold, the location of Rezang La had a more serious drawback. It was "crested" to Indian artillery because of an intervening feature. This meant defenders had to fight without the protective comfort of artillery. Both sides prepared feverishly, mostly within sight of each other, for the next attack, which came on that cold Sunday — November 18.
Most Kumaon battalions are mixed formations made up of hill men from the Kumaon Hills, Ahirs from Haryana and Brahmins from the northern plains. 13 Kumaon was the Kumaon Regiment's only all Ahir battalion. The Ahirs, concentrated in the Gurgaon/Mewat region of Haryana, are hardy cattlemen and farmers. When the order to move to Chushul came, its commanding officer Lt. Col. H.S. Dhingra was in hospital. But he cajoled the doctors into letting him go with his men. Maj. Shaitan Singh, a Rajput from Jodhpur commanded C Company of 13 Kumaon. C Company's three platoons were numbered 7,8 and 9 and had .303 rifles with about 600 rounds per head, and between them six light machine guns (LMG), and a handful of 2 inch mortars. The Chinese infantry had 7.62 mm self-loading rifles; medium machine guns and LMG's; 120 mm, 81 mm and 60 mm mortars; 132 mm rockets; and 75 mm and 57 mm recoilless guns to bust bunkers. They were much more numerous and began swarming up the gullies to assault Rezang La at 4 a.m., even as light snow was falling.
The Ahirs waited till the Chinese came into range and opened up with everything they had. The gullies were soon full of dead and wounded Chinese. Having failed in a frontal attack the Chinese let loose deadly shelling. Under the cover of this intense shelling the Chinese infantry came again in swarms. C Company, now severely depleted, let them have it once again. Position after position fell fighting till the last man. C Company had three junior commissioned officers and 124 other ranks with Maj. Shaitan Singh. When the smoke and din cleared, only 14 survived, nine of them severely wounded. 13 Kumaon regrouped and 114 Brigade held on to Chushul. But the battalion war diary records that they were now "less our C Company."
Ceasefire and after
The Chinese announced a unilateral ceasefire on November 21, but little more than what the survivors had brought back was known about C Company. In January 1963 a shepherd wandered on to Rezang La. It was as if the very last moment of battle had turned into a tableau. The freezing cold had frozen the dead in their battle positions and the snow had laid a shroud over the battlefield. Arrangements were then made to recover the dead under International Red Cross supervision. Brig. Raina led the Indian party, which recorded the scene for posterity with movie and still cameras. This tableau showed what had happened that Sunday morning. Every man had died a hero. Maj. Shaitan Singh was conferred the Param Vir Chakra. Eight more received the Vir Chakra while four others the Sena Medal. 13 Kumaon received "The battle honour Rezang La," that it wears so proudly.
Few events in the annals of heroism can match this. C Company gave its all to defend Chushul, a small Ladakhi village, which for one brief moment in our history came to symbolise India's national honour. At Thermopylae on September 18, 480 BC, 1,200 Greeks led by King Leonidas of Sparta died fighting the Persian King Xerxes' mighty bodyguard called the Anusya or Companions. But Leonidas was fighting for a great prize. In July 481 BC, the Oracle of Delphi told him that in the next war with Persia either the King would die or Sparta be destroyed. Leonidas chose to die to save Sparta.
But C Company willingly sacrificed itself to save a little village and that makes its sacrifice all the more glorious. That is why we must never forget Rezang La.
The Hindu : Today's Paper / OPINION : Don't forget the heroes of Rezang La
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Re: 13 Kumaon at Rezang La: 1962
Respect !
Respect !
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Rezang La, Ladakh: The battle at Rezang La is listed in top ten military battles of all time.
Chinese troops had been making rapid progress in North East region. However, there was a comparative lull in Ladakh region. The 114 Infantry Brigade was assigned the task to defend the plains of Chushul, in Ladakh and its airfield.
The company of 13 Kumaon, commanded by Major Shaitan Singh, was entrusted with defending the strategically important feature of Rezang La.
A god-fearing man with army background, his seniors trusted their complete faith in the ability of Singh to defend the 17,000 ft high highly hostile feature.
Shaitan Singh promptly accepted the challenge of defending the Rezang La- gateway to rest of Ladakh's plain.
The hostile terrain of Rezang La made it virtually impossible for the Infantry to form a solid line of defence. There were breaks in the defence as companies occupied isolated positions.
As expected, the Chinese troops attacked the feature on December 18, 1962.
It was a battle of unequal in terms of arms and equipment. Indian soldiers were poorly equipped outdated ammunitions, no artillery support and without proper clothing to shield them from the intense cold waves at 17,000 feet.
On the other hand, Chinese troops had been preparing for the attack for weeks and were heavily armed with machine guns, mortars and artillery.
The hard frozen earth made it virtually impossible for the Indian soldiers to dug the land and take cover.
Despite all the odds, lead by Shaitan Singh, soldiers of 114 Kumaon took the attack head-on. The group of 120 brave soldiers offered one of the stiffest resistance to the Chinese troops. Shaitan Singh lead from the front, he changed positions wherever the situation was getting out of control.
He was badly injured in his leg and stomach and was asked by his men to go back. A defiant Singh stood his ground and wrecked havoc in the Chinese lines.
The fighting took its most vicious form in the night and raged on for hours. The brave soldiers of Kumaon 114 refused to relent, including a badly injured Shaitan Singh.
Soon Indian soldiers were left to fend for themselves after their ammunitions exhausted. Forcing them to fight hand-to-hand battle.
All throughout the fight, Shaitan Singh had refused the offers to be evacuated.
As the dawn broke, Rezang La resembled a death field. Entire Kumaoni company had been disintegrated, baring three grievously wounded soldiers and Shaitan Singh.
The three soldiers unsuccessfully tried to carry Shaitan Singh, but they were too weak. Finally, they were ordered by brave Singh to leave him and find their way to the battalion headquarters.
Out of the company of 120 brave soldiers, only these three survived and came back to give the details of the heroic battle.
On the other side, Chinese soldiers had suffered heavy casualty and their advance in Ladakh sector was effectively checked.
Such was the ferocity of the Shaitan Singh and his men's defence that China never dared to attack the feature again.
Next summer, when Indian Army visited the Rezang La they found the body of Shaitan Singh where three men had said they had left him. It is believed that either he bled or froze to death.
At Rezang La dead bodies of soldiers were strewn across. Some of the soldiers were clutching their weapons. The wounds on their bodies described the end moments of fight that went down in history as greatest ever.
Battle of Rezang La: When handful Indian soldiers annihilated Chinese incursion attempt - daily.bhaskar.com
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Re: Battle of Rezang La: When handful Indian soldiers annihilated Chin
Got a chance to be there and see it..I also posted the pictures in another thread:
Got a chance to be there and see it..I also posted the pictures in another thread:
Chushul memorial
Rezang La memorial
I did not see any road work here along the border except for some roads built inside the village. Also, only Chinese cigarettes were available in the villages.
The roads near the Chushul memorial. The valleys in the area are pretty wide.
The village on the border just before Chushul.
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It's was coy of all Ahir (Yadavs) troops except the Major who was Rajput and the Nursing assistant who was a Jat. Infact entire 13 Kumaon battalion (Veer Ahir) mostly recruited from Ahirwal region (Haryana and Rajasthan) and the triops in C coy who were the best sportsman of the Unit made their last stand. Even today there are slogans written at the Unit HQ - "Veer Ahir Ajeet Hain Abheet hain" Both Bhati and Yadavs consider themselves the descendent of Lord Krishna.
It was also a classic and rare battle in Indian war history where the coy faced "human wave" attacks. Waves after waves PLA troops attacked their posts until it was overrun.
And if I am not wrong then recently Rezang La memorial near Gurgaon (gurugram) has been desecrated by some Chutiyas.
It was also a classic and rare battle in Indian war history where the coy faced "human wave" attacks. Waves after waves PLA troops attacked their posts until it was overrun.
And if I am not wrong then recently Rezang La memorial near Gurgaon (gurugram) has been desecrated by some Chutiyas.
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The unimaginable sacrifice of an Indian army unit during the 1962 war
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