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Okay, so I think I can summarise a few things.
How it started -
5th May : The author says the escalation started with a physical brawl at North Pangong Tso on the 5th of May. A patrol from 17 Kumaon Btn had a violent fight with a Chinese patrol, with both sides having grievous injuries, but not life-threatening. The author also mentions that this fight was in a different area than that of the August 2017 clash which was videotaped (probably referring to this).
7th May : A small number of 16th Bihar troops led by 2-in-C Lt.Col. Ravi Kant (hereafter referred only by Col. RK) ventured across PP14 to confront a Chinese patrol that clearly strayed past its usual limits. There was a small physical fight resulting in light injuries to both sides.
9th May : Brigade commander visits Galwan to take stock of the situation. Meanwhile, another physical brawl takes place in Naku La, Sikkim, including a large number of troops, resulting in heavy injuries to both sides.
Between 9th May & 6th June : Both sides patrol till PP14. A series of meetings take place between local commanders at multiple clash points. Higher-level intervention sought looking at the declining situation.
6th June : Fire & Fury Corps commander Lt.Gen. Harinder Singh meets with his counterpart Maj. Gen. Lin Liu at Chusul. The meeting was unexpectedly cordial, which leads MEA to issue a statement saying "Sb Changa Si".
7th June : Escalation continues, Chinese soldiers set up tents near the makeshift helipad at PP14. Soldiers have heated discussions, and thereafter Chinese moved back. However, the Chinese refused to retreat further than PP14, which Indian Army considers LAC. (bit contradicting and confusing)
Between 7th to 14th June : 4 separate meetings between local commanders at Galwan, but Chinese troops refuses to move back any further than PP14. Instead, they reinforce their positions with more tents & equipment on that triangular piece of land circumscribed by the bend of Galwan river.
15th June : Chinese army set up an observation post at the river bend. 16th Bihar C.O, Col. Santosh Babu's patience ran out as Chinese setting up tents & equipment at PP14 was enough provocation.
3 PM : Col. Santosh Babu (hereafter referred only by Col. SB) orders 75 troops to be sent to PP14. They were to dismantle the Chinese tents and push back Chinese soldiers. 75 troops from 16th Bihar reaches PP14 by 3:30 PM on 7 vehicles.
3:30 PM : Seeing approaching IA men, a group of Chinese soldiers led by their C.O, Maj. Chen Hongjun (hereafter referred only by Maj. CH), confronts the 16th Bihar troops. Chinese soldiers instantly react belligerently, pushing & shoving our soldiers, including Col. SB.
Col. SB tries one last time to communicate peacefully, but everybody knew things were already decided when Chinese tried to assault Col. SB. Physical fight starts between Indian & Chinese soldiers. Chinese soldiers pick up rocks & start pelting them at Indian troops. Few Chinese soldiers run up the cliff to throw rocks from a vantage point.
After a few minutes of hand-to-hand brawl and stone pelting, Chinese soldiers are defeated, and they retreat. However, 6 Chinese soldiers, including Maj. CH & his interpreter Chen Xiangrong (hereby referred to only by CX), get badly injured and are unable to retreat. 2-3 Chinese officers and 4-5 Chinese soldiers remained on the Indian side, and are provided first-aid immediately.
Evening ? : As light starts fading, medics rush to administer first-aid to injured. Chinese officers & soldiers are provided first-aid in priority over Indian soldiers. Col S.B. tries to revive Chinese interpreter CX who was unconscious from head injury. Chinese interpreter was crucial in communicating with Chinese soldiers for a truce, as Col. SB. tries unsuccessfully to communicate with Chinese soldiers with a Megaphone.
Dusk : Stone pelting stops for few minutes, with Chinese soldiers now mainly retreating & hurling abuses from a distance. Col. SB senses the situation has crossed the point of no return. He calls for more reinforcements. Soldiers from 3 Punjab, 81 Field Regt. and 3 Med. Regt. arrive at PP14 shortly, with Indian strength totalling around 400 troops.
7:30 PM : Under the cover of darkness, the main Chinese assault arrives within minutes of Indian reinforcement, totalling more than 1200 Chinese soldiers. These soldiers were from a completely different unit, and were equipped with clubs, maces & barded wires around their fists and weapons. They were wearing riot-control gear like padded helmets, carbon-fiber shields and carrying LED flashlight batons to disorient the enemy in the dark.
A complete stampede takes place. Chinese main force overruns the previous Chinese troops and injured on the ground. Col. RK says it was a possibility their own forces were trampled and injured in this charge.
400 Indian soldiers clash with 1200 well-equipped Chinese soldiers. Complete chaos ensures. One group of Indian soldiers moved ahead to confront the Chinese were seperated from the main force, and aftermath, captured.
8 PM : Violent fighting has spread across the valley, and continues in multiple isolated pockets. Medics rush to administer first-aid to injured, irrespective of nationality.
8:30 PM : Base contacts soldiers for whereabouts of Col. SB, as he was untracable and no radio contact can be established. Injured Indian soldiers ferried back to base camp for treatment.
~9 PM : Fresh Chinese assault, this time from Chinese Special Forces. Fiercest fighting of the day starts and continues till 9:30 PM.
10:30 PM : Things fall quiet. Chinese retreat to their side, Galwan valley littered with severely injured soldiers from both sides. Indian side starts headcount, casaulty identification & evacuation starts.
16th June :
12:00 Midnight : Col. SB's body found, and quickly taken to base hospital.
01:30 AM : Efforts to revive Col. SB fails, body sent to Army field hospital Durbuk.
Throughout the night, search and identification of Indian soldiers were carried out. No such mention of Chinese doing the same.
04:00 AM : Col. RK, 2nd-IC 16th Bihar, who missed the fight due to his work in Leh, reaches PP14, and rallies his troops & motivates them. He orders a small group of soldiers to climb the highest point around PP14 and establish an observation post.
06:00 AM : Dhruv helicopter used to ferry out griveously injured to better-quipped hospital at Leh.
09:00 AM : Most of the casualties now have been account for, except for the advanced party which moved ahead and was captured (this was not known at that time).
Medic Deepak's body discovered deeper into Chinese side, his wounds still fresh, signalling he was killed recently (and not part of the conflict). Around 1 PM, when his body was brought to Galwan base camp, his wounds were still fresh and blood flowing. He appeared to have been killed by some sharp object. Subedar Sahu of 16th Bihar, insists he was killed by the Chinese in cold blood after capturing him.
The battlefield was littered with dead Chinese soldiers. Throughout the night, the injured Chinese soldiers were pulled out of the area where the fighting took place to the PLA positions in the depth beyond PP14.
"Since the time we assembled in the area in the morning, we had spotted dead bodies of many Chinese soldiers lying around. Our orders were not to touch them, as the Chinese were expected to retrieve them later", says Havildar Dharamvir.
Afternoon : Chinese soldiers arrive with stretchers to take back casualties. (Now lying in freezing temperatures for more than 12 hours). Indian observation post above keeps an eye on Chinese casualties being evacuated by multiple ambulances and helicopters, and count at least 36 Chinese casualties being evacuated, although a conservative estimate can be made of at least half of them being dead.
18th June, 05:30 PM : China returns back 10 soldiers who were isolated & captured during the brawl, including 2 Majors, 2 Captains, and 6 soldiers through PP14.
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This is not even 50% of what is written, I skipped personal stories, incidents and fight descriptions in light of summarising the event.
Recommend folks to buy this book.
chinese building feeder roads to valleys we have little easy access. we have no roads/posts nearby . what could go wrong ?
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