THE GARUD STRIKES (27 page)

However, even then, a couple of the gun positions across the river were proving exceptionally irksome for Delta Company.

When Granthi shared this problem with Himmeth, he ordered Daljit to go forward to the Delta Company location and take care of the bunkers making life difficult for Granthi’s men.

Daljit’s day had not begun well. In fact, over the past few days, perhaps fuelled by the gunsmoke and dust, his asthma had begun to get worse. That Monday morning found him wheezing badly. Seeing his plight, Sutradhar advised his immediate evacuation.

However, Daljit was reluctant to go. He was aware that the battle for Dacca was almost on their heads now, and he would most certainly be needed.

The worried doctor and the reluctant patient were in the midst of their discussion when Himmeth’s phone call came. It put an end to the discussion: at least for Daljit, it did.

Unmindful of the doctor’s warning that he would soon be living up to his name—Shaheed meaning martyr—if he were not careful, Daljit headed for Delta Company. Breathing heavily, but steadfast in his resolve.

True to his form, he delivered yet another lethal airstrike on the Pakistani position across the river and silenced the more troublesome of their bunkers.

The rest of the night passed with sporadic bouts of gunfire and artillery shelling lighting up the dark skies.

Such was the sound and fury created by 4 Guards that General Niazi spoke to the Pakistani Commander-in-Chief General Hamid and asked him to request General Yahya Khan to expedite the ceasefire.

Yahya Khan is said to have replied, ‘You have now reached a stage where further resistance is no longer humanly possible, nor will it serve any useful purpose. It will only lead to further loss of life and destruction. You should now take all necessary measures to stop fighting.’

It is certain that neither of the generals were aware that till then it was only 4 Guards and some elements of 311 Mountain Brigade and 65 Mountain Regiment that were knocking on the door to Dacca.

Brigadier Mishra, Himmeth and the Guardsmen – Victory is in sight

All this while, the Indian forces were being ferried across the Meghna—helicopters, an assortment of boats and ferries, everything they could lay their hands on was put to use.

Slowly but surely, the rest of the brigade started to build up on the 4 Guards’ location.

DAY FOURTEEN

14 DECEMBER 1971

T
he morning of 14 December brought a team of the Western media, who sailed across the Lakhiya and arrived at the 4 Guards position toting a white flag. This lot was part of the effort that highlighted the massive atrocities committed by the Pakistani Army on the local population. They had also documented various war crimes committed by the Pakistanis on captured and wounded prisoners of war.

Himmeth with foreign correspondents

They also brought some good news. Apparently, shaken up by the battering they had received from Charlie Company the previous afternoon, the Pakistanis had abandoned the Nagar Kachpur position.

The Pakistanis had moved out in such a hurry that they even left behind a dead body, and, of course, a lot of stores and several tons of ammunition.

‘By now, we had captured so much of their stuff that we were actually shelling the enemy with their own ammunition,’ Maneck pointed out.

By that evening, Nagar Kachpur had been cleared and occupied by a platoon from Charlie Company. Soon, the rest of the company had also moved forward and had begun to build up on this platoon to properly secure Nagar Kachpur.

All this while, the rest of the Indian Army was also surging forward towards Dacca. Amongst the lot eager to move forward was Shamsher Mehta of 5 Armoured Squadron and his tanks. They had been with 4 Guards for so long that they were by now actually missing them, and were keen to catch up. Perhaps part of the incentive was the fact that Himmeth had promised Mehta a round of golf as soon as they captured Dacca!

Himmeth, Shammi Mehta and Glucose

Standing between Shamsher and 4 Guards was the mighty Meghna.

‘Our PT 76’s were amphibians, but they had basically been designed to cross European rivers, not make their way across riv
ers as wide as oceans, which is what the Meghna was.’ Mehta, however, was not daunted.

The tank men decided they would use the tiny islands that dotted the river to get across. Thus began an interesting game of island hopping, where each tank would enter the river sufficiently upstream to allow the current to float it to the nearest island. From there to the next island, and then onwards to the next, till they finally made it across.

‘It was a painstaking operation,’ Mehta grinned, ‘and at times also very scary, but we eventually managed to get all our tanks across.’

Soon, the tankmen were surging forward to link up with 4 Guards.

The Guardsmen, meanwhile, were busy wreaking some more psychological damage on to the beleaguered Pakistanis.

‘By now, the 75/24 artillery guns had reached our location,’ Glucose pointed it out on the makeshift map between us, which was a little more than a mess of scribbles. ‘The 75/24 was a light mountain gun of Indian design. It could be dismantled and carried by mules, hence could get around, however the shells fired by these guns did not have much weight… they were only about seven pounds and lacked any significant destructive capability. However, we started shelling the Dacca cantonment.’

75mm Mtn. gun of 65 Mtn. Regt.The first salvo on Dacca 13th Dec.

To give the impression that they had a larger number of guns, the Indians would fire two-three rounds from each in quick succession. They may or may not have done much physical damage at the target end, but they certainly damaged the Pakistani morale.

The Mukti Bahini lends a helping hand. On the out skirts of Dacca.

Aware of the casualties that Delta Company had suffered the previous night, and also the fact that Alpha, too, had been in constant contact with the enemy, Himmeth now ordered Bravo Company to move forward and relieve them along the riverbank.

Handing over charge to Bravo Company, Granthi’s boys were pulling out when the Pakistanis again engaged them with MMGs. However, this time, Bravo was ready and countered immediately.

In the brief but intense action that followed, three more Pakistanis lost their lives and Bravo captured one of the MMGs and two rifles of the Pakistani ambush party.

As the night of 14 December drew to a close, Charlie completed its move, and secured Nagar Kachpur.

By now, the brigade had also finished building up on the 4 Guards position and the Indian forces stood ready to take over Dacca and deliver the final blow to the Pakistanis.