A Ridge Too Far: The Battle For Tololing
( L.N.Subramanian)

In the early days of May 1999, after patrols sent in the mountains disappeared indicating something was amiss, the 18th Grenadiers was pulled from the counter insurgency grid in the Valley and ordered to evict the intruders. The initial briefing by the commander of Kargil based 121 Brigade was that there were no more than 8 – 10 infiltrators on the tops. " Just go up and bring them by the scruff of the neck " was the casual order. Tololing, a naked mountain, loomed large rising to 16000 feet, overlooking the town of Drass. With no cover a single steep track led to the top zig zagging along a narrow path. There was absolutely no cover for climbing troops. From their concrete bunkers and reinforced sangars the Pakistanis could see every inch of the track. There was nothing to hide behind but the faith of God.From this vantage point, the Pakistanis brought in heavy artillery fire on the National Highway NH 1A which was closest at this point. This brought movement on the highway to a standstill. It became imperative that Tololing had to be cleared first to reduce the threat to the highway and also to provide a foothold to recover the surrounding peaks.

Initial Assaults

Three battalions from the Nagas, Garhwal and Grenadier regiments tried to make their way from 2 sides but came under effective fire. The Pakistanis were entrenched all across the ridges in bunkers fortified with iron girders and corrugated sheets. The first 3 assaults were beaten off. The soldiers crawled up inch by inch along the steep incline with the wind howling around them and temperatures between –5 and –11 degrees Centigrade. The soldiers had to climb 16,000 feet with packs upto 25 kgs. In such situations where every kilogram counted a 2 kg food pack was discarded for more ammunition. Unfortunately the trade off did not work. The Pakistanis simply mowed them down. At times they did not even waste their ammunition preferring to throw stones and roll down boulders. The Nagas were the victim of such tactics. The men with just a single parka, jungle shoes, with rifles slung were climbing up with the help of a rope when rocks were rolled down crushing some troops. With no headway being made B company of 18th Grenadiers led by 28 year old Major Rajesh Adhikari made another frantic assault. Although two previous assaults had been repulsed, Adhikari succeeded in reaching a point beyond the Hump. The brilliance of his attack carried him to 15 meters of the ridgeline. At that point he and his men found themselves surrounded and outnumbered. A bitter close combat battle raged in which Adhikari along with Subedar Randhir Singh, Lance Naik R K Yadav and grenadier Parveen Kumar were killed. The rest were pushed back. Captain Sachin Nimbalkar and his men were stuck behind large rock on a tiny ledge on a sheer cliff face for 3 days. During this time the Pakistanis taunted him to take Adhikari’s body. The Grenadiers were shocked and that night the kitchen fires were not lit to mourn a dear officer.

By now company and battalion commanders had realised the gravity of the situation and were trying to convince their superiors who in turn were trying to convince Delhi. This pressure caused another attack to be mounted on June 2. Unable to convince his superiors of the need to delay till adequate firepower was provided the second in command of the 18th Grenadiers Lt. Col. Vishwanathan personally led the attack. With Regimental pride under stake the men reached the top after an arduous 6 hour climb. If they chose to recover before attacking dawn would be on them so they made the choice of an immediate attack. It was a suicidal attack and was promptly cut down. Lt. Col. Vishwanathan knew he was going to die. His last letter to his father indicated his anguish at not being able to live to his family commitments. There was shock and gloom all around. Furthermore the bodies of Adhikari and his wireless operator were still lying in the battlefield. Any attempt to recover it was met with UMG fire. Furthermore the Pakistanis booby-trapped the bodies. One jawan who tried to drag Adhikari’s body away lost his hand to a booby trap. Lt. Col. Vishwanathan‘s death finally jarred the senior echelons of the Indian Army. Finally the army was realizing the need to get in more firepower before any assault could be made.

Simultaneously a fresh battalion the 2nd Rajputana Rifles was brought in for the assault. The Grenadiersconsolidated at 3 points 300 metres below the Pakistani positions thus providing a foothold to launch the attack from. The 2nd Raputana Rifles meanwhile fired and tested weapons, carried on reconnaisance and mock assaults on nearby ridges. 90 volunteers led by Major Vivek Gupta were assembled for the final assault. Among them were 11 Tomars. The Tomars have a long tradition of serving the army. Their tradition does not allow them to come back from the battlefield defeated. They must do or die. The youngest among them was 23 year old Praveen Singh Tomar who was to lead one of the platoons. Havaldar Yashvir Singh Tomar said sombrely "Sahib gyarah ja rahe hain aur gyarah jeet kar lautenge(Sir, 11 Tomars are going and 11 will return victorious)". Col Ravindranath gave them a final pep talk. The men were charged and JCO Bhanwar Singh Rathore said " Sir come to Tololing Top in the morning. We will meet you there". Most of them were the battalion sportsmen and atheletes. Letters were written in case they didn’t make it back and by 12th June they were in position behind the boulders, 300 metres from the Pakistanis. H hour was 1830 hours on 12th June.

The Final Assault

At 1830 hours 120 artillery guns opened up on Tololing top. The Bofors 155 mm guns started first. Used in direct fire mode they targeted the bunkers. Within minutes they were followed by the 130 mm and 105 mm guns. Shell after shell slammed into the ridges. As the expected Pakistani counter bombardment started, the 155 mm guns switched to HEER shells and started firing across the LOC at Pakistani gun positions located by the para commandos. The Pakistani guns were soon put out of action and were relegated to occassional shells. A few Pakistani mortars continued to lob shells.

Close to midnight the firing stopped. Major Vivek Gupta led his men with the battle cry "Raja Ramchandra ki Jai". There were 3 teams code names "Abhimanyu", "Bheem" and "Arjun". One went straight up. Another went around a lower ridge to cut off the enemy’s retreat and a third from behind. The Grenadiers provided covering fire against the Pakistanis on the nearby ridges.

In spite of the artillery there were still strong pockets of Pakistani troops in natural caves beyond the effect of artillery. They now opened up with machine guns on the crawling Indian troops. The troops inched up using the craters caused by artillery for cover. Inspite of the withering machine gun fire from the bunkers, troops had to crawl and use grenades to silence them. Back at the base the commanders were huddled around the wireless. However with the enemy at close quarters there was no time for communication. By 2.30 am desperation was setting in. Havaldar Yashvir Singh Tomar collected the grenades from the rest of the men. He then charged the last few bunkers. Getting there he tossed in 18 grenades being cut down. He was found with an assault rifle in one hand and grenade in the other. . Finally the troops closed in and bitter hand to hand combat ensued. At 4.10 am the wireless crackled the news. Tololing was won. It was at a heavy cost with Major Gupta and seven others killed that night. Among the dead was JCO Bhanwar Singh Rathore. The troops now had to hold of Pakistani reinforcements. It was the first major victory and there was jubilation all along the front. Every available camera clicked the moment. The army released extra rations for mithai that morning. At the Rajputana Rifles camp the celebration was tempered by the loss they had suffered. They suffered 4 officers, 2 JCOs and 17 OR dead and 70 wounded of whom 26 were incapacitated that they would never serve again.

Courtsy bharatrakshak