Many of us have seen the Hindi movie “Border” where Sunny Deol and his intrepid band of warriors stave off hordes of attacking Pakistanis till the Air Force arrives next morning to deliver the coup de grace. That was a highly romanticized rendition of the Battle of Longewala. The truth is not so dramatic, was equally heroic.
Maj Kuldip Singh Chandpuri – Real and Reel
The engagement at Longewala (4-7 Dec 71) was the first major engagement of the war in the western Sector. ‘A’ company of 23 PUNJAB, under the command of Major (later Brigadier) Kuldip Singh Chandpuri with just 124 men, a jeep mounted Recoilless Gun, two Anti-tank launchers, a section of Machine guns and Mortars and a four man team from the BSF occupied a post on a high sand dune in the area Longewala, which stood smack at the Indo-Pak border.Their meagre fire was supplanted with the fire support of two field artillery batteries. The post dominated the area around it which due to the shifting, loose sand was virtually intractable by vehicles. The post fell in the path of the Pakistani offensive which planned to capture Longewala, go on to Ramgarh and then capture Jaisalmer . “Breakfast at Longewala, Lunch at Ramgarh and Dinner at Jaisalmer” was how the Pakistanis envisaged the operation.
Planned move from Longewala- Ramgarh- Jaisalmer
The Pakistani plan called for one brigade (206 Infantry Brigade) and an armoured regiment (38 CAVALRY based on T-59 tanks) to capture Longewala on the first night and then another force of 51 Infantry Brigade and 22 CAVALRY would move ahead to capture Ramgarh and Jaisalmer. With the overwhelming superiority, it was a workable plan. Where it failed was that it did not have any air support, nor had they conducted reconnaissance of the area. Had they done so, they would have realized that the soft sands could not really sustain the movement of tanks and other vehicles.
War had broken out on 03 December, and the next night, on the night of 4th December, the Pakistani force crossed the border. Fortunately Maj Chandpuri, had sent a patrol under Lt Dharam Vir ahead to get advance information of any enemy movement. Dharam Vir reported a 20 kilometer long column moving towards Longewala, information which Major Chandpuri reported to his battalion Headquarters, located at Sadhwal , 17 kilometers away. He was told that there were no reinforcements that could be sent to him, and he was given the option to stay put and fight or withdraw.
Major Chandpuri decided to stay, and the decision shaped the outcome of the coming battle. His men hastily laid the few anti-tank mines at their disposal, sited their anti-tank and machine guns and braced themselves for the coming assault. The enemy contacted them around midnight and at 12.30 the first assault came in. A massive artillery barrage killed the camels of the BSF detachment, and behind it came tanks followed by infantry in assault formation. The defenders waited till they were around 150 -200 meters away and then let loose with all they had. The solitary jeep mounted RCL and two Anti-tank launchers fired, and since they were firing from a height, their rounds were able to hit the thin armour on the tops of the tanks. The tanks were carrying external fuel tanks ( to sustain them for the thrust to Jaisalmer) and they caught fire, illuminating the area and providing light for the defenders to engage their targets. As the tanks tried to maneuver to avoid the torrent of fire, many got bogged down in the soft sand, and were hit as they struggled to extricate themselves. 12 tanks were hit and the assault stalled. To make matters worse for them, the leading infantry and tanks ran into a three- strand barbed wire fence around the post, which they presumed marked a minefield. For two hours the engineers tried to clear the minefield, only to discover that there was no minefield. The defenders had place the wire around the post to keep away dogs and other animals. That delay would be costly.
The Defenders – The Pakistani Attack
The next attack came around four in the morning from another direction. But the tanks and Armoured Personnel Carriers got struck in the soft sands and it made no headway. All nigh Maj Chandpuri continued to guide fire on the attackers and now at six, the sun peered over the desert dunes.
Hunters taking off for the kill
The arrival of daylight also saw the arrival of Hawker Hunter fighter bombers. A message had been sent out to Jaisalmer forward airbase at night itself, but the aircraft did not have night vision devises and could not operate by night. A flight of two Hunters led by Wing Commander Bawa streaked towards their targets, guided on by the airborne Forward Air Controller, Major Atma Singh, who circled overhead in his observation aircraft. Volleys of Matra T-10 rockets and 30 mm cannon raked the targets below. As the tanks struggled desperately to escape, the Hunters had a field day. Flight after flight of two aircraft appeared in relays, attacked, returned to base, refueled and rearmed and then returned to attack again. A total of 40 sorties were launched. The Pakistani Air Force did not appear, nor did the column have effective Air Defence cover. Many Pakistani tank commanders were killed trying to operate the Anti-Aircraft Machine Guns atop the tank turrets, but to no avail. It was, as a pilot described “a turkey shoot”. 22 tanks were destroyed from the air, an additional 12 from ground fire. Over a hundred vehicles were destroyed as they tried to retreat down the solitary track from Longewala to the border. That same day 20 LANCERS and 17 RAJRIF launched a counter attack on the enemy forcing him to finally abandon his plans and withdraw in disarray.
Tank tracks of Tanks trying to escape. Encircled are destroyed tanks
In terms of casualties, this was one of the most lop-sided operations of the war. 2 Indians were killed at the cost of over 200 Pakistani soldiers, 34 tanks and over 100 vehicles. It had another spin-off. Its abject failure put paid to any offensive plans in the West. However, India did not follow the success, and carry the battle into Pakistani territory. Both sides remained static here, till the ceasefire came about on 17 Dec and brought the curtain down on one of the finest feats of arms by the Indian Army.