In the annals of heroism the stand of C Company of the 13 Kumaon at Rezang La in 18 November 1962 will always be among the more glorious chapters. 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.” In the dark days of Nov 1962, the stand by C Company stands out as a saga of heroism, in the Indo-China war of 1962.
The Chinese had attacked on 20 Oct 62, both in the East in NEFA (modern day Arunachal Pradesh) and in the West in Ladakh. (For an account of the 1962 Indo-China War see http://www.soldier2ndlife.com/card/debacle-in-the-high-himalayas ) . In the first three days of the offensive most of the forward posts had fallen. They Chinese were now poised for the attack on the most important objective in the sector, Chushul and its precious airfield, with an all weather landing strip, which lay just 15 kilometers from the border.
View of Rezang La today
Till September 1962, the defence of all of Ladakh was vested with 114 Brigade commanded by Brig. TN Raina (later General and COAS). It consisted of just two infantry battalions, the 1/8 Gorkha Rifles and 5 Jat. When the gravity of the Chinese threat began to be realized 13 Kumaon, which was at Baramula 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 26 October, 114 Brigade set up its headquarters at Chushul and braced for the inevitable Chinese attack.
The Chinese could attack along the Spangur Gap – a picturesque gap that led straight to Chushul. Most of 114 Brigade’s defences were based facing the gap. There was only one other way to Chushul, through the narrow Rezang La pass, which stood at a height of 16000 feet, and was around 10 kilometers away from the rest of the defences. C Company, 13 KUMAON was deployed on Rezang La to prevent the Chinese from out-flanking the defences from that direction. Most expected that the Chinese attack would be directed at the Spangur Gap. Instead, when it came, it was launched at Rezang La.
Deployment at the Spangur Gap – Rezang la is 10 kilometers away
C Company spent a week digging defensive positions in those isolated heights often in full view of the Chinese. The men had come from the plains and were still not acclimatized to those heights. At this altitude it took hours to bring a kettle to boil for tea and whatever fruit and vegetables that came were frozen hard. In the rarified air, breathing was a problem. Rezang La had a more serious drawback. It was out of range of own artillery support and away from the rest of the defences. It had to fight its battle virtually alone.
Maj. Shaitan Singh, a Rajput from Jodhpur commanded C Company of 13 Kumaon. The company was made up of Ahirs, from Haryana and its three platoons were numbered 7,8 and 9. They held the antiquated .303 rifles with about 600 rounds per head, and between them six LMG’s, and a handful of 2 inch mortars. The Chinese infantry had 7.62 mm self loading rifles; MMG’s 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.
The Chinese attack came silently at 4 am on 18 November, even as a light snow was falling. They crept up the gullies hoping to catch the Indians unaware, but were detected. 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 a murderous shelling. Under the cover of this intense shelling the Chinese infantry came again in swarms. Yet the company held on in the face of repeated assaults forcing the enemy to bring up 75mm cannons on wheel borrows to destroy the position though direct fire. In the face of intense fire the defences slowly gave way and the company fell, fighting virtually to the last man and to the last bullet. Out of the 128 who attended the “stand-to” in the morning, only 14 survived. Shaitan Singh himself was amongst the last to fall. Mortally wounded by a burst to the abdomen, he refused to be carried to safety and continued firing from his position to allow his comrades to withdraw. His gallant stand was immortalized in the film “Haqeegat’ which reflected the horrors and the rigors of the 1962 War with great accuracy and helped bring home to the Indian audiences the courage of the individual Indian soldiers and the abysmal conditions in which they fought. You can see ‘Haqeegat’ at
http://www.soldier2ndlife.com/card/haqeeqat-hindi
Rezang La finally fell at around 1330h, but the stand had gained time for the rest of the brigade to withdraw and consolidate itself near Chusul preventing the fall of the vital airfield. The Chinese announced a unilateral cease-fire on 21 November and CHushul remained in Indian hands. Little was known of C Company, but 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. Each man was dead at his post, the Medical Orderly with his syringe in hand, the mortar operator with a bomb ready to be loaded, Major Shaitan Singh, in the forward positions. Though severely wounded in the abdomen, he refused to be evacuated fighting on till his last breath, as did each man of C Company, 13 Kumaon.
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 honor “Rezang La”. These awards don’t really reflect their achievements. Had they not stood fast on that wintry day of 18 Nov 62, Chushul would have been lost, and perhaps so would most of Ladakh.
Rezang La Memorial