Midnight, mountain pass and Army valour

PATIALA: Having fought the 1965 and 1971 wars against Pakistan, 77-year-old Naib Subedar Harbans Singh (retired)’s narration of a battle that took place in Kargil’s higher reaches in 1971, could remind one of a war movie. A lance naik then, Harbans Singh was with the 18 Punjab Regiment when the conflict started.
Tasked with capturing vital posts in Kargil, Harbans and his brothers in arms succeeded in taking over six posts in a day, after they had climbed up a steep mountain pass and launched a surprise attack on the Pakistanis. “It was our good luck as we managed to cross the Barachil Pass at the right time,” he says.

According to Harbans, who now lives in Banur and was awarded 10 medals during his military career spanning from 1962 to 1988, the Indian Army had planned a silent attack on the enemy as the other side had the advantage of its posts being at a greater height.
“A lot of discussion at the senior level was held on this plan, as some seniors were not willing to risk soldiers; but, in the end, officers decided to go ahead. On December 8-9 midnight, we had dropped our luggage before crossing a chashma (watercourse) to reach Barachil Pass. In the luggage, we had food and water. We reached Barachil Pass without any ambush. This was because we came to know later, enemy soldiers were busy comforting a soldier who had fallen ill,” he adds.

Once they crossed the Barachil Pass, Harbans’ company waited for around four hours. “We launched a silent attack around 4.30 am to take advantage of the darkness in the dawn. Amid the war cries of ‘Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal,’ we first captured Barachil post, and then Bulbul, Hathi Matha and Trishul posts, which were also located at higher locations, and then Pani and Ghoda posts, which were downhill,” adds Harbans, who retired as a naib subedar.