Today 18 Nov is commemorated by (some in) India as Rezangla Day, in memory of one of the *most stirring battles ever fought*. Last man last bullet is spoken of often but happens ever so rarely. Indian history has Saragarhi and Rezangla among its most well-known. While the former fought in 1897 for the British Indian Army is, perhaps, more remembered because the Brits recognized and spread word about it, the *latter was fought more recently in 1962 against the Chinese, for Independent India, but, alas, remains largely unknown* outside military circles.
Almost the entire lot of people at the post viz. *114 soldiers (of the 120), of the Charlie company of 13th battalion of the Kumaon regiment, died defending Rezangla hill* about 20 km SE of Chushul, Ladakh at a height of 16500 feet and *repulsed the Chinese attack in this sector*. In the dark and depressing overall scenario of the 1962 war (notwithstanding supreme acts of bravery by individuals and units displayed at many places like that by its sister battalion the 6 Kumaon at Walong in the North East or by Jaswant Singh of 4th Garhwal Rifles at Nauranang, in Tawang, whose anniversary was yesterday. 17 Nov) Rezangla was the bright spot that showed the Chinese (and the World) that India was not the pushover they had imagined.
Details of the battle can be easily googled. Or if you please, read a brilliant piece by reputed military analyst and scholar Mohan Guruswamy on his Facebook post today. Suffice to just give some details. *120 (some reports say 123 or 124) Indian soldiers without artillery support, with most antiquated weapons against almost 5000 Chinese with artillery support and modern weapons. Icy cold weather, snow all around, oxygen in short supply, howling winds. And a battle on*.
Chinese soldiers kept advancing wave after wave even before the Indian soldiers could replenish their stocks and reload the machine guns, The Company Commander Major Shaitan Singh and his Ahir boys kept firing even though they were under a constant barrage of artillery. There was no hope and no way of replenishing their ammunition.
Major Shaitan Singh had two options: Fight to the last man and last bullet, or Abandon Post. The soldiers were tired and bleeding. But their morale was high. They chose to fight on. *Not a single man abandoned his post. Not a single man fled the battle*.
Almost all the Indian soldiers were killed in action (114 of them died, 6 were captured as POWs, of whom one died in captivity and one escaped back to Leh and recounted the tale) versus about 1300 Chinese who died. When their bodies were found later, in Jan of 1963, *many were clutching the triggers of their guns. They had died fighting until the last bullet*. Many had even resorted to fighting with bare hands after they could not use weapons or ran out of ammunition.
A Rajput company commander Maj Shaitan Singh Bhatti from Jodhpur leading 120 Ahirs (Yadavs) from the plains of Haryana, of the 13 Kumaon regiment, laid down their lives in the cold and barren mountains of the Karakoram Range. *This is an inspiring India story for you*. Legend has it that Major Shaitan Singh did not want the Chinese army to take control of his body or mutilate it. He was mortally wounded in combat. *He ordered his jawans to hide his body behind boulders*. One of his buddies unslung his rifle, used the sling to tie Major Shaitan Singh’s body to his and rolled down the hill. As the brave Major Shaitan Singh breathed his last, his body was hidden behind boulders. Pse read the accompanying tweet of Major Gaurav Arya, a retired Kumaon regiment officer and now a well known military analyst seen frequently on TV.
Defence analyst and media person Gaurav Sawant, who recently anchored a TV episode on this war (India Today TV Channel) and who has written on this war himself recounted in his Facebook post last year, of the stories his father, a retired Army Brigadier told them. “My father told us stories of how one soldier, a wrestler, crushed the heads of two Chinese soldiers with his bare hands, when he ran out of ammunition. Another soldier flung himself on two Chinese soldiers and took them down with him as they climbed towards the peak. All this is a part of the military folklore’.
What caused this *exemplary display of bravery and fortitude in most treacherous weather where breathing itself was difficult*. As Mohan Guruswamy puts it aptly “At this altitude it took hours to bring a kettle to boil for tea and whatever fruit and vegetables that came were frozen hard”. And let us not forget that 13 Kumaon was not even acclimatized having been *deployed in Chushul on 24 Oct* in the lull of the Indo China war. *Less than a month later* they were in the middle of a no holds barred battle. To quote Gaurav “The epic battle of Rezang La is the story of unparalleled valour, raw courage and victory buried in the crushing defeat in 1962’. Let us leave it to the management schools and other analysts to make sense of this. Let us simply today celebrate the strategic message they sent out.
On 18 Nov in this battle *seven waves of Chinese attacks were repulsed*. On Nov 21, barely 3 days later the war came to a halt. Surely the Chinese would have imbibed the lessons of Rezangla. If they came in again they would do so at their own peril. As the folklore goes, the Chinese stopped at Rezang La to count their dead and tend to the injured. They lost their will to move forward and retreated. The battlefield was covered in snow.
Why do we say legend or folklore in some descriptions? Simply because initially there was disbelief about what the one person who had escaped (or few survivors) had recounted. There was skepticism too. It was only in 1963 when the snow had melted and a new battalion returned to Rezang La, (some accounts say a wandering shepherd but that should not matter) that they found the brave soldiers *of 13 Kumaon still in their trenches……Frozen. Finger still on the trigger*. To quote Guruswamy “It was as if the very last moment of battle had turned into a tableau”. This was bravery beyond the call of duty, in the line of fire. *And then, 114 bodies were cremated with full military honours in 1963 at those icy heights*. Brig TN Raina (later COAS), the Brigade Commander of 114 Brigade tasked to defend Ladakh and himself a Kumaon officer led the party that recorded the scenes for posterity and gave us a chance to tell our countrymen what happened that Sunday morning (coincidentally today is Sunday too).
The USMC war memorial inscribed after the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945 ‘uncommon courage was their common virtue’ to describe their marines. Perhaps the same can be said of the Rezangla braves. We have however been more deferential to the idea of service and duty and inscribed in their memorial these lines of *Thomas Macaulay “How can man die better than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of his fathers and the temples of his Gods.”* And this is the bravery that continues to inspire succeeding generations of Indian soldiers.
Maj Shaitan Singh was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the highest award for bravery. The battalion also got 8 Vir Chakras and 4 Sena Medals for gallantry. 13 Kumaon got the battle honour ‘Rezangla’. Every man who fought that battle deserved a gallantry award though. *However, save some pockets of Haryana the story of Rezangla remains untold and the heroes unsung*. Of course, there has been some focus on this in the recent past. I can recollect excellent accounts by Shekar Gupta and Gaurav Arya (himself a retired officer of the Kumaon Regiment). And last year on this day, there was fair bit of remembrance. This year too over the last few days and from this morning social networks have been active remembering and recounting this battle. *Even so, this is one story that must resonate all over India. It must be told and retold, ballads sung and stories written*.
To get some sense of the poignancy and tragedy, the desolation and desperation and yet through it all human heroism and dignity, do go to you tube and watch one of the most *moving songs ever written and picturised on this war ‘Kar Chale Hum Fida..’ in, arguably, India’s best war movie ‘Haqeeqat’.* With lyrics by Kaifi Azmi, set to tune by Madan Mohan and sung by Mohammed Rafi, it is guaranteed to move you to tears. If there is just one thing you have to do today, please do this. *Read about the battle or atleast watch this song*.
Either way, before the night fades away and brings us the dawn of another day, before we go back to our worldly woes of money and mice, let us today spare a thought for the Rezangla warriors whose unsurpassed *courage will go down as one of the best and greatest examples of ‘last man, last bullet. Let us never forget Rezangla*.
We must also mourn the passing away, yesterday 17 Nov 18, of *Brig Kuldip Singh Chandpuri*, Maha Vir Chakra, VSM, the hero of the *Battle of Longewala, in 1971*. The movie ‘Border’ was made on this battle with Sunny Deol essaying then Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri. That battle is another must read, must know, must study in Indian annals. Again, 120 infantry men of 23 Punjab against nearly 5000 Paki forces with an armoured regiment of 45 tanks. Happily in this case (though not for those who passed away) our losses were much less and it was part of a winning campaign. Let us hope our countrymen and children, today and in future become aware of such epic battles.
SAMEER SEHGAL/HT
