Courage is contagious and it often turns certain defeats into victories. Today I would like to tell my readers about one such incident. The battle which gave us the Cemetery of Patton Tanks. The battle of Asal Uttar. Hold it till the end and do tell me if you want to know more such stories.
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| Captured Patton Tanks in KhemKaran (Fair use Wikipedia) |
Fought between the armies of India and Pakistan
between September 8- 10 in 1965, it was one such tale of unparalleled courage
displayed by Indian soldiers When we talk about largest tank battles of the history, the battle of Asal Uttar rivals the battle of Kursk, the biggest tank battle
fought in the history of mankind between Nazi Germany and Soviet forces
during the Second World War. Captain Amrinder Singh, the current CM of Punjab, who had also fought in the 1965 war,
had once said that if the Indian Army hadn’t stopped Pakistani advance at
Asal Uttar, Amritsar would have fallen and it would have been all over for
India.
Against all odds, Indians stood their ground at Asal Uttar
Asal Uttar means fitting reply and that’s exactly what the Indian army gave
their Pakistani counterparts. Indians, after the fall of Khem
Karan, consolidated their defense in Assal Uttar.
Backed by America, the Pakistani army back then was armed with the world’s best Patton Tanks. The Indian army was still recovering from the loss it had suffered against China in 1962 and the military modernization was still
underway. On 8th September 1965, the Pakistan army launched offense with over 220 Patton tanks ready to turn everything in that came their way to dust. Lt. General
Harbaksh Singh was commanding the Indian battalion that was to face this massive attack. The Pakistani offensive outnumbered the Indian defensive by the number of soldiers and tanks. It was up to Lt. Singh to either withdraw or defend his position. Instead of withdrawing, he rearranged his forces in a U-shaped formation around the town of Asal Uttar. The idea was to assault as many tanks as possible from all three sides.
Taking advantage of the darkness, Indian troops flooded the sugarcane fields
and lured Pakistanis to attack. Thinking that Indian troops had withdrawn,
the Pakistani tanks got lured into the U-shaped area. Flooded sugarcane fields with water led to thick armored Pakistani Patton tanks to sink and get stuck into the mushy soil. The entire Pakistani cavalry of 200 plus tanks was now immobilized. At this time, the soldiers and tanks of the
Indian army commenced a massive fire assault. The tall sugarcane grass allowed the Indian forces in the U-formation to remain hidden but yet, stay very close to the Pak tanks.
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| Graveyard of Patton Tanks |
The result was that out of 220 Patton tanks,
170 were destroyed or abandoned and 11 captured. Only 32 Indian tanks were
damaged. The sight of the destroyed tanks was such that the town was named Patton Nagar aka The Graveyard of Pattons.
This battle went down in history as the largest tank battle after World War
2.
Abdul Hamid was also awarded PVC for this same Battle of 1965 War.
As per an Indian army account, Pakistan lost over 165 tanks in the 1965 war half of which they lost in the battle of Asal Uttar alone.
Bravery Of Quartermaster Abdul Hamid
Although all the brave sons of India fought valiantly, one soldier stood above them all. He showed no fear and took out 3 Patton tanks all by himself. He was awarded Param Vir Chakra for his bravery.
If you have ever imagined a real-life One-Man Army, then he was that person.
He was a part of the 4 Grenadiers who occupied a vital area ahead of Chima village on the Khem Karan. A firm hold on this area was considered essential to sustain the divisional plan of defense.
At 0800 hours on September 10, 1965, a battalion of Pakistani Patton tanks attacked the holding area of the 4th Grenadier positions. The Indian soldiers came under intense artillery bombardment but didn’t respond. Within an hour, the Pakistanis had penetrated forward Indian positions. The situation grew grim. In the melee, Hamid spotted six Pakistani tanks heading towards his men. He didn’t think twice, hopped on to his jeep which had a gun mounted on it and rushed towards the tanks to flank them.
The intense enemy firing did nothing to deter him. Using the tall cotton crop growing in the fields to camouflage his position, Hamid knocked out the leading tank with accurate fire. Then changing position, he disabled two more. By now the enemy had spotted him and employed machine guns and explosives to bring him down. As he hit another enemy tank, he was mortally wounded by a high explosive shell.
Throughout this blistering attack, Hamid had singlehandedly managed to destroy a total of eight enemy tanks, many more than what an armored formation could take on. His unparalleled bravery and determination inspired his comrades to put up a gallant fight and to beat back the heavy tank assault by the enemy.
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| The Jeep used by PVC Abdul Hamid |
His sustained act of bravery and disregard for personal safety, in the face of constant enemy fire, was a shining example, not only to his unit but to the whole division and were in the highest traditions of the Army. Company Quarter Master Havildar Abdul Hamid was honored with the highest wartime gallantry medal, Param Vir Chakra, posthumously.
References and further readings:
- Read about Abdul Hamid
- Battle of Asal Uttar
- Official PVC citation of Abdul Hamid
- Aviation Defence's Article
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