‘There was no return plan for the soldiers during the surgical strikes’ book stated
Fighting a war is never easy, kill or die are the only two options on the battle field. Neighbouring countries India and Pakistan have always been aggressive on the border line. From the famous 1973 war to Kargil war all these events had many stories of bravery of the Indian soldiers. From last several years, Pakistani administration are doing illegal and betrayal attacks through their soldiers and also with the help of some terrorist organisation, which caused harm to the military of Indian defence. But last year, India retreated to this cheap activity of Pakistani goverment, the surgical strike along the Line of Control were perfect and concluded with speed of flash which destroyed the evil conspiracy of Pakistan. The major who led the courageous mission, says that the return was never easy and bullets fired by the enemy soldiers were so close that they were whistling past the ears.
The Army Major speaks about the astonishing mission in a new book launched out on the first anniversary of the surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).The officer is referred to as Major Mike Tango in the book, titled “India’s Most Fearless: True Stories of Modern Military Heroes”.
For the War purpose a Ghatak troop was established and soldiers from two units that had lost military persons were tied in to man border posts and to give key ground level information and to hold and give back-up to the mission that had been lay ahead.
“Tactically, this was a smart move – few knew the lay of the frontier land better than they did. But there was another astute reason….Involving them in the mission would at least begin to lay the ghosts of Uri to rest,” the book states.
About the details of the planning, it states, “The target list was scrutinised along a top-secret chain of command that numbered barely a handful of people, with ‘need to know’ rules applicable throughout.””The options were vetted by designated officers from the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing, before a final recommended brief was presented to the government.”
The Major Tango of the troop was the vital personality of the surgical strike, he was given the responsibilities with assignment to lead the deadly strikes on the harmful neighbour.
“As team Leader, Maj. Tango had chosen every man himself, including the officers and men who would play a supporting role. He was also acutely aware of the fact that the lives of 19 men were, quite literally, in his hands,” the book says.
The Major Tango chose and formed group of the best class military personalities, still he was not sure about the returning of the daredevil gang from the war front which was bothering him. “That’s where I knew I could lose guys,” the book quotes him as recalling.
“Even the actual attack was not something that flustered the commandos. It was the return, an uphill trek to the Line of Control that was the truly the daunting part.”
“Their backs would be facing a blaze of fire from Pakistan Army posts, belatedly roused from their slumber. And the dominant position held by the posts would make the escaping warriors easy targets to spot and kill,” the book reveals.
A total of four terror launch pads operated by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and protected by the Pakistan Army were selected.
“Through a series of masked communications over mobile, Major Tango’s men contacted four ‘assets’ – two local villagers in PoK and two Pakistani nationals operating in the area – both moles in the dreaded Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group, men who had been turned by Indian agencies a few years before.”
“All the four assets separately confirmed the target information that was placed before them. In terms of intelligence, there was nothing further for the team to do on this side of the LoC,” the book states.
The book, written by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh and published by Penguin India, tells 14 true stories of extraordinary courage and fearlessness, providing a glimpse into the kind of heroism India’s soldiers display in unthinkably hostile conditions and under grave provocation.
The book depicts 14 true stories of the brave,courageous and fearless of the heroic battle done by our military.The book is written by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh and published by Penguin India.
The mission was brief – the soldiers were expected to reach their targets, study the latest intelligence they could possibly access with their satellite devices and then proceed to wipe out every man they saw there, the book says.
The brief given to the soldiers on the mission were, to reach their targets, study the recent information of the opponent provided with their satellite devices and then take last step to finish every man they get and demolish the oppositions motive.The weapons and equipment were then finalised.
“Maj. Tango would be armed with his M4A1 5.56-mm carbine, the rest of the assault team with a mix of M4A1s and standard-issue Israeli Tavor TAR-21 assault rifles, Instalaza C90 disposable grenade launchers and Galil sniper rifles. Batteries on night-vision equipment were checked and other devices were charged too,” the book states.
Two of the terror launch pads identified as targets for Maj. Tango’s team were well inside PoK and roughly 500 metres away from each other, it says.
“Each launch pad is really a transit staging area for terrorist infiltrators before they are sent across the LoC. Both launch pads were close to Pakistan Army posts for logistical and administrative purposes. ISI handlers would often visit these launch pads before infiltration attempts,” the book reveals.
“From the moment the firefight began until the last bullet was fired, it had been just over an hour. The frenetic pace of the assault meant the teams, now united after the split attack on two launch pads, would prepare to leave with only a very rough estimate of the number of terrorists they had managed to kill: 20. The figure would be corroborated days later by India’s external intelligence.”
“A total of 38-40 terrorists and two Pakistan Army personnel were killed at the four targets. The three separate teams had simultaneously struck 4 launch pads across the LoC. Their entry into PoK had been coordinated and precisely timed,” it says.
As for the return, the major decided to take not the route used to enter PoK but a different path that was longer and more circuitous, but comparatively safe.
The return journey of the troop was never easy, but the major decided a different path that was longer in distance and more circuitous, but majorly was safe for the group.
“At one point, the bullets were so close, they were whistling past our ears. There’s a familiar put-put sound when rounds fly very close to your head,” Major Tango recalls.
“If I were a foot taller, I would have been hit many times over.”
During the circuitous escape, the men were frequently flat on the ground as trees in their path were shredded to bits by hails of ammunition, the book says.
The round and long escape well was successful, in which the soldiers were mostly crawling on the ground as tree in their path were grinded to bits to shower ammunition on the soldier, syass book.
“A particularly vulnerable 60-metre patch in the de-induction route gave the commandos their closest call. Still flat on their bellies, but with no natural feature hiding them, they needed to slither the full distance without being hit. Crossing in pairs as ammunition hit the ground inches from them, Major Tango’s team made it to the LoC before the sun was up, finally crossing it at 0430 hours.”
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