This Tank Was Hit At This Very Spot By A 106 MM RCL Gun Of An Infantry Coy Ex 23 Punjab From The post Area On Ni 04/05 Dec 71. During The Famous Battle of Laungewala Eff Fire By Only One RCL Gun Stalled The Pak Offensive by 51 Inf Bde (Four Bns) and an Armd Regt (Four Sqns)
THE LOST BULLDOZER STORY AND THE BUTTERFLY DUNES OF LAUNGEWALA
I always find the Laungewala battle account interesting. Primarily because I was in Laungewala as a CO for one complete year during Op Parakaram. As direct support unit with 45 Inf Bde. The RHQ and a bty with the Laungewala bn, one bty with the Ghotaru bn (approx 17 km SE of Laungewala) and one bty with the Sadhewala bn (approx 25 km NW of Laungewala).
(Open Source Google Map)
So with the Cdr 45 and one inf bn, for 12 months Laungewala was our 'home'. Up and down, E to W and N to S from Ramgarh Westward' ho to Gamnewala and the area between Ghotaru, Sadhewala and Tanot. Constant recce, temp gun A's, stops, LP's, OP's, tank runs, mine fds-- every dune, bush, hard standing, soft sand patches, mobility corridors, stay behind OP's, 'tars' were marked and memorised on 1: 50,000 maps and sketches. We made so many of our own BP's and trig pts for artillery survey and navigation.
Now, marked on the 1: 50,000 meter maps, were certain 'Butterfly Dunes'. A geo- morphological formation of sand dunes shaped like a butterfly seen from above — usually two raised lobes with a lower center, formed by wind from different directions. The natural dead ground where a soldier or vehicle could not be seen by an observer on the crest. Ideal for concealing troop movements and positioning. anti-tank assets.
For armour, these peculiar dunes created choke points or specific movement corridors.
My RCP was about 800 meters from that famous Pakistani lone tank which was still located on the periphery of the Laungewala post along with a burnt out medium recovery. The only other tanks there were phased out Vijyanthas placed in company positions and used as pill boxes by the infantry!! They had been driven there on own steam and then 'deserted' by the armoured corps! Handed over to infantry for posterity.
(The Barrel Of The Knocked Out Tank Pointing To The Laungewala Post- Photograph From My Personal Collection)
Coming back to the 'Butterfly Dunes'. In 1971, the Pakistani tank columns had used these natural depressions to infiltrate/advance to the our border defenses. They had sought the paths of least resistance where the sand was more compact or the terrain offered natural cover. Kharo Tar was the staging area and assembly point for the Pakistani thrust.
Tactically, though Kharo Tar was located just a few kilometers from the border and the Longewala post, it served as the 'jump-off' point where the Pakistani forces consolidated their armor and infantry before launching the assault on night December 04–05. Actually they had come a long way off from Rahimyar Khan-Reti-Masitwari Bhit to Kharo Tar. I think they lost the grand plan here only!
Anyway, post a few weeks of settling down at Laungewala digging had been done, defences completed (never complete), ammunition dumped, mines laid, recces, briefings, contingency plans, senior officer visits finished with, I managed to locate what I had been searching for. A remote, barely discernible track not marked on the map leading to the border, towards BP 638-- the place where Brig Chandpuri had sent the 'shadow patrol'. The Pak column had entered from near here. I think other than PN Ahluwalia, the R & S Bn CO ( erstwhile Guards, Handoo's Own!!), no one had really traversed this place after 1971. I managed to locate the general area where the Hunters had done that famous Turkey Shoot decimating the Pak armoured column. In the shifting sands, even after more than three decades, there still were visible pieces of shattered windscreen glass, burnt tyres and tyre rubber strips, metal pieces, a broken 'jeep door', a few thick steel cables and most interestingly a burnt bulldozer, just a rusting metal hulk. Unfortunately, I had not carried along my camera that day.
A little further as I neared the border, I saw pieces of rusting barbed wire stretching left to right of my chosen route. It looked like broken down fencing, some old mine field marking. Theirs or ours, I dont know, but it was here that I decided to turn back. Sand all around, no sound, isolated place, track barely visible, just my Gypsy, radio operator and driver. Prudence was the better part of valour; we could have gone missing, no one would have known!! The PP and the screen ahead of Laungewala were some distance behind us!!
But to carry on with the story, what is interesting is that 12 Inf Div (Gen Paramjit was the GOC), held two presentations at Laungewala locality itself during Parakaram. The Yom Kippur War (by 298 Fd Regt-- my unit) and the Laungewala Battle (45 Inf Bde)-- The Laungewala battle presentation was at the Laungewala post, a large sand dune dominating the area around it. Quite a few dramatis-personnae of the actual battle including Brig Chandpuri, Air OP, armr, artillery and IAF offrs; Div and Corps staff had attended the latter presentation. We got an actual account of their participation and blow by blow unfolding of events. It was interesting to hear them recollect, snippets like--
* the exact place where a Pak mortar shell landed and killed a couple of BSF camels
*the exact place where the Air OP (and airborne FAC) crew, as narrated by the decorated pilot himself, noticed a burning Indian 1 Ton on reaching Laungewala that morning
* the location, a few hundred meters from the outpost where Chandpuri had ordered mines to be laid and barbed wire to be strung post haste. It was this action which psyched the Pakis when they hit the barbed wire and which resulted in daylighting them
* the story of the Light Regiment 1 Ton (narrated by Brig SL Dhawan, then Lt Col; CO) being stopped by some 'lost' Pakistani infantry on 04/05 night and in confusion being waved off
* the fact that till late 80's there were many destroyed tanks littered around Laungewala which over a period of time were taken away by units as trophies--
By 2001, only one destroyed tank and one medium recovery were at the base of the dune. Photos attached. Other than the bulldozer a few kms away which no one except I had seen (wonder if it was located and recovered later-- or is it still there? ). And yes, there were quite a lot of half burried heavy steel cables still seen around the post. Recovery attempts??
Must add, as we dug gun pits, trenches and ammunition bays, we unearthed mortar blinds, splinters, cartridge cases, bullets, mess tins etc. Remnants of an old battle field.
Brave Soldiers Had Fought And Died Here
(Laungewala Post As Seen From The Exact Spot Of The Destroyed Tank- Photograph From My Personal Collection)
