Sept 7, 1965: Salute to ‘Thambies’ bravery in Indo-Pak war

referred to as ‘the Thambies’, played a vital role in the 1965 Indo-Pak war, participating in Battle of Maharajke. 3 Madras, as a part of 69 Mountain Brigade and 6 Mountain Division, was moved from UP on the Tibet Border and it reached Pathankot on September 2, 1965. Then, it was moved to Arnia on September 5, where the battalion was tasked to capture the Maharajke village, which was being held by a company strength of the enemy. 3 Madras was the left forward battalion in phase 1 of the brigade attack with 9 Kumaon and 4 Madras regiments, attacking in the second phase.

Lieutenant Colonel BK Battacharya planned this battalion attack with ‘A’ Company, under Captain MS Oberoi and ‘B’ Company under Major P Chowdhary as assault companies. The ‘‘C’ Company under Captain BR Malhotra and ‘D’ Company under Major SKH Ruben Dass were slotted as reserve.

On September 7, at 10:50 pm, the attack commenced and the enemy opened fire with arty medium machine guns (MMG) and small arms fire. The Thambies relentlessly kept up the pace of the assault, returning the enemy fire and in a show of remarkable courage, captured Maharajke by 1:30 am on September 8.

Three Pakistan tanks launched a counter attack, which was successfully repulsed. Following this, villages Joiah and Kokkar were cleared on September 10 and Kaloi was cleared on September 11.

From September 13, the battalion advanced to Pagowal village, accompanied by ‘B’ Company, which also had 4 Madras regiment under command. Major P Chowdhary was hurt in the heavy artillery shelling, sustaining a splinter injury. He later succumbed to his injuries on September 13, when Pagowal was captured by the battalion. Between September 13 and 23, villages Wadianwala, Gulewali and Khagga were cleared. During this battle, 10 Mujahids were captured as prisoners of war along with 16 rifles and a huge cache of ammunition and vehicle. In the battle, seven Indian soldiers were killed, while 38 others wounded.

On September 24, a ceasefire was ordered and on December 12, the operation responsibilities of the captured area were given to 4 Madras, even as the battalion was re-deployed to Barielly. Recognising their gallant actions, the battalion was awarded Theatre Honour (Punjab).