They took the bridge, by sheer grit

By Our Special Correspondent

FAIZABAD, FEB. 24. What matters most in a war is the power of will and courage of the soldier. Resources are also important but not in themselves. A courageous soldier can make up considerably for inadequate resources by dint of his bravery and strong desire to accomplish difficult tasks.

And Brigadier N.S. Sandhu of the 10th Dogra Regiment had done something on the night of December 5-6 during the India- Pakistan war of 1971 that could be the result of only exemplary grit and gallantry. He - then holding the rank of a colonel - had been asked to capture the Derababananak bridge across the Ravi river in the Sialkot sector on the western border. Tanks of the 71st Armoured Regiment that were expected to support the Dogras somehow got stuck in the stream and if the bridge was to be captured, soldiers had to move without the support of tanks. Col Sandhu, decided to do just that.

How Brig. Sandhu, along with his officers and men, had captured the bridge against heavy odds 30 years ago was narrated by him to a curious audience of journalists during the reunion function of the Dogra Regiment at their Regimental Centre here on Friday.

Having taken the decision to cross the bridge, the Commanding officer divided his officers and men in groups of 12 and asked them to arm themselves heavily with grenades. They walked towards the west for nearly two kms alongside the river to cross the stream at a point from where Pakistani positions could be outflanked. When they actually crossed the river, they found the enemy quite unprepared for the surprise attack. The heavy grenade attack destroyed enemy bunkers and the bridge was finally captured. The assault resulted in the killing of 60 enemy soldiers. All their weapons fell in the hands of the Indian soldiers which made it easy to retaliate any subsequent attempts to recapture the bridge.

The Indian side lost one officer, three JCOs and 10 soldiers but the bridge was in their control which made subsequent operations easier. Over 350 officers and other ranks shared their memories and narrated stories like this at the two-day reunion which concluded today. The participants in the reunion included two from the United Kingdom. The Southern Army Commander, Lt. Gen. N.C. Vij, Retd. Maj. D.G. Williams and Retd. Maj. W.R. Thorp were also present.

At a special Sainik Sammelan held on the occasion, gallant deeds of the Dogra soldiers were proudly recalled. Eulogising the record of the Regiment, its Colonel, Lt. Gen. Surjit Singh, mentioned that the battalions of the Dogra Regiment had participated in all the post-Independence wars which the country had fought.

A first day postal cover prepared by the Army Postal Service was also released on the occasion by Lt. Gen. Surjit Singh.

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