Despite all odds, how Indian soldiers tried to hold Nam Ka Chu. An extract

Major General Ashok Kalyan Verma with Shiv Kunal Verma

The Chinese 11 (Independent) Division had been tasked to break the 7 Brigade front along the Nam Ka Chu and open the road to Tawang. Their plan was simple in concept but precise in execution: deceive, infiltrate, isolate, and attack in overwhelming strength from the flank and rear. They had already penetrated deep behind several Indian localities by the time the final assault was ready.

The hammer fell at 0514 hours on 20 October. Without warning, the stillness shattered as 150 mortars and guns opened fire in unison. The valley shook under the first salvo as shells landed in dense clusters on the river-line positions. The bombardment intensified steadily. The Chinese employed their 82mm and 120mm mortars with deadly precision, blanketing the Temporary Bridge, Log Bridge, and Bridge 4 localities. In the half hour that followed, the infiltrated infantry crept even closer, waiting for the barrage to lift so they could pour into the gaps they had already created.