Books | Blood, Sweat and Tears

How 18 Grenadiers won Tiger Hills during the Kargil conflict. An extract

Capt. (Hony) Yogendra Singh Yadav (retd)

It went on like this for a very long time. Every moment, some or the other comrade was getting hurt or breathing his last. But we had made up our minds-we would not retreat come what may!

I noticed that a fellow who fired sniper rifles, was surrounded by Pakistanis. So Anant Ram, a comrade who had trained with me, and I had to go to him to help. As soon as I advanced towards him to help, a grenade fell near me and burst. A shrapnel from it hit me behind my knee. The piercing pain made me feel like my leg had been cut off.

As I fell, I looked back to see the extent of damage the grenade had done. I noticed that leg had not been cut off, but the wound was very deep. I started giving myself first aid. As I was doing it, another grenade burst in front of me and a shrapnel hit me under my eye and nose, causing a deep wound. I felt that I had lost my eyes.

For a long time, I could see nothing. I lay there behind the rock. With time, I could see some light seeping into my eyes. When I looked at myself, I saw that my whole body was covered with blood. My nose was bleeding heavily. I tried hard to control it, but in vain. Then I mustered up all my courage and somehow dragged myself to my comrade Lance Naik Naresh Kumar. He was trying to make his bunker higher and firing back at those who were firing at him, all at the same time.

I sat with my back to a rock and started firing, trying to clean the blood from my nose. Then I told Naresh to give me first aid as I had lost a lot of blood. He looked at me and said, ‘I’ll do it soon. Keep on firing.’

I said, ‘Right sir.’

After some time, he took his field patti from his pocket. Just as he raised his hand to open it, a bullet hit him on the head. His head burst open and blood oozed out.

I held his hand because he was falling backwards. I could still only see hazily, so I wasn’t sure what had happened.

I said, ‘What happened sir? Say something!’

I couldn’t hear anything except gunfire, and I understood what must have happened.

Anant Ram was sitting by my side. I said to him. ‘Sir has been hit by a bullet.’

He was stunned. Just as he was about to say something, a bullet hit him on the chest and he was gone in a moment.

I called out to my mates down below, ‘Sir, two jawans have been hit.’

A voice asked, ‘How are they?

I tried to sound brave as I said, ‘We have lost them, sir.’

I could say only this when bullets rained on us afresh. The enemy had surrounded us on three sides.

That was indeed a very painful moment. Even today when I start talking about it, when I think about the brave and dutiful soldiers who laid down their lives for their country, tears start flowing from my eyes.

There were three or four of us and the enemies were no less than thirty-five. The guns spewed fire and bodies of soldiers of both sides lay scattered. The last thought of our jawans was that their own deaths did not matter; the Army should win.

All my comrades had laid down their lives for their country. I was partially sitting among them, my body covered with blood. I remembered the lines I had heard somewhere.

Boundaries are not drawn on paper in ink; they are made up by the swords of the brave.

The enemy shot at my fellows, who were already dead, to ensure that they weren’t alive.

****

As I was watching all this, a Pakistani soldier started firing at me. He shot at my left hand and right leg. I could see a sort of smoke coming out of the places where the bullets hit me.

I lay quietly in spite of the intolerable pain. No soldier leaves his enemy alive. These soldiers were firing at us to see if anyone was alive. Finally, they were convinced that everyone on our side had died.

I lay helpless, suppressing my pain, but did not lose my mental strength. My spirituality helped me maintain calm in the face of such grave adversity. I kept up my courage and patience. In a situation like this, it is very important to be in full control of your sense. I was looking for an opportunity when they became careless and I could do something.

Just then, their commander sent a message to their base comp in Mushkoh valley. He said ‘We have killed a group of Hindustani soldiers who had come near the top. There is a medium machine gun post below. You wait for us there. We are coming down.’

I heard this. I thought if they are able