AFVOA Newsletter 03 of 2020

Section 4 – War Diary CV 2 No. 03 / 2020 Page 39 of 167 2 Chicken Neck Operations by 3/5 Gorkha Rifles (FF) During 1971 War Lt Col R Rajkumar Genre: War Diary est of Jammu and North of Sialkot, in between the two main branches of the river CHENAB, lies an area of Pakistan territory locally known as Bhatiar/Bajuwal. In army it was known as DAGGER, till it was named CHICKEN NECK by Lt Gen ZC Bakshi PVSM, MVC, VrC, VSM who commanded our 26 Infantry Division. Our battalion was formed as part of 19 Infantry Brigade. On the night of 5 Dec 1971, 19 Infantry Brigade launched an offensive and by last light on 7 December, the entire area of CHICKEN NECK had been captured in a lightning strike and was fully under our control. Our troops had annexed 180 sq km of enemy territory with a population of about 50000 at a low cost due to unconventional tactics. It helped secure the flank of 10 Infantry Division (Chamb sector) and artillery (King of Battle) deployed here played a vital role in fight back of this Division. Our battalion played an important role in this operation by infiltrating deep inside Pakistan territory ( 8 km )and sealing the ferry along the South Chenab which provided the only link with rest of Pakistan Additional troops allotted to this battalion for this task were as follows. • C Squadron 8 Cavalry(less 2 troops) • B Group 9 PARA Commando • Platoon 481 Field Company • Air Control Team with tentacle • 1993 Mountain battery (Artillery) As Captain I was serving in 193 Mountain Regiment. I was honored to be the Artillery Forward Observation Officer (FOO) with the leading C Company, commanded by Maj BS Malik. We crossed the international border at 2045 hrs on the night of 5 Dec 1971. A total of 1000 soldiers in single line formation, moving with white cloth on our helmets for easy identification from the enemy troops. The leading guides were laying white tapes for easy navigation, which helped the 3 tanks to follow with a gap of 2 hours. W