AFVOA Newletters of Year 2008

Page 15 of 56 Still later. The Battle of Ichhogil Bund was by far the fiercest engagement the Madras Regiment fought in the war of ’65. It was a tricky mission wherein the unit had to assault in waves, one company at a time from the flank, and clear the enemy entrenched along the Bund with colossal fire support from their comrades on the far bank barely 120 feet across. Nevertheless, It was all over in 2 hours and 30 minutes from the word go at 0030 hours on the 23 rd ; by 0300 hours the objective had been overrun. The enemy casualties were heavy, 48 dead and an estimated 80 washed away in the canal. 11 were taken prisoner, including one officer. Own casualties were considerably heavy too – 49 killed including one JCO and 65 wounded including one officer. [From a para in the twenty-second chapter; Indo-Pak War 1965 – A glorious fight, but a stalemate alas ] Towards the end. Late in the evening on the 16 th the enemy counter-attacked again. The battalion now under the command of Major RP Sharma, Ghai’s Second-in- Command, fought back as resolute as ever to throw the enemy back once again. But the Pakistanis were not done in yet. Early morning on 17 December they came in a big way, preceded by their aircraft strafing the position. The ground attack came at 0700 hours. They gave their best; but it wasn’t good enough against the plucky warriors of the ‘Shining Sixteenth’. Battle-weary, but hardened by more than thirty-six hours of intense combat, they fought like the devils. The attack was brutally rolled back with the enemy finding their enormously mounting casualties no more acceptable. [A para that narrates the battle of Basantar in the twenty-fourth chapter; War in the West 1971 – Pakistan’s day of reckoning ] Copies at discounted price The book, which is 315 pages long, is priced at about Rs. 600.00; but a limited number of copies will be made available to armed forces units / organizations at a discounted rate of Rs. 350.00 against bulk orders of not less than 10 copies. To avail of this privilege, you may please contact the author by letter, e- mail, or telephone. (Please do not send any payment.) His co-ordinates are as follows: Capt. D P Ramachandran, B-18, Ashok Tapasvi, No.9, Lock Street, Kotturpuram Chennai 600 085. Tel: 044 – 24471704 Mob: 9444071788. e-mail: captdpr@gmail.com HOLY FOURLINERS :: NAALADIYAAR By Lt Col CR Sundar The present work by Lt Col CR Sundar sets the Tamil Naaladiyaar into fourline quatrains in contemporary English. Friends go, good men leave you when old, Your kith and kin too desert you, behold; What else comes of youth wasted in profligacy But as a sinking ship flounder at sea? Verse 12