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Indian 10th Division
in the Battle for Chaamb, 1971 Ravi Rikhye o With thanks to Mr. Jagan Pillarsetti for a
copy of the Official History of the 1971 War. This has not been published to
date. The Times of India put a leaked copy on its website for some time
in 2000. o Additional data from “An Atlas of the 1971
India-Pakistan War: The Creation of Bangladesh” by COL John H. Gill,
published by the US National Defense University, 1999. This is an excellent
resource and the homemade maps are a good effort. The author, however,
probably did not have access to a military symbols software package.
Consequently, his symbols and eccentric conventions hamper the understanding
and appreciation his maps deserve. 51st and 58th
Battalions BSF were in the 10th Division sector. We do not know
their positions. Concerning the artillery, 30th
and 216th Medium regiments were located well forward of Akhnur,
behind 191st Brigade, because the division was supposed to begin
an offensive on the night of 3/4th December. The cancellation of
the offensive created a big problem because the guns were so far forward they
were overrun by Pakistan, and the 191st Brigade sector was not
mined – the brigade was to lead the division offensive. This allowed Pakistan
to overrun the brigade, particularly because it defensive sector was open on
three sides and of excessive length for 4 battalions. We have no information, however,
where 10th Artillery Brigade’s other regiments were positioned. Battalions highlighted in yellow
are given in Gill’s history but not in the official history. The former at
many points is more detailed than the latter. Gill makes no mention of the
artillery. 10th Infantry
Division [Maj. Gen.
Jaswant Singh] -
9th
Horse [divisional tank regiment][T-54] -
30th
Medium Regiment -
216th
Medium Regiment -
Company, 9th
Parachute Commando 10th Division
Artillery Brigade 3rd (I) Armored Brigade [Brig.B.S. Irani] -
72nd
Armored Regiment [T-55] Note: This may not be correct. The
brigade HQ may have been sitting without any troops as the rest of its units
had been sent to 26th Division. In which case 72nd Armd
Regt would have been under direct command of the division. The question of
why brigade HQ did not go with the bulk of its units to 26th Division
is one we are unable to answer. 191st Infantry
Brigade [Brig. R.K. Jasbir Singh] Deployed west of the Tawi River - 4/1st Gorkha Rifles - 5th Sikhs - 5th Assam - 10th Garhwal [Lt. Col. Onkar Singh, KIA] 28th Infantry
Brigade Deployed in the
Hill Subsector, NW of Chaamb [Brig. M.V. Natu] - 5th Rajput - 2nd J & K Rifles - 7th J & K Rifles - 8th J & K Militia -
863rd Light Battery/86th Light Regiment 52nd Infantry
Brigade Deployed at and
forward of Akhnur - 16th Punjab - 7th Garhwal 68th Infantry
Brigade [Brig. R.T. Morlin]
Deployed east of the Tawi River -
5/9th
Gorkha Rifles -
3/4th
Gorkha Rifles (ex-52nd Brigade) -
7th
Kumaon -
9th
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