Page 299 - Leadership in the Indian Army

company of Punjabi Mussalmans, and one of Dogras. Unlike the Dogras in
most other regiments, the Baluch Dogras were not Rajputs, but Brahmins.
Bakshi was assigned to one of the Pathan companies.

When Bakshi joined the battalion, the monsoon had just finished and
operations had resumed after a long gap. Usman sent Bakshi with a patrol
through the No Man’s Land to probe the Japanese defences. Since Bakshi
had just joined the battalion and was inexperienced, the patrol was led by a
Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), who had been told to keep an eye on
the young officer. As they were climbing a hill, the Japanese opened fire.
Everyone immediately went to ground. The JCO asked Bakshi what they

should do. They could either withdraw or bypass the enemy position.
However, there was a sheer drop on one side, and a steep climb on the
other. If they withdrew, they could walk into an ambush. Bakshi thought for
a moment, and then decided that they should go down. They were able to
bypass the enemy position and returned safely after completing the task.
The JCO reported to Usman and told him about the firing, and how the

young subaltern had handled the patrol. On the following day, Usman sent
another patrol to check out a hill feature held by the Japanese, and asked
Bakshi to lead it. Zoru took some men from his own company, which
comprised Pathans, and returned with some useful information about the
feature. The CO, Lieutenant Colonel Fairlay, was leaving on transfer next
day, but before he left he gave orders for the hill to be captured, and
assigned the Dogra company to carry out the task. Fairlay had begun his

career in the Dogras, and had a soft corner for them. However, he did not
have much faith in the British officer who was commanding the Dogra
company, and ordered Bakshi to lead the attack. Zoru would have preferred
to take his own company, but he had no choice in the matter. Since the
Dogra company was not up to full strength, he decided to include a few
non-combatants, such as cooks. One of these was Sepoy Bhandari Ram.

Bakshi launched the attack on the feature from three sides, using a platoon
from each direction. There was a bloody fight, at the end of which the
feature was captured. After the company had reorganised, it was found that
Bhandari Ram was missing. Bakshi had seen him during the assault, and
had been impressed by his gallantry. Later, Bhandari Ram was located and
evacuated to the Regimental Aid Post. He had sustained several bullet
wounds, besides which a grenade had burst right in front of him, and he was

seriously wounded. The Regimental Medical Officer was a South Indian,