Page 309 - Leadership in the Indian Army

Punjab, was to advance along Point 10048–Point 110944–Bedori–Kuthnar
di Gali–Hajipir pass. The right column, comprising 1 Para, was to advance
along Uri–Sank–Ledwali Gali–Hajipir pass.

The attack was launched on the night of 25 August. By 0130 hrs on 26
August, 19 Punjab had captured Pathra. However, it could not proceed
further to Bedori due to the rugged and precipitous terrain and stiff
resistance by the enemy, and fell back to Pathra by first light. On the right
axis, 1 Para launched their attack on Sank as planned. Initially, the
assaulting troops lost their way due to lack of topographical information
about the feature. In a subsequent attempt the same night, they were held up

by intense enemy fire and suffered about 30 casualties. The forward
companies were pinned down, and had to be extricated the next morning
with great difficulty. Bakshi was now in a dilemma, since the attacks on
Bedori and Sank had both failed. He decided to attack Sank again, using 1
Para, and requested Divisional HQ to assign the task of capturing Bedori to
161 Infantry Brigade. To add to his worries, at about midday on 26 August,

he received a ‘personal for’ message from the Army Commander,
expressing dissatisfaction at the heavy expenditure of artillery ammunition,
which ‘was not commensurate with the results’. After the failure of his
initial attacks, Bakshi knew that if he failed again, he was unlikely to
remain in command for long. Hence it was all the more important that the
enemy positions be softened up by a heavy barrage of artillery before the
attack went in. If he succeeded, no one would hold the heavy ammunition

expenditure against him. If he failed, he would be sacked in any case. He
decided to disregard the signal, and go ahead with the attack as planned.
At about 1500 hrs on 26 August, Bakshi got a telephone call from the
General Staff Officer Grade 1 (GSO 1) from Headquarters 19 Infantry
Division, who informed him that Bedori had been captured by 161 Infantry
Brigade. Bakshi was skeptical, since none of his troops had reported any

movement or battle noises. When he expressed his doubts, the GSO 1
connected him to Commander 161 Infantry Brigade, who confirmed the
news. Bakshi then decided to modify his plan, and asked 4 Rajput to resume
the advance along the left axis and proceed to Kuthnar Di Gali, skirting
round the western slopes of Bedori. The attack of 1 Para on Sank would go
ahead as planned.
The attack by 1 Para on Sank went in at 2230 hrs after a heavy artillery

barrage. To break up the assault, the enemy opened up with automatic