Page 312 - Leadership in the Indian Army

to register the eastern and western shoulders of the pass, which dominated
the surrounding area.
After registration had been completed, the company moved along the left

bank of the Haidarabad nullah , hugging the hillside. By about 1800 hrs it
had started to rain, and the valley was covered with low clouds and mist.
This made movement difficult, but it also concealed their movement, and
the enemy lost touch with the company till the morning. Crossing the nullah
, the column began to climb, avoiding the track. At about 2000 hrs, they
reached a house which appeared to be occupied. Resting there for the night
were 10 Pakistani soldiers who had fallen back from Bedori. After they

were disarmed, they were pressed into service for carrying loads. Soaked to
the skin and utterly exhausted, the men kept on moving throughout the
night, weighed down by heavy loads. Dayal knew that soon it would be first
light, and he had to reach the pass before that happened. He kept up the
pace and did not allow the men to rest, except after crossing a difficult
stretch, when they were halted and counted before resuming advance. Dayal

had taken the precaution of hiring a local porter as a guide, who led them to
the pass without losing his way even once.
At about 0430 hrs on 28 August, when the company hit the old Uri–Punch
road, Dayal decided to give the men a much-needed break. After a few
hours of rest, the advance was resumed at 0700 hrs. When they had
advanced for about an hour, the leading platoon negotiated a turn and came
under intense machine-gun fire from the western shoulder of the pass. The

area was open, and the objective was almost 1,200 yards away. Leaving the
leading platoon and the forward observation officer to keep the enemy
engaged from the front, Dayal took the balance of the company to the right
and began climbing up the western shoulder of the pass. On reaching the
top, they rolled down, completely surprising the Pakistani soldiers, who
took to their heels without offering any resistance. By 1100 hrs on 28

August, Hajipir pass had been captured. Twelve Pakistanis, including one
officer, were taken prisoner. There was not a single Indian casualty.
After the capture of Hajipir, Bakshi turned his attention to the capture of
Bedori, which was to be attempted by 19 Punjab. Bedori is a rocky feature,
where it was difficult to dig trenches. The enemy had constructed stone
‘sangars’ to improve their defences, on the pattern used in the North West
Frontier. During the frontier campaigns, mountain guns had proved very

effective in direct shooting at such defences. Bakshi decided to use similar