Page 355 - Leadership in the Indian Army

been prematurely called off at 1 a.m. The senior instructor had told the
others to go home without disturbing Hanut, in accordance with the
instructions he had given to his staff! This incident became the subject of

much amused comment during the summing up, and was remembered for
years.
Hanut performed exceptionally well on the course, and when it was over,
he was posted as Brigade Major of 66 Infantry Brigade. During the 1965
war, when Poona Horse wrote its name into history books by destroying 60
enemy tanks (and losing only nine of its own), and Lieutenant Colonel
Tarapore won a posthumous PVC, Hanut was not with the regiment. After a

tenure of a little over two years in this appointment, he was reverted to his
regiment in October 1966. He had spent only two years with it when he was
given a prestigious staff appointment as GSO 2 in the MO Directorate at
Army HQ. This was the first of his many stints at the MO, where he was to
serve again as a Brigadier and then as a Major General.
In August 1970, Hanut was promoted Lieutenant Colonel and posted as

Officer Commanding Tactical Wing in the Armoured Corps Centre and
School. Hanut had retained the notes he had made during his earlier tenure
at the school, which he had updated periodically during his subsequent
tenures in the regiment and on staff. He used them to bring out books on the
tactical handling of armoured units and sub-units. These remain the basic
books on armour tactics even today, and are still used by the Armoured
Corps Centre and School. In April 1971, he was nominated to the senior

command course at the College of Combat (now called Army War College),
which had recently been established at Mhow. In September 1971, Hanut
was posted as Commandant, 17 Horse. (The Commanding Officer, or CO,
is called the ‘commandant’ in cavalry regiments.) The regiment was located
at Sangrur and was part of 16 Independent Armoured Brigade, which was
then commanded by Brigadier A.S. Vaidya, MVC, who later became

COAS.
By then, war clouds had begun gathering and within days of his assuming
command, Hanut had to move his regiment to battle locations. On 8
October 1965, 17 Horse was carrying out its annual field firing at
Naraingarh ranges when it received a message asking it to return at once to
its permanent location. On his way back to Sangrur, Hanut reported to HQ
16 Independent Armoured Brigade, where he was briefed by the Brigade

Commander. Vaidya informed him that 17 Horse had been placed under