Battle of Poonch 1971 Operations

Brig Satjit Singh, AVSM, VSM (Retd)

This event is remembered for the heroic action of Naik Baldev Singh who continued engaging the enemy with his LMG (Light Machine Gun) till he was killed. Thinking the helipad to be the main locality, assaulting troops gave the success signal. To their surprise, it was not so and now they were under continuous artillery fire. They launched repeated attacks from all approaches throughout the day and night of December 4-5, but the troops of 6 SIKH and 8 JAT frustrated all their attempts.

Brig Satjit Singh, AVSM, VSM (Retd) was commissioned into Regiment of Artillery in December 1953. He was Commanding Officer of 195 Mountain Regiment in 1971 Operations in Poonch. Being the CO of direct support regiment to 93 Infantry Brigade, he was intimately involved with the battles in Poonch during 1971 Operations. Artillery played a vital role in the operations, as is evident from this narrative. He describes the operations at Poonch in a very interesting and eloquent manner. He was awarded VSM (Vashist Sewa Medal) for his distinguished service during the Poonch Operations.

Contents

Preface

Abbreviations

1. Situation Till 1971
2. Preparations
3. Defensive Operations
4. Offensive Operations
5. Reflections

Appendix A: An Account by Capt SS Sandu OP Officer
Appendix B: An Account Written by Battery Commander
Major CM Bhalla after the Attack on Nangi Tekri