Read Online THE GARUD STRIKES by Mukul Deva - Free Book Online

feeling of numbness,’ he said.
    On their backs, the guardsmen had as much ammunition as they could carry, and also three days of packed rations. If what I sensed in them even now were any indication, in their minds would have hovered the fog of uncertainty that every battle brings with it. And of course, the fear, which even the bravest of the brave feel. And rightly so, for that is what keeps one alive in the battlefield. That is what spurs us on to attempt the impossible.
    However, knowing what they accomplished in the coming days, in their hearts would surely have burned the need to prove worthy of the Garud they marched under.
    ‘10 Bihar was leading the initial infiltration up to Lonesar,
a little south of Akhaura,’ Granthi added to the sketch earlier
made. ‘After making contact with the enemy, they were also supposed
to find a gap in the southern defences so that 4 Guards
could infiltrate ahead and cut off Akhaura from the west.’
    Despite the passage of four decades, the words were flowing
seamlessly. It was easy to tell that they all had re-lived these
moments several times before. Having been in combat myself,
I could empathize with that. Such memories don't go
away easily. They come back many times in the silence of the
nights, mostly as nightmares that jolt you awake and leave
you sweating.
    The Pakistanis defending Akhuaura started shelling as soon
as Indian troops crossed the International Border. By the time
4 Guards reached Lonesar, a little short of Devagram village,
Pakistani shelling had become intense.
    ‘The enemy must have obviously detected our movement.
Their artillery fire grew heavier with every passing moment,’
Granthi seemed lost. ‘I cannot tell you what it was like. The first
to cut and run were the civilian porters who were helping us carry
ammunition. Each company had been given ten of the Mukti
Bahini men as porters and guides. They took off as soon as the
firing started. In the process, we lost a fair bit of ammunition.’
    Lieutenant Colonel A.S. Chauhan now spoke for the first time.
    One of the first Emergency Commissioned Officers, Chauhan
had been a police inspector with the Madhya Pradesh police in
his previous avatar . Thus, relatively older than the other officers,
and far more experienced, the younger lot looked up to him.
Even today, this was visible.
     
     
     
    In the wake of the guardsmen, Chauhan was moving forward
with the Rajputs, along with a platoon of Mukti Bahini boys, ferrying
ammunition and rations forward when the shelling started. Before the second salvo could hit, the Bahini boys had run, scattering into the night.
    Having suffered a leg injury earlier that year due to an air burst splinter, while serving as a platoon commander with Charlie Company, Himmeth had tasked Chauhan to take over the duties of Adm Company Commander. It was his job to ensure the boys did not run out of ammunition, food and water. To Chauhan’s credit, before long he had been ordered to command the Brigade B-echelon.
    ‘I was amazed at the speed with which they all vanished,’ a wry smile twisted across Chauhan’s face. ‘One minute they were moving with us and then, the very next minute, there was just my JCO and a couple of our boys left standing there. Some of the Mukti Bahini boys had dropped the ammunition they were carrying, but a lot of them had just run off with it,’ he added after a moment. ‘It was unfair to blame them; they were young, completely unfamiliar with the grim realities of a battlefield and scared of the horrors they would suffer at the hands of the Pakistan Army should India fail to win the war,’ he elaborated.
    Chauhan was also aware that there was no way he could not get the ammunition and food up to the boys. So, even though he was unable to bend his knee due to the injury, and regardless of the pounding being meted out by the Pakistani artillery, he went hunting for the missing porters.
    ‘I sent the JCO in one direction and went into the other