Battle of Tololing

Battle of Tololing
Part of the Kargil War
Date1999
LocationKargil district, in Jammu and Kashmir, India
Result Decisive Indian victory[1]
Belligerents
 Indian Army  Pakistan Army
Northern Light Infantry
Mujahideen
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

The Battle of Tololing was one of the pivotal battles in the Kargil War between India's armed forces and troops from the Northern Light Infantry who were aided by other Pakistan backed irregulars in 1999. The Tololing is a dominant position overlooking the Srinagar - Leh Highway (NH 1D) and was a vital link. Much of the Indian Army losses had to do with the nature of the terrain as World War I style frontal charges had to be mounted to reclaim the peaks to dislodge the intruders. The 3 week assault finally culminated with India taking control of the peak and changing the course of the war. 23 Indian Soldiers were killed in the final assault, resulting in one of the costliest battles of the entire war.

Major Rajesh Adhikari (posthumously) and Digendra Kumar were awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest military honour for their daring actions on the peak.

Second Rajputana Rifle

Indian Army 2nd Rajputana Rifle was tasked to take Tololing Top. After a night long fierce hand-to-hand battle 2 Rajputana recaptured Tololing Top thus turning the course of Kargil War. At 4.10 a.m. on June 13, Colonel M.B. Ravindranath, commanding officer of the 2 Rajputana Rifles, radioed the commander of the 8 Mountain Division Major-General Mohinder Puri, camping some 20 km away. It was a simple, terse message: "Sir, I'm on Tololing Top." Tololing was so strategic that after Toloing was taken it took just six days for Indian troops to notch up a string of successes by evicting well-entrenched intruders on four nearby outposts with names that have become the talking point of cocktail circuits and village gatherings - Point 4590, Rocky Knob, Hump and Point 5140. It could lead to the recapture of a similarly strategic height of Tiger Hill

Success of Tololing came after heavy price, 23 Soldiers of 2nd Rajputana Rifle sacrificed their life, those also include Captain Vijayant Thapar and Major Vivek Gupta. The battalion earned four Maha Vir Chakras, one of India's highest medals for gallantry, three of them being awarded posthumously.[2]

References

  1. ↑ http://indianstrategicknowledgeonline.com/web/Kargil%20Ops%20Related%20articles%20which%20is%20pub%20in%20Various%20media.pdf
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-01-03. Retrieved 2014-12-13.

External links


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