Thumbnail Sketches of Other Jat Battalions

Last updated January 16, 2010

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:The_Jat_Regiment_Chrome_Insigna.JPG

This is a holding area for information about other battalions until we have enough material for a separate battalion page.

Entries marked with a star are the work of Hamid Hussain. Other entries, unless marked, are the work of Ravi Rikhye.

2 Jat

Battle of Dhalai, East Bengal. 31^st October to 3^rd November 1971. Was opposed by B/30^th Frontier Force in a series of fierce battles, losing 44 KIA and 89 WIA. The Pakistanis lost 68 KIA from 30 FF and 89 from a militia company under command of B/30^th Frontier Force. The higher number of defender casualties occurred because a second Indian infantry battalion participated, along with two artillery regiments. The battalion was part of 61 Mountain Brigade, itself under XXXIII Corps.

The battle as seen from Pakistan’s side, along with a lengthy analysis from 2 Jats’ side, is available at  http://www.defencejournal.com/dec98/battle-dhalai.htm

*In 1971 war, 2 Jat was commanded by Lt. Colonel Dalal and 30 Frontier Force (FF) was commanded by Lt. Colonel Ahmad Mukhtar Khan.  Among 30 FF losses was the battalion 2i/c  Major Raja Javed Akhtar.   

3 Jat 

There were actually two battles for Dograi fought by 3 Jat, one on September 6, and the other on September 20-22.

Won fame in the Battle of Dograi, 1965. Was part of 54^th Brigade, 15^th Infantry Division, XI Corps. Lt. Col. Desmond Hayde IC-4036 September 6, 1965 MVC. Dograi was targeted because it was the site of one of the 4 bridges across the Icholgil Canal. 3 Jat was to follow on 15^th Dogra to take the other side, establish a bridgehead for continuing to offensive to Lahore. After 15 Dogra suffered heavy losses, 3 Jat was ordered forward.

With C/14th Horse, the battalion won through to Dograi, but found the bridge across the Ichogil destroyed. Nonetheless, A and C Companies crossed the river. A Company was counterattacked by Pakistan armor, and lacking any AT weapons, was forced back to the canal's east bank. With C/14 Horse fighting from the east bank, A Company went back to the west bank. Now it had to be withdrawn for lack of AT weapons. Meanwhile, the brigade commander, without a link to the battalion, could not tell what was happening and ordered the battalion to withdraw east, partly because it was getting on in the day and he did not want the battalion left defenseless at night, well inside enemy territory. Accordingly, C Company was also withdrawn.

Meanwhile, learning that Dograi had been captured, GOC 15 Division went to the Brigade HQ. Learning that the battalion was withdrawing, he ordered Brigade to countermand the withdrawal, but as Brigade could use only the tanks' links, he got through too late and the Jats had already passed through C/14 Horse.

To complicate matters, after learning Dograi was being evacuated, the Corps and Army Commanders both reached the division command post. The state of Indian Army field communications can be understood in yet another example: GOC 15^th Division had no idea that 1^st Jat, supposedly protecting his north flank, had been forced back from the Ichogil Canal.

The battalion fought under adverse circumstances. They had no radio link with brigade HQ as the rear link could not be brought up; nor have an artillery FOO attached. Orders were being conveyed from Brigade though the tanks' radio-link.

Major A.R. Tyagi IC-13056 MVC Posthumous September 21, 1965. Captain Kapil Singh Thapa IC-14608 MVC Posthumous September 31, 1965. Subedhar Khazan Singh JC-8199 Vr.C. Posthumous September 6, 1965. Two other Vr.C .

*All companies of 3 Jat fought battles with elite Pakistani battalions in the sector.  A company led by Major Asha Ram Tyagi locked horns with 8 Punjab and 16 Punjab of Pakistan army.  Tyagi was killed in action.  B company led by Major Sandhu fought with a platoon of 3 Baloch (commanding officer of 3 Baloch was indomitable Lieutenant Colonel Tajjamul Hussain who again gave tough time to Indians in a battle six years later in 1971 war at Hilli commanding a brigade).  C company led by Major Yadav fought an epic company level intense battle with a company of 18 Baloch (now 3 Sindh).  Large number of soldiers of both 3 Jat and 18 Baloch died in close quarter battle including hand to hand fight.  3 Jat put up a very good show against Pakistan’s 16 Punjab which was exhausted due to continuous operations.  In the firefight, Jats bagged about 50 prisoners including commanding officer of 16 Punjab Lt. Colonel G.F. Golwala.  About 100 soldiers of 16 Punjab were able to cross the canal into 3 Baloch area.  3 Jat held on to their positions when 1 Baloch launched a ferocious counter attack.  1 Baloch had over one hundred casualties in less than an hour.  Total losses of 3 Jat were 58 killed including four officers and 157 wounded including six officers.

Further details of Second Dograi and the context for 3 Jats operations can be found in excerpts from The 1965 war, the inside story: Defence Minister Y.B. Chavan's diary of India By R. D. Pradhan, pages 79-81, as available in Google Books.

1971: The battalion was under Southern Command in the desert. No further details at this time.