The Burning Chaffees by Balram Singh Mehta

Author:Balram Singh Mehta [Mehta, Balram Singh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789354923951
Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited
Published: 2021-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

8

REST AND REPLENISH

The squadron had been in the thick of battle for over 120 hours and needed to be pulled back for rest and refit. Bains had deputed Naib Risaldar Mahato, the reconnaissance troop leader, to guide the tanks down the main Chowgacha–Jingergacha track to Bhadra, designated as the tank harbour. A troop of anti-aircraft guns was deployed to provide protection against sneak air attacks. The squadron A1 and A2 echelons were co-located. All field arrangements to welcome tank crews were in place in the harbour area.

While the boys from the administration troop were busy, helping out the tank crews with unloading and maintenance of tanks, the S/JCO Risaldar Raghubir Chandra accompanied me to meet the crew members. Everyone I met was cheerful, in high spirits and optimistic. Each had his own story to tell of how he sighted the enemy tanks and his own part in this decisive battle. They felt sorry for their comrades who had fallen but then a price had to be paid for victory. After all, this was a shooting war with no holds barred. Chiefy and all others killed in action had been cremated with full military honours. The regiment had dispatched the personal effects of the personnel killed to the next of kin, along with condolence messages from the commandant. Immediate monetary help to the bereaved families was arranged from within the limited pool of regimental funds available.

The details mentioned above may sound out of context here but those of us who lived and fought with those men understood that morale can be sustained only through such acts of goodwill, empathy, and understanding. Morale was, after all, a state of mind conditioned with the reassurance that the sacrifice of the dead would not be forgotten. To sacrifice his life for his country, his regiment, his officers, and comrades was a soldier’s duty. The human relationship that exists between an officer and a soldier is completely different from, and cannot be compared to, that between an employee and his employer, union workers, or communal groups. It is a relationship of life and blood, and stays that way long after the bones have been interred.

The men having finished their errands, were moving off towards the langar to collect their mail and have their first regular meal. Raghubir Chandra guided me towards the squadron commander’s caravan. This is a one-ton vehicle that serves multiple functions. During day-time it is used as a squadron-office-cum-operational room in which he can brief his ‘O’ group, hold briefings, etc. During the night hours, it converts into a retreat for the squadron commander. It is a functional vehicle, with a makeshift folding shelter consisting of strips of tarpaulins hung from the three sides of the vehicle, stitched together into separate compartments so that no artificial light can escape from the shelter. It provides a few hours of much needed solitude and rest for the squadron commander. I was about to step into the caravan when thoughts of Chiefy came flooding into my mind.

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