Kargil Vijay Diwas: Chronology Of Kargil War

The Kargil war of 1999 between India and Pakistan completes 25 years on July 26. It was on July 26, 1999 when the Indian DGMO declared at a press conference that all Pakistani intruders had been evicted from Kargil District. ETV Bharat brings you the chronology of the epic war.

Hyderabad:As the epic Kargil war of 1999 between India and Pakistan completes 25 years, here is a chronology of the war.

MAY

03.05.1999: Indian shepherds sight Pakistani troops on Jubbar heights

04 and 05 May: Two patrols sent out from 3 Punjab Regiment.

08 May : Increased shelling reported in Drass -Kargil sectors.

09 May: In the dead of night militants direct heavy fire at an artillery dump in Kargil .They withdraw under the cover of Pakistani artillery fire.

10 May: Indian troops ambushed

14 May: Eight Indians killed in Heavy exchange of fire in the Kargil area.

16 May: confirming gains in the Kargil sector of siachen ,Pakistan claimed that the Pakistan Army seized five very important Indian posts.

18 May: Indian high commissioner in Pakistan rules out full scale war.

21 May: IAF Squadrons put on high alert.

21 May: The Army diverts nearly three brigades ( around 10,000 soldiers) from the Kashmir Valley to augument the Kargil Brigade.

21-18 Grenadiers begin three pronged attack on Tololing

22Reports quote that some 350-450 Pakistani sponsored militants have made a 5KM Incursion and continue to occupy some unheld parts in the region.

22 For the first time since the eruption of clashes between Indian and Pakistani forces in the Drass-Kargil Sector, a kashmiri liberation organisation claimed to have captured several Hundreds square kilometers area from the Indian forces (The tehrik Jehad)

25 Army brigade HQ Hit by the Pakistani shelling.

25Defence officials concede that there has been a gross intelligence failure. Officials not that given the necessary prior acclimatization necessary, the intrusion did not begin overnight.

26 IAF MIG fighters carried out strikes in five different places with several thousand pounds of free fall bombs and rockets

27The Washington post notes that the air strikes are unprecedented in peace -time. Brig qureshi is quoted as saying “ Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate in whatever manner it considers appropriate.

27 May Nuclear weapons threat held out for the first time . By Brigadier qureshi DG ISPR.

27 May within 24 hours of launching air strikes , the IAF loses two fighter aircraft. The Pakistanis notify that Squadron leader Ahuja had been killed and that Fl LT Nacheiketa is a POW.

29 May IAF Mi-17 shot down with a stringer missile in Drass sector.

29/30 MayThe turning point -Point 4297 falls in fierce fighting. Allowing further assaults on the Tololing ridge. The ridgeline was the closest to NH1A

31 May Post Mortem reveals that SQN Leader Ahuja was killed In cold blood Hw was shoot twice.

31 May Prime Minister Vajpayee charges Pakistan with masterminding the intrusion and eyeing shred areas with the air of occupying some more territory.

JUNE

03 June Operations begin in Batalik, Jubbar complexes

06 June clear proof of involvement of pakistani regulars Papers seized from Bunkers identified Lance Naik Arbaz khan sepoy saith khan ( From 04 Northern Light Infantry)

08 Sartej Aziz visit to New Delhi announced by Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman.

10 Pakistan returns mutilated bodies of 10 soldiers of the JAT regiment.

11 Reports indicate that Pakistani infiltration began in January. A helicopter had even video-filmed the entire area.

11 Reports indicated that three trains each with 13 bogies transported troops and weapons from Kohat in the NWFP.

12 Pakistan's foreign minister comes to New Delhi for talks. External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh rebuffs proposals for negotiations saying that Pakistan must first withdraw all infiltrators beyong the LOC.

13 The Indian army ( Rajputana Rifles ) captures point 4590 Tololing. This is the closest point that overlooks the National Highway. War's turning point. Vajpayee visits Kargil amid heavy shelling.

15 US President urges sharif to pull out from Kargil.

15 Indian foreign Minister Jaswant singh visits Beijing and briefs Chinese leaders.

June20 Troops capture Point 5140, complete Tololing victory. G-8 wants intrusions to end.

24 Indian chief of Army Staff General V.P Malik Says “ If necessary ,we can cross the LOC in the supreme national interest ,but the decision lies with the cabinet.

27/28 June Point 4700 held by the Pakistani forces falls to the Indian Army ( Garhwal Rifles). Area west of this ( Knoll,Three Pimples ,Lone Hill ) also held by the Pakistan Army stormed by the Rajputana rifles.

29 June The indian army chief says “ We will end the war on our terms .The enemy has started the fight,but it is we who will fire the last shot.”

JULY

1 July Army regains four more heights ( Point 4700 ) and adjoining three peaks) .Pak occupation shrunk to 1.5 Km from the LOC In the Drass sub sector .

1 July Key positions in Drass , Batalik, regained ( Point 5100) Army spokesman Col Bikram singh said,with this troops of 2,3,4,5,6 and 7 Pakistan's Northern Light Infantry battalions have been identified.( 3,4, and 5 operating in Drass sub sector )

( 2,6,7 NLI operating in Bataliksub sector)

1 July Prime Minister Vajpayee says that India was prepared to face a nuclear attack from Pakistan.

3-04 July Tiger Hill recaptured.

04 July President Bill clinton and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif meet

07 Point 4875 and five points along the same feature captured by the Indian Army .This point provided “ Mutual support” for the Tiger Hill complex.

08 Pakistan rushes in reinforcements into the Drass sector. The fighting is reported as fierce and bloody and in the last 48 hours some 92 Pakistan Army men and 38 Indian Army personnel are killed.

Col Bikram singh said that that these were Pakistan regulars from the Northern light infantry.

11 July Tiger Hill in Drass sector and 6 to 7 features alongside fall to the India Army

11 July Batalik sector regained.

July 12Sharif makes televised address explaining pullout and proposes talks with Vajpayee.
July 14Vajpayee declares Operation Vijay a success. Government sets conditions for talks with Pakistan. Wants it to recognise the LOC as sacrosanct and stop cross-border terrorism at once.

India warns Pakistan over the headline Defence Minister George Fernandes says “ guns will answer” if the Friday Morning's deadline was not met.

July 26th 1999 the Indian DGMO declared at a press conference that all Pakistani intruders had been evicted from Kargil District.

The Objectives Of Pakistan Military Aims In Kargil

Cut off the strategic national highway 1 A ( Srinagar -Leh highway )

Alter the status of LOC

Give impetus to insurgency in Kashmir valley and elsewhere in J&K

It is said that the plans for the Kargil operations had been suggested by the Pak army brass first to then Pakistani president Zia in the 1980s and then to the other Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto in the 1990s, but they both refused to go along with it considering it too dangerous.

Pakistan had tested nuclear weapons in 1998, and the Generals thought India wouldn't dare to open another front on the IB.

The operation was planned by what famously came to be known as Gang of four

Lieutenant General (retd) Shahid Aziz in his book 'Ye Khamoshi Kab Tak' has given various references about Kargil and how four Pakistani generals -

Gen Pervez Musharraf, the then chief of general staff,

Lt Gen Mohammad Aziz, FCNA (Force Command Northern Areas),

Lt Gen Javed Hassan and 10-Corps commander

Lt Gen Mahmud Ahmad had planned Kargil

The major task of intruding into Indian territory across the LOC was allotted to Force commander Northern Areas ( FCNA), a division force and Pakistan's regular Northern Light Infantry ( NLI) Battalions were to be employed for the purpose.

Well trained Islamic Fundamentalist mercenaries from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK),Pakistan and several Islamic Foreign countries, armed equipped ,trained and funded by the ISI, Were given the Supporting role.

Their presence in the area was designed to hoodwink the international community into believing that he intrusions were a part of the Kashmiri people's indigenous freedom movement and that the Pakistan army had no role to play.

Indian Military Fight Back

The first reports of the intrusions came in to an army unit, in the Kargil Sector from the Local people on May 06 1999.

Two reconnaissance patrols that were expeditiously dispatched to investigate .

Suffered causalities on May 08 and 10 1999

on May 09 1999 ,Pakistan artillery achieved a direct hit on the ammunition dump Kargil and it went up in smoke

The depth of the Pakistan intrusions and the extent of preparation soon became evident and plans were made to evict Pakistani troops from the Indian side of Loc.

The Difficulty Of The Task

The harsh weather , Terrain made the task extremely difficult.

To recapture each of the ridgelines from the well -entrenched Pakistani regular forces would be an extremely difficult military operations.

Infantry assaults would have to be undertaken along the narrow super altitude approaches under withering fire from several directions.

It is a well known military Fact that the mountains favour the defender.

An attacker assaulting uphill is at an immense disadvantage

How India Re captured Main Key Peaks From Pakistan Military

The initial progress in evicting the Pakistani NLI Forces from their high mountains perches was slow and causalities were High.

Attacks involved arduous climb over 70 to 80 degree steep, tree-less slopes over thousands of feet of rugged mountainous terrain at heights above 15,000 feet.

Under accurate artillery and machine gun fire .Each step forward in the ratified atmosphere ,braving icy blizzards and sub zero temperatures ,was a feat of endurance.

Each soldier was weighed down by 30 to 40 kg back pack.

The first major ridge line to fall was Tololing in the drass sun sector on May 29 1999.

The Tololing ridge line was the closest to NH 1 and its early clearance was an operational priority.

Point 4590 on this ridge line was captured on June 13,1999.

Point 5140 the highest feature on the Tololing ridge, was captured after almost 20 days of bitter fighting on June 20, 1999, after a simultaneous ,multi -directional attack was launched by columns from three different infantry battalions.

The enemy 's dominance of NH1 was considerably degraded.

The capture of the Tololing complex paved the way for assaults to be launched on the Tiger Hill ridgelines from several directions

In the space of a few days, Point 4700, Knoll and three Pimples were captured.

After a series of multi directional assaults preceded by the IAF and artillery in some of most bloody fighting including hand to hand combat Tiger Hill was captured on July 05th 1999.

Pakistan resistance in the Drass sub sector was all but over.

BATALIK SECTOR

Steady progress was made in the Batalik sub sector despite heavy causalities.

Point 5203 was captured on June 11, 2019.

Khalubar was recaptured on July 06, 1999 after a daring assault led personally by the commanding officer of the battalion despite having been wounded.

The enemy was also evicted from points 4812 and 5000 the same night.

With the fall of khalubar Point 4812 and point 5000 operations in this sector gained momentum .

In the hard fought assaults ,the Jubar Heights and Point 4268 were recaptured the next day.

Simultaneously ,operations to re capture Points 5287 and 4957 had also underway and these fell on July 08 1999.

The Indian Army's official spokesman ,colonel Bikram singh,declared on July 09, 1999 that the area had been cleared of intruders on July 09 1999. that the area had been cleared of intruders to the extent of 99 percent.

THE OPERATIONS CONDUCTED BY AIR FORCE

Operation - Safed Sagar

Over all the Air Force during the 49 -day Air campaign ,The IAF flew 550 strike missions ,150 reconnaissance missions and over 500 escort flights.

The IAF also flew 2,185 helicopter sorties ,logging 925 flying hours ,for casualty evacuation and air Transport operations.

As many as 17 IAF squadrons relentlessly carried out dangerous photo reconnaissance and strike missions during the war. The skilful pilots of the IAF engaged ground targets at high altitudes that were well shielded by Pakistan's air defence weapons.

No exercises or practice runs had been carried out by IAF in this area or even at these heights.

IAF inflicted serious damage to Pakistan's intruder posts, material and supply dump after exhaustive sorties.

THE COST OF KARGIL WAR

The economical cost

The ASSOCHAM have calculated the daily cost of the Kargil Conflict to be Rs 30 crore.

Estimated a total Increase of Rs 4000 to 5000 crore in defense expenditure during financial year 1999-2000.

Physical loss

During the Kargil war, India Lost 26 officers and 66 were injured , while 527 soldiers were killed and 1,363 injured.

Pakistan: 745 ( 45 officers ,700 Soldiers)