THE CHARM OF 20th CENTURY CE MECHANISED INFANTRY
FROM SANDS OF THAR TO THE VANNI JUNGLES
A distant
memory in the minds of their loved ones
And their
erstwhile comrades in arms,
They are the
living legends of an era gone by,
When they
were strong and could do no wrong…” – Col RS Sidhu
Training
for War
“…We were all wet, exhausted and shivering with
cold. Suddenly we sensed ground vibrations under our feet and a thundering
crescendo of sound enveloped the bridging site. It seemed to emanate from all
the cardinal directions of the horizon. We forgot our physical discomfort. With
the launch of our bridge successful, the leading Combat Groups of the famed
Indian Strike Corps were already homing onto the bridge, in a finely
orchestrated manoeuvre, to carry the battle deep into ‘enemy’ territory. The
satisfaction of we being the leading elements in setting the stage for the
commencement of deep battle and witness from closest quarters the awe inspiring
spectacle of the armoured fighting vehicles with battened down hatches,
crossing over our bridges in pitch darkness, never ceases to inspire me. It
still gives me goose bumps on the skin…” – excerpt from “Success From
Being Mad” by Col RS Sidhu
Being
commissioned into the Mechanised Infantry in the late 70s of the previous
century was a walk in the park or so it was assumed on commissioning. That the
unit to be commissioned into, was one of the first to be ‘mechanised’ and
happened to be equipped with the latest state of the art Infantry Combat
Vehicle (ICV), spoken only in hushed tones, added to the allure. Probably the
famous Onida TV marketing ad of 80s, ‘Neighbours Envy Owners Pride’ was created
based on this impression.
So
while we the Young Officers and our men did stand tall in any professional
gathering, it did come at the expense of sweat and grime of umpteen hours spent
under the skin blistering hot sun or the skin fracturing intense cold, both on
and under the BMP 1, the short for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty or ICV.
It
meant practicing mounted and dismounted platoon battle drills during day and enduring
night long navigation drives, crossing lined and unlined canals on the move,
driving buttoned down on rickety bridging, periodic gruelling two sided combat
exercises in the larger of which the dust generated haze took a week to settle,
and taking part in battle runs with live ammunition on Field Firing Ranges. We
learned not to dust off sand and dust from the skin, as it would only embed it
further into skin pores. We learned that a dash of jaggery was the antidote to
piles of dust we ingested daily. We learned to eat our dust covered packed
meals while seated on the moving BMP, magically being conjured through the
small commander’s cupola openings. We learned not to touch the metal with open
hands during the freezing nights or the blistering hot days. We learned to see
through the rains, and the dust clouds enveloping our columns in near zero
visibility. We learned that pauses in long tactical manoeuvre were not to take
pleasure in a nap, but to maintain the equipment for the next phase. We learned
the 72 nipple points through which grease had to be passed, and the tools needed
to repair the shed tracks.
We
learned to lead our columns in loading/unloading from ramps of tank
transporters and train rakes, floatation across canals, firing armaments on the
field firing ranges. We learned to dismount from the moving BMP and lead our
disoriented fighting stick to capture the objective. We became the veritable
‘Man for All Seasons’ in technical and tactical proficiency.
2A28
Smooth Bore Semi-Automatic Gun
The
spin stabilised projectile fired by the 73 mm smooth bore gun has a muzzle velocity
of 400 m/s as against 2000 m/s muzzle velocity of T 72 smooth bore 120 mm gun.
The flight trajectory of the 2A28 gun is reasonably complex. Apart from the
parabolic arc in the vertical plane, in the horizontal plane the projectile
initially follows the line of sight till near 400 mtrs. Then it drifts from the
line of sight away from the direction of the wind. Then it changes the
direction of drift and begins flying into the direction of the wind till it
merges with the line of sight at 765 mtrs and then carries on with further drift
till remainder flight. For the pilot gunner to master firing the gun accurately
requires continuous practice both on the Field Miniature Range (FMR) and the
Field Firing Range (FFR).
The
gunner sight 1PN22M2 is quite complex and has to be etched in memory. The
figures on its right were for HE ammunition, and those on the left were for
sighting HEAT and the co-axially mounted 7.62 mm PKT machine gun. For the
missile there was a separate cross-wire. Optical ranging sight graticules are
also ingrained on the sight for range finding of standard sized armoured
fighting vehicles.
The
gun fires two types of ammunition. The High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) against
hard targets and High Explosive (HE) against soft targets. The maximum range of
the two projectiles is 1300 mtrs and 1600 mtrs respectively. The HEAT had a
self-destruct mechanism at 1300 mtrs. Through trial and error method we
realised that the HE projectile could achieve ranges upto 6 kms. However, the
accuracy beyond 1600 mtrs could not be achieved as the sight graticules on the
gunner sight were marked only upto the standard range only. In tactical
emergency it doubled up as a mortar!!!
9M
14 M Malutka ATGM
Mastering
the first generation, optically tracked, wire guided, 9M14M Malutka ATGM, the
main anti-tank weapon was even more complex. The pilot gunner, with his eyes
glued to the gunner sight, had to align the target, the beacon on rear of the
missile, and the aiming mark of the gunner sight all through the 26 seconds
flight time at maximum range. The missile flight path could be controlled
through a joy stick, yes a ‘joy stick’, gripped between the thighs! To add to
the woes of the pilot gunner, the ‘joy stick’ had a mind of its own, just like
the adjacent human ‘joy stick’!!! The missile on launch would not accept any
command from the ‘joy stick’ for the first 500 mtrs of its flight, and this
early phase flight trajectory could vary in an arc of nearly 90 degrees, in the
vertical as well as horizontal planes. There was always a time lag between the
command being relayed from the onboard missile control equipment and the
processor unit on the missile. Continuous simulator and FMR training was the
only answer to master the two weapon systems.
Missiles
nearing the end of their shelf lives were generally released for field firing.
The electronic circuits of such missiles were quite unreliable and have to be double
checked at the firing point prior to loading on the firing platform. Even then
cases of the launched missiles tracing trajectories identical to an
anti-aircraft missile or even flying 180 degrees rearwards in the general
direction of the Fire Control/VIP viewpoint were not unknown. It ensured these
gentlemen remain alert.
Today’s
third and fourth generation fire and forget missiles are, well, for the kids. No
wonder the Pilot Gunner badge was the most coveted in a unit equipped with
first generation wire guided ATGMs, and the pilot gunner has the most versatile
mind and agile reflexes.
The
Driver Compartment
Actually
calling it a compartment is a misnomer. It is an enclosed cubby hole barely 2 ½
feet wide, and barely 4 feet in depth and length. It has a complex array of 17
switches, 7 push buttons and assortment of levers and gears to manipulate. Ask
any driver of an AFV and he would jump with glee at the idea of changing places
with the pilot of a rotary wing aircraft, even if it means dying while trying,
rather than his own AFV. The AFV driver is generally the person with the most
muscled forearms and great fortitude.
The
Fighting Stick Compartment
This
compartment, with a seated height at under four feet, with a diesel tank acting
as backrest, gives all the appearance and experience of a zigzag crawling
tunnel in an obstacle course, during cross-country movement. Its
claustrophobic, its nauseous, and exhausting. Sitting cooped in an enclosed
fighting stick compartment is one of the most demanding, disorienting and
dehydrating experience, and can be sustained only by the most mentally robust and
physically fit troops.
Leadership
Gruelling
Fifty
percent of all training effort is in individual trade and crew integration
drills. Thirty percent of tactical training effort is undertaken by platoon
tactics and movement drills. Keeping track of the battlefield happenings in the
given arc of responsibility, registering the locations of the flanking AFVs,
being aware of the tactical situation by monitoring radio communication, all
this while remaining cognisant of own location and general line of direction,
must come as second nature to commanders at all levels. In mobile battle
command and control is first exercised at Platoon level. If the platoon
commander has been able to retain command and control over his four AFVs,
fighting the battle at upward level is a breeze.
Having to Fight a Different War
Then
came the deployment in Sri Lanka as Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), a unique
phase altogether. It was nothing like what we had trained for. There was no
well-defined enemy. There was no sound and dust synonymous with operations of
the mechanised forces. The innocuous looking passages were death traps with
remotely exploded Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), plastic drums loaded
with upto 200 kgs of explosives, buried deep and surface smoothened. We were
deployed in penny packets rather than enmasse. We were fixed to the ground
rather than being mobile. We were in a hierarchy that was not familiar with our
strengths and weaknesses and neither we with theirs.
But
we were quick to learn. Our years spent in learning and practicing the
tradecraft of mobile battle would be our saviour. The principles of fighting
are always the same. In unconventional warfare flexibility, mental mobility and
robustness are key ingredients. The same skills which we had developed over the
years training to fight on a mobile battlefield. We learnt our lessons and
reformulated our battle drills. We endured our initial losses, and came back
with our fresh learnings to lead our troops to success in small team battles.
We
insisted and were regrouped into AFV and ICV mix Task forces under organic
command and control. We quickly learned to move cross-country and smash through
compound walls rather than move on booby trapped roads. We learned to not use
the same route twice. We learned to surprise the enemy through speed of our
manoeuvre and outfox him with the unexpectedness of our approach. We learned
the optimal size of small teams. We learned to suitably equip squads with right
weapon mix for the task at hand. We learned ‘make safe’ for rocket launchers to
smash our way through surprise encounters. We learned to operate in thick
jungles and densely populated terrain. We learned to induct into the battle
zone in total silence.
We
let our sixth sense grow. We learned to throw the enemy off our scent. We learned
to carry odourless food when stealth was priority while operating in jungles.
We learned carrying staple Indian food was a big give away, as its odours could
be smelled from hundreds of meters away. We learned to suppress body odour,
when laying in jungle ambush. We learned not to reveal ourselves to innocent
looking cyclists who generally preceded the armed militants. We learned how to
read tell-tale signs of imminent militant operation and take pre-emptive
action. We learned the essence of mobile check posts. We learned how to seek
actionable intelligence through judicious employment of informers. We learned
how to effectively dominate our area of responsibility and keep the enemy on
the run.
We
learned the meeting points of mobile and unconventional warfare.
They
are multi directional.
They
are highly flexible.
Accurate
and timely intelligence is a pre-requisite for success.
Seizing
of fleeting opportunities can change the complexion of battle.
Speed
and accuracy in decision and execution is the winning factor.
Victory
lies with the side which retains its capacity to manoeuvre till the last.
A
high standard of gunnery is a prerequisite for the destruction of enemy.
Requiem
for the Combat Veteran
We
came back home filled with a new pride, having passed the combat test of
courage under fire. We had fought a war we had not trained for, but we were
fast to learn, and we bested the enemy who was best in his field. We were a
battle hardened team.
We
returned to more ifs and buts than acclaim. Scars on our bodies mattered not,
it was the dents and warts on the war fighting equipment that drew scathing
glances. Our easy familiarity with our personal weapons reflected disquiet.
Reports of armed guards on duty with loaded magazines sent alarm bells ringing through
the environment. We had made the cantonment unsafe!
Then
came the inevitable surveys, inspections and condemnation boards. What were
initial whispers, turned into loud ‘I told you so’. In three years in battle
zone, the equipment which in normal course should have been good for another
fifteen years, had been exploited well beyond its laid down shelf life and was
unfit for further war. We held stores not authorised, and were deficient of authorised
items. More than 80 % canvas and clothing was in tatters. We held much more
than our authorised scale of ammunition. Rocket Launcher HE ammunition had pock
marks suspiciously similar to striking pin marks. The precious Malutka missiles
were unfit for storage and pronounced dangerous to retain. 2A28 ammunition was
without packing material. We were the stuff of nightmares for the new chain of
command!
The
verdict was pronounced, we not only smelled and looked wild, that we had gone
wild. We were the most combat hardened and yet not fit for war!!!
Peek
Into The Future
The changed threat perception has already reoriented the
strategic focus of our armed forces towards the northern borders. Having
mastered operations in terrain along the tropical coasts, the sands of the Thar,
the riverine plains on the Western and Eastern frontlines, the next frontier to
be conquered is one of the most challenging. The extreme cold climate and extreme
high altitude desert plateau of Tibet, the region where the Mechanised Infantry
shall seek its destiny in the 21st century CE. I am sanguine, the
allure of the Mechanised Infantry with ever new challenges of terrain and
technology shall continue to draw the adventurous spirit well into the future.
First published in Mission Victory India
Very well articulated, refreshing the life with men and machine.
ReplyDeleteThank you Anil Vaid
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