Battle of Tiger Hill

Battle of Tiger Hill
Part of Kargil War
Date 1999 Location Kargil district, in Jammu and Kashmir, India Result Decisive Indian victory[1][2] Highest point in the region, point 5353, still under Pakistani control.[3][4]
Belligerents
Indian Army	Pakistan Army
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Battle of Tiger Hill encompasses the battles fought in and around the peak of Tiger Hill between Indian Army and Pakistani forces from the final week of May till second week of June 1999 during the Kargil War in 1999. The battle, with the concomitant battle for the adjoining peak of Tololing, culminated in Indian forces capturing it.

Indian forces involved in the operation included the 18 Grenadiers and the 8th Sikh Regiment. The battle was one of the costliest operations for the Indian forces in the entire conflict, with casualties of nearly forty personnel killed and nearly a hundred wounded in the entire operation. Pakistan at the time denied regular troop involvement but Indian figures estimated twenty one killed in the battle for the peak itself.A part of the Indian operation also failed however; orders were issued to Major Navneet Mehra to take Point 5353 which is the highest point in the region.^[5] However, Pakistani troops retained control of the post and the operation was called off at 3 a.m. on May 19, 1999. To this day, point 5353 is under Pakistani control which allows the Pakistani troops to observe National Highway 1A, as well as an alternative Dras-Kargil route that is now under construction.^[6] Besides Drass and Point 5353, several other stretches of the road at places like Kaksar are under Pakistani observation.^[7]

Main Battle

To launch an offensive and repel the Pakistani outpost from Tiger hill, three battalions of the Indian Army, that of 18 Grenadiers, 2 Naga and the 8th Sikh Regiment where chosen with support from the Indian Artillery. The total assault had taken over 200 troops while they received rear support from a further 2,000 troops. The Grenadiers further sub-divided themselves into Alpha, Charlie and Ghatak companies when they carried out the assault on 3 July 1999 at 1715 hours to attack from the rear. Pakistani rangers had a doomed resistance under heavy Indian artillery shelling as they were eventually defeated when the Nagas and the Sikhs attacked from the left and the right flanks respectively.

The whole 36 hour-operation resulted in Yogendra Singh Yadav of the Grenadiers gaining the highest military honour of the Indian Republic, the Param Vir Chakra; the battle had cost ten of the Pakistani Rangers' lives while it also claimed five of the Indian Army soldiers' lives.

References

• BBC. Summary of World Broadcasts. p9.
• Low Intensity Conflicts in India: An Analysis.Vivek Chadha. pp153. Sage Publications. 2005. ISBN 0-7619-3325-5
• A Bloodbath foretold. The frontline.
• Clinton urges India-Pakistan talks. BBC news.
• Tiger Hill – how important is it? BBC news.
• Seven Hour Battle that won India, Tiger Hill. Bharat-rakshak.com