We had to attack Tololing, two attacks had failed to dislodge the Pakis. At 16000 feet or so, it was formidable. But we had prepared well, seen the enemy bunkers from different sides, lugged the required ammunition up, and I had planned the fire support bases. My men had trained well too, my subordinate commanders were also on the ball. I knew that the attack was crucial, we needed to open the gates to success and victory.
The attack commenced with the artillery pounding the entire Tololing ridge line at 1730 hours. By 1800 hours, the guns were firing tons and tons of TNT on the entire Tololing ridge including Hump and Point 5140. Bofors guns were also firing in a direct firing role for the first time. The pounding of the guns on the objective was a sight to remember for every infantry soldier.
The heavy rounds shattered the rocks into a thousand pieces sending the debris flying high into the sky. The small pieces or the rock splinters which flew in the air sparkled against the fading sunlight. It was a beautiful sight, although we were all aware of their deadly effect once struck by even the tiniest splinter.
On 13 June 1999, we were sitting on Tololing, euphoria swept through my veins, we had captured the enemy position. Then the Pakis started shelling our location, bombs rained on to the feature, and we took cover. We braved the enemy fire assault and held on. This was the Turning Point of the Kargil War - our victory led the way and showed other units how to attack along razor thin ridges in rarefied air in high altitude.
