ZOJILA

Introduction 1. In Jan 1948, 17 Para Fd Regt was in support of 123 Inf Bde. In Apr 1948 due to the breaking of hostilities between India and Pakistan the Regt less 49 Para Fd Bty was put in support of 43 (L) Inf Bde at Firozpur . 49 Para Fd Bty was left at Amritsar in support of 123 Inf Bde. The Regt was further split up, leaving one tp with RHQ at Firozpur .The Second tp of 51 Para Fd Bty moved to Fazilka in support of Frontier Scouts. On 8th Aug 52 Para Fd Bty moved to Gurdaspur in support of 161 Inf Bde. F tp of this Bty was then sent to Dera Baba Nanak in support of 4/11 GR. Hence the Btys were all detached on independent msns. Zojila 2. Plans for Zojila ops had been prepared in the autumn of 1948. Due to the narrow roads and tracks on which the veh and guns had to move a Parachute Field Bty was required because of the small axle of guns. The lot fell on 51 Para Fd Bty of 17 Para Fd Regt. 3. The Bty moved to Srinagar and joined the Sri Div (later known as 19 Div) on 06 Oct 1948. The Bty was inspected by the GOC 19 Inf Div who was very pleased with the turnout of all rks. His words were a clear indication of this. I HOPE YOUR DEED WOULD BE AS GOOD AS YOUR TURNOUT And of course later events proved how good the Bty was. On 13 Oct the Bty reached Baltal from where the spearhead of the operation was to start. The country was unfamiliar to most of the men and there were gigantic hills around Zojila pass. The mountains were snow clad all through the year. The D day was on 01 Nov 1948. 4. When the Bty reached Baltal, there was already a Bty of 11 Fd Regt there. Tps who took part in the Ops were:77 (I) Para Bde consisting of (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) 1 Patialas Marathas Rajputs Gurkhas Bty 11 Fd Regt 51 Para Fd Bty (17 PARA Fd Regt) 1 Sqn of 7 Cav. J & K Mtn Bty.

5. During these Ops, Lt Bhupinder Singh and Sub Hardial Singh acted as FOOs and Capt Shivdev Singh was the static OP. 6. On 1 Nov 1948 at 1000hrs the attack went in. The valiant gunners of the Regt manhandled the guns along steep slopes to get within range of the attack to provide fire support. Tanks of 7 Cav moved first and Lt Bhupinder Singh was in the leading tank engaging the en throughout the day. Due to screening because of the high hills all fire orders from Lt Bhupinder Singh were relayed to the gun end by Capt Shivdev Singh.

2 7. Zojila pass was captured in no time as most of the en had fled. POWs later revealed that due to the heavy Arty shelling they could not come out of their bunkers even to fire mortars. 8. The advance continued. The leading tank with FOO Lt Bhupinder Singh continued engaging the en all the way through to Gumri plain. The field guns fired approximately 1000 rounds on D day. By 1800 hrs Gumri was clear of the enemy. 9. For their outstanding courage and devotion to duty in this operation following were awarded mention in dispatches:(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) Capt Shivdev Singh Capt VNK Nayar Lt Bhupinder Singh Sub Hardial Singh BHM Sham Singh NK Vishwambhar Singh NK Bhagh Singh Gnr Linga PPS Kohli

10. By capturing and crossing Zojila at 12500ft, for the first time in history field gunners reached such a height. Befittingly 17 Para Field Regiment was awarded the honour title of Zojila for the extraordinary valour and determination displayed by them under such extreme and averse conditions.

POONGLI BRIDGE (1971) Introduction 1. In Nov 1971 in wake of the rising hostilities between India and Pakistan, 17 Para Fd Regt less 49 Para Fd Bty moved to Indo-Pak border east of Basirhat in support of 1/3 GR (49 Bty was in Airborne role). On 7th Dec the Regt less 49 Para Fd Bty was ordered to concentrate at Boyra under 50 (I) Para Bde. After the success of the Bde at Jessore the Regt less 49 Bty was moved to the western sector in Giddarbaha. Poongli Bridge 2. While rest of the Regt was in defensive roll in ITINDA and HAKIMPUR, 49 Para Fd Bty was carrying out preparations for an Airborne role. During the period of 05 Dec 1971 to 16 Dec 1971, 49 Para Fd Bty of 17 Para Fd Regt was a part of 2 PARA Bn group which captured an important Bridge 5 miles North of Tangail and thereafter advanced to Dacca. Poongli Br was of greatest tactical value for the advance of the Bde into Dacca. 3. The plans for the ops had been drawn as early as end of Oct 1971. The plan was to capture the Bridge, Establish a Bn def Area at the Br and then link up with 95 Mtn Bde. 4. The preparation was in full swing. Loads had been prepared, extensive training had been done and briefings and rehearsals to the minutest details were carried out. The Bn Gp took off from Dum Dum and Kalai Kunda and were dropped near Tangail behind en lines at 1545 hours. 5. 5 x 75mm pack howitzers were dropped. The sixth could not be dropped due to technical difficulties in the air craft. Seven Jeeps with trailers were also dropped .One of these Jeeps carrying the command post equipment had a free fall and was written off due to which the Bty operated with min command post equipment throughout. One OP party could also not be dropped and were dropped the next day. 6. On landing the Gunners quickly got to their task of collecting their guns, three of which had in ponds. The first gun was retrieved at 1700 hrs and Tp Ready report was given by 1800 hrs, well in time to support the attack on the Poongli Bridge which 2 PARA was to capture. The en had withdrawn and the objective was captured without any opposition. 7. The guns fired the whole night at the en, who tried to interfere with the Bn which was digging in. A convoy was also engaged and a number of vehicles were destroyed .The Pakistanis made desperate attempts to break through and make it to Dacca, but failed. A major role was played by the accurate fire and tireless work of gunners in spite of the fact that the gun area was isolated and in danger of being attacked at any time. 8. Three prisoners were taken by the gun position when a probing Pakistani patrol came too close. The GPO was informed that an en attack was imminent, but the en did not dare to attack cowed down probably by the fate of their patrol. 9. After the link up with the ground force of 95 Mtn Bde 49 Para Fd Bty along with 2 PARA became the first Indian tps to enter Dacca. The 1st Jeep to enter Dacca was of 49 Bty. For the valour and spirit displayed by 49 Bty the Regt was awarded the honor title of Poongli Bridge.

17 PARA FD REGIMENT 1. The Regiment was raised on 01 Feb 1941 as an Infantry Bn and was called the 8th Bn of 7 Rajput. It was raised by Maj DW Daunson at Fatehgarh(UP). At this time it consisted of A,B,C,D Coy and the HQ Coy. 2. The first Commanding Officer of the Regt was Lt Col VT Smith, OBE, on st 1 Feb 1942 the Regt was converted to 7 Rajput Heavy Auth Aircraft Regt and was constituted of 18 and 19 HAA Bty other than the Regiment Head Quarter. At this point the Regt had a class composition of Rajputs, Punjabi and Muslims on 1st May 1942, 20 HAA Bty too was raised. Eqpt held was 3.7 3. On 19 Dec 1945 the Regt got converted to 17 Independent Fd Regiment. An order was received to have a class composition of Sikhs, Ahirs and Rajput as a result of which 48 and 50 Fd Bty were transferred to 1 independent Fd Regt. 25 Mountain Bty of pure Sikhs from 20 Mtn Regt joined the Regt as 51 Bty and 33 Battery of 4 Fd Regt joined the Regt as 52 Bty of pure Ahir Composition in 1946. 4. To this day the Regt is known as 8th Bn of Rajput and all its affiliations are maintained. Presently the Regiment has a mixed composition and to its credit has the honors titles of Zojila(1948) and Poongli Bridge(1971) and chief of Army Staff Citation for OP Rhino.