This happened during the Battle of Longewala in 1971.

Evening of 3rd of December 1971. India had just declared war on Pakistan officially.

The A Company of the 23rd Battalion of the Punjab Regiment of the Indian Army was manning the border post at Longewala in Rajasthan under the command of Major Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri. It was basically 120 Indian Soldiers and the Great Indian Thar Desert.

Major Chandpuri received intelligence of a 20 km long convoy of Pakistani Tank columns headed straight towards his post. It was Pakistan’s pride, the 1/51 Mobile Infantry Brigade, which also consisted of 2000 soldiers along with 100’s of supporting vehicles. Their plan was simple - breakfast at Longewala, lunch at Jaisalmer and dinner at Jodhpur

It was a do or die for Chandpuri and his 120 men. It was late in the evening. There was no time to get any backup. Even the air force was helpless till dawn.

After discussing the pros and the cons with his superiors, that night, Major Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri and his men decided to take the enemy head-on.

The objective was to hold back the enemy till the dawn when the Indian Air Force could send in bombers to tackle the aggressors.

While the decision to take on a tank battalion with 2000 men can be termed as emotional - Major Chandpuri and his 120 men used a brilliant military tactic, which saved many lives and eventually broke the back of the enemy morale.

Lacking the time to lay a proper minefield, Major Chandpuri and his ill equipped team covered the area around their post, a high ground, with Barbed wires - signifying the presence of land Mines. There were no land mines, just the barbed wires.

The Pakistani attack began at 12:30 AM. Their initial artillery bursts remained unanswered and they were allowed to come further.

Suddenly, the Battalion lead commander noticed the barbed wires and ordered the tanks to halt - There was a mined area ahead of them.

Sappers had to be called urgently to detect and clear the anti-tank mines. The Pakistani tank column sat idle - unable to move - becoming an open target for Chandpuri and his men. The Indians opened the gauntlet of their fury.

The lead tank was soon blown into pieces by a Jeep Mounted M40 recoilless gun, the only heavy weapon with the Indian Soldiers. Soon, Chandpuri and his men destroyed 12 tanks and the enemy was bogged down, without a clue, frustrated.

The Pakistani spare fuel tanks were fired upon and blown, providing proper lighting of the battlefield, aiding Chandpuri’s men to snipe from a position of advantage.

The Pakistani sappers took 2 long hours to figure out the Indian game plan - There were no Land Mines - Just the barbed wire.

But, by then, the battle of wits was lost - The remaining Pakistani Tanks tried to surround the post - going off-road - But this lead to many Pakistani tanks getting stuck in the desert sand becoming sitting ducks - many Pakistani soldiers simply ran away.

Although massively outnumbered and surrounded, the Indian soldiers kept on the heat, pounding the enemy. Minutes became hours and the Pakistanis failed to capture the post.

Soon came the dawn and with it came the HF 24s and Hawker Hunters of the Indian Air Force. The Indian Pilots quickly brought down the curtain on the Pakistani ambitions, smothering the remaining enemy soldiers along with their hardware - it was a complete rout.

A total of 34 tanks were up in flames - over 100 vehicles destroyed, many were captured - 200 enemy soldiers dead - The commander of the Battalion ran away from the battlefield and was later court martialled - Indians had two casualties. The news just broke the morale of the Pakistan Army.

Here below is the now famous image showing the track prints of the desperate Pakistani Tanks in the desert of Longewala.

Longewala that day proved to be the defining moment of the 1971 war. Major (Later Brigadier) Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri was awarded the Mahavir Chakra for his exceptional service, courage and leadership.

His character was later played by Sunny Deol in the Bollywood Movie, Border - released in 1997.

Thank you for reading :)

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