Story of Param Vir Chakra Awardee Veer Abdul Hamid

Abdul Hamid was born on 1 July 1933 in Dhamupur village of district Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh to Sakina Begum and Mohammad Usman, who had three more boys and two girls. Abdul’s father was a tailor by profession and Abdul would often help him stitch clothes before he decided to join the Army.

Hamid was 20 years old when he was recruited at Varanasi into the Army. After undergoing his training at the Grenadiers Regimental Centre at Nasirabad, he was posted to 4 Grenadiers in 1955. Initially, he served in a rifle company and was then posted to a recoilless platoon. He fought in the ’62 war in Thang La, then in the North-East Frontier Province, as part of the 7 Mountain Brigade, 4 Mountain Division, and came back disappointed with the war. After ceasefire was declared his unit moved to Ambala where Abdul was appointed Company Quarter Master Havildar (CQMH) of an administration company.

When Pakistan attacked in the Rann of Kutch area in April 1965, 4 Grenadiers was ordered to move forward and to collect their 106 RCL guns from the nearest ordnance depot. Hamid was one of the non-commissioned instructors. Due to absence of anti-tank detachment commanders, he was told to take over an antitank detachment. A very good marksman and an expert anti-tank gunner with a new anti-tank gun at his disposal, he made a big difference to the outcome of the war.

Khem Karan Sector: 8 September 1965, 9 am

The fields are rustling with sugar cane and even as Hamid sits in the passenger seat of his jeep, which has mounted on it a recoilless (RCL) gun, he can hear the wind. The jeep trundles over a narrow mud track ahead of Cheema village. Hamid knows Pakistan has launched an attack with a regiment of Patton tanks that has barged right into the forward position. He hears the rumble of armour first and then catches sight of a few tanks that are heading towards his battalion.

Taking cover behind the tall crop, Hamid points his gun in their direction and then waits. The Grenadiers hold their fire so as not to warn the enemy. Just as the tanks come within 30 yards, Hamid asks his loader to load the gun and shoot. He watches the shell go up and arch towards the first enemy tank. Even as he picks up his binoculars, he hears the blast. The tank is burning in front of his eyes.

Hamid and his men rejoice. ‘Shabaash!’ Bravo, he mouths and they exchange wide smiles. They spot the crew of the two following tanks dismount and run away. Hamid orders the driver to reverse and move. Around 11.30 am, the battalion is subjected to heavy artillery shelling and then they hear the familiar rumble again. Hamid whips out his binoculars. Three more tanks are heading in their direction.

He positions his jeep in the midst of the field to hide it from view and, positioning his gun, waits. The moment the tank comes within shooting distance, he signals to the loader and watches the trajectory of the shell. It hits target and one more tank is burning in front of his eyes while the remaining two are again abandoned by the Pakistanis.

By the end of the day, Hamid has destroyed two tanks while four have been abandoned.

Demands are now made on the engineers to lay out anti-tank mines in the area since that is where the enemy tanks are coming in from. They do the best they can under the time available. It is clear that the battalion is facing a brigade-level attack from the Pakistani armoured forces and all they have to fight them with are RCL guns. That doesn’t bother the soldiers who are in high spirits after their initial victories.

The next morning Hamid is back at his job and he destroys two more tanks with his RCL gun. The battalion also faces an air attack from Pakistani Sabre jets but these don’t do much damage. By the end of the day, Hamid and his team have shot down two more tanks. It is a remarkable achievement. That night Abdul Hamid sleeps well. He is happy with his achievement. His citation has been sent for a Param Vir Chakra (PVC). It credits him with the destruction of four tanks.

The next day Hamid shows up on the battlefield yet again.

He will destroy three more tanks (according to his grandson Jameel, who has heard about the battle from a survivor, who died a few years ago). This, however, will not get entered into his records since his citation has already been sent.

10 September 1965

4 Grenadiers comes under heavy enemy shelling. After that there is another assault by enemy tanks. They are moving in a formation of three. Hamid waits under cover of vegetation and when the first tank gets close, he blows it up, quickly asking his driver to move away. Just as they do, a tank shell drops and explodes at the very spot where they were a few minutes ago.

The brave Grenadiers have moved to another point behind a thicket from where they are training their gun on another Patton. They shoot it down as well. By now, the shelling has started. The enemy tanks have noticed the jeeps and they concentrate machine-gun fire on them. Hamid is tricking them by constantly changing his position and by keeping his jeep camouflaged by the tall sugar cane crop. Another tank slowly lumbers towards him, but he does not have the time to move since they have both spotted each other.

Both place each other in their sights and shoot. Both shells hit their targets. There is a loud blast, fire and smoke. Even as the tank is blown up, its shell hits the jeep. The impact flings it in the air. There are screams of pain, a loud crash and then complete silence intercepted only by the crackle of flames.

Hamid is dead. He has blown up a total of seven enemy tanks, even more than an armoured formation can hope for. For his remarkable achievement, bravery and courage, Hamid is awarded the PVC posthumously. The battalion is awarded the Battle Honour of Asal Uttar and the Theatre Honour (Punjab). For the first time in military history, a battalion with only RCL guns at its disposal has fought off an armoured division.

Source  - Tehalka