HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Oct 18: Indian Army is celebrating the diamond jubilee of the Battle of Walong, a shining example of unparalleled bravery, guts and sacrifice by Indian Army soldiers fighting the Chinese onslaught in 1962.
The month-long celebration was inaugurated by general officer commanding Spear Corps in the Easternmost location of India at Walong. The GOC paid homage at the War Memorial and interacted with the war veterans. He also honoured the porters who participated in the Battle of Walong. An equipment display was also organised for the locals as part of the ‘Know Your Army’ campaign.
Sixty years ago, during the 1962 Indo-China war, the Indian Army gave a bloody nose to the Chinese in the ‘Battle of Walong’. The Indian Army launched its only counterattack during the war to stall the advancing PLA soldiers. The brave hearts of the Indian Army held back the Chinese troops for 27 days, which forced the Chinese to deploy its reserve division from Tawang to Walong. Outnumbered and with little ammunition and no resource of any kind, the valiant troops continued to hold their ground in a classic example of fighting till last man, last round. This saga of valour and sacrifice serves as a tale of inspiration for generations to come.
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To commemorate the occasion, a month-long celebration which is aligned with the operations and events as it occurred in October to November 1962 will be organised all over the country to include lectures on the Battle of Walong at Army War College, Mhow, Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and for the general public at Kolkata. It also includes motorcycle rally being flagged off from Tezpur which will visit the historical battlefields of 1962 collecting soils from these battle fields, which will thereafter be instated at Walong War Memorial.
The celebrations will culminate on November 17, 2022, at Walong wherein cycle rally and motorcycle expeditions will be flagged in and a large number of war veterans, their relatives and locals of the area who participated in the battle will be honoured.
