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. Abduls 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 doesnt 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 dont 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