Latest news with #23rdBattalion
Indian Express
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
This Word Means: Field Marshal
The Pakistan government announced on Tuesday (May 20) that the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army, General Asim Munir, is being promoted to the rank of Field Marshal. His promotion was announced by the presidential cabinet for 'successfully' leading the armed forces in the recent conflict with India, according to state-run TV. He will be the second person in history to hold this rank, after Field Marshal Ayub Khan in 1959. WHO IS A FIELD MARSHAL? The Indian and Pakistani armies are modelled on the British army's system of ranks and privileges. A Field Marshal or FM is a five-star officer rank, and the highest attainable rank, above the general. The FM rank in the Indian Army is equivalent to the Admiral of the fleet in the Indian Navy and the Marshal of the Indian Air Force. India has had two FMs: Sam Manekshaw was the first, ascending to the rank in January 1973. KM Cariappa was the second Field Marshal and was promoted in January 1986. India has also had one Marshal of the Air Force, Arjan Singh, who was elevated to the rank in 2002. WHAT DOES THE FIELD MARSHAL RANK ENTAIL? The Field Marshal rank is typically bestowed on generals for ceremonial reasons or during wartime. A Field Marshal is considered to be on 'active list' until his death. While a Field Marshal does not hold any office in official capacity beyond his date of retirement, he is entitled to wear his uniform at any event he deems fit. He wears special badges of rank, has five stars displayed on his vehicle, and as per tradition, salutes with the special Field Marshal's baton raised to the forehead and not the hand as is the norm in a military salute. AND WHO IS ASIM MUNIR? According to Ramanathan Kumar, who headed the Pakistan desk at R&AW from 2015 to 2020, Munir was Pakistan's first 'mullah general'. While posted as a military attaché in Saudi Arabia, Munir, then a 38-year-old Lieutenant Colonel, had memorised the Holy Quran, a feat that earned him the title of Hafiz-e-Koran. He hails from a non-military background, with his father having worked as a school principal and imam of the local mosque in Rawalpindi. Munir completed his primary education at the Markazi Madrasah Dar-ul-Tajweed, an Islamic seminary in Rawalpindi. He then graduated from the Officers Training School at Mangla in 1986, and was commissioned into the 23rd Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment. He has commanded the 23rd Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment as a Lt Colonel, and an infantry brigade in the Northern Areas as a Brigadier. As a Major General, he served as Force Commander Northern Areas and later as Director General Military Intelligence. On promotion as Lt General, he served as DG ISI and was the incumbent during the Pulwama terror attack in 2019. He subsequently served as GOC of 30 Corps in Gujranwala. Prior to his elevation as Chief of Army Staff in November 2022, he was serving as Quartermaster General in Pakistan GHQ in Rawalpindi. Asim Munir was set to retire in 2025, but legislation by the Pakistan National Assembly in November 2024 extended the tenures of the Army, Navy and Air Chiefs to five years from three years. He is now due to retire in 2027 and will remain the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army until then.
Time of India
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Battle of Longewala: When 120 Indians made 2,000 Pakistanis flee in fear
On the cold desert night of 4 December 1971, while most of the country slept, a tiny Indian Army post in Rajasthan's Thar Desert was preparing for a deadly fight. This was the Battle of Longewala , one of the most heroic moments in Indian military history. At the time, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 had begun. India's main focus was on the eastern front, where the goal was to support the creation of Bangladesh. The western front, where Longewala is located, was expected to remain quiet. #Operation Sindoor India responds to Pak's ceasefire violation; All that happened India-Pakistan ceasefire reactions: Who said what Punjab's hopes for normalcy dimmed by fresh violations But Pakistan had other plans. Read more: Cost of conflict: How India and Pakistan spend their money on defence GIF89a����!�,D; Continue to video 5 5 Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x 5 5 / Skip Ads by by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Dubai villas | search ads Get Deals Undo Pakistani President Yahya Khan followed the key strategy of 'the defence of East Pakistan lies in the West". He knew East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) couldn't be defended for long, so he decided to attack western India and capture territory to use as a bargaining chip during peace talks. While most eyes were on the east, just 120 Indian soldiers from the 23rd Battalion of the Punjab Regiment were guarding the Longewala post. They were led by Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri. The post was surrounded by sand dunes and had very little backup. Live Events Then came news of a massive Pakistani force, over 2,000 soldiers with 40 tanks and heavy artillery, heading their way. Chandpuri was given a choice: retreat to Ramgarh or stay and fight. He chose to stand his ground. As the enemy tanks rumbled through the desert, an Indian patrol heard the noise. There was no time to waste. The soldiers quickly laid a fake anti-tank minefield and took up their positions. At around 12:30 a.m., Pakistani tanks opened fire. The sky lit up with explosions. But the Indian soldiers didn't panic. They waited until the tanks were very close, just 15 to 30 metres away, then fired back with recoilless rifles and shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons. Two tanks were destroyed immediately. Many others got stuck in the soft desert sand. The Pakistani soldiers saw barbed wire and assumed there were landmines ahead. They stopped and waited nearly two hours to send engineers only to find it was a trick. That delay gave the Indian side precious time to prepare and strategise. Read More: Pakistan's gameplan: Always the aggressor, always the loser With no proper maps and little knowledge of the desert terrain, many Pakistani tanks got trapped. The Indian post sat on a small hill, giving them a clear view and a major advantage. To make things worse for Pakistan, it was a full moon night. When their fuel tanks caught fire, the battlefield lit up, making it even easier for Indian troops to aim. The Indian soldiers were brave, but they couldn't hold on forever. At dawn, help finally arrived, from the sky. Indian Air Force jets, Hawker Hunters and HAL Maruts, flew in. Since Pakistan had no air cover, the jets faced no resistance. A brave air controller flying a small aircraft guided the attack. The jets fired rockets and machine guns at the enemy tanks and trucks. The desert turned into a nightmare for the Pakistani army. IAF pilots later described it as a 'turkey shoot' -- the enemy had no chance. By the end of the six-hour battle, Pakistan had lost 36 tanks, over 100 vehicles, and many soldiers. The Indian side had minimal losses. Reinforcements soon arrived, and the remaining Pakistani soldiers fled, leaving behind burnt tanks and shattered trucks.
Otago Daily Times
30-04-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
A journey to reunite brothers
Reuniting two long lost brothers, separated by war, is the goal of Canterbury man Jono Taylor. On August 14, 1939, Jono's grandfather Stewart Taylor and his great-uncle Esmond Theodore Taylor enlisted in the New Zealand Army just prior to the start of WW2 - one as a medical officer, the other as a rifleman. They farewelled each other at the Christchurch Railway Station with Stewart bound for Trentham and Esmond to Burnham for his basic training. For these two men the war had very different outcomes. Stewart came home, Esmond did not. In February this year, Jono departed on a motorbike to take a portion of his grandfather's ashes to Crete to bury in the earth on Esmond's grave at Suda Bay War Cemetery, 85 years after the brothers said their final goodbye. Esmond had enlisted in the 23rd Battalion, also known as the Canterbury-Otago Battalion, serving in an infantry battalion as part of the 2nd NZ Expeditionary Force (2NZEF). They were originally sent to England to help the British as they prepared for the German Invasion, which never came. One day while walking around London sightseeing, Esmond got hopelessly lost, but fortunately met his future wife, a local lass named Rose Harding. He asked her for directions and she decided it would be easier to show him how to get to the local station by walking him there. She said it was love at first sight and he proposed within 48 hours of meeting her. They were quickly married, but sadly his battalion was posted back to Egypt. Esmond took part in the failed Greek campaign before being evacuated to Crete. He died there on May 22, 1941, near Maleme, of injuries sustained during the 23rd Battalion's valiant defence of the airfield against German Army Fallschirmjager (parachutists). He is buried at the Suda Bay War Cemetery. Meanwhile Stewart Taylor, serving as a medical officer aboard the newly converted Hospital Ship HS Maunganui, had only just arrived in the Suez on May 22, 1941, to carry casualties from the Greece and Crete campaigns back to New Zealand. Sadly he saw his brother's name appear as 'missing' on the daily casualty lists . He hoped he was just unaccounted for in the fog of war, but two days later, Esmond's status was upgraded to ''killed in action''. Jono's part in this tragic story of separation begins in 2008. He is a dog handler for MPI at Christchurch Airport. By 2008, his granddad Stewart Taylor's health was failing. 'I made the trip to Crete to find Esmond's grave and cried for a man I had never met. ''I took a scoop of earth from his grave, had it treated at the airport when I got back, then placed in Stewart's coffin when he passed at the end of 2008. ''My granddad was cremated and unbeknown to me, I was allocated a portion of his ashes as he wished they would be put in the earth on Esmond's grave to close out the separation from when they had last seen each other in 1939.'' He is riding cross-country aboard a Honda CT125 motorcycle. After shipping the bike from Christchurch to Melbourne he rode to Perth through the outback of Australia. ''In the spirit of the Anzacs, Qantas came onboard, airfreighting it from Perth to Jakarta, Indonesia, for me.' He then rode through Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand before again airfreighting the bike from Bangkok to Kathmandu in Nepal three weeks ago. His plan is to ride through India, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey, to Crete in Greece. Jono says riding the Honda CT125 is not new as he has previously taken trips through the Australian outback on the smaller Honda CT110, and even ridden up to Mt Everest on the Chinese side. ''It's a slow ride but you get to enjoy the countryside you are passing through.'' Staff at Canterbury Honda in Woodend helped Jono prepare his small farm bike for its long arduous journey, helping out with spare parts and accessories. ''It's not a fast bike but if he keeps the maintenance up on the small 125 cu cm engine, it should continue to power him right through the journey. ''We are hosting his messages and photos on our Facebook site so friends and family can follow his amazing journey,'' says Kevin Wells, a salesman at Canterbury Honda. Jono says the trip is going well despite a few punctures, ''The riding is actually the easy part, getting visas and permits is the hard part, especially heading into India, Pakistan, and Iran. ''The people I have met along the way have been warm, and welcoming. He says he has plenty of stories to tell friends and family when he returns including how his helmet was run over by the Victorian police, to transporting the bike on a Banana boat across the Malacca Strait from Northern Sumatra to Port Klang, Malaysia.''
