Tawang consists of a well spread-out collection of settlements, including

the famous monastery, occupying nearly 6 sq km on a slope and a spur extending southwards from the Himalayan watershed which forms the Tibetan border at Bumla, only about 30 km away at the edge of the Tibetan plateau. It had been nominated the Division’s ‘Vital Ground’.

Tawang itself, i.e., the area of the town and the monastery, is not a tactically suitable location for defence. The area had been inhabited on ground best suited for agriculture and living comfort, near the monastery whose site had been revealed to the 5th Dalai Lama by a white horse in a dream. It required a fairly extensive local perimeter defence. The Tawang defences were sited at the selected ‘Vital Ground’

which was a nexus of minor ridges above the Tawang township, about

15 to 18 km to the north, between Pankentong and Malingtongla, on

the route to Bumla. Infantry Brigade had originally been tasked for the defence of

Tawang.

It was planned to have been held by the brigade less one battalion (i.e., two battalions plus supporting elements, six platoons of 5th Assam Rifles, and the brigade headquarters) in well-prepared

defences, including the local perimeter defence of the township, where

the brigade HQ was located.

However, the Government of India’s insistence that a show of force

had to be made against the Chinese in the area of the Thagla Ridge area, five to six days of hard foot-marching (the only possible mode of movement) away, over steep bridle-paths and foot-tracks for about 135 km, had thrown this planning into total disarray. Brig. Dalvi,

Commander 7 Infantry Brigade, was originally the man responsible. He

explains his predicament:

From the very outset there was a divided aim, i.e., to defend

Towang as well as to challenge the Chinese intrusion into the Thagla area. In the event we were weak everywhere. There was ‘a

certain woolliness of thought and indecision of purpose’. Despite

the mounting tension there was no strategic plan or dispositions

throughout the September crisis.

To be continued.....