NEW DELHI, JULY 20: As the news of the fall of Tiger Hills trickled in on July 4, seven battle-hardened soldiers from the Grenadiers nursing their wounds in the Army base hospital here, found it difficult to remain confined to bed.It was a moment of triumph, particularly for five of them when their battalion, 18 Grenadiers, hoisted the national tri-colour on the night of July 3-4 atop Tiger Hill, the most dominating feature in the Kargil sector. They had evicted Pakistani intruders in what proved to be the turning point of the conflict.The pole star battalion, as 18 Grenadiers are called after their exploits during the Indian Peace Keeping Force operations in Sri Lanka, took their unit to greater heights on that eventful night as they repulsed fierce counter-attacks by the Pakistanis to climb the strategic peak against all odds. They were living up to the regimental motto, ``sarvada shaktishali (always powerful)''.Lying with multiple splinter injuries, suffered on June 19 during the long operations in Drass sector, Ashok Kumar and Lance Naik Havaldar Ramesh Chander felt, ``it was not a matter of whether but when,'' for their battalion in its attempt to recapture the strategic peak.Their feelings were echoed by Hav Bishan Prasad who suffered injuries on his left thigh as the Tiger Hill operations peaked on July 3.The achievement of 18 Grenadiers in Tiger Hill, however, do not come as a surprise for Lt Gen (retd) C K Kapur who raised the unit in Sagar (Madhya Pradesh) in 1976. Without making light of the achievement, Lt Gen Kapur said he knew the Grenadiers capacity to surmount any difficulty to achieve the task on hand.In pitch dark conditions on July 3, three companies of the unit started the steep climb from different directions. They were backed by intense and well-directed covering artillery fire. On their way up, they came under enemy fire but continued their advance till they reached the top around 3:30 am.However, it took the unit another four days to mop up the peak and its surrounding areas, overcoming a fierce counter-attack from the Pakistanis from the western ridge. The unit lost eight of its fighters before realising the final objective.Paeans of praise came their way soon after the Tiger Hill triumph and it was awarded the prestigious `unit citation' by the Chief of Army Staff. Before climbing up the steepest face of TIger Hill, the 18 Grenadiers had laid another foundation for the Army in the battle for Tololing Top. But, here the final assault was detailed to 2 Rajputana Rifles.Within the Grenadiers' family, the 18th Battalion is referred to as the `commandos' because of its toughness. The unit was engaged in counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir when the Kargil crisis cropped up.The history of the Grenadiers, one of the oldest regiment in the Army, dates back to more than two centuries and is replete with stories of valour.Its origin can be traced to the 17th century Persian army that used soldiers to hurl grenades at the enemy for the first time. Thus they came to be known as the Grenadiers.The British followed this and the first Grenadiers company was raised in Bombay in 1750. In 1779, the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth battalions of the Bombay infantry and the marine infantry's two companies were merged to form the first Grenadier Battalion.Besides participating in the two world wars with distinction, the Grenadiers won seven Vir Chakras in the 47-48 war with Pakistan. They have also taken part in UN peace-keeping missions in Korea, Indo-China and the Gaza strip.
