Walong was a small hamlet located near the tri-junction of Tibet, Burma and India. It was a small but strategically important place. It was the headquarters of one of the circles of the Lohit Division of NEFA. It was manned by an Assam Rifles post with a small airstrip; only Indian Air Force Otters and Caribous could land there. Air drops were the only way to support this sector. There was a dilapidated ancient trade route used by porters and it was this route that Robin and the others were using to carry the ammunition to Walong.

But there was no porter today. All of them had fled in fear. So Robin and his fellow soldiers were under orders to carry the ammunition to the war front.

By the time Chowdhury’s group reached Walong, the Chinese had started to attack all the forward posts. Under the leadership of Brigadier N. C. Rawley, the Indian troops were engaged in a fierce battle. Dumping part of the ammunition in the underground bunkers, Robin and a few others went out to hand over some of the ammunition to the fighting soldiers. Although Chowdhury was not allotted war duty, he too was at the battlefield.

After some time the communication with Robin’s group failed. Chowdhury went into a bunker that had a wireless set.

The enemy was slowly advancing. Slowly, the ammunition was getting exhausted. The number of soldiers was also decreasing. A deep darkness was setting in.

The hills of Walong rattled with the sound of artillery and mortar shells, mine explosions and machine gun fire. The battlefield was deafening, filled with the agonizing howls and the battle cries of the warring soldiers of different regiments.

No reinforcements had reached yet. No ammunition. No new soldiers either. Nor any new orders.

The artillery and mortar shelling had destroyed the entire communication system at the war front. There was a complete breakdown of the command and control system. There was no means of communication at that moment. No action had been taken to support the fighting from the back. There was no properly organized system of prepared defence. There was no advance reconnaissance. Hurriedly deployed, most of the soldiers had no clear idea of the area. Chaos had overpowered discipline within the Indian army. The words transmitted by the wireless set carried pictures of the battlefield in bits and pieces. Against the innumerable Chinese troops were a handful of Indian soldiers. There were mortar, but no ammunition and no commands. There was also no pre-cooked ration suitable for war in the hills.

The voice of the soldiers asking for support and directions could be heard on the wireless set.

‘We have only pouch ammo now. Enemy is firing mortar. We need mortar and machine guns.’

The soldiers who were fighting with limited ammunition became frustrated – they finally understood that there was no chance of getting mortar or any other kind of support.