Meanwhile, at Khem Karan, the Indian Army deployed a unique but simple strategy to counter the menace of advancing Patton tanks which was given the code name ‘Operation Horse Shoe’. Realizing the urgent need of an expert, the GOC-in-C asked Virk to report at Khem Karan for a brief period.

General Virk was apprised of the situation. His force was well in command of the Pakistani borders right up to Lahore. He had time at his disposal. He moved back and began supervising the operation. Nearly 300 fearsome Pakistani Patton tanks were rolling into Khem Karan, bombing and destroying everything in their path. There was virtually no opposition. The Indian Army had not responded till then.

Virk had a plan. ‘Let them come,’ he told his officers, who were surprised at being mute spectators in hiding even as the Pakistani tanks rolled into the fields of Punjab in large numbers.

Virk directed his soldiers to break open all the small canals spread across the fields of Khem Karan. Going against every protocol and discipline, he drove a tank and bombarded the makeshift dam, in turn risking his own life as gallons of water came gushing down, swallowing everything in its path, including Virk’s tank. Virk and his soldiers somehow managed to survive the onslaught of the water pressure and emerge safely but the steel body of his tank didn’t. Its turret broke and the vehicle turned turtle. However, this resulted in massive flooding of the paddy fields that made the soil soft and slushy. Overnight, it became un-manoeuvrable. Not knowing what lay in front of them, the Pakistani tanks rolled on to the wet fields and fell into the well-laid trap. The heavy wheels on steel soon sank into the soft soil. Their undercarriages sucked in the slush, resulting in the stoppage of pistons, pumps and motors. As a result, the so-called deadly, menacing and unconquerable battle tanks and the soldiers controlling them became sitting ducks with only their guns operational. Soon the brave Indian soldiers commenced the counter-attack.

Havildar Abdul Hameed of the Indian Army was among the first to show the way. Under the cover of darkness, he crawled on the muddy field right up to the tanks stuck in slush and began shooting at them using his recoilless gun. He blasted three Patton tanks before he was martyred on the Khem Karan battlefield. His valour, together with that of a hundred others, led to panic among the Pakistanis. Instead of fighting back, they deserted the battlefield, abandoning their guns, weaponry and their prized and sophisticated Patton tanks. For the warmonger Ayub Khan, Khem Karan became yet another chapter of shame. So much so that even his best ally, the US, began doubting the potential of its own battle tanks. Havildar Abdul Hameed was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for leaving behind a trail of destruction and giving nightmares to the Pakistanis for time to come.