Dedication that won Eelam War IV
Kamalika Pieris
Eelam War IV was won due to the dedication of those who participated
in it. The commanders of the armed forces were confident of victory and,
for the first time, the Forces experienced a firm political commitment
to win. Their morale went up and they fought with great dedication.
Unlike in previous years, there were no large scale desertions and
disobeying of orders.
According to Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa the soldiers
realised their responsibility to the nation and fought without
complaint. They fought day and night, under continuous fire. They did
not ask for anything extra as a reward for their sacrifices. They knew
their country depended on them.
“Their perseverance and sense of national duty won us the war”. This
came at a price. 6000 troops died, 5000 were disabled and 20,000 were
injured. Some soldiers are shell shocked and out of their minds.
There were numerous acts of heroism which the public do not know. A
monk who worked with injured soldiers said that soldiers, even when
disabled declared that they wished to return to the front.
They were ready to sacrifice their lives in the final battle. There
was a high standard of discipline. There was not a single instance where
the army was found wanting in its conduct towards women. Soldiers have
never been accused of rape.
Troops suffered untold hardships in the battlefield. There was thirst
and exhaustion. The Malaysian army faced insurgents armed only with
rifles. The Sri Lanka soldier faced an enemy equipped with sophisticated
weapons.
Army got its new ammunition only in 2008; even then they never had
all the ammunition necessary. Soldiers fought in heavily mined territory
and .many lost their limbs. There were no mine plucking machines and the
engineers had to de-mine the area.working ‘blind’, while LTTE fired at
them. Touching slowly with their hands, they detonated the mines using
pvc tubes. This was done under fire almost every day. Many engineers
sustained injuries, most lost eyes, arms and legs.
Air Force
Air Force declared that it had been stretched to the limit and that
what it had had achieved with available resources was tremendous. The
Indian Air Chief had admired the way they had used its limited
resources.
The Air Force fought the war by itself. Pakistani pilots were not
involved. Pilots performed under trying conditions. They carried out
1000 missions in the Vanni, amidst civilians. They had to airlift 500
army personnel using helicopters meant for 30 persons.
They underwent much hardship. When they were short of pilots,
available pilots went up 3 and 4 times a day. ‘This is very tiring for a
pilot.’ Surveillance pilots risked safety to obtain real time imagery.
They burnt the midnight oil peering into the screen to catch enemy
moves on the grounds. They were on surveillance for 6-7 hours at a
stretch. Pilots bravely went as low as 7000 feet to attack targets.
Around 38 pilots and 430 other officers and rankers died, about 350 were
wounded.
The engineers and technicians also responded magnificently.They
forgot about 24 hours notice. In an emergency, the time available for
the technician was counted in seconds. Aircraft were returned to the
flight lines in record time. If a plane was to fly at 6 am the
technicians started loading bombs around midnight.
For each jet they had to load eight bombs each weighing 500 kg
Technicians worked round the clock to patch up damaged aircraft. They
sometimes worked continuously for 3-4 days. They innovated when spare
parts were delayed. Battle damage and unserviceability did not deter
them.
They once took a badly damaged helicopter which was going to be
destroyed and repaired it within a few hours. They coaxed tired engines
back into fighting mode. They took a life expired engine, stripped it,
and put it together again.The electronics specialists kept the
electronic systems going despite logistical and maintenance problems.
Navy
The Navy also showed considerable dedication. During the final
blockade off Mullaitivu, Navy staff did not want to go on leave till
they had finished off the LTTE. The sailors had to stay in great
discomfort on the seas, in small boats filled with equipment, with
hardly any room to move. They had to swim to get there and stay in their
wet clothes all night. They endured all this discomfort willingly.
Military personnel injured in the war were treated at the government
hospitals of Colombo, Anuradhapura, Sri Jayawardenapura, Kalubowila and
Kandy. Anuradhapura hospital had the biggest load. Anuradhapura staff
nursed thousands of injured soldiers with great dedication.
The army gave them a special upahara award. Anuradhapura sent its
difficult surgical cases to Kandy. They were looked after by the Kandy
hospital staff with no additional assistance. Routine operations were
cancelled and surgeons worked round the clock.
All worked willingly, no one grumbled, though their security was also
under threat. The minor staff had their leave cancelled but did not
complain. The injuries were gruesome and required complicated surgery.
In the orthopedic wards, no one had to have a higher amputation, no
one died and there were no serious infections in spite of the severely
contaminated wounds. At times there were over 100 seriously injured
soldiers. Five beds in each ward were set aside for them and none of
them were ever put on the ground.
CDF
The dedication of the Home Guards, now known as Civil Defence Force
should not be forgotten. This was a force made up of youngsters from
remote areas, who were given a single barrel shot gun and asked to
provide security for their villages, which had become soft targets for
the LTTE.
Though poorly armed and outmanned the home guards refused to budge
and paid with their lives while trying to protect others from the LTTE
.615 home guards both male and females were been killed. |