The Indomitable Turk and Imperial Japan’s Onslaught

In his obituary on his great friend Lt Gen Attiqur Rahman, legendary columnist Ardeshir Cowasjee referred to him as “Herr Generalfeldmarschall Attiq von Rachmann”. It was a befitting title for the general who had a unique blend of qualities that earned him a sword of honour, a military cross, promotions till the rank of lieutenant general and the governorship of a province!

Attiq (fondly called “Turk”), was born in 1918 to Lt Col Mohammed Abdur Rahman of the Indian Medical Service. His father had served in France and Persia during the First World War and was thrice mentioned in dispatches. In his autobiography Attiq admits that he had little parental guidance during his school days and his character and personality were formed at St. Paul’s School, London, where he was a boarder for ten years from the age of eight onwards. He was looked after by his housemaster and the school tried to instill in him what he described as the “nebulous traits of uprightness, manners, justice, rights and honour”. He also acquired a tremendous sense of humour that made him many long lasting friends. He entered the Indian Military Academy (IMA) at Derahdun in 1936 and two- and-a-half years later passed out as the top cadet with the Sword of Honour. Since the IMA commenced in 1932, he was the fourth Muslim officer to be awarded the Sword – the others being M.Z. Khan, Altaf Qadir, M.M.A. (Hesky) Baig and Hissam el Effendi.

In a dusk made darker by the dust of vehicles, Attiq unwittingly joined a Japanese column but managed to extricate himself from the situation before he was detected!

One of Attiq’s instructors at IMA was Jimmy Carter, a first-rate officer of 4/12th Frontier Force Regiment who may have convinced Attiq to opt for his battalion. The 4th Battalion (Sikhs) 12th Frontier Force (FF) Regiment which had been raised in Ludhiana in 1846 had a long and distinguished record of service.

Attiq joined in 1940 while the battalion was on active service in the Northwest Frontier. It was one of the eight Indianized infantry battalions and had a number of Indian officers from Sandhurst as well as IMA. Amongst the Muslim officers were Mian (Ganga) Hayauddin, Khalid Shaikh, Altaf Qadir and Fazal Muqeem, all of whom also became general officers.

Attiq was befriended by Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, the architect of operations by the Indian Army during the conflict in erstwhile East Pakistan in 1971 – and who retired as a field marshal.

Very soon, Attiq was entrusted to command a platoon and had his baptism of fire during the Ahmadzai Operations in 1939.

Late in the summer of 1941, his battalion mobilized from its base in Rawalpindi and set sail for Rangoon. They were two days short of their destination when the Japanese landed on the Malayan Peninsula. Within a month the Japanese Fifteenth Army also invaded southern Burma from Thailand and 4/12th FF was in the thick of fighting. It was an unpleasant change from skirmishing with tribal fighters in the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) to a full-scale war with a ruthless and unforgiving army.

The Japanese rapidly closed up to Moulmein, a port on the mouth of the Salween River where 4/12th FF fought a rearguard action for the famous 17 Indian Division.

Manekshaw’s company was the first in contact and according to Attiq, it “put up an excellent show of textbook tactics [...] withdrew by stages, broke contact and returned with its tail still high”. Attiq who was performing the duties of adjutant went ahead to withdraw some other detachments. While marching back in a dusk made darker by the dust of vehicles, he unwittingly joined a Japanese column but managed to extricate himself from the situation before he was detected!

As was the case in other battalions, the officers were hard-pressed to steady their troops in engagements with the Japanese. The Indian Army had rapidly expanded and many old and steady battalions like 4/12th FF had been drastically “milked” of well-trained soldiers and replaced by raw recruits. When a small group of Japanese infiltrated into the defensive perimeter of the division one night and opened fire at dawn, there was total bedlam. In the panic, many troops of the division including 400 soldiers of 4/12th FF disappeared. Having forcibly commandeered trains, they were finally apprehended 460 km behind at Meiktila! On their return to the unit, the VCOs who had bolted with them were court-martialled.

17 Indian Division fell back toward the Sittang River in general disorder. 4/12th FF was holding part of the perimeter guarding the road/rail bridge and Manekshaw’s company was again back in action. It recaptured a position from the Japanese but the officer was seriously wounded and Attiq who had been sent to find out the situation was distressed to see his friend being carried back by the orderly. Attiq took over the company in a situation where they were being fired at by own troops and the Japanese – both of whom were trying to get to the bridge. The poorly organized defense was in danger of collapsing and fearing that the bridge would fall intact to the Japanese, the troops guarding the perimeter were pulled back and the bridge was blown. Two brigades of 17th Division marooned on the other side could have been wiped but the Japanese wanted to take Rangoon fast, so they disengaged and headed north in search of another crossing-point. The survivors of the 17th Division swam and ferried themselves over the 600-metre-wide river in broad daylight, abandoning all their heavy equipment. The Battle of the Sittang Bridge was one of the darkest chapters in the Burma Campaign for the British Indian Army and Attiq witnessed it firsthand.

Along with the other remnants of 17 Division who survived the near disaster at Sittang Bridge, 4/12th was able to slip away to the north. After an exhausting slog of three months during which they were constantly harassed by the Japanese ground troops and their air, they made it to the relative safety of Imphal. The arrival of the Monsoons provided a breather and Attiq left for Shimla for a well-deserved leave – but not before he and ninety percent of the battalion went down with malaria. 17 Division was extricated, retrained and equipped for jungle warfare and sent back to Imphal. When the Japanese launched their last desperate offensive in March 1944 to destroy Field Marshal Slim’s Fourteenth Army, Attiq was again on leave. He headed back at fast as possible and on the final leg from Dimapur to Imphal (which was surrounded by the Japanese) he used the old school net to be flown in.

17 Division had been guarding the southern approach to the plains of Imphal along the Tiddim Road. Under the onslaught of the Japanese 33 Division, it had conducted a very steady fighting withdrawal of 240 kms through tough jungle terrain. The Japanese did not fully comprehend that the complexion of warfare in Burma had changed. The Japanese were no longer held in awe and the Fourteenth Army had sufficient fighting power including a strong air force for replenishment and ground support missions. When Atiq joined his battalion in early May 1944 near Bishenpur (14 kms south of Imphal), the Japanese were already fighting a losing battle. Their 214th Regiment, which had been operating in this area for the past two months, was cut off from its’ division, was critically short of supplies and had many wounded. A desperate attempt by elements of the Japanese 215th Regiment had failed to linkup and the 214th Regiment commanded by Col Sakuma was forced to withdraw to the hills west of Bishenpur. 4/12th FF was under command 50th Parachute Brigade which was pushing the Japanese regiment further away from its Line of Communication with the 33 Division. The operations commenced on the 30th of May with Wainen captured by a Gurkha battalion in its second attempt. The next day 4/12th FF cleared Bungte and two days later after a strong airstrike captured a ridge above the village and 7/10th Baluch (15th Baloch) took Point 3351. The next objective was Nunggang but the Baloch and Piffers were driven back.

At this juncture, Attiq’s company was tasked to capture an overlooking feature named Shell Hill which another company of 4/12th had failed to secure a day earlier. His “Company of Pathans” was reinforced by a platoon from the Dogra Company which was a Godsend and saved the day. Conditions for the attack were bad as usual. The approach march was long and tiring as all the streams were in spate and the few paths up the wooded hills were steep and slippery. Having spent a night of great discomfort in the rain, with great élan the Pashtun troops stormed and took the hill under cover of tremendous bombardment from artillery and air. Subedar Sattar Khan wrestled with a Japanese officer, who blew himself and the VCO up with a grenade. Another artillery bombardment beat back an inevitable counterattack. As dusk approached, the company rolled out the barbed wire, sent out the listening posts and bunkered down for the night.

The calm was shattered by Japanese grenades and firing. Many of the troops who had been magnificent in the attack now bolted, followed by a barrage of abuses in Pashto from the VCOs

Amidst all this success Attiq admits that he made one big blunder. “For some unknown reason, like an idiot, I ordered the listening posts to return at midnight”. Two hours later, the calm was shattered by Japanese grenades and firing. Many of the Frontier troops who had been magnificent in the attack now bolted, followed by a barrage of abuses in Pashto from the VCOs. Fortunately the Dogra Platoon under Subedar Bikka Ram remained firm to a man. Attiq also did not lose his nerve and radioed for an artillery barrage right onto his position – what in military parlance is called “Defensive Fire (DF) SOS”. The Japanese were caught in the open and suffered heavily. In all, the company lost only one killed and twenty injured and the timid-hearted who had bolted were rounded up and returned sheepishly. ‘Punch’ Cowan, the divisional commander had been watching the attack. To honour the battalion, Shell Hill was renamed Piffer’s Hill and Attiq was recommended for a Military Cross. The final part of the citation reads:

“During the entire action, Major RAHMAN showed a high degree of dash and gallantry which combined with cool leadership so inspired his men that the action was a complete success [...] while 30 dead Japanese were picked up,” including two officers. The citation was countersigned by none less than Lt Gen William Slim, Commander Fourteenth Army and Attiq was very proud to be subsequently decorated by him at an investiture ceremony.

When the monsoon broke, 17 Division was once again withdrawn to rest and refit. Attiq went to attend the Staff Course at Quetta and returned to Burma on the staff of a brigade. At the end of the war, he was posted as an instructor to the Indian Military Academy and at the birth of Pakistan, along with others like Tikka Khan and S. G. Mehdi MC, he was posted to Kakul to raise the Pakistan Military Academy.

Attiq went on to have an enviable career in the Pakistan Army, retiring as a lieutenant general and was subsequently the Governor of West Pakistan. He passed away in 1996.