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ACHIEVEMENTS Highest Motorable Road in the World A Field Company of the Bengal Sappers constructed the highest motorable road in the world during the period June 1972 and August 1973. This road connects Siachen Glacier with the rest of the Ladakh over the highest mortorable pass in world, the Khardung La, and was declared open on 27 August 1973. The Longest Bridge During 1971 War
A Unique Armour – Engineer Operation During the War of 1965, three Field Companies of an Engineer Regiment took part in an audacious plan to bring the Armoured Division of the enemy to a grinding halt and thus denied him from reaching his objective-the River Beas. The engineer plan entailed laying of one lakh mines, demolition of bridge on Khem Karan Distributory and flooding of area to deny space for manoeuvre to the enemy armour. Thus trapped between mines and boggy ground, and set upon by Indian armour and infantry, the strongest offensive formation of the enemy Army was virtually annihilated, and the day was saved. Class 100 Bridge During late fifties, the Bengal Sappers were also involved in execution of Beas-Sutlej Link Project. Euclid dumpers which were 57 ft 6 inch long, and weighing 101 ton when loaded, had to be put across a wet gap. Troops of Bengal Sappers, in tune with their mastery over improvisation, achieved yet another ‘impossible’ by constructing a Bailey Bridge with 28 panels in each bay. Construction of Highest Air Strip in the World
As the Kumaoni’s under Major Som Nath Sharma, the posthumous recipient of Param Vir Chakra, held the approaches to Srinagar Air Field in 1948, a Construction Company and an Electrical and Mechanical Company of the Bengal Sappers kept the air field functional to enable air build up of own forces and thus played a major role in repelling the onslaught on Srinagar by the Pakistan sponsored ‘Lashkars’. Bengal Sappers were thus the first engineer troops of independent India to engage in combat. Damodar Valley Project In 1945, it was decided that this ambitious and path breaking project would be managed by the Royal Indian Engineers on the lines of the Tennessee Valley Authority in USA. HQ 624 Army Troops Engineers was set up at Asansol to carryout the preliminary survey. 3 Field Survey Company and 89 Field Company, both belonging to the Bengal Sappers, along with a Forestry Company were established at Maithon (near Dhanbad) to survey, setout, and carryout soil investigation for the construction of a total of five dams. The Longest Bridge During World War II
The ‘Impossible’ Bridge
The Longest Boat Bridge
Contribution in the Field Telegraphy The Bengal Engineers had also contributed in the field of Indian Telegraphy. In 1853 Lt Patrick Stewart of the Bengal Engineers was appointed the Superintendent of the Electric Telegraph. Subsequently, Col DG Robinson, CBE another Bengal Sapper was appointed the Director General of the Indian Telegraphs in 1865, a position which he held for 12 years. During his tenure the network of the telegraph spread over entire India and the connectivity was extended to England. |
The
air strips at Daulat Beg Oldi and Leh, in Ladakh Region of
Jammu & Kashmir, were constructed by The Bengal Sappers at
altitudes of 7,490 feet and 11,100 feet respectively.
A
1153 feet long Bailey Pontoon Bridge, popularly known as the “Grub
Bridge”, across River Chindwin at Kalewa in Burma in 1943,
was constructed by 33rd Corps Troops Engineers, consisting of
67, 76 and 361 Field Companies and 322 Field Park Company
of the Bengal Sappers, under Lt Col F Seymour Williams.
It was the longest floating bridge in any theatre of operations
during World War II. The degree of difficulty can be gauged
by the fact that stores and equipment had to be transported
over a distance of 310 miles from the rail head at Dimapur.
The bridge construction commenced on 06 December 1944 and
was completed on 10 December, when the General Officer Commanding,
11th East African Division, Major Gen CC Fowkes, accompanied
by the bridge commander, drove over the bridge.
The
Italian Capaign of World War II is referred to as a ‘Sapper's
War’. The hilly terrain with numerous rivers made heavy
demands on the Sappers so as to maintain the momentum of
Allied advance. Bridge construction over River Moro on the
Adriatic Coast presented a unique problem as due to a right
angle approach, the bridge could be launched only from the
far bank. Troops and equipment had to be taken across by rafts
and then manually lifted over high banks. Finally, Double Single
100 ft Bailey bridge was put across by 7 and 69 field Companies
(8 Inf Div) on 09 December 1943. It was truly a marvel of
ingenuity of the Sappers and the Bridge was aptly called
‘The Impossible Bridge’ by the formation. Subsequently,
66 Field Company lengthened this bridge. 69 Field Company
was presented with the Army Commander’s
Flag for accomplishing this task.
On
22 June 1941, Germany declared war on Russia and opened the `Second
Front’. Allies had to open a land route through which war
supplies could be delivered to Russia after being shipped up to
Basra in Iraq across the Shatt- al- Arab. 5 Field Company of Bengal
Sappers under Major I G Loch and Capt (Later Lt Gen) JS Dhillon,
his Second-in-Command, built an unique Boat Bridge across this
waterway. The Bridge was built on ‘Mohaillas’ (Arab
Dhaw, a kind of country barge) in two sections- 970 feet
and 830 feet - on either side of the Coal Island. It took a week
to build this bridge and it was opened for traffic on 14 August
1941. For the first time the Shatt-al-Arab was bridged and it
was recognized as the ‘Longest Boat Bridge’ in the
world. It facilitated in increasing the induction rate from 80
to 1000 vehicles per day and played a significant role in expediting
supplies to Russia.
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