Originally posted by from bharat rakshak
]
The Portuguese refusal to transfer her
Indian settlements of Goa, Daman, Diu and Anjidiv Islands to the Indian Republic, led to
Operation Vijay in 1961. They had ruthlessly suppressed a peaceful Satyagraha launched to
liberate these territories in 1955. In 1961, they even fired on some Indian coastal
steamers and fishing boats near Anjidiv Island. India, therefore, decided to use force to
liberate the Portuguese pockets on her soil.
Goa Operations
On 11 December 1961, 17 Inf Div and
attached troops were ordered to advance into Goa to capture Panjim and Marmagao. The main
thrust on Panjim was to be made by 50 Ind Para Bde Group from the north. Another thrust
was to be carried by 63 Inf. Bde from the east. A deceptive thrust, in company strength,
was to be made from the south along the Majali-Canacona-Margao axis.
The Eastern Thrust
On December 18th, the 50 Para Bde Group
moved into Goa in three columns. The western column (the 2 Sikh LI Group) marched
on the Dodamarg-Tivim-Betim-Panjim axis, the central column (1 Para Punjab) on the
Benastarim-Panjim axis and the eastern column (2 Para Maratha) on the Dodamarg-Usgao-Ponda
axis. The first 2 competed in the race for Panjim. The western column led by armour moved out
at 0630 hrs. The armour reached Betim shortly after 1700 hrs without encountering any
opposition. The 2 Sikh LI joined it by 2100 hrs, crossing over mines and demolished
bridges en-route. Panjim now lay only 549 metres away. But in the absence of orders from
above, the unit stayed at Betim for the night. The same night Major Sidhu of the 7 Cavalry
was killed when Portuguese guards fired on an unsuspecting Indian rescue party at Aguada
Fort.
On December 19th, the 2nd Sikh LI received permission to cross over to Panjim and
the two rifle companies landed there at 0735 hrs. The race to Panjim was won. The central column of 1 Para Punjab crossed
the border at 0600 hrs. Up to Bicholim it moved as the eastern column but from there it
turned on the Banastarim-Panjim axis. It reached Banastarim at 1730 hrs but was held up
there on account of the broken bridge. On December 18th, the water obstacle was negotiated
and the column reached Panjim by 0830 hrs, 55 minutes after the Sikhs. The eastern most column (2 Para Maratha)
moved on the northern route on the Sanquelim-Usgao-Ponda axis. It reached Ponda at 1345
hours and brought order to the town. The eastern column conducted patrolling in the
Ponda-Banastarim sector and established contact with the rear elements of 1 Para on
December 19th.
The Northern Thrust
The 63 Indian Inf. Bde. moved into Goa from
Anmond in two columns. The right column (2 Bihar) moved through a track whereas the left
column (3 Sikh) moved down the existing road. Both columns linked up at Mollem and then
moved on to Ponda taking separate routes. 3 Sikh could not go beyond Darbandora on
December 18th. 2 Bihar went further to settle at Candeapar for the night. Meanwhile the 4
Sikh, the rear battalion, reached Candeapar river crossing at midnight. At 0600 hrs on December 19th, 4 Sikh
crossed Candeapar by wading through chest high water and by mid-day rolled into Margao. It
then marched on to Dabolim through Verna where a number of Portuguese surrendered at 1530
hrs. Finally it moved to Vasco Da Gama where the Portuguese formally surrendered at 2030
hrs. With the 4 Sikh in the lead, 2 Bihar also
pressed on in the direction of Margao. But finding the Sikhs well set on the outskirts of
the town it advanced on Verna. The enemy stronghold was attacked on both flanks and their
resistance collapsed.
The swift action of 2 Bihar at Verna enabled the 4 Sikh to press on
to Dabolim and Marmagao unhindered. The 3 Sikh was put on reserve on December
19th. From here it marched on to Margao and beyond in two columns. Some 400 Portuguese
soldiers surrendered before it on December 20th. A diversionary move was made from south
along the Majali-Canacon-Margao axis, in company (4 Rajput) strength. It was meant to
mislead the Portuguese about the direction of the main Indian thrust. The southern column
marched up to Margao overcoming road blocks, mines & broken bridges and helped in
restoring order there. The 17 Division ended more than four centuries of Portuguese rule
over Goa in just 40 hours. The IAF also played a useful role as its
Canberra aircraft, twice bombed the Dabolim airfield whereas Hunters bombed Bombolim
Wireless Station.
Daman Operations
Operations in Daman were conducted by the 1
Maratha LI. It launched an attack on Nani Daman from the north after neutralising the
Flying Control Tower and Post-175 in a pre-dawn sweep. By 1700 hrs, the two companies had
reached the Garden area south of the airfield. The battalion settled in this area for the
night. At 1100 hrs on December 19th, the Portuguese made a surrender in Daman without
giving any fight. In this push forward, artillery and air support played an effective
role. The Army captured 600 soldiers and some
guns & mortars in Daman. The Army suffered 1 JCO and 3 ORs killed and 1 JCO and 13 ORs
wounded in the Daman operations. Portuguese suffered 10 killed and 2 wounded.
Diu Operations
Diu was the smallest Portuguese possession
in India. A two-pronged attack was made on Diu-one from the north-west and the other from
the north-east. The north-western thrust on Kob-Forte-Do Passo-De Covo axis was made by
two companies of 20 Rajput, to establish a bridge-head and to capture the airfield. But
the Rajput effort was frustrated by the well sited MMG and LMG fire across the creek. The Rajputs (B Coy) where, however,
successful in their thrust on the Ahmdepur-Gogal axis. They replaced the 4 Madras and
successfully attacked Gogla at 1600 hours. The enemy resistance was overcome with heavy
pounding of guns. Portuguese garrison showed a white flag and surrendered. In Diu operations the IAF gave very useful
support to the Rajputs. Toofani aircraft gave much needed support by bombarding the
citadel and the control tower at the airfield on December 18th. On December 19th, the 4
Madras (C Coy) occupied the Island of Panikota and captured 13 Portuguese soldiers.
Anjidiv Island
Anjidiv lies to the south of Goa. The task
of capturing this Island was entrusted to the INS Mysore and the INS Trishul.
While the INS Mysore was to provide covering fire, the INS Trishul was
to land a party on the Island. The assault party called 'Rustum' landed there successfully
at 0715 hrs on December 18th. Another party followed at 0746 hrs. At this stage, the
Portuguese hoisted a white flag near beach Lima. But this was a deceptive move and the
Portuguese soon started firing on the second Indian party nearing the beach. The Army suffered some
casualties in this
treacherous attack. INS Trishul and the INS Mysore thoroughly shelled
the enemy strong points to break the resistance. As a result of this pressure, many
Portuguese surrendered on December 18th. More prisoners were taken over on December 19th.
At 1425 hrs on December 19th, the Indian Flag was hoisted at Anjidiv. |