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Combat Engineer Support in Siachen Glacier

According to the Indian scriptures, all areas above the tree line are unfit for habitation. Such areas are ascended by humans at the end of their ‘van-prasth’ stage to seek salvation, as was done by the Pandavas. Such an assertion is also supported scientifically. Lack of flora and fauna, coupled with acute shortage of oxygen and excessive intensity of ultra-violet rays make such areas highly unsuitable for human living.

Siachen Glacier at a height of over 18,000 feet is the world’s highest battlefield with posts located at 22,000 feet. The altitude, weather and terrain form an ominous combination to test limits of human endurance. Enormity of effort required for living and fighting at that altitude can be gauged from the fact that the highest mountain in the Alps is Mont Blanc at 15,774 ft and climbers carry oxygen with them.

At Siachen, in addition to hostile activities of the enemy, soldiers endure lethal avalanches, blinding snow-storms and treacherous crevasses. Blizzards last for weeks and temperatures dip down to minus 60 degrees centigrade. Helicopters, the sole means of communication, become inoperative and the area remains cut-off for prolonged periods.

A word about soldiering in such environment will be in order here. It is only then that the role of combat engineers can be fully appreciated. As regards physical well-being, a large number of soldiers suffer due to pulmonary oedema and other high-altitude diseases. Frost bites result in loss of limbs in numerous cases. During adverse weather conditions, many lives are lost due to non-operation of helicopters for timely evacuation of the sick. Due to rarefied atmosphere, soldiers lose appetite and avoid eating meals, resulting in debilitation. Officers have to make troops eat their meals sitting in front of them.

Oxygen-deprivation, prolonged isolation and constant threat to life generate acute psychological, psychosomatic and mental duress. Such an environment also makes many soldiers excessively religious. Most stop drinking liquor and eating meat, some for personal fulfillment and some to placate gods. Some soldiers tend to assign usual natural occurrences to supernatural phenomena. Hallucinations blur the difference between fact and imagination.

In a few cases, sense of loneliness results in a feeling of being overwhelmed, forcing soldiers to withdraw into their shells. At times, indecisiveness, pessimism and inability to concentrate result in cognitive impairment and memory problems. Anxiety, tension and restlessness cause mood swings and short tempers. Officers have to continuously monitor mental and physical health of their soldiers.

Provision of combat engineering support in such an uncongenial environment poses unique problems and there are no standard solutions. The author had the privilege to command the renowned 113 Engineer Regiment in Siachen. Here is a first person account of the engineer support extended.

Challenges of Combat Engineering Support

Combat engineering is a generic term used to define military engineering support in the furtherance of a commander’s plan. The primary role of the combat engineers is to provide support to facilitate movement of own forces while impeding that of the enemy. Normal combat engineering tasks include basic field engineering, water supply, demolitions, field defences, waterman-ship, mine warfare and bridging.

Siachen being a unique battlefield, the extent and scope of engineering support is not limited to the standard tasks but encompasses every single facet of soldiering. Further, the engineers have to perform under severe constraints. There are no local resources available. Every single requirement has to be either para-dropped or transported in helicopters or hauled over long distances on man-pack basis. For man-pack carriage, no item can be heavier than 10 kg and longer than 6 feet.

Due to inclement weather conditions, working season is highly limited. White-out conditions last for days at a stretch. As engineers have to work while wearing snow gloves, grasping of small items like nuts and bolts becomes tricky. Before undertaking any major task in the glacier, it has to be practiced thoroughly at the base. All components have to be duly marked and numbered. Loading tables have to be prepared meticulously to cater for all eventualities. Shortage of even a small item can stall the progress till it is received from the base.

Making of anchorages in glacial snow is an engineering nightmare. Deposition of up to 30 feet of snow in winters and its melting in summers necessitate periodic relocation of all facilities.

Improving Habitat and Survivability

In the case of Siachen, mere survival is a huge challenge and the engineers have to devote considerable effort to make habitat as safe and comfortable as possible. Standard snow tents used by mountaineers are of little use. They cannot withstand relentless blizzards and do not last long. Troops need a more stable and capacious shelter that can be kept warm with keroheaters. Most importantly, the shelters have to be pre-fabricated with manportable components for carriage to the remotest posts.

Engineers have been constructing prefabricated Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) shelters in hundreds. They resemble igloos and are constructed with 4 feet by 4 feet lightweight panels. Each panel is of sandwich construction – outer layers of FRP with a suitable insulating material in the middle. As kero-heaters are a fire-hazard, shelters have to be of fire retarding material. A standard FRP shelter houses six soldiers.

Deep crevasses are like death traps and make surface movement extremely slow and hazardous. A number of soldiers have lost their lives due to them. It is not possible to bridge all of them. The simplest way is to throw aluminium ladders across narrow crevasses and the soldiers crawl across over them. It is not a safe method as ladders often overturn due to uneven settlement in glacial snow. Engineers have improvised a safe and highly effective crevasse crossing expedient (CCE).

Troops Crossing an Improvised Crevasse Crossing Expedient

CCE are like pre-fabricated foot bridges. Whereas 6 feet long segments of slotted angle iron are bolted together to span the gap, decking is provided with 3x2 feet skid-boards. Skid-boards are available on the glacier in plenty as they are used for para-dropping of supplies. Nylon ropes are fixed on either side to provide stability and act as railings to help soldiers cross in safety.

It was a huge challenge for the engineers to build anchorages for the bank-seats of CCE in the glacial snow. It is a critical requirement as failure of anchorage can result in serious mishaps due to sliding and overturning of the bridge. A highly innovative method was employed. Water filled jerrycans were tied together with anchor cable, buried deep, covered with snow and hot water poured on them. After freezing, a monolithic slab of ice with jerrycans well embedded provided excellent anchorage. It was a path-breaking innovation that helped many other engineering tasks as well.

Over one hundred CCE have since been constructed and troops consider them to be a boon. CCE are also built for snow scooters, albeit for shorter spans.

Facilitating Helicopter Operations

Undoubtedly, helicopters are the lifeline of Siachen. Their support, both to military operations and logistics, is absolutely indispensable. Moreover, helicopters are the sole means of evacuation of casualties. Army Aviation pilots are extremely proficient, fearless and dedicated. However, they need ground support to carry out their tasks in perilous terrain and weather conditions.

Construction and maintenance of helipads is a major engineer responsibility and a regular commitment. Helipads constructed during the summer months get buried under thick layers of snow in winters. On the other hand, a helipad built during the winter season becomes dangerous when the surrounding snow melts and the helipad stays perched on top of a tall pillar. It is a wonder how pilots land on them in a death-defying mode.

The Pillar Effect: Snow surrounding the helipad melts away in summers

A windsock is an essential aid at every helipad to indicate wind direction and relative wind speed. Engineers face two problems in keeping them functional on the glacier. One, due to intense ultra-violet rays, colour of windsocks fades in a few days and they become indistinct to pilots. Two, penetration and accumulation of snow on top of the pole stalls free rotation of the swivel-mechanism. Engineers have overcome the twin problems by using polyester cloth (made of dope dyed filament yarn) for windsocks and designing a snow-proof graphite powder loaded swivel mechanism.

Similarly, engineers are required to provide helipad markers that are strong, clearly visible against snow and easy to carry. Foldable markers made of specially strengthened fibre glass sheets (impregnated with orange colour during manufacture) have proved extremely effective. In addition, orange coloured approach markers have been designed to help pilots identify approach to a helipad from a distance.

Haulage of Stores to Posts

Many posts on Saltoro Ridge are located at heights over 20,000 feet. To reach them, soldiers have to negotiate sheer ice-walls. Stocking of supplies (ammunition, ration and kerosene) is every commander’s greatest challenge. At that altitude, limited loads can be carried by soldiers. Worse, bringing down of a casualty to the helipad for evacuation becomes a major crisis.

Defying all odds and proving all sceptics wrong, combat engineers conceptualized, designed and fabricated a manually operated guided haulage system that is easy to operate and maintain. It can haul a 100 kg load over a vertical distance of 2,000 feet up an incline of up to 75 degrees. It links a post at 22,000 feet with helipad at 20,000 feet. It is an outstanding feat of field engineering.

Route Marking

Marking of safe routes between posts is a major engineering task. It has to be ensured that the markers do not get buried in snow. An obliterated route can expose troops to the dangers of crevasses. Combat engineers have developed add-on markers, made of mild steel tubular. They are light in weight and each segment is of 6 feet length. Each segment has a loop for supporting nylon guide rope and field telephone cable.

Initially, route marking is carried out with single segments. Additional segments are added-on as per the accumulation of snow. Add-on arrangement is simple, secure and easy. It requires no tools. When snow melts in summers, additional segments can be detached and stored for the next winters.

Add-on markers have proved their utility over the years by providing safe routes to the troops. They do not stray even during heavy snowfalls and blizzards. Many lives are thus saved.

Operational Equipment

Glacier poses strange problems for the warriors. Infantry considers 81 mm mortars to be its integral artillery and depends heavily on it to engage hostile targets. However, their effectiveness gets worrisomely impaired in glacial snow.

After zeroing, a mortar is bedded-in to ensure that the base plate does not get disturbed when bombs are fired. However, when used in snow, the counter-thrust (recoil) pushes the base plate into the underlying snow unevenly, thereby necessitating re-laying for engaging targets accurately.

The problem was posed to the engineers. As snow cannot be compacted to the required extent, the only option was to provide a suitable pad under the base plate. The pad had to be large enough to reduce unit area force of recoil to prevent uneven sinking. Further it had to be made of light but strong material with adequate cushioning potential to absorb recoil.

After a couple of failed attempts, the engineers developed a highly effective pentagonal pad to be placed under the base plate. Moulded with synthetic resins and fibre glass, it is light in weight and can be carried by helicopters to the remotest posts.

Finally

The basic task of engineers is to help increase combat effectiveness of the army and Siachen presents unique opportunities and challenges for that. The above description of the combat engineering tasks is certainly not all-inclusive.

True to their motto ‘Sarvatra’, combat engineers are deeply involved in all aspects of soldiering on the glacier, applying their engineering knowledge and ingenuity to enhance mobility, safety, survivability and comfort of the troops. For them, it is a matter of honour not to let the supported troops down. It is rightly said that combat engineering on the glacier is synonymous with innovativeness, ingenuity, creativity, resourcefulness and assiduousness.