Lt-Gen Kaul is yet another incompetent Nehru lapdog who was no match for his Chinese counterpart.
Embarrassing details of slip-ups during 1962 war in Henderson Brooks report - The Times of India
Embarrassing details of slip-ups during 1962 war in Henderson Brooks report
NEW DELHI: Annexures to the classified Henderson Brooks report on 1962 India-China war could contain much more embarrassing details of slip-ups at the highest levels and unprofessional approach of some key players during the humiliating war.
According to at least one source who has seen the entire report and its annexures, there are telegrams and reports that may be embarrassing for the political and military establishment of those days. The source pointed out that most significant of them is some of the telegrams from Lt General BM Kaul, who disastrously commanded the newly-raised IV Corps along the border.
These telegrams from Lt-Gen Kaul, sent to then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru among others, include references to his health, medical issues, weather etc at a time when he was supposed to be leading India's military operations in the latter part of 1962. The trivial conversations may not have been encouraged by Nehru but definitely not discouraged, the source said.
Lt-Gen Kaul's tendency to sidestep his military chain of command and talk to the political masters directly is documented partially in the 126-page report that has become public now. Sans its annexures, the report was released earlier this week by Australian journalist Neville Maxwell, who worked in India during the war period for a British newspaper and later wrote a book on the topic.
In fact, the report nails Lt-Gen Kaul's lack of respect for military hierarchy, his embarrassing leadership practices, and direct access to the political leaders. The report directly blames him for poor planning and conduct of operations.
The report says the signal from the Army headquarters on October 4, 1962, announcing the formation of 4 Corps headquartered at Tezpur and appointing Lt-Gen Kaul as its chief was a surprise. This corps was given the responsibility for the whole Indo-Tibetan border in the Eastern Command on the same day.
In one part of the report, it discusses a trip Lt-Gen Kaul undertook to Dhola area, along with many of his senior officers. Through most of the route Lt-Gen Kaul was carried by a porter, which did not leave a good impression among hundreds of soldiers who saw the bizarre journey of the general.
The report gives a few instances of Lt-Gen Kaul's powerful political links in Delhi. On October 17 when he took ill, a special plane was flown from Delhi with a doctor to evacuate him. His immediate boss, the eastern army commander, and the chief of medical services of the command had no clue of the evacuation. The aircraft was sent by defence minister VK Krishna Menon, the report points out. A distant relative of Nehru, Lt-Gen Kaul was also Menon's favourite military general.
Embarrassing details of slip-ups during 1962 war in Henderson Brooks report - The Times of India
Embarrassing details of slip-ups during 1962 war in Henderson Brooks report
NEW DELHI: Annexures to the classified Henderson Brooks report on 1962 India-China war could contain much more embarrassing details of slip-ups at the highest levels and unprofessional approach of some key players during the humiliating war.
According to at least one source who has seen the entire report and its annexures, there are telegrams and reports that may be embarrassing for the political and military establishment of those days. The source pointed out that most significant of them is some of the telegrams from Lt General BM Kaul, who disastrously commanded the newly-raised IV Corps along the border.
These telegrams from Lt-Gen Kaul, sent to then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru among others, include references to his health, medical issues, weather etc at a time when he was supposed to be leading India's military operations in the latter part of 1962. The trivial conversations may not have been encouraged by Nehru but definitely not discouraged, the source said.
Lt-Gen Kaul's tendency to sidestep his military chain of command and talk to the political masters directly is documented partially in the 126-page report that has become public now. Sans its annexures, the report was released earlier this week by Australian journalist Neville Maxwell, who worked in India during the war period for a British newspaper and later wrote a book on the topic.
In fact, the report nails Lt-Gen Kaul's lack of respect for military hierarchy, his embarrassing leadership practices, and direct access to the political leaders. The report directly blames him for poor planning and conduct of operations.
The report says the signal from the Army headquarters on October 4, 1962, announcing the formation of 4 Corps headquartered at Tezpur and appointing Lt-Gen Kaul as its chief was a surprise. This corps was given the responsibility for the whole Indo-Tibetan border in the Eastern Command on the same day.
In one part of the report, it discusses a trip Lt-Gen Kaul undertook to Dhola area, along with many of his senior officers. Through most of the route Lt-Gen Kaul was carried by a porter, which did not leave a good impression among hundreds of soldiers who saw the bizarre journey of the general.
The report gives a few instances of Lt-Gen Kaul's powerful political links in Delhi. On October 17 when he took ill, a special plane was flown from Delhi with a doctor to evacuate him. His immediate boss, the eastern army commander, and the chief of medical services of the command had no clue of the evacuation. The aircraft was sent by defence minister VK Krishna Menon, the report points out. A distant relative of Nehru, Lt-Gen Kaul was also Menon's favourite military general.
