Lieutenant A S Balasubramanian

Lieutenant AS Balasubramanian hailed from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and was born on 09 Sep 1938. Son of Shri KV Sundaram and Smt Kamalambal, he was the youngest among four siblings. He had three elder brothers AS Venkatakrishnan, AS Chandrashekaran, AS Dorai Rajan, and one elder sister Valli Ammal as his siblings.  After completing his education, he got selected to join the Army and went to IMA Dehradun for training. He passed out of the IMA in the year 1960 as a Second Lieutenant at the age of 22 years.  He was commissioned into 51 Mtn Regt of the Regiment of Artillery, an important combat support arm of the Indian Army, well known for its booming filed guns, howitzers, and other heavy weaponry.

51 Mountain Regiment was one of the animal pack artillery units that was raised in 1961 when the seriousness of the threat posed by China across the Himalayas started figuring in military circles. After serving for some time, he was seconded to 22 Mtn Regt which moved with 7 Infantry Brigade to Thag La Ridge along the McMohan line on Indo-China border. Barely two years into service, Lt Balasubramanian got involved into thick of operations as his unit got deployed in erstwhile NEFA (North East Frontier Agency) border, when the war with China became imminent. 

Indo-China War(Namka Chu Battle) : 20 Oct 1962

During Oct 1962, Lt A S Balasubramanian was serving with 22 Mtn Regt, which was a part of 7 Infantry Brigade, but later moved to 4 Artillery Brigade, when 7 Inf Bde moved to Tsang Dhar area from Tawang. 4 Arty Bde along with 7 Inf Bde and 5 Inf Bde were functioning under 4 Inf Div. 7 Inf Bde consisted of 9 Punjab and 1 Sikh both at Tawang and 1/9 GR at Misamari. Later 2 Rajput, 4 Grenadiers and 5 Assam Rifles battalions and a company of 6 Mahar also saw operations under the brigade. 5 Inf Bde was removed from operational control of 4 Inf Div and was directly under Headquarters, 33 Corps as per the modified operational plan. 4 Arty Bde had a number of field regiments under its command including elements from 34 Heavy Mortar Battery, 5 Field Regiment (95, 96 and 97 Field Batteries), 6 Field Regiment (86, 87 and 88 Field Batteries), 22 Mtn Regt (7 (Bengal) and 2 (Derajat) Mountain Batteries) and 116 Heavy Mortar Battery (from 33 Medium Regiment). By early October 1962 Lt Balasubramanian's 22 Mtn Regt(7 Bengal) along with the elements of 7 Inf Bde and 4 Arty Bde got deployed in Tsang Dhar area overlooking Thag La ridge.  

The skirmishes with Chinese forces began on 10 Oct 1962 and soon escalated into a full scale war. On 20 Oct at 5:14 a.m. enemy’s 150 guns and mortars opened upon all the localities at Namka Chu and Tsang Dhar. The waves of Chinese troops attacked the positions with heavy artillery, mortar and other medium machine guns. In the fierce fighting that ensued, the Indian soldiers repulsed a number of determined attacks. However during the heavy exchange of fire Lt Balasubramanian got seriously injured. He later succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. Lt AS Balasubramanian was a valiant soldier and a fine officer, who led from the front and laid down his life at the age of 24 years in the line of his duty, following the highest traditions of the Indian Army.