The 19-year-old soldier who survived 17 bullets to capture Tiger Hill
In short: During the 1999 Kargil War, a young Indian soldier volunteered to lead a vertical ascent up a 1,000-foot cliff. Despite being struck by 17 bullets, he refused evacuation and fought his way to the summit, securing a victory that changed the course of the battle.
In the early morning hours of 4 July 1999, Yogendra Singh Yadav, then a 19-year-old Grenadier with the 18 Grenadiers, participated in a high-stakes mission to capture strategic bunkers on Tiger Hill. Tasked as part of a Ghatak Force commando platoon, Yadav volunteered to lead the assault up a vertical, snow-covered cliff face rising 1,000 feet (300 m). The mission was immediately met with intense resistance; enemy machine gun, rocket, and artillery fire killed the platoon commander and two other soldiers, stalling the advance.
Despite sustaining multiple injuries to his shoulder and groin from being hit by 17 bullets, Yadav continued his ascent. He climbed the remaining 60 feet (18 m) to reach the top, where he engaged in close combat. By lobbing grenades and firing his weapon, he killed four Pakistani soldiers and neutralized the enemy fire. This decisive action allowed the rest of the platoon to scale the cliff and engage in hand-to-hand combat, ultimately resulting in the successful capture of Tiger Hill.
Yadav's bravery earned him the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military award. Interestingly, the award was initially intended to be posthumous, as officials mistakenly believed his namesake had been killed in the mission. However, it was later discovered that Yadav was alive and recuperating in a hospital. He later received the honorary rank of Captain in 2021 and retired from the army on 31 December 2021.
His exploits have left a lasting mark on Indian culture. The 2004 film Lakshya features a fictionalized version of his platoon's journey, while the film LOC Kargil depicts the assault on Tololing. In 2020, Yadav appeared on the show Kaun Banega Crorepati, donating his ₹2.5 million winnings to the Army Welfare Fund.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Yogendra Singh Yadav
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