The true story of a tiger killed by bayonet
In 1954, 17 Sikhs were stationed in Agra and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Shamsher Singh, whose outstanding leadership and feats in the 1947-48 war in Jammu and Kashmir were part of the regiment’s tradition. The unit was in a training ground in a forest near Shivpuri, which would culminate in a test exercise.
One day, Sepoy Fauja Singh, who was part of the officer’s dining room staff, went to fetch firewood for the dining room kitchen. Suddenly, a tigress jumped out of a thicket and pounced on him. Instinctively, he tried to fight her with his bare hands. After a brief struggle, the tigress caught Fauja Singh’s turban in her mouth and, thinking that she had achieved death, disappeared back into the thicket. Fauja Singh was severely mutilated and was immediately evacuated to the military hospital, but more specifically, he was extremely upset about the loss of his turban.
More reports came in about the tigress with four cubs, who had apparently become a man-eater. He had killed two people from a nearby town. True to the tradition of the Indian Army, this did not stop the training, which continued according to plan, and the test exercise was passed with honors.
At the end of the exercise, Lt. Col. Shamsher Singh proposed to his brigade commander, Brigadier Danny Misra, that since the tigress had become a man-eater and the brigade used the area for training, care would be taken to kill the tigress. In those days, shikar was allowed in the military and was a hobby for some. In that spirit, Brig Danny Misra accepted the proposal, but with a rider.
“Shamsher,” he said. “Killing a tiger with rifles is too easy. Can Sikhs do it with bayonets?” Singh, who never shies away from a challenge, said: “So it will be
be it, sir! “
The die was cast. Shamsher returned and reported to his unit. He groomed his soldiers by telling them stories of how Hari Singh Nalwa, commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa army, once killed a tiger with his bare hands by grabbing its tongue and suffocating it.
It was decided that the unit would attack the general area where the tigress was suspected of hiding in the traditional infantry manner. Once the tigress attacks an individual, she must use the bayonet to counterattack while the personnel on her flanks turn inward to attack the tigress with bayonets and finish the task. This exercise was rehearsed to perfection. The next morning, two companies of 17 Sikhs formed a 200-meter-long assault line, with the commanding officer’s group in the center.
Bayonets were attached to the Enfield. 303 rifles and the assault began.
It was a surreal scene: bayonets glinting in the morning sun with 17 Sikh soldiers yelling “Jo bole so nihal!” Across the suspicious area, the division commander, General Dargalkar, and Brig Danny Misra were sitting in a machan with sporting rifles. Misra did not believe that the tigress could be killed with bayonets. His plan was that the assault by 17 Sikhs would lead the tigress towards the machan, where he and General Dargalkar would kill her.
The movement of the assault line was laborious due to the rough terrain, but after 20 minutes the tigress’s lair was located.
She had fled, but her three cubs were found, captured alive, and then presented to the Agra Zoo. Fauja Singh’s turban was also found in the lair.
The line of assault re-formed and advanced with a regimental war cry.
After 10 minutes, the roar of the tigress was heard. Singh yelled at his
guys, “Tagde ho jao!” (“Bundle up and get ready for action!”). And then all of a sudden the tigress leapt out of the thicket and attacked the assault line. Sepoy Sucha Singh was directly in front and took the traditional bayonet fighting stance, facing the tigress’s assault head-on with his weapon. When she approached him, he plunged the bayonet into his chest. He was buried to the hilt inside the tigress’s chest, but the momentum of his charge knocked Sucha Singh down.
He and the tigress both fell 10 yards forward. According to the rehearsed exercise, the soldiers on the flanks turned inward and pounced on the tigress, immobilizing
her down with her bayonets. It was not necessary. Sucha Singh had already pierced her heart.
It was then that the sound of a rifle shot was heard.
Shamsher was livid with rage, thinking that one of his men had disobeyed orders. Hey
He ran to the scene and asked who had shot. The company assured him that no shots had been fired and that the report came from the management of the
machan. Shamsher ordered the hit signal to be fired with the Very Light Pistol and 500 voices joined him in the long jaikara of “Jo Bole So Nihal!”.
Then Shamsher ran to Sucha Singh, who was badly maimed but under questioning.
About his wounds he said: “Saab Ji main tan theek haan, by woh sali sherni meri rifle lai gayee.” (“Sir, I’m fine but the damn tigress took off with my rifle”). The loss of a weapon is a very serious slip in the military! Sucha Singh was assured that the rifle had been recovered and that he was now almost on par with the great Hari Singh Nalwa for single-handedly killing a tigress. He was evacuated to the military hospital.
A telegram was sent to Fauja Singh: “Revenge taken! Tigress slain! Turban recovered!” Sepoy Sucha Singh was immediately promoted to LanceNaik and that day 17 Sikhs was renamed the Tiger Battalion.
Sucha Singh’s bayonet had developed a 10-degree bend due to the force of the impact with the tigress. A more unusual occurrence, as bayonets are generally made of brittle metal designed to pierce and break when it hits a hard surface. Shamsher directed the bayonet of Sucha Singh to be preserved as a trophy. The Quarter Master, in his eagerness to get Sucha Singh, his replacement, mistakenly sent the bayonet to the ordinance depot for his replacement. Fortunately, he was located and returned to the unit. The bayonet, along with the tiger’s skin and newspaper coverage of the event, still adorn the mess hall of 17 Sikh The Tiger Battalion.
While Sucha Singh was being taken to the military hospital, Shamsher went to the machan to report the success of the mission to Misra and Dargalkar, who were still in the machan.
To his amusement and VIP embarrassment, Shamsher learned that in the excitement of all the action, one of the VIP machan’s rifles had
fell to the ground. That was the rifle shot Shamsher had heard!
Later, Misra along with Shamsher went to meet Sucha Singh at the hospital. The brigadier asked Sucha Singh: “Kya aapne hi sherni ko mara tha?” (“Are you
The one who killed the tigress? “) An angry Sucha Singh replied:” Asli bayonet toh mainne hi mara tha, sir, by mari hui sherni by bad mein aur bhi maarte gaye. Aur mainne suna ki dar ke mare VIP machan se, kisi rifle nichhe gir kar fire ho gayee. “(” I was the one who caught her with the bayonet first, but others attacked the dead tigress too. And I heard that at the VIP machan, someone got so scared that they accidentally dropped their rifle and fired it. “)
Nine years later, Colonel Shamsher, as commander of the Sikh regiment center in the Meerut cantonment, was interviewing soldiers about to receive a pension when he heard the familiar voice of Havaldar Sucha Singh. He reported that he was going to retire. Shamsher made a quick decision and ordered the pension orders canceled.
Instead, Sucha Singh was promoted to the rank of Jemadar. There were objections from higher headquarters, but Shamsher had a simple answer:
“Sucha Singh is probably the only man in history who has killed a tigress with a bayonet. He deserves to be a JCO!”