Tiger Hill (also called Point 5062) is a mountain in the Drass-Kargil area of Ladakh, India. It is one of the highest peaks in the area and was the subject of a battle during the 1999 Kargil War.

Strategic relevance

Since Tiger Hill is the highest peak in the sector, it overlooks

National Highway 1D National Highway 1D (NH 1D), also known as Srinagar-Leh Highway, was a National Highway entirely within the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in North India that connected Srinagar to Leh in Ladakh. It was one of the only two roa ...

, a road that connects

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

to Kargil, and is the main supply route of the Kargil sector. Any enemy atop the peak would have a direct line of sight onto the headquarters of India's 56 Brigade, the main Indian unit in the area, and as well as a 25 km stretch of highway, thus hindering the movement of troops and supplies. The peak also offered a surveillance point onto other nearby peaks.

Battle

Tiger Hill was illegally captured by elements of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

's Northern Light Infantry during Kargil War. The 8th battalion, Sikh Regiment (8 Sikh) attempted to regain Tiger Hill in late May 1999, but they were unsuccessful. Further attempts to regain were also repulsed, and Indian troops dug in around the hill. The final attempt began on 3 July at 17:15 with an artillery bombardment. 8 Sikh advanced up the left flank of the mountain, the 2nd Battalion, Naga Regiment (2 Naga) advanced up the right flank, and 200 troops from the Ghatak platoon, Alpha and Charlie Companies of the 18th Battalion, The Grenadiers (18 Grenadiers) scaled a 1,000-foot vertical cliff on the rear side of the mountain. After days of heavy fighting on the peak, 18 Grenadiers seized the mountaintop on the morning of 8 July.

References

{{Ladakh Geography of Ladakh Kargil district Five-thousanders of the Himalayas