The Charge at Phillora
Lt Col Ardeshir Tarapore - The Cavalryman Who Never Retreated
Lt Col Ardeshir Tarapore led the 17 Poona Horse in some of the fiercest tank battles of 1965. Despite being wounded multiple times, he refused evacuation and continued leading from the front. At Phillora, his tanks broke through Pakistani defenses in one of history's great cavalry charges.
The Last of the Cavalrymen
In the annals of armored warfare, few names shine as brightly as Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore. A Parsi officer from Bombay, he commanded the 17 Poona Horse - one of India's most storied cavalry regiments - in the 1965 war.
Over six days of continuous combat in the Sialkot sector, wounded repeatedly, bleeding from multiple injuries, he refused every attempt to evacuate him. He would fight, he said, until victory or death.
Death found him first. But not before he had led his regiment to glory.
The Parsi Warrior Tradition
The Parsis of India - descendants of Persian Zoroastrians who fled Islamic conquest over a millennium ago - have a martial tradition that belies their small numbers. They served with distinction in the British Indian Army and continued that tradition after independence.
Ardeshir Tarapore was born on August 18, 1923, in Bombay. His father, Burzorji, was a successful businessman who instilled in young Ardeshir both Parsi values of honor and courage, and a deep love for India.
In 1940, at age 17, Tarapore joined the Hyderabad Lancers. When India gained independence and the princely state forces were absorbed, he was commissioned into the Indian Armoured Corps and posted to the 17 Poona Horse.
The Poona Horse Legacy
The 17 Poona Horse (originally the Poona Irregular Horse) was raised in 1817 and has one of the longest and most distinguished histories of any Indian cavalry regiment. In World War I and II, it fought across multiple continents.
By 1965, Lieutenant Colonel Tarapore had been commanding officer for two years. He knew every tank, every crew, every nuance of his regiment's capabilities. The men called him "Dorab" - and his tank bore the same name.
When war came, the Poona Horse was positioned in the Sialkot sector - the same area where some of the fiercest fighting would occur.