The soldiers, eagerly waiting for the good news at Drass Brigade Headquarters at the base of Tiger Hills, were jubilant. It was close to 6 am when the tri-colour was perched at the top of the conical mountain peak at an altitude of 16,500 feet.

After a prayer service, it was celebration time, especially in the units which had participated in the operation -- the 18 Grenadiers, 2 Nagas and 8 Sikh regiments. Early morning, a toast was raised.

More details of the overnight 13-hour-long operation came in gradually -- how the soldiers fought to a well-orchestrated plan, making the victory look so easy. But the fact remains that theinfantry soldiers fought their way each step to the top with the artillery giving valuable support.

While soldiers of the Naga and Sikh regiments covered the flanks, the soldiers of the 18 Grenadiers went from behind Tiger Hill -- the side which faces Pakistan. They used ropes to climb the vertical height in the face of constant firing and shelling from across the LoC.

``The enemy could not imagine in their wildest dreams that we could attempt to climb Tiger Hill from behind it. That was the ace up our sleeve,'' said an officer of the Grenadiers.

There was snow on the peaks and slopes of the Tiger Hill. It was freezing in the sub-zero temperature. ``Though the soldiers were wearing woollen Siachen gloves, the chill was still seeping through, making it difficult for them to grip the rope. They were using clamps but their hands kept slipping,'' another officer said.

Most of the soldiers had left their rucksacks behind, carrying only their personal weapons -- the Insas rifle, grenades, tear gas shellsand flame throwers. ``They had to travel light since the climb was extremely steep. God forbid, if they was any problem, they would have been stuck without any food or ration,'' he said. Also, the assault party carried eight magazines and not four which they usually did.

It was at 3.45 a.m. that the first information reached Drass Brigade Headquarters that the infantry soldiers were close to a big breakthrough. At the top, when daybreak came, the Grenadiers were the first ones to launch the attack, actively supported by the Nagas and the Sikhs. There was stiff bunker-to-fight and at places, also unarmed combat since the enemy was too close. ``Khukris and bayonets were used to kill the infiltrators,'' an officer said.

Close to the bunkers, the soldiers went ducking under the peepholes made by the enemy. They lobbed grenades into the bunkers, and also used flame throwers and tear-gas shells to smoke the Pakistani intruders out. Then the infantry soldiers went from the other side and fired from their rifles,shooting at the intruders as they ran out.

``The radio intercepts reveal that the Pak infiltrators are highly demoralised and are fleeing towards the Mushkoh Valley. Some are also trying to regroup behind Tiger Hill. But our infantry is fortifying the area and Bofors guns are pounding beyond Tiger Hill now. We will not let them regroup,'' said an officer at the Drass Brigade Headquarters.