Career
He was awarded for his contribution in war. On the night of September 21, 1965 Lieutenant Colonel Hayde made only two demands of his men: "First: Ek bhi aadmi pichhe nahin hatega! (Not a single man will turn back!), Second: Zinda ya murda, Dograi mein milna hai! (Dead or alive, we have to meet in Dograi!)", before his small battalion marched 8 kilometres from their trenches to Dograi, where the Pakistan army had entrenched itself. He warned his men against retreating.
"Even if all of you run away, I shall continue to stand on the battlefield alone".
He is also perhaps the only soldier to be painted by the famed M F Husain on the battlefield. And it was during an address to his battalion, that Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, gave India one of its best known slogans "Jai Jawan! Jai Kisan!" Citation The citation for the reads as follows Gazette Notification: 125 President/65,17-9-65 Operation: 1965 Riddle Date of Award: 06 September 1965 lieutenant was primarily due to his leadership that not only did his battalion not fall back from the positions which it had occupied, but in fact moved forward in spite of continuous and heavy shelling and frequent air and ground attacks.
On 9 September, when the enemy launched an attack with Patton and Sherman tanks, his battalion accounted for five enemy tanks. The performance of this battalion throughout the operations was excellent and this was largely due to the great personal courage and exceptional qualities of leadership shown by Lieutenant Colonel Desmond Hayde.
