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Indian Army: The first challenge - IV
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Issue Book Excerpt: Indian Army After Independence | Date : 30 Jul , 2011

Try as they might, the Pakistanis could not retake it. When gallantry awards were instituted in India in 1950, Piru Singhs valour was recognized with a posthumous award of the PVC.

To strengthen 161 Brigade’s positions at Urusa, till then held by 7 Sikh, 4 Kumaon was moved there in the middle of July, after 2 Bihar had relieved the battalion at Pandu. The enemy put in several attacks on the Biharis on 21 July. These were thrown back, but the enemy returned two days later with a larger force. Due to bad weather no reinforcements could be sent to the Biharis nor could the Air Force come to their help. Pandu was lost due to an error of judgement of the battalion commander.

Running South-East from the Pamir Knot, the Great Himalayan Range acts as a watershed between the catchment areas of the Chenab and Jhelum Rivers on one side and the Indus on the other. The main passes, from West to East, are: Burzil (4,199 metres), connecting the Kashmir Valley to Gilgit; Zoji La34 (3,529 metres), on the caravan route between Srinagar and Leh; Umasi La (5,294 metres), linking Kishtwar to the Zanskar Valley; and Baralacha La (4,891 metres) on the Manali-Leh route.

The enemy plan was to capture both Baltistan and Ladakh and, at the same time, open a back-door to the Kashmir Valley by seizing the passes that led into it from the North. Gilgit and Baltistan were lost before the Indian Army could intervene. That a portion of the district of Ladakh was saved was a matter of great credit to Indian troops and their commanders and to the officers and men of the Indian Air Force, who supported them.

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As we have already seen, Gilgit fell into enemy hands early in November 1947. Pakistan’s ‘political agent’ arrived there soon after. There was a regular air service from Peshawar (in Pakistan) to Gilgit, and the latter was made a base for the march on Leh, the District Headquarters of Ladakh district. This picturesque town is situated at a height of 3,522 metres. The 480-kilometre track from Gilgit via Skardu lies mostly along the Indus. The route was hazardous, but the prize was well worth the trouble; the gompas of Ladakh were full of treasure.

“¦we have already seen, Gilgit fell into enemy hands early in November 1947. Pakistans “˜political agent arrived there soon after.

The enemy had secured its Southern flank quite early. A large tribal force had collected in the Bandipura region, North of Srinagar, in the beginning of November 1947. It was to attack Srinagar in conjunction with the main lashkar that was collecting West of the city. But Sen’s pre-emptive strike at Shalateng on 7 November routed the main lashkar, and the tribals in Bandipura were forced to withdraw. They retreated by way of Tragbal and the Razdanandan pass into the Gurais Valley and occupied it.

Some of the non-Muslim troops at Gilgit had managed to escape to Skardu, a small trading post on the route to Leh. Kashmir Infantry were deployed there under Lieutenant Colonel Sher Jang Thapa. He had come with a portion of the Leh garrison to bar the enemy’s march into Ladakh. When Skardu came under attack, Thapa withdrew the lightly held outposts around it and concentrated his men in its fort. About 300 refugees, including women and children, had taken shelter in the fort, and Thapa put the whole garrison on reduced rations to conserve his limited stock of food.

Book_Indian_Army_AfterBy January 1948, pressure against Skardu increased. Initial onslaughts were thrown back but realizing that Zoji La was closed for the winter and no help could reach him, Thapa requested 161 Brigade to permit him to withdraw to Kargil with the refugees and join hands with the garrison there. Sen relayed the request to Headquarters JAK Force, who rejected it. He tried again by pointing out that Skardu was of no strategic or tactical importance. But the request was again turned down, and the garrison was ordered to fight to the last man and the last round.35 The enemy brought up reinforcements and besieged the fort.

Continued…: The Indian Army: The first challenge – V 

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  1. A crucial information that is missing here is that – Ledi Gali was captured by the Sawai Man Guards under the command of Lt. Col. Raj Singh of Jaipur State Forces. This can be verified from the records.

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