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Monday 27 October 2014

HOW INDIAN ARMY SAVED KASHMIR

On the occasion of ‘INFANTRY DAY’ I am sharing with you excerpts of Notes of my father Col Harwant Singh MC (Retd). He is 94 yrs old, in good health and was actively involved in the fateful events of 1947-48 till the cease fire was declared on 01 Jan 1949. He was one of the leading Company Commanders of 1SIKH, when they landed in Srinagar on 27 Oct 1947. He was with 1 SIKH as a Coy Cdr, officiating Commanding Officer and 2iC and participated in all actions of the Battalion. Later he was Station Commander Srinagar before taking over command of 4 SIKH in Dec 48 in the Valley itself. 1.The Kashmir landings by the Indian Army in Dakotas commenced on 27 Oct 1947 from Palam airport at Delhi with the urgent task of protecting J & K State from being forcibly annexed by Pakistan with the help of thousands of raiders supported by their regular troops. The landings were spearheaded by 1 SIKH under the command of Lt Col Dewan Ranjit Rai. The first and second wave of Dakotas carried C Coy under Capt Kamaljit Singh and D Coy under Maj Harwant Singh MC,(my father) respectively. The Commanding Officer travelled in the leading aircraft. Rest of the battalion was to follow on 28 Oct. Air lift on 27 Oct went off smoothly except for one Dakota carrying Battalion Signal Platoon and wireless equipment, which force landed at Jammu and joined the Battalion in another aircraft after three days. 1 SIKH was devoid of any communication equipment for the first three days. Lt Col Dewan Ranjit Rai, MVC, Commanding Officer 1 SIKH, rushed his available troops comprising approximately 120 -130 men with a section of 3 inch Mortars to Baramula (a hill feature astride Mile 32) to hold the raiders well away from Srinagar despite orders to stay put at Srinagar airport. He was unfortunately killed at 1730 hrs on 28th Oct while fighting a rear guard action in an open area astride Mile 32, East of Baramula, after the troops had to start withdrawing due to the overwhelming strength of the raiders. He was posthumously awarded the MVC for gallantry. As rest of the battalion had not arrived, Major (later Col) Harwant Singh MC, who was D Coy Commander took over Officiating Command of 1 SIKH after Lt Col Dewan Ranjit Rai was killed in action . The CO had given orders for the available troops to withdraw and stop the raiders at the Shalateng Spill Channel 4 ½ miles from Srinagar. 2. During Night 28th / 29th Oct the operational situation was very fluid and there was no other help available. Maj Harwant Singh MC controlled the situation calmly and with courage, though he had only six years service. He took the tactically sound but a very risky decision to move the Battalion on Night 28/29 Oct from Shalateng Spill Channel 4 ½ miles from Srinagar to area Mile 17 near Pattan, almost half way between Srinagar and Baramula after realising that with the strength of troops available, the Spill Channel was not defensible and could be easily bypassed by the raiders. They had barely reached the hill features at Mile 17 and were preparing their defences when at dawn the raiders convoy heading towards Srinagar was ambushed. Repeated attacks were launched by the raiders to dislodge 1 SIKH from Mile 17 but the troops held their ground inflicting heavy casualties on the raiders. Had 1 SIKH not stopped the raiders at Pattan, Srinagar would have fallen on 29 Oct 1947. He thus caused most needed 48 hours delay on the raiders to enable own troop build up at the airport. GOC of 19 Infantry Division, Maj Gen (Later Gen and COAS) K S Thimayya, DSO had this to say to 1SIKH on the eve of their departure from the Valley. SPECIAL ORDER OF THE DAY BY MAJ GEN K S THIMAYYA, DSO (Later General and Chief of the Army Staff) GOC, 19 INFANTRY DIVISION 1ST BN THE SIKH REGIMENT This is to bid farewell to you Officers and men of the 1st Battalion The SIKH Regiment on the eve of your departure from 19 Division. You had the honour of being the first Battalion to arrive by air to Srinagar on the outbreak of hostilities and you reached Srinagar on the 27th October 47. The enemy was then at Baramula when you pushed forward. During this action you lost your gallant commander Colonel Rai. Owing to the lack of transport and reinforcements and the overwhelming strength of the enemy you were forced to pull back to the outskirts of the city until your whole Battalion was concentrated from India. From here, as part of 161 Brigade you made a brilliant advance and pushed the enemy all the way back to Uri causing heavy casualties to him. This speedy advance caused the enemy to break even run beyond Muzaffarabad and it was only because of the lack of transport and for other strategic reasons that prevented you from reaching Muzaffarabad itself. From then on as part of 161 Brigade you held a secure base at Uri and prevented the enemy from infiltrating into the Kashmiri Valley from the West. During this time you had some very fierce engagements with the enemy in which you proved your superiority over him in every way. You continued through out the winter. For many of you the sight of snow was a novel experience and the way you operated and stayed in that area under intense cold and in difficult terrain was a fine example of your toughness and high morale. Early in spring the enemy infiltrated into the Handwara Valley via the Nastachhun Pass. You were hurriedly sent there to push him back from Sopor and Handwara and there you held him in the hills and prevented him from making further advance. During this time, apart from the fighting that you carried out, you took the opportunity of befriending the local population and with them you gained great popularity and won the confidence of the peasants, which has been a deciding factor in the political stability of Kashmir. All this time you were part of J&K Force. In April 1948 Sri Division came into existence and you formed part of 163 Infantry Brigade. In May 1948 Sri Division took the offensive to the West and your Battalion as part of 163 Infantry Brigade took a most prominent part in these operations. On the night of 16 /17 May 1948 in a lightening advance from Handwara you surrounded the enemy HQ at Dogarpur and then continued to capture Chokibal, the Nastachun Pass and finally entered Tithwal on 23rd May 48. This was an amazing advance under very difficult conditions and in very mountainous country against a Pathan enemy who was highly skilled in mountain warfare. When you pushed trough the Nastachun Pass, snow and ice still lay all over it. From then onwards you held the most vital part of the Tithwal area for six months. You occupied a forward position which was constantly under enemy pressure and heavy mortar and artillery fire. The enemy made repeated attempts to drive you from this position and the last effort of the enemy on 13 October when he used over three Battalions accompanied by heavy Artillery and Mortar support, you beat him back causing very heavy casualties on him. The enemy knew who you were and decided that it was no use trying to flight a fine Battalion like yours. During all these operations you suffered the following :- Killed Wounded Missing Officers2 5 - VCOs 6 15 1 Other Ranks 101 349 15 You inflicted the following casualties on the enemy :- Killed Wounded Missing 1206 442 15 You captured the following arms and equipment’s from the enemy :- 3 Inch Mortars 3 Country Made Mortar 1 Bren Guns 3 Rifles 29 Pathan Rifles 5 Sten Guns 2 MMG 1 and plenty of kit, equipment and stores. Before the partition of the Indian Army your Regiment the SIKH Regiment, had earned for itself a great reputation for gallantry and efficiency in two World Wars in various theatres in the World and on numerous operations on the North West Frontier. During these 13 months in the Kashmir Valley, fighting for free India, you have surpassed all previous records and have further enhanced your traditions as a fighting unit. It has been a great privilege to have you in my Division in which you have helped to lay the foundations of a great tradition and it is with a great sorrow that I bid farewell to you officers and men whom I have come to love and admire. The Valley of Kashmir will always sing your praises and echo to the deeds of gallantry performed by you. Some of you who are present in the parade have lost all you owned in the West Punjab. You have had your homes uprooted and your families displaced and you are many of you, still without a home. In spite of all this you have fought hard and kept your morale high and enhanced the reputation of the Indian Army. I hope you will all in a very short time be able to take your well earned leave and that you will find your families in great cheer and happiness and I wish you all a well earned rest and may God be with you! JAI HIND

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