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{{Infobox military conflict | {{Infobox military conflict | ||
| conflict | | conflict = Battle of Badgam | ||
| partof | | partof = [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948]] | ||
| image | | image = | ||
| image_size | | image_size = | ||
| caption | | caption = | ||
| date | | date = 3 November 1947 | ||
| place | | place = [[Budgam district]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[India]] | ||
| coordinates = | | coordinates = | ||
| casus | | casus = | ||
| territory | | territory = Failure of Pakistani forces to capture [[Kashmir Valley]] | ||
| result = Indian victory <br> | |||
| combatant1 | | combatant1 = {{flag|India}} | ||
| combatant2 | | combatant2 = {{flag|Pakistan}} | ||
| commander1 | | commander1 = {{flagicon|India}}[[Somnath Sharma]]{{KIA}} | ||
| commander2 | | commander2 = {{flagicon|Pakistan}} Unknown {{WIA}} | ||
| units1 | | units1 = [[File:Flag of the Indian Army.svg|25px|Flag of the Indian Army]] 4th Battalion, [[Kumaon Regiment]] | ||
| units2 | <br> | ||
| strength1 | [[File:Air Force Ensign of India.svg|25px|]] [[Indian Air Force]]<ref name=iaf1/> | ||
| strength2 | | units2 = [[File:Flag of the Pakistani Army.svg|25px|Flag of the Pakistani Army]] Tribal lashkars<ref name="North-West Frontier Province 1955">The term "lashkar" in this context means a group of a thousand tribals of one ethnicity from [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|North West Frontier Province]], armed by Pakistani Army and encouraged to infiltrate and raid Kashmir for booty.</ref> | ||
| casualties1 = 50 killed | | strength1 = 50 men | ||
| casualties2 = 200 killed<ref name="Slender"/> | | strength2 = ~1000 men | ||
| campaignbox ={{Campaignbox Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948}} | | casualties1 = 50 killed | ||
| casualties2 = 200 killed<ref name="Slender"/> | |||
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948}} | |||
}} | }} | ||
The '''Battle of Badgam''' was a defensive encounter which took place at [[Badgam]] in the Kashmir valley on 3 November 1947 between troops of the [[Indian Army]] whose strength was just ~50 and tribal raiders from [[Pakistan]] who were ~1000 in number during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947]]. The battle was significant in that one company of 4th Battalion, [[Kumaon Regiment]] under Major [[Somnath Sharma]], | The '''Battle of Badgam''' was a defensive encounter which took place at [[Badgam]] in the Kashmir valley on 3 November 1947 between troops of the [[Indian Army]] whose strength was just ~50 and tribal raiders from [[Pakistan]] who were ~1000 in number during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-1948]]. The battle was significant in that one company of 4th Battalion, [[Kumaon Regiment]] under Major [[Somnath Sharma]], supported by the [[Indian Air Force]], halted the momentum of advancing tribal "lashkars",<ref name="North-West Frontier Province 1955">The term "lashkar" in this context means a group of a thousand tribals of one ethnicity from [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|North West Frontier Province]], armed by Pakistani Army and encouraged to infiltrate and raid Kashmir for booty.</ref> though being killed to the last man and caused heavy casualties on the attacking force. Sharma was awarded [[Param Vir Chakra]] posthumously, | ||
==Backdrop== | ==Backdrop== | ||
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<!--[[File:Major Somnath Sharma.jpg|thumb|180px| Maj [[Som Nath Sharma]], [[Param Vir Chakra|PVC]], posthumous, hero of the battle. {{Deletable image-caption|Sunday, 10 October 2010|date=May 2012}}]]--> | <!--[[File:Major Somnath Sharma.jpg|thumb|180px| Maj [[Som Nath Sharma]], [[Param Vir Chakra|PVC]], posthumous, hero of the battle. {{Deletable image-caption|Sunday, 10 October 2010|date=May 2012}}]]--> | ||
On 3 November 1947, Major [[Somnath Sharma]], commanding D Company of 4 KUMAON, led the patrol. The patrol proceeded as planned without incident till the time came for withdrawing from Badgam. Sharma was ordered to fall back one company at a time, one company at 1400 hrs and he along with his company at 1500 hrs. At 1430 hrs, movement of tribals was seen to the West and near Badgam village. Sharma correctly surmised the movement in Badgam village was meant to divert attention while the attack would come in from the west. The lashkar attacked from the West. Sharma's company was soon surrounded by the enemy from three sides and sustained heavy casualties from the ensuing mortar bombardment. Sharma realized the importance of holding onto his position as both the city of Srinagar and the airport would be vulnerable if it were lost. Under heavy fire and outnumbered seven to one,<ref name="Rescue"/>{{rp|27}} he urged his company to fight bravely, often exposing himself to danger as he ran from post to post. Despite the forward two platoons falling, Sharma desperately clung to his position with the depth platoon. | On 3 November 1947, Major [[Somnath Sharma]], commanding D Company of 4 KUMAON, led the patrol. The patrol proceeded as planned without incident till the time came for withdrawing from Badgam. Sharma was ordered to fall back one company at a time, one company at 1400 hrs and he along with his company at 1500 hrs. At 1430 hrs, movement of tribals was seen to the West and near Badgam village. Sharma correctly surmised the movement in Badgam village was meant to divert attention while the attack would come in from the west. The lashkar attacked from the West. Sharma's company was soon surrounded by the enemy from three sides and sustained heavy casualties from the ensuing mortar bombardment. Sharma realized the importance of holding onto his position as both the city of Srinagar and the airport would be vulnerable if it were lost. | ||
The Indian air forced played a major role in the battle, and caused the majority of Pakistani casualties.<ref name = iaf1>{{Cite book|last=Kumar|first=Bharat|url=https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/10682697|title=An incredible war: Indian Air Force in Kashmir War 1947-1948|date=2014|publisher=KW Publishers in association with Centre for Air Power Studies|isbn=978-93-81904-52-7|edition=2nd|location=New Delhi}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=November 2021}} | |||
Under heavy fire and outnumbered seven to one,<ref name="Rescue" />{{rp|27}} he urged his company to fight bravely, often exposing himself to danger as he ran from post to post. Despite the forward two platoons falling, Sharma desperately clung to his position with the depth platoon. | |||
While he was busy fighting the enemy, a mortar shell exploded on the ammunition near him. His last message to Brigade HQ received a few moments before he was killed was:<ref name="Rescue"/>{{rp|28}} | While he was busy fighting the enemy, a mortar shell exploded on the ammunition near him. His last message to Brigade HQ received a few moments before he was killed was:<ref name="Rescue"/>{{rp|28}} | ||
Revision as of 16:05, 17 November 2021
| Battle of Badgam | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 India |
 Pakistan | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Somnath Sharma † |
Unknown Template:WIA | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
|
Error creating thumbnail: File missing 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment
 Indian Air Force[1] |
 Tribal lashkars[2] | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 50 men | ~1000 men | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 50 killed | 200 killed[3] | ||||||||
The Battle of Badgam was a defensive encounter which took place at Badgam in the Kashmir valley on 3 November 1947 between troops of the Indian Army whose strength was just ~50 and tribal raiders from Pakistan who were ~1000 in number during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-1948. The battle was significant in that one company of 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment under Major Somnath Sharma, supported by the Indian Air Force, halted the momentum of advancing tribal "lashkars",[2] though being killed to the last man and caused heavy casualties on the attacking force. Sharma was awarded Param Vir Chakra posthumously,
Backdrop
The battle took place at a point when Indian troops had just begun their fly-in into Srinagar airfield during the opening stages of the war. The lashkars were advancing along three axes - North of Wular lake, along the main Muzzafarabad-Baramula-Patan-Srinagar axis and from Gulmarg. Along the Gulmarg route, a lashkar of 700 raiders was known to be approaching Badgam but no contact had been made with it.[4]:25–27 The lashkar would soon be in a position to seize the airfield and block the induction of Indian troops by air. Alternatively, they could bypass the Patan defenses from the south and reach Srinagar unhindered.
At that moment, only a weak brigade of Indian troops, withdrawn from refugee protection duties in Punjab and hastily airlifted, stood between groups of tribal lashkars advancing towards Srinagar. Indian troops were deployed only at Srinagar airfield, Magam and Pattan. A detachment of Mahrajah's Bodyguard (State Forces cavalry) reconnoitred North of Wular Lake.[3]:51–69
Patrol plan
Brigadier L.P. Sen, newly arrived commander of 161 Infantry Brigade decided to send a strong fighting patrol to the hills overseeing Badgam village 5 km west of it. The task of the patrol was to search the area in the vicinity of Badgam and the area between Badgam and Magam for signs of the infiltrating Pakistanis. The patrol was to comprise two companies of 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment (4 KUMAON) reinforced with a company of 1st Battalion, Kumaon Regiment (1 KUMAON). The 1 KUMAON company was tasked to patrol ahead of Badgam by bounds, and link up with 1st Battalion, Punjab Regiment (1 PUNJAB) at Magam after which it would return by road. If no contact was made, the 4 KUMAON companies would fall back one by one, vacating Badgam at 1400 hrs.[3]:66–67
Battle of Badgam
On 3 November 1947, Major Somnath Sharma, commanding D Company of 4 KUMAON, led the patrol. The patrol proceeded as planned without incident till the time came for withdrawing from Badgam. Sharma was ordered to fall back one company at a time, one company at 1400 hrs and he along with his company at 1500 hrs. At 1430 hrs, movement of tribals was seen to the West and near Badgam village. Sharma correctly surmised the movement in Badgam village was meant to divert attention while the attack would come in from the west. The lashkar attacked from the West. Sharma's company was soon surrounded by the enemy from three sides and sustained heavy casualties from the ensuing mortar bombardment. Sharma realized the importance of holding onto his position as both the city of Srinagar and the airport would be vulnerable if it were lost.
The Indian air forced played a major role in the battle, and caused the majority of Pakistani casualties.[1][page needed]
Under heavy fire and outnumbered seven to one,[4]:27 he urged his company to fight bravely, often exposing himself to danger as he ran from post to post. Despite the forward two platoons falling, Sharma desperately clung to his position with the depth platoon.
While he was busy fighting the enemy, a mortar shell exploded on the ammunition near him. His last message to Brigade HQ received a few moments before he was killed was:[4]:28
"The enemies is only 50 yards from us. We are hopelessly outnumbered. I will not withdraw one inch but fight to the last man last round."
Brigadier Sen ordered a reorganisation of the defenses. 1 PUNJAB was ordered to vacate Magam immediately and fall back to Srinagar. By nightfall troops of 1 PUNJAB were in Srinagar and a detachment sent to approach the Badgam feature. By then the KUMAON position had been long overrun.
Aftermath of battle
The company of 4 KUMAON under Maj Som Nath Sharma was decimated. For his courageous "last man, last round" stand, Maj Sharma was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, Independent India's newly instituted highest award for gallantry.[5]
The fierce resistance of Sharma's company had caused 200 casualties to the raiders. Also, the tribal leader of the lashkar had a bullet through his leg.[3]:75 The Pakistani raiders made no attempt to exploit the vulnerabilities that night and move to the airfield or to Srinagar city. It is surmised that incapacitation of the leader, the heavy losses and reports of movement of 1 PUNJAB into the area had caused the raiders to misjudge the tactical situation.[3]:75 This bought time for additional Indian troops to in the valley to fall back from Patan to Srinagar, reorganise and block all routes of ingress to Srinagar.[3]:75
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kumar, Bharat (2014). An incredible war: Indian Air Force in Kashmir War 1947-1948 (2nd ed.). New Delhi: KW Publishers in association with Centre for Air Power Studies. ISBN 978-93-81904-52-7.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The term "lashkar" in this context means a group of a thousand tribals of one ethnicity from North West Frontier Province, armed by Pakistani Army and encouraged to infiltrate and raid Kashmir for booty.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Sen, Maj Gen L. P. (1969). Slender Was the Thread: Kashmir Confrontation 1947-48. New Delhi: Orient Longman. p. 308. ISBN 0-86131-692-4. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Sinha, Lt. Gen. S.K. (1977). Operation Rescue:Military Operations in Jammu & Kashmir 1947-49. New Delhi: Vision Books. p. 174. ISBN 81-7094-012-5. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ↑ Entry on "Maj Somnath Sharma, PVC (Posthumous)" on Indian Army website. Accessed 6 August 2010.