The Battle of Kotli was a major engagement of the Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948. It occurred in the strategically important town of Kotli in Kashmir. The battle was a result of a Pakistani tribal invasion and the Azad Army clashing with Indian forces who attempted to defend Kotli.
| Battle of Kotli | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Mohammad Ali Jinnah Liaquat Ali Khan  Frank Messervy |
 Jawaharlal Nehru Rob Lockhart .svg){kind=small} Hari Singh  Lt. Col Sukhdev Singh Prakash Chadha † Vir Khanna † Brig. Y. P. Paranjape (WIA) | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| unknown |
19th Brigade 5th Brigade 50 Parachute Brigade | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Substantial | ||||||||
Background
editFollowing the Partition of India in 1947, the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir's Hindu ruler, Hari Singh, faced the threat of invasion from Pakistani tribal forces when he was given the choice to accede to either India or Pakistan. When Singh chose to accede to India, his domains were invaded by tribal militias, backed by Azad Kashmir forces in order to capture key areas in the region.
The defence of Kotli was especially vital due to it being the gateway of supply routes into the Kashmir Valley, making it the epicentre of many military engagements in the surrounding area[1]
Battle
editIndian forces stationed in Kotli, commanded by Lt. Col Sukhdev Singh, were put under siege by Pakistani forces in late 1947. The Indian forces, despite being heavily outnumbered and outgunned, attempted to resist and repel many attacks from the invaders, though these were, at times, major engagements, the strategic situation was long beyond the breadth of Kotli proper.[2]
Due to the strategy of the Indians, the Pakistanis were led to believe that the Indian main attack would be focused on the Nowshera-Kotli-Poonch axis, though this was not the case. This evidenced the prior suspicion that India was leading deception operations in order to deceive the Pakistanis, leading to them expecting a major attack in the area[3]
The (actual) Indian main attack was a two-pronged advance. 19 Brigade moved forward on the Rajouri-Bhimbher axis, with 5 Brigade on its right flank. An additional column, called the Rajouri column, was tasked with securing Ramgarh Fort to protect the left flank of the advance, in case of a flanking attack from the Pakistanis.[3][4]
The 50th Parachute Brigade was given the task to link up with the 19th and 5th from the south via Jhangar and Nowshera, this forward push towards Kotli was met with stiff resistance from the Pakistanis.[5] This southern column managed to reach Kotli on 26 November, and raised the siege of the town. Simultaneously, the Northern force's advance was hampered by a bridge near Kahuta, which had been blown up by the garrison of the village due to them being under siege. The garrison mistook their own column for the enemy, due to this, only a battalion under Pritam Singh was able to drive towards Poonch and reach it a few days later. The planned link-up was cancelled, and the southern force was ordered to fall back and “firm up” at Jhangar.[6][5]
Sustained pressure from Pakistani militias drove the Indian high command to abandon Kotli on 27 November, marking a pivotal moment in the war.[7][8][5]
Aftermath
editThe town (now city) of Kotli was a notable territorial change in the war, and the area remains under Pakistani control to this day. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 47 further solidified Pakistan's claim to the area, which proved to have long-standing implications on the territorial disputes in Kashmir until today.
References
edit- ^ Gulati, M. N. (2000). Military plight of Pakistan: Indo-Pak war, 1947-48. India: Manas Publications.
- ^ Ankit, Rakesh (2010). "1948: The Crucial Year in the History of Jammu and Kashmir". Economic and Political Weekly. 45 (11): 49–58. ISSN 0012-9976.
- ^ a b "Battles that made History – Defstrat". www.defstrat.com. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ "Battle of Rajauri 1948". Indian Defence Review. 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ a b c "Publication". www.usiofindia.org. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ "Military Operations – Lt Nawang Kapadia". Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ "A homage to the martyrs of Kotli - A saga of bravery and sacrifice - Early Times Newspaper Jammu Kashmir". www.earlytimes.in. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ Iqbal, Aashique Ahmed (2023-03-15), "War in Kashmir 1947–1948", The Aeroplane and the Making of Modern India, Oxford University PressOxford, pp. 115–157, ISBN 0-19-286420-3, retrieved 2024-10-24