15 November 1948: When Indian Army recaptured Drass from the Pakistani invaders during Indo-Pakistani war of 1947-48

 

In October 1947, tribal militias, supported by Pakistan, had invaded the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, which was still undecided about whether to join India or Pakistan. The Indian government, in response, dispatched troops to help defend the state.

 

Drass, in Ladakh which fell to the Pakistani raiders in initial days of June 1948, was recaptured by valiant Indian forces on 15 November, 1948.

 

 

After recapturing the strategically important Zoji La Pass on 1 November, 1948, Indian forces on the morning of 2nd November,

 

 

1 Patiala moved out from Gumri to continue the advance. The men were familiar with every rock and gully in the area, and had acquired the supreme confidence and skill of tried veterans. Climbing the hills on either flank quickly and silently in the dark, they approached the hostile positions from above. The defile was not more than 90 metres wide beyond Gumri, and the raiders occupied positions on either flank. These positions were carved out of rock well-camouflaged and held by 60 men each. One coy of 1 Patiala assaulted each position in the grey light of dawn at 0530 hours The raiders were taken by surprise, fired wildly in all directions and soon fled in disorder. The remnants were mopped up, and the Indian troops could be clearly seen "bayoneting out the hiding enemy as if on a fox-hunt" After this attack, nearly a score of dead raiders were counted on the hillsides and much booty was captured, including a 3.7-inch howitzer complete with accessories and instruments, 2 Bren guns and plenty of ammunition.The advance continued. One coy of 1 Patiala, supported by mortars, MMGs and tanks, attacked Machhoi itself and captured it by 1345 hours. Another coy passed through and occupied the next hill at 1600 hours. The advance thus covered 10 km on 2 November, and the most difficult stretch of the route was left behind.

 

 

 

On 3 November, Lt-Gen Shrinagesh and Maj-Gen Thimayya visited Machhoi to encourage the forward troops and to satisfy themselves about the arrangements for the next stage of the advance. According to the above plan, 1 Patiala resumed the advance from Machhoi on the afternoon of 3 November. It crushed all resistance with the help of guns, mortars and MMGs, and captured the Island Feature by 1920 hours. The Rajputs pushed through immediately, and succeeded in occupying Matayan and advancing some distance beyond by the morning of 4 November. That afternoon 1/5 RGR and two coys of 1 Patiala also concentrated at Matayan.

 

By 4 November the advance of 77 Para Bde had reached a point just short of Pindras. The advance remained halted for several days longer Winter was already there, and heavy snowfall could stop the operations any day. The weather in the first week of November had remained frosty and clear, but the great freeze-up would not be long delayed, and Drass and Kargil had to be captured before that Lt-Gen Carappa sent an urgent signal on 9 November to Maj-Gen Thimayya, asking about the progress of the advance and exhorting all troops to hurry on But after the failure of the attack of 1 Patiala on 8 November, it was decided to use tanks against the Pindras position also. Every available man was used to improve the track, and at last by the strenuous efforts of Lt-Col Rajindar Singh and his men, the tanks reached near Pindras on 13 November. They could not advance beyond the broken bridge, but it was decided to utilise their fire-power from the bridge area.

 

On 13 November, a coy of 1/5 RGR quietly crossed over to Pindras village, and the main attack started the next day. 4 Rajput simply held Batkundi in check by heavy fire, while the Gorkhas and the tanks attacked Pt. 12967 But the hostiles were occupying positions in deep caves and the tanks were unable to advance to fire straight into the cave-mouths. So the tanks were not as effective at Pindras as they had been at Zoji La. The fire from the tanks and guns, however, kept the hostiles in their caves, and prevented them from inflicting heavy casualties on the Gorkhas.

 

To break through the strong defences in the Pindras gorge, Brigadier Atal decided to attack again with two battalions. A new plan

 

was quickly drawn up. 4 Rajput was ordered to contain the hostiles on Batkundi hill and prevent them from interfering with the main attack. The Gorkhas were given the task of capturing the Pt 12967 ridge by assault, while 1 Patiala was to push through along the valley and capture Drass.

 

The plan was brilliantly executed 4 Rajput kept the hostiles on Batkundi occupied with their own defence. When the main attack was successful, Batkunds was cut off, its defenders lost heart and ran away, and those who remained were easily mopped up by the Rajputs on 15 November and the following day Pt 12967 also fell at last This long ridge was divided into two objectives, viz, Kumar and Anant, and one coy was sent against each. The Gorkhas crossed the stream and hid themselves at the foot of Kumar hill on night of 13/14 November. On 14 November, the two Gorkha coys launched a fierce assault on Kumar and Anant. The 3.7-inch mountain guns from Matayan and 3-inch mortars from nearer positions shelled the defences. The raiders replied with heavy fire from their MMGs, mortars and automatic weapons But by the morning of 15 November, the Gorkhas captured both Kumar and Anant. The hostiles suffered many casualties and left behind large number of rifles and ammunition.

 

The 1 Patiala was equally successful in its attack along the valley. Its plan was to advance with one company on either side of the stream running down the narrow valley towards Drass. The troops started off at 1730 hours on 14 November from the Matayan area. They came under fire from the enemy positions on Batkundi, but pushed on relentlessly. The coy on the night came up against a strong position on Brown Hill about midnight. The leading platoon found itself only about 25 metres from the main enemy position, and was subjected to intense fire from automatics, and grenades were also thrown at it. Most of the men of this platoon were wounded, and their leader, Jemadar Lal Singh, received no less than seven wounds But he and his men continued holding their position for four hours, till dawn came and the whole Patiala coy attacked and captured Brown Hill. The coy on the left bank of the stream also advanced rapidly, brushed aside the weak and stray opposition it met on the way, and occupied the hills overlooking Drass from the north. The raiders fled in confusion, and Brigadier Atal entered Drass in trumph at 1620 hours on 15 November.