Siege of Skardu
| Siege of Skardu | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 | |||||||||
_p232_ISKARDO_FORT.jpg) | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
Jammu and Kashmir State Forces  Indian Air Force[4] | Gilgit Scouts, Chitral Scouts, Chitral State Bodyguards | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 7,000-8,000 | 2,000 - 4,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 250 captured[3] | |||||||||
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The siege of Skardu was a prolonged military blockade carried out by the Gilgit Scouts, Chitral Scouts and Chitral State Bodyguards, acting in coordination against Jammu and Kashmir State Forces and the Indian Army in the town of Skardu, during the First Kashmir War of 1947.[5][6][7]
Background
Gilgit Scouts, the British-officered force of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir stationed in Gilgit for frontier defence, launched Operation Datta Khel on 31 October 1947 after hearing the news of Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India. They were joined by rebels from the 6th battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces stationed at Bunji, annihilated the rest of the battalion and imprisoned its commander Col. Abdul Majid. The combined forces of the Gilgit Scouts and rebels were placed under the command of Lt. Col. Aslam Khan by the Azad Kashmir provisional government.[a] Aslam Khan divided the troops into three forces of 400 men each, and deployed one of them, the "Ibex Force" under Major Ehsan Khan, to take Skardu.
Skardu, the political centre of Baltistan, was the headquarters of a tehsil of the Ladakh wazarat, The administration of the wazarat was stationed at Skardu for six months in each year and at Leh for the other six months. At the time of the rebellion, the governor of the wazarat was at Skardu and a company of the 6th battalion under the command of Major Sher Jung Thapa, was at Leh.
Siege of Skardu
When the news of the Gilgit rebellion was received, Sher Jung Thapa was promoted to Lieut. Colonel and made commander of the remainder of the 6th battalion. He was asked to proceed to Skardu for its defence. On reaching Skardu on 3 December, he realised that his position was untenable and sought permission to withdraw the garrison and the civil administration to Kargil and also requested reinforcements. The request for withdrawal was turned down and he was asked "to hold to last man and last round". The Indian forces, along with the non-Muslim civil population of Skardu, withdrew into the Skardu Fort where they were besieged by the Ibex Force.[8] Thus began the defence of Skardu.[9]
Meanwhile, Srinagar, under the control of the Indian Army, assembled 3 successive Skardu relief columns, but they were not successful in reaching Skardu. With Gilgit under Pakistan's control and absence of any effective relief, including air dropping of ammunition, it was a matter of time before the end neared. On 11 February 1948, the Pakistani forces battled with the Skardu garrison of the fort. After a six-hour-long battle between the two, the attackers retreated. They came again on 14 February directing "harassing fire into the fort".[10]
By mid-August 1948, the Skardu garrison was in beggarly shape and the Kashmir forces left the fort in small batches on 13 August 1948. On 14 August 1948, outnumbered five to one, and with the last box of the reserve ammunition used, the garrison surrendered.[11][12] All the remaining men were reportedly killed by the invaders, except for Col. Thapa and his Sikh orderly, who were taken prisoner.[13][10] Skardu fell and along with southern Baltistan, became part of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, later renamed Gilgit-Baltistan.
See also
- Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948
- 1947 Poonch rebellion
- Operation Datta Khel
- Military operations in Poonch (1948)
Notes
- ^ Lt. Col. Aslam Khan was a decorated officer of the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces, who moved to the British Indian Army and later Pakistan Army. Officially on leave from the Pakistan Army, he described himself as a "deserter" and joined the service of the Azad Kashmir provisioinal government, .
References
- ^ "The Battle of Skardu". The Tribune (India).
- ^ Khanduri, Chandra B. (1 January 2006). Thimayya: An Amazing Life. Knowledge World. ISBN 9788187966364.
- ^ a b c d Ahmed Khan, Masud. "Surrender at Skardu".
- ^ Spare a thought for those defenders of Skardu - Tribune India
- ^ VSM, Brig Amar Cheema (31 March 2015). The Crimson Chinar: The Kashmir Conflict: A Politico Military Perspective. Lancer Publishers. ISBN 9788170623014.
- ^ Brown, William (30 November 2014). Gilgit Rebelion: The Major Who Mutinied Over Partition of India. Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781473821873.
- ^ (Retd), Col J. Francis (30 August 2013). Short Stories from the History of the Indian Army Since August 1947. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 9789382652175.
- ^ India (1 January 1959). India, 1947-50: External affairs. Oxford University Press. p. 493.
- ^ "Defenders of Skardu". Tribune India. 19 August 2015.
- ^ a b B. Chakravorty. Stories of Heroism: PVC & MVC Winners. Allied Publishers. pp. 352–353. ISBN 9788170235163.
- ^ "The Battle of Skardu". The Tribune (India).
- ^ Khanduri, Chandra B. (1 January 2006). Thimayya: An Amazing Life. Knowledge World. ISBN 9788187966364.
- ^ J Francis. Short Stories from the History of the Indian Army Since August 1947. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. pp. 26–27. ISBN 9789382652175.