| Battle of Rawalakot | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Kashmir conflict and Indo-Pakistani war of 1947-1948 | |||||||||
  Rawalakot
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Azad Army[a] | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Captain Hussain Khan † Captain Sher Khan Captain Bostan Khan |
Colonel Ram Lal Major Amarnath Lakhanpal Captain Prakash Chand | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| ~200 men and others[2] | ~2000 men[3] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 260 casualties including 150 killed[3] |
400 killed Many wounded[3] | ||||||||
The Battle of Rawalakot, was a battle fought by the Azad Kashmir Regular Force against the State of Jammu and Kashmir which took place in the city of Rawalakot and surrounding areas between November 4–14, 1947 during the First Kashmir War, which was initiated by Muslim Sudhan ex-servicemen to fight for the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Dominion of Pakistan.[4] On 15 June, Sardar Ibrahim Khan addressed a meeting in Rawalakot attended by 20,000 people, and gave a speech in "most 'seditious' terms". He told his audience that Pakistan, a Muslim state, was coming into being and the people of Jammu and Kashmir could not remain unaffected. After that day, he says, "a strange atmosphere took the place of the usually peaceful life in these parts".[5] On 22 June, Chaudhary Hamidullah, the acting president of the Muslim Conference, visited Rawalakot and initiated secret plans to organize the ex-servicemen of the district for an eventual confrontation with the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces.[6]
At Dothan an engagement took place on 30 August. A platoon on their way to Rawalakot to reinforce Hajira force, engaged in a clash with the Sudhan ex-servicemen nearly seven miles inland from Rawalakot, who were commanded by Captain Muhammad Ashraf. The engagement resulted in the casualties of five ex-servicemen which also included Captain Ashraf who suffered injuries and eighteen state forces soldiers. The action at Dothan destroyed culverts and communication network between Rawalakot and Hajira.[2] At Sudhunti tehsil, the remaining Tain post was deserted by state forces, and Colonel Ram instead of reinforcing fallen or besieged posts would consider the withdrawal of both non-Muslim civilians and state forces to Rawalakot. The withdrawal of the state forces from this area was of great convenience for Azad forces, with the withdrawal whole area was turned into an Azad force base.[7] On November 4,6,8 Attacks were made by Azad force on Rawalakot Garrison leading heavy casualties on both sides[8][9] The Indian planes pounded the Azad forces all day but the Azad forces would remain unharmed.[10]
Colonel Ram Lal took note of the circumstances and made the decision to withdraw his men to Poonch due to the dire situation regarding ammunition and supplies as well as the increasing number of refugees.[11] But when the column arrived in Hajira, a fierce battle was ongoing.[11] Azad forces had taken up positions on the way to Hajira as they anticipated the state forces would retreat from Hajira track, Lieutenant-Colonel Silwal instead decided to retreat to Poonch via the Toli Pir pass.[12] The retreating state forces were persistently followed by Captain Hussain Khan and Azad forces all the way to Toli Pir, which left them with no breaks and impeding their attempts to reorganize or halt their progress. The column was brought back to Poonch which still caused casualties.[12] There was only one unit in the garrison at Madarpur. A strong column was dispatched from Poonch on the evening of November 13/14 in order to withdraw these two garrisons, the garrisons would withdraw by 15 November.[12] Azad forces forced the state forces to vacate Rawalakot and then to withdraw towards Poonch, the battle at Rawalakot was considered an important victory for Azad forces since it eliminated the whole area of state troops.[13]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 (2015), p. 159
- ^ a b Jaffri 2024, p. 10.
- ^ a b c Jaffri 2024, p. 11.
- ^ Jaffri (2024), p. 10 : Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 (2015), pp. 154–156 : Singh (2010), p. 217
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:3was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 (2015), p. 83.
- ^ Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 2015, pp. 156–158.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:4was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:5was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Singh 2010, p. 241.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
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:05was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:7was invoked but never defined (see the help page).