Operation Meghdoot

Operation Meghdoot
Part of the Siachen conflict

Satellite imagery of the Siachen Glacier
Date13 April 1984; 40 years ago (1984-04-13)
Location35°25′N 76°55′E / 35.417°N 76.917°E / 35.417; 76.917
Result Indian Victory
Territorial
changes
India gains control of the entire Siachen Glacier, and administers it as part of Ladakh
Belligerents
 India  Pakistan
Commanders and leaders
Giani Zail Singh
(President of India)
Lt Gen P N Hoon
(GOC, XV Corps)
Brig Vijay Channa
(Commander, 26 Sector)
Lt. Col. D K Khanna
Gen. Zia-ul-Haq
(President of Pakistan)
Lt. Gen. Zahid Ali Akbar
(Commander, X Corps)
Brig. Pervez Musharraf
Strength
3,000+ 3,000+
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

Operation Meghdoot was the codename for the Indian Armed Forces operation to take full control of the Siachen Glacier in Ladakh. Executed on the morning of 13 April 1984 in the highest battlefield in the world, Meghdoot was the first military offensive of its kind. This operation preempted Pakistan's Operation Ababeel and was a success, resulting in Indian forces gaining control of the Siachen Glacier in its entirety.[1]

Currently, the Indian Army remains the first and only army in the world to have deployed tanks and other heavy ordnance at altitudes well over 5,000 meters. Up to ten infantry battalions each of the Indian Army and Pakistan Army are actively deployed at high altitudes of up to 6,400 meters throughout the region due to the present Siachen conflict.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference BaghelNusser was invoked but never defined (see the help page).