Page 150 - Leadership in the Indian Army

force their way in were foiled by the enemy, who had occupied Kothi Dhar,
which overlooked the roadblocks. By the afternoon, the troops who had
withdrawn from Jhangar reached the roadblocks and fought their way to

Naushera with the help of the relief column. Stragglers continued to stream
into Naushera for the next two or three days.
The loss of Jhangar was a big blow to the Indian Army. It was the first
major reverse of the operations in Jammu and Kashmir—1 Para Punjab
suffered 101 casualties: 55 killed and 46 wounded. Enemy casualties were
estimated to be around 1,000, but that was little consolation. However the
debacle did have some positive fallout. It brought home to the top

leadership the dangers of neglecting the defence of strategic positions. Soon
afterwards, JAK Division was allotted an additional brigade; the
administrative set-up was improved; steps were taken to establish an
intelligence organisation; and it was decided to institute gallantry awards.
After the capture of Jhangar, it was obvious that the enemy’s next
objective would be Naushera, since it would provide them a firm base to

progress operations towards Jammu. As a prelude to its capture, the enemy
began to encircle the town. By the first week of January, it was dominating
all four roads leading out of Naushera. On 27 December, 3 Para MLI had
started arriving, and by 3 January the entire battalion had moved in. It was
still in the process of settling down when it suffered a setback. On 4 January
1948, Usman had ordered the battalion to clear the enemy from Bhajnoa on
the Jhangar road. The enemy was well entrenched, and the attack was

launched without artillery support. Not surprisingly, the attack was beaten
back. The battalion suffered seven casualties, including the CO, Lieutenant
Colonel Rawind Singh Grewal, who was wounded and had to be evacuated.
He was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Harbans Singh Virk, DSO, who
took over on 7 January 1948.
The failure of the attack by 3 Para MLI on 4 January had raised the

enemy’s spirits and he mounted an assault on Naushera the same evening,
this time from the south-west. However, with the help of artillery and
mortars, the Indians were able to fend off the attackers. Two days later,
another daylight attack came from the north-west. This too was repulsed.
The enemy then launched a force of about 5,000, supported by artillery, the
same afternoon. After a bitter fight, which drained all the resources of the
garrison, the Indians were able to repel this attack as well.