Battle of Badgam
| Battle of Badgam | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| India | Pakistan | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Somnath Sharma † Dewan Singh † | Khurshid Anwar | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| Indian Armed Forces | Tribal lashkars | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
50–70 troops Unknown amount of IAF Aircraft | ~1,000 men | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
15–22 killed 26 wounded | 200–300 killed | ||||||||
The Battle of Badgam was a defensive encounter that took place at Badgam in the Kashmir Valley close to the Srinagar Airport during the initial stages of the First Kashmir War. The skirmishes took place on 3 November 1947 between a company of the Indian Army, aided by Indian Air Force, and a tribal lashkar of Pakistani raiders numbering around 1000, who had apparently occupied Badgam. The battle drew its significance from the success of the solitary company of 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment, led by Major Somnath Sharma, in halting the momentum of advancing tribal "Lashkars", though being heavily outnumbered. Sharma was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his actions. The Indian Air Force served as an accompaniment to the army's efforts in the battle, contributing to the majority of the casualties inflicted on the Pakistani lashkars. However the tribal forces would successfully raid badgam and defeat the Indian company at badgam and later infiltrate towards shalateng north of Srinagar, with another decisive called Battle of Shalateng.