well come to most indian army person Somnath Sharma major.
this brave soldier of fourth Kumaon regiment sacrificed his life at the young age of 24. with his hand already in plaster from an injury sustained in a hockey game ,Sharma insisted on being with his company in combat when they were airlifted to Srinagar on October 30,1947 to fight Pakistani invaders.
on November 3,when Sharma's company was on a patrol of Badgam village ,it was approached by a tribal lashkar of 700 raiders from the direction of Gulmarg. The ensuing heavy mortar bombardment .realising Srinagar and the airport would be vulnerable if they abandoned the battle at this point, Sharma ran from post ,encouraging his men to fight in the face of an enemy that outnumbered them seven to one .
when heavy casualties adversely affected their firing power ,sharma ,with his left hand in plaster, took to filling the magazines for the men operating light machine guns. While he was busy fighting ,a mortar shell exploded on the ammunition near him, killing
him instantly.
his last message to brigade HQ received few moment before he was killed, was the enemy is only 50 yards us .we are heavily outnumbered. we are under devastating fire .I shall not withdraw an inch but will fight to our last man and our last round.
major Somnath Sharma was the first recipient of the param Vir Chakra. The citation on the award says, his leadership, gallantry and tenacious defence were such that his men were inspired to fight the enemy by seven to one ,six hours after this gallant officer had been killed.
indian military officer .
major Somnath Sharma was an indian officer and the first recipient of Indians highest military decoration ,param Vir chakra (PVC) .he displayed exemplary courage and valor during the Pakistani invasion of Jammu & Kashmir in 1947. he died while evicting Pakistani infiltrators and raiders from Srinagar airport during the Indo- Pak war of 1947-48 in Kashmir .his sacrifice prevented the fall of Srinagar and set an example of courage in indian history.
Somnath Sharma ,PVC (31 January 1923 -3 November 1947),was an indian military officer and the first recipient of India's highest military decoration, Parama Vir chakra (PVC) ,which he was awarded
posthumously.
sharma was commissioned into the 4th battalion,19th hyderabad regiment,in 1942. he served in burma during the arakan campaign in world war 2,for which he was mentioned in despatches. fighting in the indo-pakistani war of 1947-1948,somnath sharma was killed in action on 3 november 1947 while respulsing pakistani infiltrators near srinagar airport. for his gallantry and sacrifice during the battle of badgam, he was posthumously awarded the param vir chakra.
early life and education.
sharma was born into a dogra brahmin family on 31 january 1923 at dadh ,kangra,punjab (present-day himachal pradesh).his father ,amar nath sharma ,was a military officer. his younger brother , vishwa nath sharma , would later become the 14 th chief of the army staff of the indian army .somnath sharma ,would later become the army somanath sharma completed his schooling at the prince of wales royal at the prince of wales royalmilitary college in deharadun.he later studied at the royal military college ,sandhurst.