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The '''Cho La incident''' (1{{snd}}10 October 1967) was a [[military conflict]] between [[India]] and [[China]] in the Himalayan [[Kingdom of Sikkim]], then an Indian [[protectorate]]. The Chinese [[People's Liberation Army]] infiltrated Sikkim<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=m2zfBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA345 Beijing's Power and China's Borders: Twenty Neighbors in Asia By Bruce Elleman, Stephen Kotkin, Clive Schofield, p.317]</ref> on 1{{nbsp}}October 1967, but was repulsed by the [[Indian Army]] by 10{{nbsp}}October. During the Cho La and [[Nathu La incident]]s Indian losses were 88 killed and 163 wounded, while Chinese casualties were 340 killed and 450 wounded.{{cn|date=September 2015}} China had previously won a [[Sino-Indian War|confrontation in 1962]]. The end of the battle saw the Chinese Army leave Sikkim after being defeated by Indian troops.<ref name=Hoontrakul>{{cite book |
The '''Cho La incident''' (1{{snd}}10 October 1967) was a [[military conflict]] between [[India]] and [[China]] in the Himalayan [[Kingdom of Sikkim]], then an Indian [[protectorate]]. The Chinese [[People's Liberation Army]] infiltrated Sikkim<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=m2zfBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA345 Beijing's Power and China's Borders: Twenty Neighbors in Asia By Bruce Elleman, Stephen Kotkin, Clive Schofield, p.317]</ref> on 1{{nbsp}}October 1967, but was repulsed by the [[Indian Army]] by 10{{nbsp}}October. During the Cho La and [[Nathu La incident]]s Indian losses were 88 killed and 163 wounded, while Chinese casualties were 340 killed and 450 wounded.{{cn|date=September 2015}} China had previously won a [[Sino-Indian War|confrontation in 1962]]. The end of the battle saw the Chinese Army leave Sikkim after being defeated by Indian troops.<ref name=Hoontrakul>{{cite book |
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Second Sino-Indian War of 1967 got its roots from 1965 Indo-Pak war where several small scale military skirmishes between Indian and Chinese troops happened on the Sino-Indian border. Chinese Military was looking to intrude into the Indian Territory and gain strategic position so that they can engage India in a manner that Indian Military attention is divided between Pakistan and China. However the Indian Army thwarted all these attacks and Chinese authorities forced their military to withdrew due to “heavy casualties” compared to “moderate loss” on India side. |
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Few day before hostilities broke out in September of 1967, Chinese Army threatened through loudspeakers that if Indians don’t withdraw from their perceived border line, 1962 type casualties will repeat. However, this time Indian Army was in avenging mood. Chinese Army marched forward in large numbers towards Indian Army positions, however were shocked to see the heavily fortified Indian positions instead of vacated posts as they were expecting while boasting of 1962 on loudspeakers, seeing this Chinese columns halted and promptly marched back without firing at Indian positions. |
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In order to de-escalate the situation on Sino-Indian border and make sure Chinese do not have an excuse for border violations, it was decided by the Indian Military to lay a wire in the centre of the Pass from Nathu La to Sebu La to demarcate the perceived border. This task was to be carried out by the Jawans of 70 Field Company of Engineers assisted by a company of 18 Rajput deployed at Yak La pass further north of Nathu La. The wire laying was to commence at first light on the fateful morning of 11 September 1967. |
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On 11th September, the engineers and Jawans started erecting long iron pickets from Nathu La to Sebu La along the perceived border while 2 Grenadiers and Artillery Observation Post Officers at Sebu La and Camel’s Back were on alert. Immediately the Chinese Political Commissar, with a section of Infantry came to the centre of the Pass where Lt. Col Rai Singh, CO 2 Grenadiers was standing with his commando platoon. The Commissar asked Lt Col Rai Singh to stop laying the wire. Orders to the Indian Army were clear. They were not to blink. An argument started which soon built up into a scuffle. In the ensuing melee, the commissar got roughed up. Thereafter the Chinese went up back to their bunkers and engineers resumed laying the wire. |
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Within a few minutes of this, a whistle was heard on the Chinese side followed by murderous medium machine gun fire from north shoulder. The pass was completely devoid of cover and the Jawans of 70 Field Company and 18 Rajput were caught in the open and suffered heavy casualties which included Col Rai Singh who was wounded. He was awarded MVC later. 2 Grenadier opened small arms fire on North shoulder but it was not very effective. Within the first ten minutes, there were nearly seventy dead and scores wounded lying in the open on the pass. Within half an hour, Chinese artillery opened up on the pass as well as in the depth areas but it was mostly prophylactic fire due to lack of observation and failed to do much damage. |
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Looking at this blatant aggression from Chinese, full of rage Indian Artillery observation post officers went for an extremely heavy artillery response to Chinese positions. Because of excellent domination and observation from Sebu La and Camel’s back, Indian artillery fire decimated Chinese positions. It was followed by a ferocious counter strike from the Mountaineers, Grenadiers and Rajputs which included close quarter combat also. |
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Chinese were caught off-guard by this ferocity from Indian side and suffered heavy casualties which number more than 300 dead and 450 wounded according to Chinese estimate which numbers the Indian tolls up to 89; however Indian authorities claim it to be 65. Most of the Chinese bunkers on North shoulder and in depth were completely destroyed and Chinese suffered very heavy casualties across all their positions.The artillery duel thereafter carried on relentlessly, day and night. For the next three days, the Chinese were taught a very good lesson. |
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After suffering heavy casualties at Nathu La, a bewildered Chinese Army tried to open another front and planned to extend the conflict throughout Sikkim. On 1st October, the Chinese Army attacked Chola area to avenge what happened in Nathu-La. Chinese planned for a command-style assault to surprise Indian defence positions with shock and awe. However, this commando strike went horribly wrong and Chinese lost 40 of their elite commandos. This led to a panic within Chinese ranks followed by a shabby retreat in haste. Since this skirmish had a lot of close quarter combat, Indian army chose not to assault the retreating Chinese columns as there were many wounded soldiers on Chinese side. Indian Army continued to monitor the border closely for any activities on Chinese side, however Chinese had retreated deep inside their territory, nearly three kilometers away to a feature named Kam Barracks where they remain deployed till date. Indian Army had got better of the Chinese yet again. Finally, all hostilities ended on 10th October. Chola Pass is firmly in Indian hands since then. |
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The Chinese are estimated to have suffered heavy casualties on both war fronts. |
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Revision as of 14:48, 10 November 2015
Cho La incident | |||||||||
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The Cho La incident occurred in the Kingdom of Sikkim, between China and India. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
China | India | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Mao Zedong | Zakir Husain | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
340 killed & 450 wounded in Cho La and Nathu La combined. | 88 killed & 163 wounded in Cho La and the Nathu La incidents combined. |
The Cho La incident (1 – 10 October 1967) was a military conflict between India and China in the Himalayan Kingdom of Sikkim, then an Indian protectorate. The Chinese People's Liberation Army infiltrated Sikkim[2] on 1 October 1967, but was repulsed by the Indian Army by 10 October. During the Cho La and Nathu La incidents Indian losses were 88 killed and 163 wounded, while Chinese casualties were 340 killed and 450 wounded.[citation needed] China had previously won a confrontation in 1962. The end of the battle saw the Chinese Army leave Sikkim after being defeated by Indian troops.[1][3][4]
Sikkim became an Indian state in 1975, which was not recognized by China. In 2003, China recognized Sikkim as an Indian state, on condition that India accept that the Tibet Autonomous Region was a part of China, even though India had already done so back in 1953.[5][6][7] This mutual agreement led to a thaw in Sino-Indian relations.[8]
See also
References
- ^ a b {{cite book Second Sino-Indian War of 1967 got its roots from 1965 Indo-Pak war where several small scale military skirmishes between Indian and Chinese troops happened on the Sino-Indian border. Chinese Military was looking to intrude into the Indian Territory and gain strategic position so that they can engage India in a manner that Indian Military attention is divided between Pakistan and China. However the Indian Army thwarted all these attacks and Chinese authorities forced their military to withdrew due to “heavy casualties” compared to “moderate loss” on India side. Few day before hostilities broke out in September of 1967, Chinese Army threatened through loudspeakers that if Indians don’t withdraw from their perceived border line, 1962 type casualties will repeat. However, this time Indian Army was in avenging mood. Chinese Army marched forward in large numbers towards Indian Army positions, however were shocked to see the heavily fortified Indian positions instead of vacated posts as they were expecting while boasting of 1962 on loudspeakers, seeing this Chinese columns halted and promptly marched back without firing at Indian positions. In order to de-escalate the situation on Sino-Indian border and make sure Chinese do not have an excuse for border violations, it was decided by the Indian Military to lay a wire in the centre of the Pass from Nathu La to Sebu La to demarcate the perceived border. This task was to be carried out by the Jawans of 70 Field Company of Engineers assisted by a company of 18 Rajput deployed at Yak La pass further north of Nathu La. The wire laying was to commence at first light on the fateful morning of 11 September 1967. On 11th September, the engineers and Jawans started erecting long iron pickets from Nathu La to Sebu La along the perceived border while 2 Grenadiers and Artillery Observation Post Officers at Sebu La and Camel’s Back were on alert. Immediately the Chinese Political Commissar, with a section of Infantry came to the centre of the Pass where Lt. Col Rai Singh, CO 2 Grenadiers was standing with his commando platoon. The Commissar asked Lt Col Rai Singh to stop laying the wire. Orders to the Indian Army were clear. They were not to blink. An argument started which soon built up into a scuffle. In the ensuing melee, the commissar got roughed up. Thereafter the Chinese went up back to their bunkers and engineers resumed laying the wire. Within a few minutes of this, a whistle was heard on the Chinese side followed by murderous medium machine gun fire from north shoulder. The pass was completely devoid of cover and the Jawans of 70 Field Company and 18 Rajput were caught in the open and suffered heavy casualties which included Col Rai Singh who was wounded. He was awarded MVC later. 2 Grenadier opened small arms fire on North shoulder but it was not very effective. Within the first ten minutes, there were nearly seventy dead and scores wounded lying in the open on the pass. Within half an hour, Chinese artillery opened up on the pass as well as in the depth areas but it was mostly prophylactic fire due to lack of observation and failed to do much damage. Looking at this blatant aggression from Chinese, full of rage Indian Artillery observation post officers went for an extremely heavy artillery response to Chinese positions. Because of excellent domination and observation from Sebu La and Camel’s back, Indian artillery fire decimated Chinese positions. It was followed by a ferocious counter strike from the Mountaineers, Grenadiers and Rajputs which included close quarter combat also. Chinese were caught off-guard by this ferocity from Indian side and suffered heavy casualties which number more than 300 dead and 450 wounded according to Chinese estimate which numbers the Indian tolls up to 89; however Indian authorities claim it to be 65. Most of the Chinese bunkers on North shoulder and in depth were completely destroyed and Chinese suffered very heavy casualties across all their positions.The artillery duel thereafter carried on relentlessly, day and night. For the next three days, the Chinese were taught a very good lesson. After suffering heavy casualties at Nathu La, a bewildered Chinese Army tried to open another front and planned to extend the conflict throughout Sikkim. On 1st October, the Chinese Army attacked Chola area to avenge what happened in Nathu-La. Chinese planned for a command-style assault to surprise Indian defence positions with shock and awe. However, this commando strike went horribly wrong and Chinese lost 40 of their elite commandos. This led to a panic within Chinese ranks followed by a shabby retreat in haste. Since this skirmish had a lot of close quarter combat, Indian army chose not to assault the retreating Chinese columns as there were many wounded soldiers on Chinese side. Indian Army continued to monitor the border closely for any activities on Chinese side, however Chinese had retreated deep inside their territory, nearly three kilometers away to a feature named Kam Barracks where they remain deployed till date. Indian Army had got better of the Chinese yet again. Finally, all hostilities ended on 10th October. Chola Pass is firmly in Indian hands since then. The Chinese are estimated to have suffered heavy casualties on both war fronts. |last=Hoontrakul |first=Pongsak |title=The Global Rise of Asian Transformation: Trends and Developments in Economic Growth Dynamics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RrKYBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA37 |year=2014 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |edition=illustrated |isbn=9781137412355 |page=37}}
- ^ Beijing's Power and China's Borders: Twenty Neighbors in Asia By Bruce Elleman, Stephen Kotkin, Clive Schofield, p.317
- ^ 50 years after Sino-Indian war | Millennium Post. Millenniumpost.in (16 May 1975). Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ^ "Kirantis' khukris flash at Chola in 1967". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ Indian Foreign Policy and the Border Dispute with China By Willem Frederik Eekelen, Willem Frederik van Eekelen
- ^ Between Two Fires: Towards an Understanding of Jawaharlal Nehru's, Volume II By Iqbal Singh
- ^ BBC News: India and China agree over Tibet
- ^ Baruah, Amit (12 April 2005). "China backs India's bid for U.N. Council seat". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 March 2009.