Amid the fury of 1947-48 war, one commander’s gamble sealed Ladakh’s fate. KM Cariappa, 1899 Coorg native and India’s first Indian Army chief (1949), turned tide at Zoji La. Tribal hordes, Pakistan-fueled, choked the pass, isolating Leh and endangering sovereignty.
Zoji La: 11,500 feet of fury—avalanches, hypoxia, impossible terrain. Prior attacks bombed. Cariappa, intel virtuoso, bypassed orders blocking Leh advance till full secures elsewhere.
Enter audacious stroke: armored infantry assault. 77th Para Brigade hauled tanks skyward in Operation Bison. Foes panicked as steel roared through snow, retaking Naushera-Jhangar, evicting from Dras-Kargil. Leh junction November 24.
Beyond recapture, it pioneered high-altitude tank warfare, boosting morale, proving prowess. Cariappa instilled doctrine: intel drives victory.
His era’s trials forged today’s guardians. In an age of LAC frictions, Operation Bison reminds: decisive defiance safeguards borders. Leh’s Indian heartbeat—Cariappa’s eternal gift.