Day 1, 13 September Indian forces entered the state at 4 a.m. The first battle was fought at
Naldurg Fort on the Solapur Secunderabad Highway between a defending force of the 1st Hyderabad Infantry and the attacking force of the 7th Brigade. Using speed and surprise, the 7th Brigade managed to secure a vital bridge on the Bori River intact, following which an assault was made on the Hyderabadi positions at Naldurg by the 2nd Sikh Regiment. The bridge and road secured, an armoured column of the 1st Armoured Brigade – part of the Smash force – moved into the town of
Jalkot, 8 km from Naldurg, at 0900 hours, paving the way for the Strike Force units under Lt. Col Ram Singh Commanding Officer of
9 Dogra (a motorised battalion) to pass through. This armoured column reached the town of
Umarga, 61 km inside Hyderabad by 1515 hours, where it quickly overpowered resistance from Razakar units defending the town. Meanwhile, another column consisting of a squadron of
3rd Cavalry, a troop from
18th King Edward's Own Cavalry, a troop from 9 Para Field Regiment, 10 Field Company Engineers,
3/2 Punjab Regiment,
2/1 Gurkha Rifles, 1
Mewar Infantry, and ancillary units attacked the town of
Tuljapur, about 34 km north-west of Naldurg. They reached Tuljapur at dawn, where they encountered resistance from a unit of the 1st Hyderabad Infantry and about 200 Razakars who fought for two hours before surrendering. Further advance towards the town of
Lohara was stalled as the river had swollen. The first day on the Western Front ended with the Indians inflicting heavy casualties on the Hyderabadis and capturing large tracts of territory. Amongst the captured defenders was a British mercenary who had been tasked with blowing up the bridge near
Naldurg. In the East, forces led by Lt. Gen A.A. Rudra met with fierce resistance from two armoured car cavalry units of the
Hyderabad State Forces, equipped with
Humber armoured cars and
Staghounds, namely the 2nd and 4th Hyderabad Lancers, but managed to reach the town of
Kodar by 0830 hours. Pressing on, the force reached
Munagala by the afternoon. There were further incidents in
Hospet – where the 1st Mysore assaulted and secured a
sugar factory from units of Razakars and
Pathans – and at
Tungabhadra – where the
5/5 Gurkha attacked and secured a vital bridge from the Hyderabadi army.
Day 2, 14 September The force that had camped at Umarga proceeded to the town of
Rajeshwar, 48 km east. As aerial reconnaissance had shown well-entrenched ambush positions set up along the way, the air strikes from squadrons of
Tempests were called in. These air strikes effectively cleared the route and allowed the land forces to reach and secure Rajeshwar by the afternoon. The assault force from the East was meanwhile slowed by an anti-tank ditch and later came under heavy fire from hillside positions of the
1st Lancers and
5th Infantry 6 km from Suryapet. The positions were assaulted by the 2/5 Gurkha – veterans of the
Burma Campaign – and were neutralised, with the Hyderabadis taking severe casualties. At the same time, the
3/11 Gurkha Rifles and a squadron of 8th Cavalry attacked
Osmanabad and took the town after heavy street combat with the Razakars who determinedly resisted the Indians. A force under the command of Maj. Gen. D.S. Brar was tasked with capturing the city of
Aurangabad. The city was attacked by six columns of infantry and cavalry, resulting in the civil administration emerging in the afternoon and offering a surrender to the Indians. There were further incidents in
Jalna where 3 Sikhs, a company of 2 Jodhpur infantry and some tanks from 18 Cavalry faced stubborn resistance from Hyderabadi forces.
Day 3, 15 September Leaving a company of 3/11 Gurkhas to occupy the town of
Jalna, the remainder of the force moved to
Latur, and later to
Mominabad where they faced action against the 3 Golconda Lancers who gave token resistance before surrendering. At the town of
Suryapet, air strikes cleared most of the Hyderabadi defences, although some Razakar units still gave resistance to the 2/5 Gurkhas who occupied the town. The retreating Hyderabadi forces destroyed the bridge at Musi to delay the Indians but failed to offer covering fire, allowing the bridge to be quickly repaired. Another incident occurred at
Narkatpalli where a Razakar unit was decimated by the Indians.
Day 4, 16 September The task force under Lt. Col. Ram Singh moved towards
Zahirabad at dawn but was slowed by a minefield, which had to be cleared. On reaching the junction of the Bidar road with the Solapur-
Hyderabad City Highway, the forces encountered gunfire from ambush positions. However, leaving some of the units to handle the ambush, the bulk of the force moved on to reach 15 kilometres beyond Zahirabad by nightfall despite sporadic resistance along the way. Most of the resistance was from Razakar units who ambushed the Indians as they passed through urban areas. The Razakars were able to use the terrain to their advantage until the Indians brought in their 75 mm guns.
Day 5, 17 September In the early hours of 17 September, the Indian army entered
Bidar. Meanwhile, forces led by the 1st Armoured regiment were at the town of
Chityal about 60 km from
Hyderabad, while another column took over the town of
Hingoli. By the morning of the 5th day of hostilities, it had become clear that the Hyderabad army and the Razakars had been routed on all fronts and with extremely heavy casualties. At 5 pm on 17 September, the Nizam announced a ceasefire, thus ending the armed action. == Hyderabad at the United Nations ==