The Kashmir confrontation of 1947-48 is not only a vital event by itself, but with this episode begins the military history proper-of independent India.

On 22nd October 1947, Pathans and frontier tribesmen from over the mountains overran the valley of Kashmir and were about to storm Srinagar, when the 161 Infantry Brigade moved into action.

Slender as the thread was that connected the brigade to the rest of the Indian army, it held and revealed its strength as a fistful of soldiers defended and liberated one strategic post after another until the enemy, whatever his nationality, was pushed back to wherever he had come from.

That unforgettable story is told here by the commander of this famous brigade, with a wealth of detail matched by depth of perception. The story is worth 'reading again and again, because, as the last forty-five years have shown, the Kashmir confrontation is not over yet.