India: Rama Raghoba Rane was born on 26 June 1918 in Chendiya village of Karnataka in a Konkani speaking Maratha family. He was the son of Raghoba. P. Rane, a police officer from the Karnataka village of Chendiya in Uttara Kannada district. Rane's early education, which was mainly spent in district schools, was in disarray due to his father's frequent footsteps. The non-cooperation movement, which pushed for Indian independence from British rule, had an impact on him in 1930. His father was concerned with his participation in the movement and shifted the family to his native village, Chendia.
Rane decided to enlist in the British Indian Army at the age of 22, just as World War II was going on. Rane joined the Bombay Engineer Regiment on July 10, 1940, and graduated as the "Best Recruit", receiving Commandant Kane. Thereafter he got promotion as Naik (Corporal).
Rane was assigned to the 28th Field Company, an engineering unit of the 26th Infantry Division, which was then engaged in combat with the Japanese in Burma, after completing his training. He and two of his sections were specifically selected by his company commander to remain at Buthidong in order to destroy important assets before being driven out by the Royal Indian Navy as his division withdrew from the Japanese after the unsuccessful Arakan Campaign. was. Though the target was met quickly, the expected pickup did not take place. Due to this, Rane and his men were forced to cross a Japanese-patrol river to get into their line. Rane successfully repelled Japanese troops with the help of two of his divisions before joining the 26th Infantry Division at Bahri. His works promoted him to the rank of Havildar (Sergeant).
Later, Rane was appointed a Jamadar by the Viceroy's Commission (now the rank of Naib Subedar, equivalent to Warrant Officer). Before partition, Rane was selected for the short-service commission because of his tenacity and leadership ability. After his nation gained independence in 1947, Rane remained in the newly formed Indian Army and was appointed a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers on 15 December of the same year (seniority from 14 January 1948).
1947 War
On 18 March 1948, Indian Army troops recaptured Jhangar from the Pakistanis and started moving towards Rajouri from Naushahar sector. In December 1947, Jhangar was defeated by the Pakistanis. The 4th Dogra Battalion advanced towards Rajouri on 8 April 1948. Eleven kilometers to the north of Nowshahr, the battalion attacked and while advancing, took control of the Barwali Ridge. After Barwali, the progress of the battalion was hindered by the increasing number of mines and obstacles. Auxiliary tanks were also unable to cross the barriers.
Rane, in charge of a section of the 37th Assault Field Company, was sent forward to help clear the way for the 4th Dogra Battalion. Rane and his team were cleaning a mine when Pakistanis opened fire with mortars, killing two sappers and injuring five others, including Rane. Despite this, by the evening of 8 April, Rane and his remaining troops had cleared the mine, allowing the auxiliary tanks to advance. The road ahead was still dangerous, so a safe lane had to be built for the tanks. This area was not yet freed from the Pakistani army. Rane worked all night to make this street. The next day, his section cleared mines and obstacles for a total of twelve hours. He made a detour to advance the battalion as the road was still too challenging to handle. Even though the Pakistanis were still firing with mortars and artillery, Rane kept on working.
On April 10, Rane woke up early to continue working on a challenge that had not gone away the previous evening. He cleared the way for five large pine trees in two hours between mines and machine gun fire. As a result the 4th Dogra Battalion was able to advance another thirteen kilometers before coming upon another important road. Its destruction was difficult as Pakistani forces were stationed in the nearby hills and could fire all the way across the block. Before the night was over, Rane drove a tank to the roadblock, hid behind the tank, and used mines to open the roadblock.
The next day, Rane worked another seventeen hours to complete the construction of the road to Chingus, which was located halfway between Rajouri and Naushahar along an old Mughal route. He assisted in the Indian advance on Rajouri between 8 April and 11 April. Their efforts prevented many local civilians from being attacked by the Chingus and Rajouri, saving many of them an estimated 500 dead and many wounded by Pakistani soldiers.
Paramveer chakra
Rane received the Param Vir Chakra on 21 June 1950 for his actions during the advance on Rajouri on 8 April 1948. On Mile 26 of the Nowshera-Rajouri road, which passes through a very mountainous area, Rama Raghoba Rane, Second Lieutenant of the Bombay Engineers, was given the charge on 8 April 1948. When the enemy started firing heavy mortars on him in the area at 1100 hrs. Near Nadpur South, Second Lieutenant Rane and his party waited near the tanks to begin clearing further mines. As a result, two members of the mine-clearing team were killed and five others, including Second Lieutenant Rane, were injured. The officer immediately reorganized his team and began work to get the tanks back into their positions. While he was near the tanks, he was constantly being attacked by enemy machine guns and mortars. Although he was aware that the enemy had not yet been completely driven out of the area after the capture of Barwali Ridge at around 1630, Second Lieutenant Rane pushed his party forward and prepared a detour for the incoming tanks. started. She continued to operate until 2200 that evening, completely seeing the enemy and being heavily loaded with machine-guns. Work began once again at 6:00 a.m. on 9 April and continued until 1500 a.m., when the diversion was prepared for the tanks to advance. He boarded the lead carrier and advanced as an armored column. After traveling about half a mile, he reached a path made of pine trees. He immediately got off his horse and destroyed the trees. Advance continued. The same story was repeated after a distance of 300 more yards. At this time it was happening around 1700 hours. The road made its way around the hill. The following obstacle was a destroyed culvert. Once again, Second Lieutenant Rane went about his work. Before he could begin his work, the enemy opened fire from his machine guns, but thanks to his super leadership and courage, he created a distraction and the column moved on. Despite the increasing number of obstacles in his path, he continued to explode. By this time (1815), the light was rapidly fading. Five large pine trees that were surrounded by mines and under machine gun fire formed a formidable passage that approached the carrier. They began to disarm the mines and were determined to clear the road, but the commander of the armored column noticed the situation and moved the column to a port area. Second Lieutenant Rane, assisted by a tank squad, resumed construction on the road at 04:45 on 10 April 1948, despite machine-gun fire. With strong will power, he was able to cross this hurdle by 06:30. The following 1,000 yards were filled with obstacles and the embankments were demolished. Not only that, though. The enemy had the entire area under machine-gun fire, but thanks to his superhuman efforts, calm courage and exemplary leadership, the road was cleared in 1030 hours - despite the fact that he was wounded. While Second Lieutenant Rane continued to prepare the road for the Administrative Column, the Armored Column moved forward and diverted the road to the Tawi River. Chingus was reached by tanks at 1400. Realizing the importance of keeping the road open, Second Lieutenant Rane worked non-stop for 2100 hours that evening. He got back to work on 11 April at 6:00 AM and ended up opening the way to Chingus by 11:00 AM. That night he cleared the way till 2200 hrs.
Paramveer Chakra captain Karam Singh