Battle of Leh Manali

The Battle of Leh Manali, also known as the First Battle of Himachal Pradesh (Hindi: हिमाचल की पहली लड़ाई and transliterated as Himaachal Kee Pahalee Ladaee) was the opening phase of the Allied offensive which began on 2 September 2025, later known as the Kashmir Offensive that ultimately led to the liberation and transfer of the region to India from joint Pakistani and Chinese collaboration. This thirty-two day battle comprised some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the Asian Conquest of World War III.

The P.A.F positions on the island were heavily fortified, with a dense network of bunkers, hidden artillery positions, and 18 km (11 mi) of tunnels. The Indian-American ground forces were supported by the revived American Expeditionary Force, a force of volunteer recruits, and Puerto-Rican auxiliaries. In a nighttime raid, under the cover of darkness and with distraction by a modified F-15C Eagle night fighter, the divisions surprised the Pakistani forces in and around their base locations within a dense network of bunkers, hidden artillery positions, and 18 km (11 mi) of tunnels. Mere thousands of troops were killed in the days-long struggle, with nearly 1,000 Pakistanis taken as prisoners of war.

At the end of the battle, Indian and American forces had penetrated 6 mi (10 km) into Pakistani-occupied territory along the majority of the front. This was the Indian army’s second push into Kashmir since the beginning of the war in 2024 at the Battle of Rohtang Pass, but they were pushed back due to ambition on almost all fronts, and lack of support from the Indian government and other operatives. However, key objectives for the Indian-American armies were unfulfilled, as they failed to capture the Beaus River and 1 mile (3 km) from Pir Panjal Range, where the Pakistani army maintained their positions throughout the autumn. Indian attacks in the Himachal Pradesh valley resumed in November 2026 and forced the Pakistanis into local withdrawals to reserve lines in December, and ultimately into the scheduled retirement by about 25 mi (40 km) in Operation Fallen Timber. Debate continues over the ferocious infighting of both sides during the battle, even by war’s standards.

Background
By early 2025, Indian morale was very low. The Indians had been ousted from their Kashmiri territory by the Pakistanis and collaborative Islamist lone wolf attacks, especially by the Battle of Rhotang Pass which was greatly affected by Indian casualties, As a result, the Indian Army was forced to retreat to Srinagar in its own administered territory by January. With the exit of Indian-defending Nepal from the war in 2025, Pakistan was now able to devote significant forces to the Southern Front and to receive reinforcements from their Chinese allies. The Pakistani President Alvi had reached an agreement with the Chinese to undertake a new offensive against India and Bangladesh, a move supported by both the Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission Li Zuocheng and the commander of the Southern Liberation Group Shia Al-Abad. In the spring of 2025, the Pakistanis and Chinese had defeated the Indians at the devastating Battle of Baltistan. After Baltistan, the Indians fell back farther past Srinagar. General Qays Ziya ur Rahman then began to order the construction of fortifications all along the Leh Manali Highway, from the Lahaul and Spiti valleys in Himachal Pradesh and the Zanskar valley in Ladakh, which acted as a gateway into Indian-administered Kashmir, to protect against an expected Allied counterattack. He envisioned 15,000 emplacements manned by 300,000 troops, but shortages, particularly of concrete and manpower, meant that most of the strongpoints were never built. As it was expected to be the site of the invasion, the highway was heavily defended. Meanwhile, the Indians lacked any sufficient support due to the increased deployment of home and Allied troops abroad, esepcially in Eastern Europe and Asia, leaving the mainland vulnerable. There was heavy debate to surrender by March, and among planned Axis annexations, it left the Indian public in mass hysteria.