In 1942, Sharma was commissioned into the 8th Battalion, 19th Hyderabad Regiment. Major Somnath Sharma [31 January 1923 – 3 November 1947], an Indian Army officer, was the first recipient of Param Vir Chakra , India’s highest military decoration. As there was no enemy movement, two of the three deployed companies returned to Srinagar at 2:00 pm. Major Sharma called for air and artillery support, to which the howitzers of 13 Field Battery responded magnificently — the gunners showing that they had lost none of their skills during their long attachment as infantry with 1 Sikh. However, the 200 casualties suffered by the tribal infiltrators caused them to lose the impetus to advance. Zainkut Ridge was secured by the Kumaonese by 1330 hrs, the mounted Sikh company and two armoured cars being pushed through to complete the rout.
Soon after, the Company was overrun, losing 14 men killed and 22 wounded.
Indian troops were deployed only at Srinagar airfield, While he was busy fighting the enemy, a mortar shell exploded on the ammunition near him. Monday, August 3, 2020 While busy fighting the infiltrators, a mortar shell exploded on a pile of ammunition near him. He quickly surrounded it with a rifle section and challenged the people in it, to his surprise 11 fully armed Pathans surrendered without firing a shot. The town was hushed and in deep shock after its occupation. "The enemies is only 50 yards from us. The threat to Srinagar had finally been eliminated.Brigadier Sen, who had been at the airfield all day receiving the reinforcements of troops, guns and equipment, reached Shalateng by 1400 hrs and at once issued orders for the pursuit to Baramula. For his extreme gallantry throughout the three-hour battle, Major Somnath Sharma received India's first Param Vir Chakra, its highest award for gallantry in combat.Their success on November 3, at Badgam in which Major Somnath Sharma and his company of 4 Kumaon fought a magnificent action, gave the raiders the confidence to plan an attack on the airfield and Srinagar itself.
Nevertheless, the raiders, determined to take the position, kept up their pressure. At 2:35 pm, Sharma’s company was fired upon from the local resident houses in Badgam but counter-fire was not ordered to avoid injuring or killing innocent civilians.
1 Sikh, two companies at the Shalateng Bridge, and two at the Spill Channel, the latter being available to maintain law and order in the city, if required.The disappearance of 1 Sikh from Pattan who had been ordered to withdraw, led to an advance by a force of raiders, some 3,000 men in 138 buses and trucks up the Srinagar road — a development that would in fact lead to the last nail being driven into the coffin of Pakistani ambition on November 7.At 2200 hrs on the night of November 5/6, after an intense mortar and machine - gun bombardment, the enemy attacked Major Ajaib Singh's B Company of 1 Sikh.
Surprising the enemy headquarters by the side of the road in an apple orchard near milestone 7, this company group captured 4 lorries, 1 station wagon, a bren gun, 4 x 3-inch mortars, and an MMG and a truck load of medical supplies and ammunition.By 1400 hrs, all opposition had ended and the enemy was now on the run, hotly pursued by the Tempests of the IAF, who flew sortie after sortie until it became too dark to operate. Battle of Badgam. Sharma realized the importance of holding onto his position as both the city of Srinagar and the airport would be vulnerable if lost. A record 51 thousand 255 recoveries from Covid-19 have been registered today in the country. On the morning of November 2, a report had come into Brigade Headquarters of a concentration of about 1,000 raiders near Badgam… On their way in, Subedar Bishan Singh, 2-IC of D Company bringing up the Battalion rear, had noticed movement in an orchard by the side of the road. With the haystacks on fire, the enemy broke in all directions, chased by the Sikh machine guns and with the armoured cars joining in with everything they had. While briefing Brigadier Sen on November 3,(he had arrived in Srinagar late on the evening of November 2), Colonel Harbakhsh Singh, the acting Brigade Commander, suggested that 1 Sikh should be withdrawn from Pattan, as in the euphoria of success, the raiders wounded certainly threaten these two vital objectives. He served in Burma during the Arakan Campaign of World War II, for which he was mentioned in despatches. Sikh troops in Baramulla: In mid-November, 1947, Sikh troops dig in along road between Baramula and Srinager. However, Sharma’s D Company, was ordered to stay in position until 3:00 pm.