YESHWANT GHADGE
WHY IN NEWS ?
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid tributes at the VC Yeshwant Ghadge Sundial Memorial in Montone, Italy.
Early Life and Military Service
- Yeshwant Ghadge was born on 16 November 1921 and served in the 5th Mahratta Light Infantry in the British Indian Army during World War II.
- He displayed commendable dedication to duty, as evidenced by his earlier mention in dispatches in 1941 when he was serving as a Sepoy.
About Yeshwant Ghadge
- He was a soldier of the Mahratta Light Infantry who served in Italy during World War II (1939-1945).
- He was killed in action fighting on the heights of Upper Tiber Valley .
- He was not even 23 when he succumbed to German sniper fire in Montone, a commune in the Italian province of Perugia.
- He had been in service for at least four years at the time, and had been promoted to the rank of Naik, commanding his own rifle section.
NOTE
Naik Ghadge laid down his life during World War II’s Italian campaign (1943-45).
- Nazi Germany and Italy, along with Japan, were partners in the war, together known as the Axis Powers.
- They fought against the Allies, comprising the Americans, the British (and Commonwealth forces), and the Soviets.
- After German expansionism had brought all of Europe under Axis control, the Allies decided to begin their counterattack with the invasion of Italy.
India’s role
- The Indian Army, then under the British, contributed over 2.5 million men to the Allied war effort.
- Indian Soldiers played a central role in the Italian Campaign during the Second World War, wherein more than 50,000 Indian Army soldiers from 4th, 8th and 10th Divisions were involved.
- Indian soldiers comprised the third largest Allies contingent in Italy, after the British and the Americans, and stayed in the country from 1943 through 1946.
SOURCE – THE HINDU
