On 13th September 1948, at 4 a.m., one platoon of the Indian army from Sholapur marched under Major-General Choudhuri and entered the state to liberate Hyderabad. The other platoon was stationed at Vijayawada for emergency call up.
The first battle was fought at Naldurg Fort on the Solapur-Secunderabad Highway, but the Indian forces defeated the poorly equipped Hyderabadi forces and secured Naldurg fort and inflicted heavy casualties on the Hyderabad forces capturing large tracts of territory.
Next day, another Army group marched from Umarge towards Rajeshwar, 48 km east, and with the help of air strikes from squadrons of Tempest aircrafts, secured Rajeshwar by the afternoon.
Leaving a company of Gurkhas to occupy the town of Jalna, the remainder of the force moved to Latur, and later to Mominabad where they faced action against the 3 Golconda Lancers who gave token resistance before surrendering on 15th September. The Razakars continued to fight the Indian forces in their familiar terrain, but were forced to surrender on September 16, when the Indian Army used 75 mm guns.
In the morning of 17th September, the Indian army battalions entered Bidar on one side, and then took over the town of Hingoli, while the army also gradually captured the town of Chityal about 60 km from Hyderabad on the other side.
