This Day in History: 1947-08-01

From August 1947 to October 1948, two Sirmooris faced each other across the newly-formed India-Pakistan border.  Major-General Freddie Loftus-Tottenham had been seconded to the new Pakistan Army.  He was commanding the 7th Division and Rawalpindi District and was responsible for the defending much of the frontier.  Major-General ‘Os’ Lovett commanded Indian forces on the opposite side.  Loftus-Tottenham’s ADC, Kenneth Nash, recalled ‘Lovett had acquired a white Rolls Royce and each day he drove westwards into No Man’s Land whilst Freddie in an unspecified vehicle drove eastwards to meet him; whereupon they agreed upon the format of the battle to be fought that day before returning to their respective countries’.