In the frigid morning of October 20, 1962, the People's Liberation Army launched an attack on Indian troops at the Himalayan border. The Chinese had forded the Namka Chu, a river in the eastern sector of the disputed frontier near the China-India-Bhutan trijunction, and then used mortars and artillery to strike Indian positions. Simultaneously in the western sector, the People's Liberation Army captured the Chip Chap and Galwan Valleys as well as Pangong Lake (see figure 1.1). The Western Command of the Indian army ordered soldiers not attacked on the first day to withdraw.

Successful tactics of the People's Liberation Army involved concentrating its forces and catching India by surprise. Furthermore, the Chinese attack on remote Indian posts incited a hasty reaction, which overstretched India's lines of communication and drew forces away from defending the longdisputed monastery town of Tawang. This town fell without a fight on October 24 (see figure 1.2). After these initial routs, the People's Liberation Army paused its advance. On October 24, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai sent a note to Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru seeking a peaceful resolution to the border conflict. He put forward a three-point proposal:

• 1) Both parties affirm that the Sino-Indian boundary question must be settled through negotiations. Pending a peaceful settlement, the Chinese Government hopes that the Indian Government agree that both parties respect the line of actual control between the two sides, and the armed forces of each side withdraw 20 kilometers from this line.