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{{short description|Battle in the Indo–Pakistani War of 1965}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2012}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2012}}
{{Refimprove|date=December 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox military conflict
{{Infobox military conflict
| width = 380px
|conflict=Battle of Chawinda
| image = File:Sculpture showing Indo-Pak war.jpg
|partof=[[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]
| map_type =Pakistan
| image_size = 300px
| caption = Sculpture showing the Indo-Pakistani War
| latitude =32.384129274545444
{{clear}}
| longitude =74.72492694854736
{{OSM Location map
| map_size =
| coord = {{coord|32.3|N|74.7|E}} <!-- Map center -->
| map_caption =Location of [[Chawinda]] in Pakistan
| float = center
| map_label =Chawinda
| zoom = 8
|date= 17 September 1965 – 22 September 1965<ref name="security_1965">{{cite book
| width = 290 <!-- width and height of the frame. numeric input - do not add px -->
|last = Rao
| height = 300
|first = K. V. Krishna
| caption = {{center|Chawinda and surroundings}}
|title = Prepare or perish: a study of national security
| nolabels = 1
|publisher = Lancers Publishers, 1991
| minimap =
|isbn = 978-81-7212-001-6}}</ref>
| mini-file =
|place=[[Chawinda]], [[Pakistan]]
| mini-width =
|result= Major Pakistani Victory.<ref name="ah">{{cite web|url=http://ahmadiyyatimes.blogspot.nl/2014/04/forgotten-heroes-lt-gen-abdul-ali-malik.html|title=Forgotten Heroes: Lt. Gen Abdul Ali Malik - "The Ali of Chawinda"|publisher=Ahmadiyya Times|date=11 February 1992|accessdate=18 December 2014}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=December 2014}} <ref>http://books.google.com.au/books?id=ZsdjJZWqtg4C&lpg=PA35&pg=PA36#v=onepage&q=%22In%20contrast%2C%20both%20proved%20adept%20with%20smaller%20forces%22&f=false</ref>{{failed verification|date=December 2014}} <ref name=pakistanivictory-canberratimes>{{cite news|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/105862237?searchTerm=pakistani%20tank%20victory&searchLimits=l-decade=196|accessdate=2 November 2014|agency=AAP-Reuter|issue=The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995)|publisher=[[Canberra Times]]|date=16 September 1966|title=Confidence}}</ref>{{Third-party-inline|date=December 2014}} <ref name="Allan">{{cite book|last=Fricker|first=John|title=Battle for Pakistan: the air war of 1965|year=1979|publisher=I. Allan|location=University of Michigan|pages=128|ISBN=978-0-71-100929-5}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=December 2014}} <ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Australian]] |date=14 September 1965 |number=364 |page=1 |title=Biggest Tank Battle since World War II: Pakistani Victory|url=http://nativepakistan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Rare-newspaper-about-Pakistan-The-Australian-newspaper-14-September-1965-edition.-Pakistan-wins-tank-battle-Rare-newspapers.jpg}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=December 2014}}
| mini-height =
*Pakistan halts Indian invasion.
| minipog-x =
<ref name="Allan"/><ref name="Amin 2010 54">{{cite book|last=Amin|first=Shahid M.|title=Pakistan's foreign policy: a reappraisal|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Northwestern University|isbn=978-0-19-547912-6|pages=54}}</ref>
| minipog-y =
| scalemark =
*[[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965#Ceasefire|UN mandated ceasefire]].<ref name="security_1965"/><ref name=Midlarsky/><ref name=Pradhan>{{cite book
|last = Pradhan
| shape =
| map-data-light = Q6754702
|first = R.D.
<!-- Marala Headworks -->
|title = 1965 war, the inside story
| mark-coord1 = {{Coord|32|40|24|N|74|27|50|E}}
|publisher = Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, 2007
| mark1 = Blue pog.svg
|isbn =978-81-269-0762-5}}</ref><ref name="GlobalSecurity.org - Indo-Pakistan War of 1965">{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/indo-pak_1965.htm|publisher=GlobalSecurity.org|title=Indo-Pakistan War of 1965|accessdate=2012-06-02}}
| mark-size1 = 7
| label1 = Marala Headworks
| label-size1 = 10
| label-color1 = blue
| label-pos1 = top
| mark-title1 = [[Marala Headworks]]
| mark-description1 = Beginning of the Marala Ravi Link Canal
<!-- Maral-Ravi Link Canal 1 -->
| mark-coord2 = {{coord|32.3746|N|74.4153|E}}
| mark2 = AS-rzeka-icon.svg
| mark-size2 = 10
| label2 = MRL
| label-size2 = 10
| label-color2 = blue
| label-pos2 = right
| mark-title2 = Marala-Ravi Link Canal
| mark-description2 = Stated objective of the Indian campaign
<!-- Maral-Ravi Link Canal 2 -->
| mark-coord3 = {{coord|32.2308|N|74.6031|E}}
| mark3 = AS-rzeka-icon.svg
| mark-size3 = 10
| label3 = MRL
| label-size3 = 10
| label-color3 = blue
| label-pos3 = right
| mark-title3 = Marala-Ravi Link Canal
| mark-description3 = Stated objective of the Indian campaign
<!-- Ravi river -->
| mark-coord4 = {{coord|31.89798|N|74.62616|E}}
| mark4 = Blue pog.svg
| mark-size4 = 7
| label4 = Ravi river
| label-size4 = 10
| label-color4 = blue
| label-pos4 = right
| mark-title4 = Ravi river
| mark-description4 = Bottom of the Marala Ravi Link Canal
<!-- Sialkot -->
| mark-coord5 = {{Coord|32|29|33|N|74|31|52|E}}
| mark5 = Red pog.svg
| mark-size5 = 8
| label5 = Sialkot
| label-size5 = 10
| label-color5 = black
| label-pos5 = bottom
| mark-title5 = [[Sialkot]]
| mark-description5 = [[Sialkot]]
<!-- Wazirabad -->
| mark-coord6 = {{Coord|32.4417427|74.1182117}}
| mark6 = Red pog.svg
| mark-size6 = 8
| label6 = Wazirabad
| label-size6 = 10
| label-color6 = black
| label-pos6 = bottom
| mark-title6 = [[Wazirabad]]
| mark-description6 = Town in Pakistani Punjab on the [[Grand Trunk Road]]
<!-- Gujranwala -->
| mark-coord7 = {{Coord|32|9|24|N|74|11|24|E}}
| mark7 = Red pog.svg
| mark-size7 = 8
| label7 = Gujranwala
| label-size7 = 10
| label-color7 = black
| label-pos7 = bottom
| mark-title7 = [[Gujranwala]]
| mark-description7 = [[Gujranwala]]
<!-- Chawinda -->
| mark-coord8 = {{coord|32.3495|N|74.7075|E}}
| mark8 = Red pog.svg
| mark-size8 = 7
| label8 = Chawinda
| label-size8 = 10
| label-color8 = black
| label-pos8 = bottom
| mark-title8 = Chawinda
| mark-description8 = Chawinda
<!-- Akhnur -->
| mark-coord10 = {{coord|32.9019451|74.7347398}}
| mark10 = Red pog.svg
| mark-size10 = 7
| label10 = Akhnur
| label-size10 = 10
| label-color10 = black
| label-pos10 = right
| mark-title10 = [[Akhnur]]
| mark-description10 = Town in Indian-administered Kashmir, the target of Pakistan's [[Operation Grand Slam]]
<!-- Jammu -->
| mark-coord11 = {{coord|32.73|N|74.87|E}}
| mark11 = Red pog.svg
| mark-size11 = 9
| label11 = Jammu
| label-size11 = 10
| label-color11 = black
| label-pos11 = right
| mark-title11 = [[Jammu]]
| mark-description11 = City in Indian-administered Kashmir
<!-- Samba -->
| mark-coord12 = {{coord|32.57|N|75.12|E}}
| mark12 = Red pog.svg
| mark-size12 = 8
| label12 = Samba
| label-size12 = 10
| label-color12 = black
| label-pos12 = right
| mark-title12 = [[Samba, Jammu and Kashmir|Samba]]
| mark-description12 = Town in Indian-administered Kashir, the base for the 1st Armoured Division
<!-- Degh river -->
| mark-coord13 = {{coord|32.3863|74.8988}}
| mark13 = AS-rzeka-icon.svg
| mark-size13 = 10
| label13 = Degh
| label-size13 = 10
| label-color13 = blue
| label-pos13 = right
| mark-title13 = Degh river
| mark-description13 =
}}
| conflict = Battle of Chawinda
| partof = the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]
| map_type = Punjab Pakistan#Pakistan
| coordinates = {{coord|32|23|03|N|74|43|30|E|type:event|display=inline}}
| map_caption = Location of [[Chawinda]] in [[Punjab, Pakistan|Pakistani Punjab]]##Location of [[Chawinda]] in [[Pakistan]]
| map_label = Chawinda
| date = 14 September 1965,<br />18–19 September 1965<br />({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=9|day1=18|year1=1965|month2=9|day2=19|year2=1965}})<ref name="Jogindar Singh">
{{cite book |author1=Jogindar Singh |title=Behind the Scene: An Analysis of India's Military Operations, 1947–1971 |year=1993 |publisher=Lancer Publishers |isbn=1-897829-20-5 |pages=217–219 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=toheLRVgjLsC&pg=PA217 |access-date=12 January 2015}}
</ref>{{sfn|Chakravorty|1992a}}<ref name="Abrar Hussain">
{{cite book |author1=Abrar Hussain |title=Men of Steel: 6 Armored Division in the 1965 War |date=2005 |publisher=Army Education Publishing House |isbn=969-8125-19-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BvttAAAAMAAJ |pages=36–52}}
</ref>{{sfn|Nawaz|2008|pp=227–230}}{{sfn|Krishna Rao|1991}}
| place = [[Chawinda]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]]
| result = Inconclusive<ref>
Sources assessing stalemate:
* {{cite book |title=Origins of Political Extremism: Mass Violence in the Twentieth Century and Beyond |author=Manus I. Midlarsky |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2011 |page=256 |isbn=978-1139500777 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N1WwvQYawZEC&pg=PA256}}: "Several major tank battles would be fought, one at Khem Karan in Punjab yielding a major Pakistani defeat, and another at Chawinda involving over 600 tanks, the outcome of which was inconclusive."
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kNzCDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA600 |title=Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015|edition=4th |first=Micheal |last=Clodfelter |date=2017 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1476625850 |page=600}}: "Up to 600 tanks were engaged in the battle, primarily fought around Phillora and Chawinda, September 11–12, but the results were indecisive, largely because neither side properly supported their armor with infantry units."
* {{citation |title=The India-Paktstan War – A summary account |first=Zubeida |last=Hasan |journal=Pakistan Horizon |volume=18 |number=4 |date=Fourth Quarter 1965 |pages=344–356 |jstor=41393247}}: "After a few days of intense fighting, in which each side claimed to have inflicted heavy losses on the other, the war reached a stalemate on this front."
</ref>
</ref>
|combatant1=<center>[[File:Flag of Pakistan.svg|25px|border]] [[Pakistan]]
| combatant1 = {{flag|Pakistan}}
|combatant2=<center>[[File:Flag of India.svg|25px|border]] [[India]]
| combatant2 = {{flag|India}}
| commander1 = {{plainlist|
|commander1={{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} Brig. [[Abdul Ali Malik]]<ref group="note">{{Quote|text=There was a solitary infantry brigade at Chawinda, bolstered by an armoured regiment. The man in charge was Brigadier Abdul Ali Malik...He ordered his staff officer to break communications with the higher headquarters and ordered the brigade straight to Chawinda... No one would have blamed him if he had put all available troops in defensive positions around Chawinda. But he did not do this. He ordered Nisar to put his two squadron in extended line and go over to the offensive...two squadrons of tanks and one infantry company had blunted and then beaten back what was one armoured division and three of infantry! The sheer momentum of such a massive Indian force should have allowed them to do better. But then who could have predicted that an infantry Brigadier would react in quite the manner that Brigadier Ali had done under the circumstances?|The News February 11, 1992 By Farouk Adam SJ}}</ref><br />{{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} [[Lt Col]] Nisar Ahmed Khan<br />
* {{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} [[Bakhtiar Rana]]
'''Later:'''<br />
{{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} [[Maj Gen]] [[Abrar Hussain (General)|Abrar Hussain]]<ref group="note">"He had fought in the World War II and won the [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]] due to his bravery as a young army lieutenant. Later in the 1965 War, he was awarded the gallantry award, [[Hilal-i-Jurat]], for leading an infantry brigade as part of the 6th Armoured Division that fought the famous tank battle with the Indian Army at Chawinda in Sialkot and halted the advance of the invading Indian troops in Pakistan’s territory."</ref><br />{{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} Brig. Sardar M.Ismail Khan<br />{{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} Brig. S. M. Hussain <br />{{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} Brig. Muzzafaruddin<br />'<br />{{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} [[Maj Gen]] [[Tikka Khan]]<br />{{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} [[Lt Gen]] Bakhtiyar M.Rana<br />{{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} [[Maj Gen]] Sahibzada Yaqub Ali Khan<br />{{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} Brg. Amjad Chaudhry
* {{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} [[Abrar Hussain (General)|Abrar Hussain]]{{efn|"[Abrar Hussain] had fought in the World War II and won the [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]] due to his bravery as a young army lieutenant. Later in the 1965 War, he was awarded the gallantry award, [[Hilal-i-Jurat]], for leading an infantry brigade as part of the 6th Armoured Division that fought the famous tank battle with the Indian Army at Chawinda in Sialkot and halted the advance of the invading Indian troops in Pakistan’s territory."{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}}}
* {{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} Sardar M. Ismail
* {{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} [[Amjad Ali Chaudhri|Amjad Chaudhry]]
* {{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} S. M. Hussain
* {{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} Abdul Ali Malik
* {{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} Muzzafaruddin
* {{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} Nisar Ahmed Khan
}}
|commander2={{flagicon|India|army}} P.O. Dunn<br>{{flagicon|India|army}} [[Lt Col]] [[Ardeshir Tarapore]]{{KIA}}
<!-- Commenting out: What does "Later" mean? -->
|strength1=30,000+50,000 infantry<br> 22 cavalry (44xM48),
<!-- ---- -->
10 Cavalry (44x Patton)
<!-- '''Later''': {{plainlist| -\-> -->
<!-- * {{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} Maj. Gen. [[Tikka Khan]] -->
<!-- * {{flagicon|Pakistan|army}} Maj. Gen. Sahibzada Yaqub Ali Khan -->| commander2 = {{plainlist|
*{{flagicon|India|army}} [[Harbakhsh Singh]]
*{{flagicon|India|army}} [[Patrick Dunn (Indian Army general)|Patrick Dunn]]
*{{flagicon|India|army}} Rajinder Singh
*{{flagicon|India|army}} [[Siri Kanth Korla|S.K. Korla]]
*{{flagicon|India|army}} M. L. Thapan
*{{flagicon|India|army}} [[Ardeshir Tarapore]]{{KIA}}
}}
| units1 = '''[[I Corps (Pakistan)|Pakistan's I Corps]]'''<br/>''Cavalry units'': {{plainlist|
* [[Guides Cavalry|10th Cavalry]] (44x [[M48 Patton]]s)
* [[11th Prince Albert Victor's Own Cavalry (Frontier Force)|11th Cavalry]] (44x M48 Pattons)
* 22nd Cavalry (44x M48 Pattons)
* 25th Cavalry (44x M48 Pattons)
* 33rd TDU Sqdn. (15x [[M4 Sherman|Shermans]])
* [[19th King George's Own Lancers|19th Lancers]] (44x M48 Pattons)
}}
| units2 = '''[[I Corps (India)|India's I Corps]]'''<br/>''Cavalry units'':{{sfn|Zaloga|1980|p=19}}<ref name="Barua 191">{{harvnb|Barua|2005|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FIIQhuAOGaIC&pg=PA191 191]}}</ref> {{plainlist|
* [[4th Duke of Cambridge's Own Hodson's Horse|4th Horse]] (45x [[Centurion (tank)|Centurions]])
* [[Poona Horse|17th Poona]] (45x Centurions)
* [[16th Light Cavalry|16th Cavalry]] (45x Centurions)
* 2nd Lancers (45x [[M4 Sherman|Shermans]])
* 62nd Cavalry (45x Shermans)
}}
| strength1 = {{plainlist|
* 30,000–50,000 infantry
* 132 tanks {{small|(plus reinforcements)}}<ref>
{{Cite web |last=Philip |first=Snehesh Alex |date=2019-08-12 |title=How Pakistani Lt Col Nisar Ahmed won over Indian peers after stalling their advance in 1965 |url=https://theprint.in/india/how-pakistani-lt-col-nisar-ahmed-won-over-indian-peers-after-stalling-their-advance-in-1965/275748/ |access-date=2020-11-28 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US}}
</ref>
}}
| strength2 = {{plainlist|
* 80,000–150,000 infantry
* 260 tanks<ref name=MajorAH>
{{cite web |last=Amin |first=Major A.H. |title=Battle of Chawinda Comedy of Higher Command Errors |url=http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/mar/chawinda.htm |work=Military historian |publisher=Defence journal(pakistan) |access-date=12 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719144243/http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/mar/chawinda.htm |archive-date=19 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}
</ref>
}}
| casualties1 = {{plainlist|
* '''Tank losses:'''
** ''Neutral claims:'' 60<ref name=Clodfelter>
{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kNzCDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA600 |title=Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015|edition= 4th |first=Micheal |last=Clodfelter |date=2017 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1476625850 |page=600}}
</ref>
** ''Indian claims:'' 155{{sfn|Chakravorty|1992a|p=221}}<br/>(144 put out, 11 captured)
** ''Pakistani claims:'' 44{{sfn|Zaloga|1980|p=35}}
}}
| casualties2 = {{plainlist|
* '''Tank losses:'''
** ''Neutral claims:'' 100<ref name=Clodfelter/>
** ''Indian claims:'' 70{{sfn|Chakravorty|1992a|p=221}}<br/>(29 destroyed, 41 damaged)
** ''Pakistani claims:'' 120{{sfn|Zaloga|1980|p=35}}
}}
| territory =
}}
{{Campaignbox Indo-Pakistani War of 1965}}
{{Campaignbox Indo-Pakistani Wars}}


The '''Battle of Chawinda''' was a major engagement between [[Pakistan]] and [[India]] in the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|Second Kashmir War]]{{efn|It is also called the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]].}} as part of the [[Sialkot District|Sialkot]] campaign. It is well known as being one of the largest [[tank]] battles in history since the [[Battle of Kursk]], which was fought between the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Nazi Germany]] in [[World War II]].<ref name="Haskew2015">
25 Cavalry (44x Patton)
{{cite book |author=Michael E. Haskew |title=Tank: 100 Years of the World's Most Important Armored Military Vehicle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O8JQCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA201 |year= 2015 |publisher=Voyageur Press |isbn=978-0-7603-4963-2 |pages=201–}}
</ref>


The initial clashes in [[Chawinda]] coincided with the [[Battle of Phillora]], and the fighting here intensified once the [[Pakistan Armed Forces|Pakistani forces]] at Phillora retreated. The battle came to an end shortly before the [[United Nations Security Council]] mandated an immediate [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965#Ceasefire|ceasefire]], which would formally end the hostilities of the 1965 war.{{sfn|Pradhan|2007}}<ref name="GlobalSecurity.org - Indo-Pakistan War of 1965">
33 TDU sqn (15x Shermans)
{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/indo-pak_1965.htm |publisher=GlobalSecurity.org |title=Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 |access-date=2012-06-02}}
</ref>


== Sialkot campaign ==
[[19th King George's Own Lancers|19 Lancers]] (44x Patton)
The Sialkot campaign was part of the strategy of [[riposte]] that India had devised to counter Pakistan's advances into [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] (J&K).<ref name=MajorAH/> It called for relieving Jammu by advancing from either [[Samba, Jammu and Kashmir|Samba]] (in J&K) or [[Dera Baba Nanak]] (in Indian Punjab) with a view to encircling the city of [[Sialkot]] along the [[Marala–Ravi Link Canal]] (MRL).<ref name="Barua 190">{{harvnb|Barua|2005|p=190}}</ref>{{sfn|Singh|2013|loc=Part 1, paragraphs 32–33}}{{efn|Pakistani military has long held a theory that the Indian objective was to cut the [[Grand Trunk Road]] at [[Wazirabad]]. The Grand Trunk Road is a major north–south highway that links, for example, Islamabad and Lahore.{{sfn|Bajwa|2013|pp=254–255}}{{sfn|Krishna Rao|1991|p=129}} Some western military analysts also reproduce this theory.{{sfn|Zaloga|1980|pp=22–23}}}}


The canal starts from the Marala Headworks on the [[Chenab River]] close to Pakistan's border with J&K, and runs to the west and south of Sialkot, eventually draining into the [[Ravi River]] near the town of Narang Mandi.
[[11th Prince Albert Victor's Own Cavalry (Frontier Force)|11 Cavalry]] (44x Patton)


The GOC Western Command Gen. [[Harbakhsh Singh]] favoured launching the campaign from Dera Baba Nanak using the [[1st Armoured Division (India)|1st Armoured Division]]. But he was overridden by the Chief of Army Staff Gen. [[J. N. Chaudhuri]], who created a new [[I Corps (India)|I Corps]] under the command of Lt. Gen. Pat Dunn for the purpose. It would operate from Samba.{{sfn|Pradhan|2007|pp=49–50}}
Total: 132
+150 (tank reinforcements)<ref name=MajorAH>{{cite web|last=Amin|first=Major A.H.|title=Battle of Chawinda Comedy of Higher Command Errors|url=http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/mar/chawinda.htm|work=Military historian|publisher=Defence journal(pakistan)|accessdate=12 July 2011| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110719144243/http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/mar/chawinda.htm| archivedate= 19 July 2011 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>
|strength2= 80,000–150,000 infantry


Gen. Dunn was given an assortment of units. In addition to the [[1st Armoured Division (India)|1st Armoured Division]] under Maj. Gen. Rajinder Singh, he had:{{sfn|Pradhan|2007|p=50}}{{sfn|Bajwa|2013|pp=252–253}}
[[4th Duke of Cambridge's Own Hodson's Horse|4 Horse]] (45x Centurion)
* the 6th Mountain Division under Maj. Gen. [[Siri Kanth Korla|S. K. Korla]]
* the 14th Infantry Division under Maj. Gen. Ranjeet Singh and
* the 26th Infantry Division under Maj. Gen. M. L. Thapan.
The new corps was still in the process of formation when the hostilities broke out in September 1965. Some of the units were also under-strength because of their forces being tied up elsewhere.{{sfn|Chakravorty|1992a|p=194}} According to the Indian official history, the force contained 11 infantry brigades and 6 tank regiments.{{sfn|Chakravorty|1992a|p=223}}{{efn|However, the history lists only 5 tank regiments in the composition: 4 Horse, 16 Cav, 17 Horse, 2 Lancers and 62 Cav.{{sfn|Chakravorty|1992a|p=194}}}}


=== Pakistani defence ===
16 Cavalry (45x Centurions
[[File: Brigadier Niazi in Battle of Chawinda, 1965.jpg|[[A. A. K. Niazi|Brigadier Niazi]], (3rd from right) observing a map|thumb]]
The Pakistani forces opposing the Indian thrust were part of [[I Corps (Pakistan)|Pakistan's I Corps]] under Lt. Gen. [[Bakhtiar Rana]]. Included in it were:{{sfn|Bajwa|2013|pp=253–254}}
* the [[6th Armoured Division (Pakistan)|6th Armoured Division]] commanded by Maj. Gen. [[Abrar Hussain (general)|Abrar Hussain]],
* the 4th Artillery Corps under Brig. Amjad Ali Khan Chaudhury (affiliated to the 6th Armoured Division), and
* the 15th Infantry Division under Brig. S. M. Ismail.
The 15th Infantry Division was a mixed infantry and armour force, with four pairs of a brigade and an armoured regiment each. However, only one out of the four pairs (the 24th Brigade and 25th Cavalry) was in the conflict area when the Indian campaign started.{{sfn|Bajwa|2013|pp=253–254}} They were based in and around Chawinda. The 24th Brigade was commanded by Brig. Abdul Ali Malik and the 25th Cavalry was led by Lt. Col. Nisar Ahmed Khan.{{sfn|Nawaz|2008|pp=224,&nbsp;225}}


The 6th Armoured Division, normally based at [[Gujranwala]], was moved to [[Pasrur]] in preparation for the war.<ref>{{harvnb|Nawaz|2008|p=224}}: "When news of the Indian attack came, he was told to move his troops to Pasrur on the night of 6/7 September as reserve for the 1 Corps. The move occurred during the night. Then at midnight, the division’s staff were told to return to their previous position around Gujranwala by 05:00 hours on 7 September! ... GHQ seemed to be making decisions quite arbitrarily."</ref> It had three cavalry regiments: [[Guides Cavalry|10th Cavalry]] (also called the Guides Cavalry), the [[22nd Cavalry (Pakistan)|22nd Cavalry]] and the [[11th Cavalry (Frontier Force)|11th Cavalry]].{{sfn|Higgins|2016|p=46}}<ref>{{harvnb|Bajwa|2013|pp=253–254}}. Bajwa does not list 11th Cavalry as being part of the 6th Armoured Division. But it is said to have came under its command from 8 September.</ref> The 11th Cavalry, along with the 4th Artillery Corps, was in Chamb as part of [[Operation Grand Slam]] when the operations started. The units were recalled and deployed in the vicinity of [[Battle of Phillora|Phillora]] by 8 September.
[[Poona Horse|17 Poona]] (45x Centurion)


Later reinforcements included the 8th Infantry Division and 1st Armoured Division.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}
2 Lancers (45x Sherman)


==The battle==
62 Cavalry (45x sherman)
The main striking force of the [[Indian Army|Indian]] [[I Corps (India)|I Corps]] was the [[1st Armoured Division (India)|1st Armoured Division]], which was supported by the 14th Infantry and 6th Mountain divisions. [[Indian Armed Forces|Indian forces]] seized the [[India–Pakistan border|border]] area on 7 September 1965. This was followed by a short engagement at Jassoran in which the Pakistanis suffered losses in the form of about 10 tanks, consequently ensuring complete Indian dominance over the Sialkot-Pasrur railway.<ref name="Gupta_1965">{{cite book |title=India-Pakistan war, 1965, Volume 1 |last=Gupta |first=Hari Ram |year=1946 |publisher=Haryana Prakashan, 1967 |pages=181–182 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.111576/page/n209/mode/2up |via=archive.org}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=April 2021}}


Realizing the severe threat posed by the Indians in Sialkot, the Pakistanis rushed two regiments of the [[6th Armoured Division (Pakistan)|6th Armoured Division]] from Chamb, Indian-administered [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] (located today in Pakistani-administered [[Azad Kashmir|Azad Jammu and Kashmir]]) to the [[Sialkot District|Sialkot sector]] to support the Pakistani [[7th Infantry Division (Pakistan)|7th Infantry Division]] fighting there. These units, supported by an independent tank destroyer [[Squadron (army)|squadron]], amounted to about 135 tanks; 24 [[M47 Patton|M47]] and [[M48 Patton]]s, about 15 M36B1s and the rest [[M4 Sherman|Shermans]]. The majority of the [[United States|American]] Pattons belonged to the new 25th Cavalry under the command of [[Lieutenant colonel|Lieutenant Colonel]] Nisar Ahmed Khan, which was sent to [[Chawinda]]. Intense fighting around the village of [[Gadgor]] between the Indian 1st Armoured Division and the Pakistani 25th Cavalry Regiment resulted in the Indian advance being stopped.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}
Total 225 tanks<ref name="MajorAH"/>
|casualties1=
44 tanks (neutral claim)<ref name="Steve Zaloga">''The M47 and M48 Patton tanks'' By Steve Zaloga, Jim Laurier ISBN 1-85532-825-9, ISBN 978-1-85532-825-9 pg.35.</ref>
<br />
Over 518 km<sup>2</sup> (218 mi<sup>2</sup>) of territory lost<ref name=RakshakTashkent>{{cite web|last=Rakshak|first=Bharat|title=War diplomacy,ceasefire,Tashkent|url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1965War/PDF/1965Chapter11.pdf|work=Official History|publisher=Times of India|accessdate=12 July 2011| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110609073753/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1965War/PDF/1965Chapter11.pdf| archivedate= 9 June 2011 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref name=Harbaksh>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Lt. Gen.Harbaksh|title=War Despatches|year=1991|publisher=Lancer International|location=New Delhi|isbn=81-7062-117-8|pages=159}}</ref>
|casualties2=120 tanks (neutral claim)<ref name="Steve Zaloga"/>
29 tanks lost (Indian claim)<ref name="Harbaksh"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Rakshak|first=Bharat|title=Operations in Sialkot Sector pg32|url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1965War/PDF/1965Chapter07.pdf|work=Official History|publisher=Times of India|accessdate=12 July 2011| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110609073555/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1965War/PDF/1965Chapter07.pdf| archivedate= 9 June 2011 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>


The Indian plan was to drive a wedge between Sialkot and the Pakistani 6th Armoured Division. At the time, only one Pakistani regiment was present in the area, and it was wiped out by the Indian 1st Armoured Division's thrust, spearheaded by the 43rd Lorried Infantry Brigade and a tank regiment attacking Gat. The bulk of the Indian 1st Armoured Brigade was [[Battle of Phillora|hurled towards Phillora]]. [[Pakistan Air Force|Pakistani air attacks]] caused significant damage to the Indian tank columns and exacted a heavy toll on the [[Motorized infantry|truck columns]] and [[infantry]]. The terrain of the area was very different from that of the area surrounding [[Lahore]], being quite dusty, and therefore the Indian offensive's advance was evident to the Pakistani 25th Cavalry by the rising dust columns on the Charwah-Phillora road.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}
}}
{{Campaignbox Indo-Pakistani War of 1965}}
{{Campaignbox Indo-Pakistani Wars}}


Indian forces resumed their offensive on 10 September 1965 with multiple [[corps]]-sized assaults and succeeded in pushing the [[Pakistan Armed Forces|Pakistani forces]] back to their base at Chawinda, where the Indian advance was eventually stopped. A Pakistani counterattack at Phillora was repulsed with heavy losses, after which the Pakistanis took up defensive positions. The situation for the Pakistanis at this point was highly perilous; the Indians outnumbered them ten to one.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}
The '''Battle of Chawinda''' was a part of the [[Sialkot]] Campaign in the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]. It was one of the largest [[tank]] battles since the [[Battle of Kursk]] in [[World War II]]. The initial clashes at Chawinda coincided with the [[battle of Phillora|tank battle near Phillora]] and the fighting intensified once the Pakistani forces at Phillora retreated. However, the advancing Indian 1st Armored Division was stopped at Chawinda. The battle finally ended due to the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965#Ceasefire|UN ceasefire]].<ref name="Pradhan"/>


However, the Pakistani situation improved as reinforcements arrived, consisting of two independent [[brigade]]s from [[Kashmir]]: the 8th Infantry Division, and more crucially, the 1st Armoured Division.{{Clarify|reason=two brigades or two divisions?|date=April 2021}} For the next several days, Pakistani forces repulsed Indian attacks on Chawinda. A major Indian assault involving India's 1st Armoured and 6th Mountain divisions on 18 September was repelled, with the Indians suffering heavy losses. Following this, on 21 September, the Indians withdrew to a defensive position near their original bridgehead,{{Where|date=April 2021}} with the retreat of India's advancing divisions, all the offensives were effectively halted on that front.{{sfn|Barua|2005|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FIIQhuAOGaIC&pg=PA192 192]}}
==Forces==
General Dunn, the commander of I Corps [[Indian Army]] was given an assortment of units: 1 Armoured Division, 6 Mountain Division, 14 Division and 26 Division.


Pakistani [[Officer (armed forces)|officers]] vetoed the proposed counterattack, dubbed "Operation Windup", in light of the Indians' retreat. According to the Pakistani [[commander-in-chief]], the operation was cancelled due to the fact that "both sides had suffered heavy tank losses.… would have been of no strategic importance...." and, above all: "the decision... was politically motivated as by then the [[Government of Pakistan]] had made up their mind to accept [the] ceasefire and foreign-sponsored proposals".<ref name=MajorAH/>
The Pakistani force expected to oppose the Indian thrust consisted of 15 Division, 6 Armoured Division (equivalent to armoured brigade group) and 4 Corps Artillery. Later reinforcements included 8 Infantry Division and 1 Armoured Division.


==Battle==
==Outcome==
[[File:Battle of Chawinda.jpg| Burnt out [[Centurion (tank)|Indian Centurion]] being inspected by Pakistani soldiers|thumb]]
The aim of the attack was to seize the key [[Grand Trunk Road]] around [[Wazirabad]] and the capture of Jassoran which would enable domination of Sialkot-Pasrur railway, thus completely cutting off Pakistani supply line.<ref name="Gupta_1965">{{cite book
The battle has widely been described as one of the largest tank battles since [[World War II]].<ref name="gbook">
|last = Gupta
{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HESVAgAAQBAJ&q=the+biggest+tank+Battle+of+Chawinda&pg=PA490 |title=Nothing But! Book Three What Price Freedom |page=490 |year=2013 |isbn=978-1482816259 |access-date=19 December 2014 |last1=Bhattacharya |first1=Brigadier Samir|publisher=Partridge }}
|first = Hari Ram
</ref> On 22 September 1965, the [[United Nations Security Council]] unanimously passed a resolution that called for an immediate and [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965#Ceasefire|unconditional ceasefire from both nations]].{{sfn|Pradhan|2007}}<ref name="Midlarsky">
|title = India-Pakistan war, 1965, Volume 1
{{cite book |last=Midlarsky |first=Manus I. |title=Origins of Political Extremism: Mass Violence in the Twentieth Century and Beyond |url=https://archive.org/details/originspolitical00midl |url-access=limited |year=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521700719 |edition=1st |page=[https://archive.org/details/originspolitical00midl/page/n269 256]}}
|publisher = Hariyana Prakashan, 1967
</ref> The war ended the following day. The international military and economic assistance to both countries had stopped when the war started. [[Pakistan]] had suffered [[Attrition warfare|attrition]] to its military might and serious reverses in the [[Battle of Asal Uttar]] and Chawinda, which made way for its acceptance of the United Nations ceasefire.{{sfn|Krishna Rao|1991}}
|pages = 181–182
|isbn = }}</ref> The striking force of the Indian 1st Corps was the 1st Armoured Division supported by the 14th Infantry and 6th Mountain divisions and Indian infantry seized the border area on 7 September. This was followed by a short engagement at Jassoran in which Pakistan lost 10 tanks and ensured complete Indian domination of Sialkot-Pasrur railway.<ref name="Gupta_1965"/> Realising the threat, the Pakistani Brigadier Abdul Ali Malik rushed his Brigade to Chawinda:


Following the end of hostilities on 23 September 1965, [[India]] claimed to have held about {{Convert|518|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} of Pakistani territory in the [[Sialkot District|Sialkot sector]] (although neutral analyses put the figure at around {{Convert|460|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} of territory), including the towns and villages of [[Battle of Phillora|Phillora]], Deoli, Bajragarhi, Suchetgarh, Pagowal, Chaprar, Muhadpur and Tilakpur. These were all returned to Pakistan after the signing of the [[Tashkent Declaration]] in January 1966.{{sfn|Chakravorty|1992b}}<ref name=Harbaksh>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Lt. Gen.Harbaksh |title=War Despatches |year=1991 |publisher=Lancer International |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-7062-117-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p54cAAAAIAAJ |page=159}}</ref>{{sfn|Chakravorty|1992a}}
{{Quotation|He ordered his staff officer to break communications with the higher headquarters, lest they sow any more confusion in the already confused state of affairs, and ordered the brigade straight to Chawinda...And then Brigadier Abdul Ali Malik took his second, the most extraordinary, the most audacious decision of this, or any war. He could have been prudent, careful and conventional. No one would have blamed him if he had put all available troops in defensive positions around Chawinda. But he did not do this. He ordered Nisar to put his two squadron in extended line and go over to the offensive, 2 Punjab he was informed, would join him as soon as it reached there. And for the first time in the history of tank warfare two squadrons were about to take on an armoured division. This momentous decision, not recommended in any text book, was to save Pakistan from total defeat.<br>


==Published accounts==
We advanced all day in short bursts, from cover to cover. The Indians were retreating by the afternoon. We reoccupied Phillaurah, then Godgore, then Chobara. But then it was dusk, and the tanks withdrew to leaguer for the night. We were overextended and so had to abandon Chobara and take up defence around Godgore. The next morning we discovered a marked map in an abandoned Indian jeep. This showed their entire order of battle... We were stunned by our achievements of the previous day, and also made urgently conscious of how pitifully thin we were not the ground. The Indians broke through the position that we had taken back from them and routed our replacement. The signs of defeat were all over—stragglers moving back, some without weapons, some without their helmets and web equipment, without a resemblance of discipline or any sign of cohesion – demoralized troops, defeated. We dug in around Chawinda. Brigadier Ali had his headquarters in the village itself...he assessed that by this time the Indians had come to know exactly what stood against them. They threw everything at us. They often came close to success. Many times it seemed that our defense had disintegrated, only to be rallied round again...The Pakistani position at this point was highly perilous, the Indians outnumbered them by ten to one....We held on to Chawinda till the guns fell silent.|The News February 11, 1992 By Farouk Adam SJ}}
===Documentaries===

''Battle of Chawinda − Indo Pak War 1965 − Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Tarapore'' (2018) is an Indian [[Television documentary|TV documentary]] which premiered on [[Veer by Discovery|Veer by Discovery India]].<ref name="VeerTV_AsalUttar">
However, the Pakistani situation improved as reinforcements arrived, consisting of two independent brigades from Kashmir, 8 Infantry Division, and most crucially, their 1 Armoured Division. For the next several days, Pakistani forces repulsed Indian attacks on Chawinda. A large Indian assault on 18 September involving India's 1st Armoured and 6th Mountain Divisions was repelled, with the Indian 1st Armoured and 6th Mountain divisions taking heavy losses. On 21 September the Indians withdrew to a defensive position near their original bridgehead, with the retreat of Indian first armoured division, all their offensives were ceased on that front.<ref>Barua, Pradeep (2005) ''The state at war in South Asia'' ISBN 0-8032-1344-1 pg.192.</ref>
{{cite web |title=Battle of Chawinda -Indo Pak War 1965 - Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Tarapore |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZZjfbyswL0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/wZZjfbyswL0 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|publisher=Veer by Discovery |access-date=6 May 2018}}{{cbignore}}

</ref><ref name="VeerTV">
Pakistani General vetoed the proposed counterattack "Operation Windup", According to the Pakistani C in C the operation was cancelled since "both sides had suffered heavy tank losses......would have been of no strategic importance...." and above all "the decision...was politically motivated as by then the Government of Pakistan had made up their mind to accept cease fire and foreign sponsored proposals".<ref name=MajorAH>{{cite web|last=Amin|first=Maj. Agha.H.|title=Battle of Chawinda Comedy of Higher Command Errors|url=http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/mar/chawinda.htm|work=Military Historian|publisher=Defence Journal|accessdate=12 July 2011| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110719144243/http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/mar/chawinda.htm| archivedate= 19 July 2011 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>
{{cite news |title=This R-Day, get ready for Discovery channel's 'Battle Ops' |url=http://www.thehindu.com/society/discovery-channels-new-series-battle-ops-on-indias-iconic-military-operations/article22520490.ece |access-date=22 April 2018 |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=25 January 2018}}

</ref>
==Result==
Amidst the operation, on 22 September, the [[United Nations Security Council]] unanimously passed a resolution that called for an [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965#Ceasefire|unconditional ceasefire from both nations]].<ref name=Midlarsky>{{cite book|last=Midlarsky|first=Manus I.|title=Origins of Political Extremism: Mass Violence in the Twentieth Century and Beyond|year=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521700719|edition=1st|page=256}}</ref><ref name="Pradhan"/> The war ended the following day. The military and economic assistance to both the countries had been stopped when the war started. Pakistan had suffered attrition to its military might and serious reverses in the [[Battle of Asal Uttar|battle at Khemkaran]] and Chawinda which made way for the acceptance of the UN Resolution.<ref name="security_1965"/>

According to Indian claims, at the end of hostilities on 23 September 1965, India held about 200 square miles (518 square kilometres)of Pakistani territory in the Sialkot sector including the towns and villages of [[Battle of Phillora|Phillora]], Deoli, Bajragarhi, Suchetgarh, Pagowal, Chaprar, Muhadpur, Tilakpur,Thro Mandi, Khanpur Sydan, south east and east of Sialkot city, which were returned to Pakistan after the [[Tashkent Declaration]] in January 1966.<ref name="RakshakTashkent"/><ref name="Harbaksh"/><ref>{{cite web|last=History|first=Official|title=Operations in Sialkot sector|url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1965War/PDF/1965Chapter07.pdf|work=Official history|publisher=Bharat-Rakshak.com|accessdate=11 July 2011| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110609073555/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1965War/PDF/1965Chapter07.pdf| archivedate= 9 June 2011 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> Likewise, by the end of the hostilities, Pakistan held up to 1,600 square miles of Indian territory, of which 1,300 square miles included [[desert]] sectors.<ref>{{cite book|last=Midlarsky|first=Manus I.|title=Origins of Political Extremism: Mass Violence in the Twentieth Century and Beyond|year=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-52-170071-9|pages=256}}</ref> Despite the "huge losses on both sides", ''[[The Australian]]'' attributed the victory in this battle to Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Australian]] |date=14 September 1965 |number=364 |page=1 |title=Biggest Tank Battle since World War II: Pakistani Victory}}</ref>


==Notes==
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group=note}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|group=note}}
{{reflist}}

{{Reflist|2}}
== Bibliography ==
* {{citation |last=Bajwa |first=Farooq |title=From Kutch to Tashkent: The Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5a0NAQAAQBAJ |date=2013 |publisher=Hurst Publishers |isbn=978-1-84904-230-7}}
* {{citation |last=Barua |first=Pradeep |title=The State at War in South Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FIIQhuAOGaIC&pg=PA190 |year=2005 |publisher=U of Nebraska Press |isbn=0-8032-1344-1 |page=190}}
* {{citation |last=Chakravorty |first=B. C. |title=History of the Indo-Pak War, 1965 |publisher=Government of India, Ministry of Defence, History Division |year=1992a |chapter=Operations in Sialkot sector |chapter-url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1965War/PDF/1965Chapter07.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609073555/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1965War/PDF/1965Chapter07.pdf |archive-date=9 June 2011 |url-status=dead}}
** {{citation |last=Chakravorty |first=B. C. |title=History of the Indo-Pak War, 1965 |publisher=Government of India, Ministry of Defence, History Division |year=1992b |chapter=War diplomacy, ceasefire, Tashkent |chapter-url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1965War/PDF/1965Chapter11.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609073753/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1965War/PDF/1965Chapter11.pdf |archive-date=9 June 2011 |url-status=dead}}
* {{citation |last=Higgins |first=David R. |title=M48 Patton vs Centurion: Indo-Pakistani War 1965 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tx_DCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA52 |year=2016 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-1093-9}}
* {{citation |last=Kalyanaraman |first=S. |chapter=The sources of military change in India: An analysis of evolving strategies and doctrines towards Pakistan |editor1=Jo Inge Bekkevold |editor2=Ian Bowers |editor3=Michael Raska |title=Security, Strategy and Military Change in the 21st Century: Cross-Regional Perspectives |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=20ysCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA96 |year=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-56534-5 |pages=89–114}}
* {{citation |last=Krishna Rao |first=K. V. |title=Prepare or Perish: A Study of National Security |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G7xPaJomYsEC&pg=PA59 |year=1991 |publisher=Lancer Publishers |isbn=978-81-7212-001-6}}
* {{citation |last=Nawaz |first=Shuja |title=Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jKyfAAAAMAAJ |year=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-547660-6}}
* {{citation |last=Pradhan |first=R. D. |title=1965 War, the Inside Story: Defence Minister Y.B. Chavan's Diary of India-Pakistan War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ymYCJQjEGBUC&pg=PA50 |year=2007 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist |isbn=978-81-269-0762-5}}
* {{citation |last=Singh |first=Lt Gen Harbakhsh |title=War Despatches: Indo–Pak Conflict 1965 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rQknTVv0AT0C |publisher=Lancer Publishers LLC |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-935501-59-6}}
* {{citation |first=Steven J. |last=Zaloga |title=The M47 & M48 Patton Tanks |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=London |year=1980 |isbn=0-85045-466-2}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Fricker |first=John |title=Battle for Pakistan: the air war of 1965 |year=1979 |publisher=I. Allan |pages=128 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RPttAAAAMAAJ&q=+chawinda |isbn=978-0-71-100929-5}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/mar/chawinda.htm Battle of Chawinda – Comedy of Higher Command Errors]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110719144243/http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/mar/chawinda.htm Battle of Chawinda – Comedy of Higher Command Errors]
*[http://www.dawn.com/2004/07/12/fea.htm#2 In Memory of Martyrs] (first-hand account of the battle)
*[http://www.dawn.com/2004/07/12/fea.htm#2 In Memory of Martyrs] (first-hand account of the battle)

{{Military of India}}
{{Military of India}}
{{Military of Pakistan}}
{{Military of Pakistan}}
{{Tank battles|style=wide}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Chawinda}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chawinda 1965}}
[[Category:Battles involving India|Chawinda]]
[[Category:Battles of the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965]]
[[Category:Tank battles involving Pakistan|Chawinda]]
[[Category:Tank battles involving India]]
[[Category:Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]
[[Category:Tank battles involving Pakistan]]
[[Category:History of Sialkot]]
[[Category:History of Sialkot]]
[[Category:1965 in India]]
[[Category:1960s in Punjab, India]]
[[Category:1965 in Pakistan]]
[[Category:September 1965 events in Asia]]
[[Category:Tank battles|Chawinda]]

Latest revision as of 17:05, 23 June 2024

Battle of Chawinda
Part of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

Sculpture showing the Indo-Pakistani War
Map
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
45km
30miles
Degh river
Degh
Samba
Samba
Samba
Jammu
Jammu
Jammu
Akhnur
Akhnur
Akhnur
Chawinda
Chawinda
Gujranwala
Gujranwala
Gujranwala
Wazirabad
Wazirabad
Wazirabad
Sialkot
Sialkot
Sialkot
Ravi river
Ravi river
Marala-Ravi Link Canal
MRL
Marala-Ravi Link Canal
MRL
Marala Headworks
Marala Headworks
Marala Headworks
Chawinda and surroundings
Date14 September 1965,
18–19 September 1965
(1 day)[1][2][3][4][5]
Location32°23′03″N 74°43′30″E / 32.38417°N 74.72500°E / 32.38417; 74.72500
Result Inconclusive[6]
Belligerents
 Pakistan  India
Commanders and leaders
Units involved
Pakistan's I Corps
Cavalry units:
India's I Corps
Cavalry units:[7][8]
Strength
  • 30,000–50,000 infantry
  • 132 tanks (plus reinforcements)[9]
  • 80,000–150,000 infantry
  • 260 tanks[10]
Casualties and losses
  • Tank losses:
    • Neutral claims: 60[11]
    • Indian claims: 155[12]
      (144 put out, 11 captured)
    • Pakistani claims: 44[13]
  • Tank losses:
    • Neutral claims: 100[11]
    • Indian claims: 70[12]
      (29 destroyed, 41 damaged)
    • Pakistani claims: 120[13]
Chawinda is located in Pakistan
Chawinda
Chawinda

The Battle of Chawinda was a major engagement between Pakistan and India in the Second Kashmir War[b] as part of the Sialkot campaign. It is well known as being one of the largest tank battles in history since the Battle of Kursk, which was fought between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in World War II.[14]

The initial clashes in Chawinda coincided with the Battle of Phillora, and the fighting here intensified once the Pakistani forces at Phillora retreated. The battle came to an end shortly before the United Nations Security Council mandated an immediate ceasefire, which would formally end the hostilities of the 1965 war.[15][16]

Sialkot campaign

The Sialkot campaign was part of the strategy of riposte that India had devised to counter Pakistan's advances into Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).[10] It called for relieving Jammu by advancing from either Samba (in J&K) or Dera Baba Nanak (in Indian Punjab) with a view to encircling the city of Sialkot along the Marala–Ravi Link Canal (MRL).[17][18][c]

The canal starts from the Marala Headworks on the Chenab River close to Pakistan's border with J&K, and runs to the west and south of Sialkot, eventually draining into the Ravi River near the town of Narang Mandi.

The GOC Western Command Gen. Harbakhsh Singh favoured launching the campaign from Dera Baba Nanak using the 1st Armoured Division. But he was overridden by the Chief of Army Staff Gen. J. N. Chaudhuri, who created a new I Corps under the command of Lt. Gen. Pat Dunn for the purpose. It would operate from Samba.[22]

Gen. Dunn was given an assortment of units. In addition to the 1st Armoured Division under Maj. Gen. Rajinder Singh, he had:[23][24]

  • the 6th Mountain Division under Maj. Gen. S. K. Korla
  • the 14th Infantry Division under Maj. Gen. Ranjeet Singh and
  • the 26th Infantry Division under Maj. Gen. M. L. Thapan.

The new corps was still in the process of formation when the hostilities broke out in September 1965. Some of the units were also under-strength because of their forces being tied up elsewhere.[25] According to the Indian official history, the force contained 11 infantry brigades and 6 tank regiments.[26][d]

Pakistani defence

Brigadier Niazi, (3rd from right) observing a map

The Pakistani forces opposing the Indian thrust were part of Pakistan's I Corps under Lt. Gen. Bakhtiar Rana. Included in it were:[27]

  • the 6th Armoured Division commanded by Maj. Gen. Abrar Hussain,
  • the 4th Artillery Corps under Brig. Amjad Ali Khan Chaudhury (affiliated to the 6th Armoured Division), and
  • the 15th Infantry Division under Brig. S. M. Ismail.

The 15th Infantry Division was a mixed infantry and armour force, with four pairs of a brigade and an armoured regiment each. However, only one out of the four pairs (the 24th Brigade and 25th Cavalry) was in the conflict area when the Indian campaign started.[27] They were based in and around Chawinda. The 24th Brigade was commanded by Brig. Abdul Ali Malik and the 25th Cavalry was led by Lt. Col. Nisar Ahmed Khan.[28]

The 6th Armoured Division, normally based at Gujranwala, was moved to Pasrur in preparation for the war.[29] It had three cavalry regiments: 10th Cavalry (also called the Guides Cavalry), the 22nd Cavalry and the 11th Cavalry.[30][31] The 11th Cavalry, along with the 4th Artillery Corps, was in Chamb as part of Operation Grand Slam when the operations started. The units were recalled and deployed in the vicinity of Phillora by 8 September.

Later reinforcements included the 8th Infantry Division and 1st Armoured Division.[citation needed]

The battle

The main striking force of the Indian I Corps was the 1st Armoured Division, which was supported by the 14th Infantry and 6th Mountain divisions. Indian forces seized the border area on 7 September 1965. This was followed by a short engagement at Jassoran in which the Pakistanis suffered losses in the form of about 10 tanks, consequently ensuring complete Indian dominance over the Sialkot-Pasrur railway.[32][failed verification]

Realizing the severe threat posed by the Indians in Sialkot, the Pakistanis rushed two regiments of the 6th Armoured Division from Chamb, Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (located today in Pakistani-administered Azad Jammu and Kashmir) to the Sialkot sector to support the Pakistani 7th Infantry Division fighting there. These units, supported by an independent tank destroyer squadron, amounted to about 135 tanks; 24 M47 and M48 Pattons, about 15 M36B1s and the rest Shermans. The majority of the American Pattons belonged to the new 25th Cavalry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nisar Ahmed Khan, which was sent to Chawinda. Intense fighting around the village of Gadgor between the Indian 1st Armoured Division and the Pakistani 25th Cavalry Regiment resulted in the Indian advance being stopped.[citation needed]

The Indian plan was to drive a wedge between Sialkot and the Pakistani 6th Armoured Division. At the time, only one Pakistani regiment was present in the area, and it was wiped out by the Indian 1st Armoured Division's thrust, spearheaded by the 43rd Lorried Infantry Brigade and a tank regiment attacking Gat. The bulk of the Indian 1st Armoured Brigade was hurled towards Phillora. Pakistani air attacks caused significant damage to the Indian tank columns and exacted a heavy toll on the truck columns and infantry. The terrain of the area was very different from that of the area surrounding Lahore, being quite dusty, and therefore the Indian offensive's advance was evident to the Pakistani 25th Cavalry by the rising dust columns on the Charwah-Phillora road.[citation needed]

Indian forces resumed their offensive on 10 September 1965 with multiple corps-sized assaults and succeeded in pushing the Pakistani forces back to their base at Chawinda, where the Indian advance was eventually stopped. A Pakistani counterattack at Phillora was repulsed with heavy losses, after which the Pakistanis took up defensive positions. The situation for the Pakistanis at this point was highly perilous; the Indians outnumbered them ten to one.[citation needed]

However, the Pakistani situation improved as reinforcements arrived, consisting of two independent brigades from Kashmir: the 8th Infantry Division, and more crucially, the 1st Armoured Division.[clarification needed] For the next several days, Pakistani forces repulsed Indian attacks on Chawinda. A major Indian assault involving India's 1st Armoured and 6th Mountain divisions on 18 September was repelled, with the Indians suffering heavy losses. Following this, on 21 September, the Indians withdrew to a defensive position near their original bridgehead,[where?] with the retreat of India's advancing divisions, all the offensives were effectively halted on that front.[33]

Pakistani officers vetoed the proposed counterattack, dubbed "Operation Windup", in light of the Indians' retreat. According to the Pakistani commander-in-chief, the operation was cancelled due to the fact that "both sides had suffered heavy tank losses.… would have been of no strategic importance...." and, above all: "the decision... was politically motivated as by then the Government of Pakistan had made up their mind to accept [the] ceasefire and foreign-sponsored proposals".[10]

Outcome

Burnt out Indian Centurion being inspected by Pakistani soldiers

The battle has widely been described as one of the largest tank battles since World War II.[34] On 22 September 1965, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a resolution that called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire from both nations.[15][35] The war ended the following day. The international military and economic assistance to both countries had stopped when the war started. Pakistan had suffered attrition to its military might and serious reverses in the Battle of Asal Uttar and Chawinda, which made way for its acceptance of the United Nations ceasefire.[5]

Following the end of hostilities on 23 September 1965, India claimed to have held about 518 km2 (200 sq mi) of Pakistani territory in the Sialkot sector (although neutral analyses put the figure at around 460 km2 (180 sq mi) of territory), including the towns and villages of Phillora, Deoli, Bajragarhi, Suchetgarh, Pagowal, Chaprar, Muhadpur and Tilakpur. These were all returned to Pakistan after the signing of the Tashkent Declaration in January 1966.[36][37][2]

Published accounts

Documentaries

Battle of Chawinda − Indo Pak War 1965 − Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Tarapore (2018) is an Indian TV documentary which premiered on Veer by Discovery India.[38][39]

Notes

  1. ^ "[Abrar Hussain] had fought in the World War II and won the MBE due to his bravery as a young army lieutenant. Later in the 1965 War, he was awarded the gallantry award, Hilal-i-Jurat, for leading an infantry brigade as part of the 6th Armoured Division that fought the famous tank battle with the Indian Army at Chawinda in Sialkot and halted the advance of the invading Indian troops in Pakistan’s territory."[citation needed]
  2. ^ It is also called the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
  3. ^ Pakistani military has long held a theory that the Indian objective was to cut the Grand Trunk Road at Wazirabad. The Grand Trunk Road is a major north–south highway that links, for example, Islamabad and Lahore.[19][20] Some western military analysts also reproduce this theory.[21]
  4. ^ However, the history lists only 5 tank regiments in the composition: 4 Horse, 16 Cav, 17 Horse, 2 Lancers and 62 Cav.[25]

References

  1. ^ Jogindar Singh (1993). Behind the Scene: An Analysis of India's Military Operations, 1947–1971. Lancer Publishers. pp. 217–219. ISBN 1-897829-20-5. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b Chakravorty 1992a.
  3. ^ Abrar Hussain (2005). Men of Steel: 6 Armored Division in the 1965 War. Army Education Publishing House. pp. 36–52. ISBN 969-8125-19-1.
  4. ^ Nawaz 2008, pp. 227–230.
  5. ^ a b Krishna Rao 1991.
  6. ^ Sources assessing stalemate:
  7. ^ Zaloga 1980, p. 19.
  8. ^ Barua 2005, p. 191
  9. ^ Philip, Snehesh Alex (12 August 2019). "How Pakistani Lt Col Nisar Ahmed won over Indian peers after stalling their advance in 1965". ThePrint. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  10. ^ a b c Amin, Major A.H. "Battle of Chawinda Comedy of Higher Command Errors". Military historian. Defence journal(pakistan). Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  11. ^ a b Clodfelter, Micheal (2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015 (4th ed.). McFarland. p. 600. ISBN 978-1476625850.
  12. ^ a b Chakravorty 1992a, p. 221.
  13. ^ a b Zaloga 1980, p. 35.
  14. ^ Michael E. Haskew (2015). Tank: 100 Years of the World's Most Important Armored Military Vehicle. Voyageur Press. pp. 201–. ISBN 978-0-7603-4963-2.
  15. ^ a b Pradhan 2007.
  16. ^ "Indo-Pakistan War of 1965". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  17. ^ Barua 2005, p. 190
  18. ^ Singh 2013, Part 1, paragraphs 32–33.
  19. ^ Bajwa 2013, pp. 254–255.
  20. ^ Krishna Rao 1991, p. 129.
  21. ^ Zaloga 1980, pp. 22–23.
  22. ^ Pradhan 2007, pp. 49–50.
  23. ^ Pradhan 2007, p. 50.
  24. ^ Bajwa 2013, pp. 252–253.
  25. ^ a b Chakravorty 1992a, p. 194.
  26. ^ Chakravorty 1992a, p. 223.
  27. ^ a b Bajwa 2013, pp. 253–254.
  28. ^ Nawaz 2008, pp. 224, 225.
  29. ^ Nawaz 2008, p. 224: "When news of the Indian attack came, he was told to move his troops to Pasrur on the night of 6/7 September as reserve for the 1 Corps. The move occurred during the night. Then at midnight, the division’s staff were told to return to their previous position around Gujranwala by 05:00 hours on 7 September! ... GHQ seemed to be making decisions quite arbitrarily."
  30. ^ Higgins 2016, p. 46.
  31. ^ Bajwa 2013, pp. 253–254. Bajwa does not list 11th Cavalry as being part of the 6th Armoured Division. But it is said to have came under its command from 8 September.
  32. ^ Gupta, Hari Ram (1946). India-Pakistan war, 1965, Volume 1. Haryana Prakashan, 1967. pp. 181–182 – via archive.org.
  33. ^ Barua 2005, p. 192.
  34. ^ Bhattacharya, Brigadier Samir (2013). Nothing But! Book Three What Price Freedom. Partridge. p. 490. ISBN 978-1482816259. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  35. ^ Midlarsky, Manus I. (2011). Origins of Political Extremism: Mass Violence in the Twentieth Century and Beyond (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 256. ISBN 978-0521700719.
  36. ^ Chakravorty 1992b.
  37. ^ Singh, Lt. Gen.Harbaksh (1991). War Despatches. New Delhi: Lancer International. p. 159. ISBN 81-7062-117-8.
  38. ^ "Battle of Chawinda -Indo Pak War 1965 - Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Tarapore". Veer by Discovery. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  39. ^ "This R-Day, get ready for Discovery channel's 'Battle Ops'". The Hindu. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.

Bibliography

Further reading