Battle of Chawinda

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Chawinda
partof=Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
date= Actual battle :September 6, 1965 – September 22, 1965
place=Chawinda, Pakistan
result= Pakistan-repelled Indian attack
combatant1=IND
combatant2=PAK
commander1=P.O Dunn
commander2= Tikka Khan
strength1=1,700 tanks 80,000 infantry initial 150,000 end of battle
strength2=600 tanks 30,000 infantry 1000 Tanks and 110,000 infantry end of battle

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 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. The Pakistani force expected to oppose the Indian thrust consisted of 15 Division, 6 Armoured Division and 4 Corps Artillery. Later reinforcements included 8 Infantry Division and 1 Armoured Division.

The Battle

The Indians succeeded in establishing a bridgehead in Pakistani territory on the night of 6/7 December, but they were unopposed until they broke out of the bridgehead on 8 December. Fighting around the Gadgor village between the Indian 1 Armoured division and the Pakistani 25th Cavalry Regiment resulted in the Indian advance being stopped. The Indians resumed their attacks on 10 December with multiple corps sized assaults and succeeded in pushing the Pakistani forces back to their base at Chawinda, where they were stopped. A Pakistani counterattack at Phillorah was badly mauled, and the Pakistanis settled in defensive positions. The Pakistani position at this point was highly perilous, the Indians outnumbered them by ten to one.

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, Indian attacks on Chawinda were checked. A large assault on 18 September involving India's 1st Armoured and 6th Mountain Divisions was unceremoniously repelled, with the Armoured Division being mauled and being taken out of action, while the 6th lay disintegrated in front of Pakistani defences. The Indians withdrew back to a defensive position near their original bridgehead.

The Pakistanis followed up by launching Operation Windup, which forced the Indians back across the international border for the most part, though the coming of the ceasefire meant that the Indians still managed to retain some territory.

Results

The Indian Army had failed to achieve many of their objectives, which was to capture Sialkot and thus cut the main Grand Trunk Road, splitting Pakistan in two. In the process, they had seen their most powerful formations destroyed, despite having strategic surprise and a superiority in men and material. The Indian Army lost more than 120 tanks in this battle. Their only gain was a few square kilometers of territory around the original bridgehead.

External links

* [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)