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The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, also known as the '''Second Kashmir War''', was the culmination of a series of Skirmish es that occurred between April 1965 and September 1965 between India and Pakistan . The war was the second fought between India and Pakistan over the region of Kashmir , The First having been fought in 1947 . The war lasted five weeks, resulted in thousands of casualties on both sides and ended in a United Nations (UN) mandated Ceasefire . It is generally accepted that the war began following the failure of Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar which was designed to infiltrate and invade Jammu And Kashmir . Much of the war was fought by the countries' land forces in the region of Kashmir and along the International Border (IB) between India and Pakistan. This war saw the largest amassing of troops in Kashmir, a number that was overshadowed only during the 2001-2002 Military Standoff between India and Pakistan. Most of the war was fought on land by each country's Infantry and Armored units, with substantial backing from their air forces. Many details of this war, like those of most Indo-Pakistani Wars , remain unclear and riddled with Media Bias es. PRE-WAR ESCALATION Since Independence, both nations were in contention over several issues, primarily on border disputes. Kashmir was a major divisive issue between both the nations, but other border disputes existed, most notably over the and Open Forum - UNIDIR After its successes in the Rann of Kutch, Pakistan, under the leadership of General was generally discontented with Indian rule and that a resistance movement could be ignited by a few infiltrating Saboteur s. This was codenamed Operation Gibraltar .Amin, Agha Humayun. Maj (Retd). "Grand Slam — A Battle of Lost Opportunities" . Defence Journal. Sept 2000 However, the Pakistani infiltrators were soon discovered, aided primarily by the local Kashmiris themselves and the entire operation ended in a complete disaster. For its part, Pakistan claimed to have been concerned by the attempts of India to absorb Kashmir - a state that Pakistan claims as "disputed", into the Indian union by way Articles 356 and 357 of the Indian Constitution allowing the President Of India to declare President's Rule in the disputed state. THE WAR On "''' was intended to capture the vital town of Akhnoor in Jammu and thus sever communications and cut off supply routes to Indian troops. Attacking with an overwhelming ratio of troops and technically superior tanks, Pakistan was on the verge of springing a surprise against Indian forces, who were caught unprepared and suffered heavy losses. India then called in its Air Force to target the Pakistani attack in the southern sector. The next day, Pakistan retaliated, initialising its Air Force to retaliate against Indian forces and air bases in both Kashmir and Punjab . But Operation Grand Slam failed to achieve its aim as the Pakistan Army was unable to capture the town. This became one of the turning points in the war, as India decided to relieve pressure on its troops in Kashmir by attacking Pakistan further south. of the Indian 18th Cavalry posing outside a captured Pakistani police station (Barkee) in Lahore District.]] India crossed the International Border (IB) on the Western front on September 6 , marking an official beginning of the war. On September 6, the 15th Infantry Division of the Indian Army, under World War II veteran Major General Prasad battled a massive counterattack by Pakistan near the west bank of the Ichhogil Canal ( BRB Canal ), which was a ''de facto'' border of India and Pakistan. The General's entourage itself was ambushed and he was forced to flee his vehicle. A second, this time successful, attempt to cross over the Ichhogil Canal was made through the bridge in the village of Barki , just east of Lahore . This brought the Indian Army within the range of Lahore International Airport , and as result the United States requested a temporary ceasefire to allow it to evacuate its citizens in Lahore . One unit of the Jat regiment, 3 Jat had also crossed the Ichogil canal and capturedBrigadier Desmond E Hayde, "The Battle of Dograi and Batapore", Natraj Publishers, New Delhi, 2006 the town of Batapore (Jallo Mur to Pakistan) on the west side of the canal, threatening Lahore on the very start of the war. The same day, a counter offensive consisting of an armored division and infantry division supported by Pakistan Air Force Sabres rained down on the Indian 15th Division forcing it to withdraw to its starting point. Although 3 Jat suffered minimal casualties, the bulk of the damage being taken by Ammunition and stores vehicles, the higher commanders however, had no information of 3 Jat's capture of Batapore and misleading information led to the command to withdraw from Batapore and Dograi to Ghosal-Dial. This move brought extreme disappointmenthttp://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050918/edit.htm#1 to Lt-Col Desmond Hayde, CO of 3 Jat. Dograi was eventually recaptured by 3 Jat on 21 September, for the second time but after a much harder battle due to Pakistani reinforcements. position during the war.]] On the days following September 9 , both nations' premiere formations were routed in unequal battles. India's 1st Armored Division , labelled the "pride of the Indian Army", launched an offensive towards Sialkot . The Division divided itself into two prongs and came under heavy Pakistani tank fire at Taroah and was forced to withdraw. Similarly, Pakistan's pride, the 1st Armored Division, pushed an offensive towards Khemkaran with the intent to capture Amritsar (a major city in Punjab, India ) and the bridge on River Beas to Jalandhar . The Pakistani 1st Armored Division never made it past Khem Karan and by the end of September 10 lay disintegrated under the defences of the Indian 4th Mountain Division at what is now known as the Battle Of ''Asal Uttar'' (Real Answer). The area became known as 'Patton Nagar' (Patton Town) as Pakistan lost/abandoned nearly 100 tanks mostly Patton Tank s obtained from the United States. The war was heading for a stalemate, with both nations holding territory of the other. The Indian army suffered 3,000 battlefield deaths, while Pakistan suffered no less than 3,800. The Indian army was in possession of 710 mile&2 (1,840 km&2) of Pakistani territory and the Pakistan army held 210 mile&2 (545 km&2) of Indian territory. The territory occupied by India was mainly in the fertile Sialkot, Lahore and Kashmir sectors,The Story of My Struggle By Tajammal Hussain Malik 1991, Jang Publishers, pp 78 while Pakistani land gains were primarily in Desert s opposite Sindh and in Chumb in the northern sector.Khaki Shadows by General K.M. Arif, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-579396-X, 2001 Aerial warfare See Main articles: Aerial Warfare In 1965 India Pakistan War . The war saw the Indian Air Force and the Pakistani Air Force being involved in full scale combat for the first time since independence. Though the two forces had previously faced off in the First Kashmir War during the late 1940s, it was limited in scale compared to the '65 conflict. Both countries hold highly contradictory claims on combat losses during the war and hardly any neutral sources have thoroughly verified the claims of both countries' claim. PAF claimed it had shot down 104 IAF planes losing only 19 in the process. India meanwhile officially stated that 35 IAF planes were lost while shooting down 73 PAF aircraft. According to Indian figures, the overall , Iraq , Iran , Turkey and China , for additional aircraft within 10 days of the war. IAF Combat Kills B. Harry Pakistan's main strike force comprised the U.S. made . Tank battles Main Article: International Assessments On The Tank Battles The 1965 war witnessed some of the largest Tank Battles since in Korea and was distributed to friendly nations including France, where it was used in Indo-China (Vietnam), Pakistan..'') compared to the 75mm guns on the former. Despite the qualitative edge of Pakistani armour,The Widening Gulf: Asian Nationalism and American Policy By Selig Seidenman Harrison Published 1978 Free Press, pp 269 Overall Pakistan was outfought on the battlefield by India's armour which made progress into the Lahore-Sialkot sector whilst halting Pakistan's counteroffensive on Amritsar .The Consequences of Nuclear Proliferation: Lessons from South Asia By Devin T. Hagerty Page 70 Published by MIT Press By the end of the war, Pakistan's newer and more potent Patton M-47 and M-48s proved to be too sophisticated in Pakistani hands,India and Japan: The Emerging Balance of Power in Asia By Columbia University East Asian Institute, Stanley J. Heginbotham, William Howard Wriggins. By Columbia University East Asian Institute, Published 1971, pp 254 and they were also employed in a faulty manner, often charging prepared defenses. India's Centurion heavy tanks however with thier 105mm guns and heavy armor were employed with success against the Pattons, despite the M-48's 120mm gun. Naval hostilities The navies of both India and Pakistan played no prominent role in the war of 1965, although Pakistani accounts dispute this.South Asia's Nuclear Security Dilemma: India, Pakistan, and China By Lowell Dittmer, pp 77 '' On September 7 , a Flotilla of the Pakistani Navy carried out a small scale bombardment of the coastal Indian town and radar station of Dwarka , which was 200 miles (300 km) south of the Pakistani port of Karachi . Codenamed Operation Dwarka , it however, did not fulfill its primary objectives and there was no immediate retaliatory response from India. Later, the Indian fleet from Bombay sailed to Dwarka to patrol off that area to deter further bombardment. Nonetheless, foreign authors have noted that the "insignificant bombardment"India's Quest for Security: defence policies, 1947-1965 By Lorne John Kavic, , 1967, University of California Press, pp 190 of the town was a "limited engagement, with no strategic value." According to some Pakistani sources, one maiden submarine, Gulab Hiranandani, Indian Navy (Retired), Naval War College Review , Spring 2002, Vol. LV, No. 2 Moreover, the ship was under refit in dry dock at that time and not even deployed. Even Pakistani defence writers have discounted claims that the Indian Navy was bottled up in harbour due to a single submarine, instead stating that 75% of the Indian Navy was under maintenance in harbour. Iqbal F Quadir - Pakistan's Defence Journal Further south towards Bombay , there were reports of underwater attacks by the Indian Navy against what they suspected were American-supplied Pakistani Submarines , but this was never confirmed. Covert operations A number of covert operations were launched by the In response to this India announced rewards for any Pakistani Spies or paratroopers. Ending the Suspense September 17, 1965, TIME magazine Meanwhile, in Pakistan, there was a scare that India had retaliated with its own covert ops by sending commandos deep into Pakistan territory, but this was later known to be unfounded. Remembering Our Warriors Brig (Retd) Shamim Yasin Manto S.I.(M), S.Bt, Q&A session: ("How would you assess the failures and successes of the SSG in the 1965 War?") February 2002, Defence Journal LOSSES India and Pakistan hold widely divergent claims on the damage they have inflicted on each other and the amount of damage suffered by them. The following summarizes each nation's claims.
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