{{Infobox military conflict , width = 380px , image = File:Sculpture showing Indo-Pak war.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = Sculpture showing the Indo-Pakistani War {{clear {{OSM Location map , coord = {{coord, 32.3, N, 74.7, E , float = center , zoom = 8 , width = 290 , height = 300 , caption = {{center, Chawinda and surroundings , nolabels = 1 , minimap = , mini-file = , mini-width = , mini-height = , minipog-x = , minipog-y = , scalemark = , shape = , map-data-light = Q6754702 , mark-coord1 = {{Coord, 32, 40, 24, N, 74, 27, 50, E , mark1 = Blue pog.svg , mark-size1 = 7 , label1 = Marala Headworks , label-size1 = 10 , label-color1 = blue , label-pos1 = top , mark-title1 =

Marala Headworks Marala Headworks is a headworks situated on the Chenab River near the city of Sialkot in Punjab, Pakistan. A weir was first built during 1906–1912 in British India to feed the Upper Chenab Canal, as part of the 'Triple Canals Project'. A new ...

, mark-description1 = Beginning of the Marala Ravi Link Canal , 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 , 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 , 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 , 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 Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

, mark-description5 =

, 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 Wazirabad (Urdu/ pa, ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Wazirabad District. Famous for its cutlery products, it is known as the city of cutlery and is also quite famous for its foods. Wazirabad is situated on the banks of th ...

, mark-description6 = Town in Pakistani Punjab on the

Grand Trunk Road The Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sarak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sarak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. ...

, 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 Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...

, mark-description7 =

, 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 , 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 Akhnoor is a city and municipal committee, near city of Jammu in Jammu district of Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It lies 28 km away from Jammu city. Akhnoor is on the bank of the Chenab River, just before it enters the Pa ...

, mark-description10 = Town in Indian-administered Kashmir, the target of Pakistan's

Operation Grand Slam Operation Grand Slam was a key military operation of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. It refers to a plan drawn up by the Pakistan Army in May 1965 that consisted of an attack on the vital Akhnoor Bridge in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashm ...

, 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 Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi Ri ...

, mark-description11 = City in Indian-administered Kashmir , 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 Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

, mark-description12 = Town in Indian-administered Kashir, the base for the 1st Armoured Division , 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 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

, map_type = Punjab Pakistan#Pakistan , coordinates = {{coord, 32, 23, 03, N, 74, 43, 30, E, type:event, display=inline , map_caption = Location of

Chawinda Chawinda ( ur, ) is a city located in Pasrur Tehsil, Sialkot District, Punjab, Pakistan. The town sits at an altitude of , close to the border with Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. Chawinda was the site of a key tank battle during ...

Pakistani Punjab Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...

##Location of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, map_label = Chawinda , date = 14 September 1965,
18–19 September 1965
({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=9, day1=18, year1=1965, month2=9, day2=19, year2=1965) {{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 {{sfn, Chakravorty, 1992a {{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 {{sfn, Nawaz, 2008, pp=227–230{{sfn, Krishna Rao, 1991 , place =

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, result = Inconclusive , combatant1 = {{flag, Pakistan , combatant2 = {{flag, India , commander1 = {{plainlist, * {{flagicon, Pakistan, army Lt. Gen. Bakhtiar Rana * {{flagicon, Pakistan, army

Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Abrar Hussain{{efn, " brar Hussainhad fought in the World War II and won the

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

due to his bravery as a young army lieutenant. Later in the 1965 War, he was awarded the gallantry award,

Hilal-i-Jurat The Hilal-e-Jurat ( ur, , as if it were ''Halāl-e-Jurāt''; English: Crescent of Courage , sometimes spelled as Hilal-e-Jur'at, Hilal-e-Jurat, Hilal-i-Jurrat and Hilal-i-Juraat)Various official sources that are highly reputable spell the name ...

, 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

Brig. Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thou ...

Sardar M. Ismail * {{flagicon, Pakistan, army Brig. Amjad Chaudhry * {{flagicon, Pakistan, army Brig. S. M. Hussain * {{flagicon, Pakistan, army Brig. Abdul Ali Malik * {{flagicon, Pakistan, army Brig. Muzzafaruddin * {{flagicon, Pakistan, army Lt. Col. Nisar Ahmed Khan , commander2 = {{plainlist, *{{flagicon, India, army Lt. Gen.

Harbakhsh Singh Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, VrC (1 October 1913 – 14 November 1999) was a senior General Officer in the Indian Army. As the Western Army Commander, Singh commanded the Indian Army forces and played a key role during the Indo-Pakistani ...

*{{flagicon, India, army Lt. Gen. Pat Dunn *{{flagicon, India, army

Rajinder Singh *{{flagicon, India, army

S. K. Kolra *{{flagicon, India, army

M. L. Thapan *{{flagicon, India, army Lt. Col.

Ardeshir Tarapore Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore, PVC (18August 1923 – 16September 1965), was an officer in the Indian Army and a recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest award for bravery. After completing his schooling in Pune, Tar ...

{{KIA , units1 = Pakistan's I Corps
''Cavalry units'': {{plainlist, * 10th Cavalry (44x M48 Pattons) * 11th Cavalry (44x M48 Pattons) * 22nd Cavalry (44x M48 Pattons) * 25th Cavalry (44x M48 Pattons) * 33rd TDU Sqdn. (15x Shermans) * 19th Lancers (44x M48 Pattons) , units2 = India's I Corps
''Cavalry units'':{{sfn, Zaloga, 1980, p=19{{harvnb, Barua, 2005,
191
} {{plainlist, * 4th Horse (45x Centurions) * 17th Poona (45x Centurions) *

16th Cavalry The 6th Lancers is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. Previously, it was known as the 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse), and was a regular cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by amalgama ...

(45x Centurions) * 2nd Lancers (45x Shermans) * 62nd Cavalry (45x Shermans) , strength1 = {{plainlist, * 30,000–50,000 infantry * 132 tanks {{small, (plus reinforcements) , strength2 = {{plainlist, * 80,000–150,000 infantry * 260 tanks {{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 , casualties1 = {{plainlist, * Tank losses: ** ''Neutral claims:'' 60 {{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, 4th ed. , first=Micheal , last=Clodfelter , date=2017 , publisher=McFarland , isbn=9781476625850 , page=600 ** ''Indian claims:'' 155{{sfn, Chakravorty, 1992a, p=221
(144 put out, 11 captured) ** ''Pakistani claims:'' 44{{sfn, Zaloga, 1980, p=35 , casualties2 = {{plainlist, * Tank losses: ** ''Neutral claims:'' 100 ** ''Indian claims:'' 70{{sfn, Chakravorty, 1992a, p=221
(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

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in the

Second Kashmir War The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

{{efn, It is also called the

. as part of the

campaign. It is well-known as being one of the largest

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

battles in history since the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history. ...

, which was fought between the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. {{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 , date=2 November 2015 , publisher=Voyageur Press , isbn=978-0-7603-4963-2 , pages=201– The initial clashes in

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 The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

mandated an immediate

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

, which would formally end the hostilities of the 1965 war.{{sfn, Pradhan, 2007 {{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

Sialkot campaign

The Sialkot campaign was part of the strategy of

riposte In fencing, a riposte ( French for "retort") is an offensive action with the intent of hitting one's opponent made by the fencer who has just parried an attack. In military usage, a riposte is the strategic device of hitting a vulnerable point ...

that India had devised to counter Pakistan's advances into Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). It called for relieving Jammu by advancing from either

(in J&K) or

Dera Baba Nanak Dera Baba Nanak is a town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur district, in the state of Punjab, India. It is 36km away from Gurdaspur city, the capital of the district. Since November 2019, a corridor between India and Pakistan has been establ ...

(in Indian Punjab) with a view to encircling the city of

along the

Marala–Ravi Link Canal The Marala–Ravi Link Canal (MRL canal) is a canal in Pakistani Punjab that flows from the Marala Headworks on the Chenab River near Sialkot to the Ravi river. It was constructed in 1956 to transfer water from Chenab to Ravi as well as to irriga ...

(MRL).{{harvnb, Barua, 2005, p=190{{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

. 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 The Chenab River () is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul regi ...

close to Pakistan's border with J&K, and runs to the west and south of Sialkot, eventually draining into the

Ravi River The Ravi River () is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were ...

near the town of Narang Mandi. The GOC Western Command Gen.

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 General (India), General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri (Bengali Language, Bengali: জয়ন্তনাথ চৌধুরী; 10 June 1908 – 6 April 1983) was a General Officer in the Indian Army. He served as the 6th Chief of the Army Staff ( ...

, who created a new

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...

under the command of Lt. Gen. Pat Dunn for the purpose. It would operate from Samba.{{sfn, Pradhan, 2007, pp=49–50 Gen. Dunn was given an assortment of units. In addition to the 1st Armoured Division under Maj. Gen. Rajinder Singh, he had:{{sfn, Pradhan, 2007, p=50{{sfn, Bajwa, 2013, pp=252–253 * 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.{{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

The Pakistani forces opposing the Indian thrust were part of Pakistan's I Corps under Lt. Gen. Bakhtiar Rana. Included in it were:{{sfn, Bajwa, 2013, pp=253–254 * 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.{{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, 225 The 6th Armoured Division, normally based at

, was moved to

Pasrur Pasrur (Punjabi and ur, ), is a city of Sialkot District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is the capital of Pasrur Tehsil and is administratively subdivided into 26 wards of municipal committee Pasrur. It is located at 32°16'0N 74 ...

in preparation for the war. It had three cavalry regiments: 10th Cavalry (also called the Guides Cavalry), the 22nd Cavalry and the 11th Cavalry.{{sfn, Higgins, 2016, p=46{{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. The 11th Cavalry, along with the 4th Artillery Corps, was in Chamb as part of

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, date=April 2021

The battle

The main striking force of the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

was the 1st Armoured Division, which was supported by the 14th Infantry and 6th Mountain divisions. Indian forces seized the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

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.{{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{{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 from Chamb, Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (located today in Pakistani-administered

Azad Jammu and Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger K ...

) to the Sialkot sector to support the Pakistani 7th Infantry Division fighting there. These units, supported by an independent tank destroyer

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

, amounted to about 135 tanks; 24 M47 and

M48 Patton The M48 Patton is an American List of main battle tanks by generation#First generation, first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun Tank: M48. It was designed as a replacement for the M2 ...

s, about 15 M36B1s and the rest Shermans. The majority of the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Pattons belonged to the new 25th Cavalry under the command of

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Nisar Ahmed Khan, which was sent to

. 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 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 Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

. The terrain of the area was very different from that of the area surrounding

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

, 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 Indian forces resumed their offensive on 10 September 1965 with multiple

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

-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, date=April 2021 However, the Pakistani situation improved as reinforcements arrived, consisting of two independent brigades from

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

: 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,
192
} Pakistani

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

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 The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...

had made up their mind to accept heceasefire and foreign-sponsored proposals".

Outcome

The battle has widely been described as one of the largest tank battles since

. {{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 , date=19 December 2013 , isbn=9781482816259 , access-date=19 December 2014 , last1=Bhattacharya , first1=Brigadier Samir On 22 September 1965, the

unanimously passed a resolution that called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire from both nations.{{sfn, Pradhan, 2007 {{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 , pag
256
} The war ended the following day. The international military and economic assistance to both countries had stopped when the war started.

had suffered

attrition Attrition may refer to *Attrition warfare, the military strategy of wearing down the enemy by continual losses in personnel and material **War of Attrition, fought between Egypt and Israel from 1968 to 1970 **War of attrition (game), a model of agg ...

to its military might and serious reverses in the

Battle of Asal Uttar The Battle of Asal Uttar (Hindi : आसल उत्ताड़ , Punjabi: ਆਸਲ ਉਤਾੜ) was one of the largest tank battles fought during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. It was fought from 8 to 10 September 1965, when the Pakist ...

and Chawinda, which made way for its acceptance of the United Nations ceasefire.{{sfn, Krishna Rao, 1991 Following the end of hostilities on 23 September 1965,

claimed to have held about {{Convert, 518, km2, sqmi, abbr=on of Pakistani territory in the Sialkot sector (although neutral analyses put the figure at around {{Convert, 460, km2, sqmi, abbr=on 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 The Tashkent Declaration was signed between India and Pakistan on 10 January 1966 to resolve the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Peace was achieved on 23 September through interventions by the Soviet Union and the United States, both of which push ...

in January 1966.{{sfn, Chakravorty, 1992b{{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 , pages=159{{sfn, Chakravorty, 1992a

Published accounts

Documentaries

''Battle of Chawinda − Indo Pak War 1965 − Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Tarapore'' (2018) is an

TV documentary Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

which premiered on Veer by Discovery India. {{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 {{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 ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

, date=25 January 2018

Notes

{{notelist

References

{{reflist

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

External links

Battle of Chawinda – Comedy of Higher Command Errors
(first-hand account of the battle) {{Military of India {{Military of Pakistan {{Tank battles, style=wide {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Chawinda

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 History of Sialkot History of Punjab, Pakistan (1947–present) 1965 in India 1965 in Pakistan September 1965 events in Asia