The struggle for independence never ends with the independence of this country. It has been put into different hurdles. The biggest of its enemies remained constant. Whereas Kashmir has become contagious of conflict between the two countries. Both the states have confronted one another on the battlefield three times.
The Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 was the most decisive of all the wars fought between the two countries. It started in August and lasted until 23rd September 1965. The major portion of the armor and weaponry used by both countries was provided by the Americans, Russians, and British who were getting rid of older equipment used in WW2.
The Battle of Chawinda is known to be the major battle fought during this war and is now hailed as one of the largest tank battles since the Battle of Kursk in WWII. Indian was on the mission to capture Sialkot and to use it as a base for further operations inside Pakistan. They were fully prepared to capture their planned ideas and came to the land of Chawinda. General Dunn was commanding one of the Indian army crops and was also in charge of an armored division, a mountain division, and 2 other divisions.
This confrontation was asymmetry as the Indian army was around 80,000 to 150,000 whereas the Pakistani army was not more than 30,000 to 50,000. It was not just in terms of soldiers but also in weapons. Indians were having 230 tanks that consisted of both Centurions and Shermans and Pakistan was on the ground with 132 tanks that consisted of Sherman and Patton tanks.
On 7th September, Indian forces consisting of 1st Armored Division, 14th Infantry, and 6th Mountain took control of the border area planning to cut off Pakistan’s supply lines. Following this, a short skirmish between the two took place which resulted in Pakistan losing 10 of its tanks. India had established its dominion over the Sialkot railway. Realizing the magnitude of the situation, the Pakistanis ordered two regiments of the 6th Armored Division to aid the 7th Infantry Division currently repulsing Indian attacks.
In addition, an independent Tank Destroyer Squadron was put to action, amounting to 135 tanks. The Indian 1st armored brigade was divided up and, along with the 43rd Lorried Infantry Brigade, advanced towards the Pakistanis. The main portion of the 1st Armored Brigade was sent towards the nearby town of Phillora. The tank battle that took place there was won by the Indian forces since the Pakistani regiments retreated after a few days of battle. The decision to retreat gave Pakistan a strategic edge as they successfully saved their armor from destruction. This worked in their favor at the main Battle of Chawinda.
The Pakistanis also had a newly raised tank division
commanded by newly trained young officers all with high morale. The Pakistani
Air force also managed to slow down the Indian advance at Phillora to some
extent, but the Indian force was too large to be completely stopped. On 10th
September, the Indians resumed their attacks while engaging multiple corps and
managed to push the Pakistanis back to defensive positions in Sialkot. It was a
tough situation but the Pak army never lost hope and continuously fight back.
By the morning of 14th September, the Pakistani 6th Armored Division organized under Colonel Wajahat was holding a pivotal location in the Chawinda region and that turned the point. The Indian tanks consisting of 4 regiments tried to ram through the 3 Pakistani regiments but failed to do so due to the superior formations of the Pakistanis. Pak army turned the battlefield into the graveyard of tanks. The Indians tried to retrieve but finally, they accepted their failure and returned on the 21st of September.
Pak Army had proved the claim of Jinnah that “There is no power on Earth that can undo Pakistan”.
