Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 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 designed to infiltrate forces into Jammu and Kashmir to precipitate an insurgency against Indian rule. India retaliated by launching a full-scale military attack on West Pakistan. The seventeen-day war caused thousands of casualties on both sides and witnessed the largest engagement of armored vehicles and the largest tank battle since World War II.[17][18] Hostilities between the two countries ended after a ceasefire was declared through UNSC Resolution 211 following a diplomatic intervention by the Soviet Union and the United States, and the subsequent issuance of the Tashkent Declaration.[19] Much of the war was fought by the countries' land forces in Kashmir and along the border between India and Pakistan. This war saw the largest amassing of troops in Kashmir since the Partition of India in 1947, a number that was overshadowed only during the 2001–2002 military standoff between India and Pakistan. Most of the battles were fought by opposing infantry and armoured units, with substantial backing from air forces, and naval operations. Indo–Pakistani War of 1965 Part of the Indo–Pakistani wars and conflicts Geopolitical map of Kashmir provided by the United States CIA, c. 2004 Date August – 23 September 1965 Location Western Front Indo-Pakistani border Line of Control, Working Boundary, Radcliffe Line, Sir Creek, and Zero-Point Arabian sea Eastern Front India–East Pakistan border Result Stalemate (Both nations declared victory) Ceasefire through UNSC Resolution 211 No permanent territorial changes (see Tashkent Declaration) Return to the status quo ante bellum Territorial No territorial changes changes Belligerents India Pakistan Commanders and leaders Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Ayub Khan (President of India) (President of Pakistan) Lal Bahadur Shastri Gen Musa Khan (Prime Minister of India) (Cdr-in-Chief, Army) Gen. J. N. Chaudhuri Lt.Gen Bakhtiar Rana (Chief of the Army Staff) (Commander, I Corps) Lt. Gen. Harbaksh Singh Lt.Gen Attiqur Rahman (GOC-in-C, Western Command) (Commander, IV Corps) Lt. Gen. P. O. Dunn MGen A.H. Malik (GOC, I Corps) (GOC, 12th Infantry Division) Lt. Gen. Joginder Dhillon MGen Yahya Khan (GOC, XI Corps) (GOC, 7th Infantry Division) Lt. Gen. Kashmir Katoch AM Nur Khan (GOC, XV Corps) (Cdr-in-Chief, Air Force) AM Arjan Singh VAdm A.R. Khan (Chief of the Air Staff) (Cdr-in-Chief, Navy) Vice Adm. Bhaskar Soman RAdm S.M. Ahsan (Chief of the Naval Staff) ((Cdr. Eastern Naval Command) Cdre S.M. Anwar (OTC, 25th Destroyer Sqn) Strength 700,000 infantry (whole army)[1] 260,000 infantry (whole army)[1] 700+ aircraft[2] 280 aircraft[2] 720 tanks[1] 756 tanks[3] 186 Centurions[3] 352 Pattons[3] 346 Shermans[1] 308 Shermans[3] 90 AMX[1][3] 96 Chaffees[3] 90 PT-76[1] 552 Artillery[3] [3] 628 Artillery 72x105mm How[3] 66x 3.7"How[3] 234X25pdr[3] 450x 25pdr[3] 126x155mm How[3] 96x 5.5"[3] 48x8" How[3] 16x 7.2"[3] 72x3.7" How[3] Effective strength on the West Pakistan AK Lt Btys[3] Border[4] Effective strength on the West Pakistan [4] 9 Infantry divisions (4 under-strength) Border 3 Armored brigades 6 Infantry divisions 2 Armored divisions Casualties and losses Neutral claims[5][6] Neutral claims[5] 3,000 men[5] 3,800 men[5] 150[7]–190 tanks[5] 200[5]-300 Tanks[7] 60–75 aircraft[5] 20 aircraft[5] 540 km2 (210 mi2) of territory lost (primarily in Over 1,840 km2 (710 mi2) of territory lost (in Kashmir)[8][9] Sindh, Lahore, Sialkot, and Kashmir [8][9] Indian claims sectors) Pakistani claims 35[10]–59 aircraft lost[11] In addition, Indian sources claim that there were 13 IAF aircraft 19 aircraft lost[14] lost in accidents, and 3 Indian civilian aircraft Indian claims shot down.[12] 5259 men killed or captured[13] 520 km2 (200 mi2) territory lost[13] 43[16] −73 aircraft destroyed[13] Pakistani claims 471 tanks destroyed[13] 8,200 men killed or captured[13] 1,735 km2 (670 mi2) territory gained[13] 110[14]–113[13] aircraft destroyed 500 tanks captured or destroyed[13] 2602,[15] 2575 km2[13] territory gained India had the upper hand over Pakistan when the ceasefire was declared.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26] Although the two countries fought to a standoff, the conflict is seen as a strategic and political defeat for Pakistan,[27][21][28][29][30][31][32] as it had neither succeeded in fomenting insurrection in Kashmir[33] nor had it been able to gain meaningful support at an international level.[28][34][35][36] Internationally, the war was viewed in the context of the greater Cold War, and resulted in a significant geopolitical shift in the subcontinent.[37] Before the war, the United States and the United Kingdom had been major material allies of both India and Pakistan, as their primary suppliers of military hardware and foreign developmental aid. During and after the conflict, both India and Pakistan felt betrayed by the perceived lack of support by the western powers for their respective positions; those feelings of betrayal were increased with the imposition of an American and British embargo on military aid to the opposing sides.[37][38] As a consequence, India and Pakistan openly developed closer relationships with the Soviet Union and China, respectively.[38] The perceived negative stance of the western powers during the conflict, and during the 1971 war, has continued to affect relations between the West and the subcontinent. In spite of improved relations with the U.S. and Britain since the end of the Cold War, the conflict generated a deep distrust of both countries within the subcontinent which to an extent lingers to this day.[39][40][41] Pre-war escalation Since the Partition of British India in 1947, Pakistan and India remained in contention over several issues. Although the Kashmir conflict was the predominant issue dividing the nations, other border disputes existed, most notably over the Rann of Kutch, a barren region in the Indian state of Gujarat. The issue first arose in 1956 which ended with India regaining control over the disputed area.[42] Pakistani patrols began patrolling in territory controlled by India in January 1965, which was followed by attacks by both countries on each other's posts on 8 April 1965.[42][43] Initially involving border police from both nations, the disputed area soon witnessed intermittent skirmishes between the countries' armed forces. In June 1965, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson successfully persuaded both countries to end hostilities and set up a tribunal to resolve the dispute. The verdict, which came later in 1968, saw Pakistan awarded 910 square kilometres (350 square miles) of the Rann of Kutch, as against its original claim of 9,100 km2 (3,500 sq mi).[44] After its success in the Rann of Kutch, Pakistan, under the leadership of General Ayub Khan, believed the Indian Army would be unable to defend itself against a quick military campaign in the disputed territory of Kashmir as the Indian military had suffered a loss to China in 1962[45] in the Sino-Indian War. Pakistan believed that the population of Kashmir was generally discontented with Indian rule and that a resistance movement could be ignited by a few infiltrating saboteurs. Pakistan attempted to ignite the resistance movement by means of a covert infiltration, code-named Operation Gibraltar.[46] The Pakistani infiltrators were soon discovered, however, their presence reported by local Kashmiris,[47] and the operation ended unsuccessfully. War A declassified US State Department letter that confirms the existence of hundreds of "infiltrators" in the Indian- administered part of the disputed Kashmir region. Dated during the events running up to the 1965 war. On 5 August 1965 between 26,000 and 33,000 Pakistani soldiers crossed the Line of Control dressed as Kashmiri locals headed for various areas within Kashmir. Indian forces, tipped off by the local populace, crossed the cease fire line on 15 August.[45] Initially, the Indian Army met with considerable success, capturing three important mountain positions after a prolonged artillery barrage. By the end of August, however, both sides had relative progress; Pakistan had made progress in areas such as Tithwal, Uri and Poonch and India had captured the Haji Pir pass, 8 km into Pakistan administered Kashmir.[48] On 1 September 1965, Pakistan launched a counterattack, called Operation Grand Slam, with the objective to capture the vital town of Akhnoor in Jammu, which would sever communications and cut off supply routes to Indian troops. Ayub Khan calculated that "Hindu morale would not stand more than a couple of hard blows at the right time and place"[49][50][51] although by this time Operation Gibraltar had failed and India had captured the Haji Pir Pass.[49][52] At 03:30 on 1 September 1965, the entire Chhamb area came under massive artillery bombardment. Pakistan had launched operation Grand Slam and India's Army Headquarter was taken by surprise.[53] Attacking with an overwhelming ratio of troops and technically superior tanks, Pakistan made gains against Indian forces, who were caught unprepared and suffered heavy losses. India responded by calling in its air force to blunt the Pakistani attack. The next day, Pakistan retaliated, its air force attacked Indian forces and air bases in both Kashmir and Punjab. India's decision to open up the theatre of attack into Pakistani Punjab forced the Pakistani army to relocate troops engaged in the operation to defend Punjab.