Battle of Chumb
Part of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 (Western Front)
Top to bottom, left to right:
  1. Digitized map of the Chumb sector in Kashmir with the rough area captured by Pakistan hatched in yellow.
  2. Pakistani soldiers riding on a captured Indian army jeep that has been painted with the word Indira transport in Urdu.
  3. An Indian soldier killed in action.
  4. Pakistani forces in Chumb after capturing the area.
Date1 December 1971
Location
Chumb, Jammu and Kashmir, India (present−day Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan)
32°50′17″N 74°24′14″E / 32.838°N 74.404°E / 32.838; 74.404
Result Pakistani victory[1][2][3]
Territorial
changes		 Chumb (127 Km² of territory) becomes part of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan[4]
Belligerents
 India  Pakistan
Commanders and leaders
Maj. Gen. Jaswant Singh

Maj. Gen. Iftikhar Janjua †

Wing Commander S A Changezi
Units involved
Army

unknown

Airforce[5]
Army[6][7]
Air Force[5]
Strength
Casualties and losses
72 killed
15 wounded
Several tanks, artillery and military vehicles destroyed or captured
1 Hawker Hunter & 2 Sukhoi Su-7s damaged		 60 killed
80 wounded
4 tanks, several military vehicles destroyed
2 F-86F Sabres lost.
Chamb is located in Kashmir
Chamb
Chamb
Location of the battle with present−day geopolitical borders in the Kashmir region

The Battle of Chumb was a major battle in the Western Front of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 fought between the Pakistan Army and the Indian Army in 1-11 December 1971. Pakistan captured Chumb from India on the same principle as in the Battle of Chumb during Operation Grand Slam in 1965. The Pakistan Army's primary objective was to capture the town of Chumb and surrounding areas that had strategic importance for both Pakistan and India.[6][5][7]

Background

Before the capture of Chumb by Pakistan, this area was under India's control.

The town holds great strategic value. Similar to 1965, plans were made to capture this strategic town. The reason behind this plan was to deter Indians from attacking the crucial north-south line of communications passing via Gujrat.

The 23 Division of Pakistan was given the task of protecting this sector and later attacking the Chumb-Dewa sectors.

On the Indian side, the 10th Division was given the task of defence of Chamb; the Indian army believed that by attacking Gujrat and Tanda, they could guarantee the defence of Chamb. In comparison to 1965, the Indians were better prepared in terms of defences and now realized the importance of the town and sector.[11]

Strength

Brigadier Amar Cheema of the Indian Army, while comparing the strength of two countries during the battle, claimed that the Indian Armed Forces had superior tanks such as T-55 and T-54 who were equipped with 100 mm guns. They were said to be far superior to those of the Pakistani Type 59 tank.[1]

The Indian T-55 tanks also possessed APDS ammunition firing capability which the Pakistani Type 59 tanks did not have. The T-55 had a far superior stabilization system.[7]

Cheema also claims that there was near parity in terms of artillery but, when it came to infantry, the Pakistan army had fewer soldiers than the Indian army during the battle. He states that "it was this battle which helped in sustaining the morale of Pakistan army. The Indians, on the other hand, describe it as a most serious reverse suffered in the 1971 war".[1]

Outcome

The fierce battle led to thousands of civilians evacuating the area.[12]

Towards the end of the battle, the Indian Army hastily retreated from the area with little resistance, leaving behind entire volumes of sensitive documents and radios tuned to their respective codes.[12]

Pakistan won the battle but lost the war, resulting in creation of Bangladesh by breaking up Pakistan and surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers to India — the world's largest surrender in terms of number of personnel since World War II.[13][14][15] Under the Simla Agreement, signed between India and Pakistan on 2 July 1972, Pakistan retained the territory it captured in the Chumb sector. The treaty also gave back more than 13,000 km2 of land that the Indian Army had seized in Pakistan during the war, though India retained a few strategic areas, including Turtuk, Dhothang, Tyakshi (earlier called Tiaqsi) and Chalunka of Chorbat Valley,[16][17] which was more than 883 km2.[18][19][20]

Other battles

Listed from north to south:

    • Battle of Phillora (1971), captured by India but returned to Pakistan under Shimla Agreement
    • Battle of Chawinda (1971), area in Pakistan which India laid cease to after capturing Phillora
    • Battle of Kasur (1763), won by Dhillon Sikh Misls against muslim Afghans and successfully retrieved a Hindu Brahmin's wife who had been kidnapped by muslims
    • Battle of Munabao (1971)
  • Gujarat-Sindh
    • Chachro Raid (1971), Indian Army captured 13,000 sq.km of Sindh but returned to Pakistan under Shimla Agreement


  • East Pakistan (Bangladesh), East Pakistan became Bangladesh after India defeated Pakistan in 1971 war
      • Tangail Airdrop (1971), Tangail liberated by India and Bangladesh was created

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Brigadier Amar Cheema (2015). The Crimson Chinar: The Kashmir Conflict: A Politico Military Perspective. Lancer Publishers. pp. 297–298. ISBN 978-81-7062-301-4. The contention that this was the most serious reverse for India in the war is also correct as it was here that Pakistan could maximise their territorial gains amounting to some 400 Sq. Km.... The way it ultimately planned out, Chamb was the only sector in J&K where the Indian forces suffered setback and this was attributable to Indian operational stance and inadequate preparation for the defensive battle for which the formation had been mandated.....Loss of territory in the sector for both sides was unacceptable, yet it was India who let this happen.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Major General Jagjit Singh (1994). Indian Gunners at War:The Western Front 1971. Lancer Publishers. p. 88. The saga of Chamb had come to an end. Despite defeat, 191 infantry brigade under the leadership of Brigadier Jasbir Singh (later Lieutenant General) had fought splendidly against, heavy odds.
  3. ↑ "Three Indian blunders in 1971 war". Rediff India. 11 December 2011. In the 1971 war in Kashmir, Pakistan gained some territory in Chhamb as the Indian Army poised for an offensive was caught off guard by the Pakistani attack.
  4. ↑ www.webspider.pk, Web Spider (pvt) Ltd. "50 Years Celebrations of Pakistan's Victory in the Battle of Chhamb". www.hilal.gov.pk. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Kaiser Tufail (10 May 2010). "Air Support in Chamb – 1971 War". Aeronaut.
  6. 1 2 LT COL MUHAMMAD MAJID MIRZA. "50 Years Celebrations of Pakistan's Victory in the Battle of Chhamb". Hilal English.
  7. 1 2 3 Major (Retd) AGHA HUMAYUN AMIN. "The Battle of Chamb-1971". Archived from the original on 29 August 2000.
  8. ↑ "Armoured Corps History, 1971 war". Pakistan Army Website.
  9. ↑ "No. 26 Squadron PAF". PakDef.info. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Major K.C. Parval (1987). Indian Army After Independence. Lancer Publisher. ISBN 9781935501619.
  11. ↑ Lt. Col. Muhammad Usman Hassan. "Battle Lore – On Breakthrough in Chamb". Soldiers Speak, Selected Articles from Pakistan Army Journal 1956–1981. Army Education Press, GHQ, Rawalpindi.
  12. 1 2 Kamm, Henry (1971-12-13). "Pakistani Forces Take Ghost Town in Kashmir". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-23. The Pakistani contention that the enemy left this side of the river in a rout is sustained by what they left behind. Entire volumes of records of the Sikh and Gurkha battalions that bore the brunt of the fighting were found in the large, neat camps from which they fled without destroying anything. On the ridgeline, the defenders left communication equipment tuned to their air and ground frequencies and did not bother to destroy their codes.
  13. ↑ Srinivasaraju, Sugata (2021-12-21). "The Bangladeshi liberation has lessons for India today". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  14. ↑ Koul, Bill K. (2020). The Exiled Pandits of Kashmir: Will They Ever Return Home?. Springer Nature. p. 254. ISBN 978-981-15-6537-3. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2022. More than 90,000...., the largest ever since World War 2.
  15. ↑ "Country marks 50 years of 1971 war". The Hindu. 16 December 2021. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 2022-01-26. It was the largest military surrender after the Second World War and the Indian armed forces, along with Mukti Bahini, liberated Bangladesh in a span of just 13 days and also the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers, the largest surrender of armed forces post Second World War.
  16. ↑ "Turtuk, a Promised Land Between Two Hostile Neighbours". The Wire. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  17. ↑ Rajrishi Singhal, qz com. "An encounter with the 'king' of Turtuk, a border village near Gilgit-Baltistan". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  18. ↑ "A portrait of a village on the border". 10 August 2017. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  19. ↑ "Have you heard about this Indian Hero?". Rediff.com. 22 December 2011. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  20. ↑ "The Simla Agreement 1972". Story of Pakistan. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
  21. 1 2 "Bangladesh war: The article that changed history". BBC News. 25 March 2010.
  22. ↑ "Forkan Razakar's verdict any day". Dhaka Tribune. 14 June 2015.
  23. ↑ "Why is the mass sexualized violence of Bangladesh's Liberation War being ignored?". Women In The World. 25 March 2016.
  24. ↑ "Discovery of numerous Mass Graves, Various types of torture on Women" and "People's Attitude" (PDF). kean.edu.
  25. ↑ "Crimes Against Humanity in Bangladesh". scholar.smu.edu.
  26. ↑ White, Matthew, Death Tolls for the Major Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth Century
  27. ↑ "First Razakar camp in Khulna turns into ghost house after Liberation War". www.observerbd.com. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  28. ↑ Sharlach, Lisa (2000). "Rape as Genocide: Bangladesh, the Former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda". New Political Science. 22 (1): 92–93. doi:10.1080/713687893. S2CID 144966485.
  29. ↑ Sajjad, Tazreena (2012) [First published 2009]. "The Post-Genocidal Period and its Impact on Women". In Totten, Samuel (ed.). Plight and Fate of Women During and Following Genocide. Transaction Publishers. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-4128-4759-9.
  30. ↑ Mamoon, Muntassir. "Al-Badr". Banglapedia. Bangladesh Asiatic Society. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  31. ↑ Sisson, Richard; Rose, Leo E. (1991). War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh. University of California Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-520-07665-5.
  32. ↑ "Pakistan's first two militant Islamist groups, Al-Badar and Al-Shams – by Nadeem F. Paracha". LUBP. Archived from the original on 27 December 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  33. ↑ Karlekar, Hiranmay (2005). Bangladesh: The Next Afghanistan?. SAGE. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-7619-3401-1.
  34. ↑ "Govt publishes list of Razakars". The Daily Star. 16 December 2019.
  35. 1 2 3 Kann, Peter R. (27 July 1971). "East Pakistan Is Seen Gaining Independence, But It Will Take Years". The Wall Street Journal.

Further reading

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.