Battle of Longewala

The Battle of Longewala (4–7 December 1971) was one of the first major engagements in the western sector during the India–Pakistan war of 1971, fought between assaulting Pakistani forces and Indian defenders at the Indian border post of Longewala, in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan. The battle was fought between 120 Indian soldiers accompanied by four Hawker Hunter and three HAL Marut fighter-bombers and 2,000–3,000 Pakistani soldiers accompanied by 40 tanks. It is considered one of the greatest battles in the history of the Indian Army and a military victory against the odds.

A company of the Indian Army's 23rd Battalion, Punjab Regiment, commanded by Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, was left with the choice of either attempting to hold out until reinforced, or fleeing on foot from a Pakistani mechanized infantry force. Choosing the former, Chandpuri ensured that all his assets were correctly deployed and made the best use of his strong defensive position, as well as weaknesses created by errors in enemy tactics. He was also fortunate that an Indian Air Force forward air controller was able to secure and direct aircraft in support of the post's defence until reinforcements arrived six hours later.

The Pakistani commanders made several questionable decisions, including a failure of their strategic intelligence to foresee the availability of Indian fighter-bombers in the Longewala area, exercising operational mobility with little or no route reconnaissance, and conducting a tactical frontal assault with no engineer reconnaissance. This left the Pakistani brigade group extremely vulnerable. Their armored vehicles, attempting to deploy from a single track, bogged down in unsuitable terrain and were exposed to air attack. Their use of external fuel storage in tactical combat made them even more susceptible to enemy fire. Furthermore, the night attack over unfamiliar ground quickly fell apart. The infantry was surprised by unexpected obstacles, causing confusion which stalled the assault. This negated the concealment that otherwise would have protected them from Indian small arms and infantry support weapon fire.

The main thrust of the Indian Army during the 1971 war was directed towards the eastern theatre, with the western sector envisioned as a holding operation to prevent the Pakistan Army from achieving any success that would allow the President of Pakistan, Yahya Khan, any bargaining tool to trade against the captured territories in the east. By the last week of November 1971, the Indian Army had launched offensive manoeuvres at Atgram against Pakistani border posts and communications centres along the eastern border. The Mukti Bahini also launched an offensive against Jessore at this time. It was clear to Islamabad by this time that open conflict was inevitable, and that East Pakistan was indefensible in the long run. Yahya Khan chose at this point to try to protect Pakistan's integrity and to hold India by Ayub Khan's strategy—"The defence of East Pakistan lies in the West".

Khan's policy made the assumption that an open conflict with India would not last long due to international pressure, and that since East Pakistan was undefendable, the war effort should be concentrated on occupying as much Indian territory as possible as a bargaining tool at the negotiating table. The initial plans for the offensive called for at least temporary air dominance by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) under which Khan's troops could conduct a lightning campaign deep into Western India before digging in and consolidating their positions. The PAF launched pre-emptive strikes on the evening of 3 December that led to the formal commencement of hostilities in the western theatre. The city of Rahim Yar Khan, close to the international border, formed a critical communication centre for Khan's forces and, situated on the Sindh–Punjab railway, remained a vulnerable link in Khan's logistics. The fall of Rahim Yar Khan to Indian forces would cut off the railway as well as road link between Sindh and West Punjab, starving Khan's forces of fuel and ammunition delivered to Karachi.

Indian battle plans called for a strike by the 12th Indian Division across the border towards Islamgarh through Sarkari Tala, subsequently advancing through Baghla to secure Rahim Yar Khan. This would destabilise the Pakistani defences in the Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir sector, allowing the planned Indian offensive in the Shakargarh sector to sweep the Pakistani forces trapped there.

Pakistan, which envisaged the Punjab as an operational centre, had a strong intelligence network in the area and planned to counter its own comparatively weak strength on the ground with a pre-emptive strike through Kishangarh towards the divisional headquarters south of Ramgarh. Longewala, which was originally a Border Security Force (BSF) post but was later taken over by a company of the Punjab Regiment prior to the war, formed a strategic point en route to capturing vast tracts of land and also a pivotal theatre of war in engaging India on the western front.

Pakistan's tactical plan was based on the assumption that an attack in the area would help their 1st Armoured Division's task in the Sri Ganganagar area. Pakistan high command also felt that it was important to protect the north–south road link which they felt was vulnerable, as it was close to the border. A combined arms plan was decided upon. This involved two infantry brigades and two armoured regiments. A separate division, the 18th Division, was formed for this purpose. The 18th Division's operation orders required one infantry brigade (206th) with an armoured regiment (38th Cavalry) to capture and establish a firm base at Longewala, a junction on the Indian road system, and the 51st Infantry Brigade and the 22nd Cavalry (Pakistan Army Armoured Corps) to operate beyond Longewala to capture Jaisalmer.