The Battle of Chumb (3 December – 16 December 1971) was a major battle between the forces of Pakistan and India during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war. It was one of the first major engagements in the western front of the war in which the Pakistani 23rd Division captured the strategically important city of Chumb from the Indian 10th Infantry Division.
The offensive was designed by Pakistani military planners as a defensive maneuver to prevent the Indians from using Chumb as a base of operations to attack Gujrat, Lalamusa and Kharian as the crucial north–south line of communication i.e. - the Grand Trunk Road lay between 35 and 40 miles from Chumb.
The Pakistan Army's 23 Division which was responsible for operations in the area had received orders from the GHQ to capture and protect the Chumb-Dewa sector. It had 5 infantry brigades and 26 Cavalry as its main armored force which had old M4A1E6 Shermans. Hence, 11 Cavalry with T-59s and an Independent Armored Squadron with M36B2s from the 6th Armored Division along with an infantry brigade and artillery resources from the I Corps were transferred a month prior to the war to support the 23 Division's force.
Indian plans and preparations
Having learnt from Operation Grand Slam, the Indian Army's 10th Division was responsible to prevent a Pakistani advance towards Akhnoor which served as the main line of communications between India and Indian Administered Kashmir. Though the Pakistani Army wasn't in a state to start an offensive of this scale, the division was tasked to defend the Chhamb-Jourian sector and also attack across the border. In addition to its regular brigades (28, 52 and 191); 68 Infantry Brigade, which was the XV Corps reserve brigade in the Kashmir valley was earmarked as its fourth brigade. 191 Brigade was moved to Chhamb, 68 Brigade was kept as reserve at Akhnoor, while the other infantry brigades and armoured elements were at Kalit-Troti. Anticipating the onset of a Pakistani attack, 52 Brigade was deployed in the area Nawan Harimpur, 28 Brigade on the Kalidhar range and 68 Brigade to the Troti heights.
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.
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.
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".
Outcome
The fierce battle led to thousands of civilians evacuating the area.
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.
Under the Simla Agreement, signed between India and Pakistan on 2 July 1972, Pakistan retained the territory it captured in the Chumb sector.
^ Singh, Jagjit (1994). Indian Gunners at War: The Western Front 1971. Spantech & Lancer. ISBN978-1897829554.
^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.
^ Brigadier Amar Cheema (2015). The Crimson Chinar: The Kashmir Conflict: A Politico Military Perspective. Lancer Publishers. pp. 297–298. ISBN978-81-7062-301-4. 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.
^ Kamm, Henry (1971-12-13). "Pakistani Forces Take Ghost Town in Kashmir". The New York Times. ISSN0362-4331. 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.
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