Battle of Burki

2022-01-12T06:24:56Z

2601:2C6:8380:490:547A:593F:4DA7:5C64:

{{Short description|Battle of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965}}
{{page numbers needed|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Burki
| width =
| partof = the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]
| image =
| image_size = 300
| caption = Lt. Col. [[Hari Singh (soldier)|Hari Singh]] of the India's [[Indian 1st Armoured Division|18th Cavalry]] posing outside a captured Pakistani police station (Barkee) in Lahore District
| date = 8–11 September 1965<ref name="Major_1965"/><ref name="Gupta_1965"/>
| place = [[Barki, Pakistan|Burki]], [[Lahore]], [[Pakistan]]
| coordinates = {{coord|31.4771|N|74.5125|E|display=inline,title}}
| map_type =
| map_relief =
| latitude =
| longitude =
| map_size =
| map_marksize =
| map_caption =
| map_label =
| territory =
| result = Indian victory<ref name="sainik">{{cite web |url= http://sainiksamachar.nic.in/englisharchives/2009/jan15-09/h61.html|title= Battle of Burki was another outstanding infantry operation|author= Melville de Mellow|date= 28 November 1965|publisher= Sainik Samachar|accessdate=}}</ref><ref name="Singh_1965"/> 
*Failure of the Pakistani tank assault and commencement of successful Indian counterattack towards the Lahore front thereafter<ref name="sainik"/><ref name="Singh_1965"/>
| status =
| combatants_header =
| combatant1 = {{flag|India}}
| combatant2 = {{flag|Pakistan}}
| commander1 =
{{flagicon|India}} Lt. Col Satish Chandra Joshi
{{flagicon|India}} Har Krishan Sibal {{flagicon|India}} Anant Singh
| commander2 = {{flagicon|Pakistan}} [[Raja Aziz Bhatti]]{{KIA}}
| units1 = 18th Cavalry Regiment [[5th Gorkha Rifles]]
| units2 = 17th Punjab Regiment
| strength1 = 1 infantry division<ref name="Major_1965"/> 1 armoured regiment<ref name="Chand_1965">{{citation |last=Das |first=Chand N. |title=Hours of Glory: Famous battles of the Indian army, 1801–1971 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6QpuAAAAMAAJ |year=1997 |publisher=Vision Books}}</ref>
| strength2 = (3 Regiments) 2 Companies of 17th Punjab Regiment 10 F-86 Sabre jets
| casualties1 = 4 tanks destroyed<ref name="sainik"/>
| casualties2 = 84 tanks destroyed or abandoned<ref name="sainik"/>
| notes =
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Indo-Pakistani War of 1965}} {{Campaignbox Indo-Pakistani Wars}}
}}
The '''Battle of Burki (Barki)''' was a battle fought by Indian infantry and Pakistani armour in the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]].<ref name="sainik"/> [[Barki, Pakistan|Barki]] is a village that lies south-east of [[Lahore]] near the border with [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], India.<ref name="Ram_1965">{{citation |last=Gopal |first=Ram |title=Indo-Pakistan war and peace, 1965 |publisher=Pustak Kendra |year=1967 |p=118 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sfi1AAAAIAAJ}}</ref> and is connected with Lahore by the Bridge of [[Ichogil canal]]. During the fighting, the relative strengths of the two sides were fairly even and Indian infantry clashed with Pakistani forces that were entrenched in pillboxes, dug-outs and slit trenches that had been carved into the canal banks. The Pakistanis were supported with a large number of tanks, as well as fighter jets.<ref name="sainik"/> The battle resulted in an Indian victory.<ref name="sainik"/><ref name="Singh_1965"/>

==Background==
Pakistan launched [[Operation Grand Slam]] on 17 August 1965 in an effort to relieve infiltrators who had been surrounded after the failure of [[Operation Gibraltar]] on 15 August and to attempt to cut off the Indian supply lines.<ref name="global">{{cite web |url= http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/indo-pak_1965.htm|title= Indo-Pakistan War of 1965|author= |publisher= globalsecurity.org|accessdate=}}</ref> With supply lines under severe stress due to Operation Grand Slam, India launched an offensive towards Lahore to open up a second front in the war and distract Pakistani attention from [[Kashmir]].<ref name="global"/> After opening the Lahore front, Indian troops advanced towards Lahore along three axes— Amritsar-Lahore, Khalra-Burki-Lahore and Khem Karan-Kasur roads—overwhelming the small Pakistani force.<ref name="Johri_1965">{{citation |last=Johri |first=Sitaram |title=The Indo-Pak Conflict of 1965 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YWjP1pfs78sC |year=1967 |publisher=Himalaya Publications |pp=129–130}}</ref>

Indian infantry, supported by the only Indian armoured division, quickly pushed back unprepared Pakistani defenders with the aim of encircling and possibly besieging Lahore. Due to the element of surprise, India was able to capture a large amount of Pakistani territory from the town of [[Khalra]], an Indian border town which lies on a straight road to Lahore through Burki.<ref name="Gupta_1965">{{cite book |last=Gupta |first=Hari Ram |title=India-Pakistan war, 1965, Volume 1 |publisher=Hariyana Prakashan |year=1967 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.111576/page/n181 154]–157 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.111576 |via=archive.org}}</ref><ref name="sainik"/> In the meantime, the Pakistani Army mobilized the troops in the region and mounted a three-pronged counter-attack to recapture lost ground. The Battle of Burki was subsequently fought on Khalra-Burki-Lahore road.<ref name="sainik"/><ref name="Johri_1965"/>

Pakistan's main goal was to force the Indian infantry into retreat before their armoured support and supply lines could catch up. The Pakistani Army's aim also was to capture much of the territory it had lost earlier in the fighting.<ref name="Gupta_1965"/> The Indian infantry's aim was to capture and hold the town of Burki until reinforcements, including armour and supplies, could arrive.<ref name="Major_1965">{{citation |last=Capt |first=Ranbir Singh Gp |title=Major Defence Operations Since 1947 |year=2005 |publisher=Ocean Books |isbn=978-81-88322-67-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kzo9wyl0AK0C}}</ref><ref name="Gupta_1965"/><ref name="Singh_1965"/>

==Battle==
India began their advance from [[Khalra]] under Major-General Har Krishan Sibal and tank operations under Lieutenant-Colonel Anant Singh with a village called Jahman being the first major Pakistani outpost to fall.<ref name="Gupta_1965"/> Pakistani troops pulled back towards the next major town, which was Burki, leaving small pockets of resistance at each village to slow down Indian advance.<ref name="Saxena_1965">{{citation |last=Saxena |first=K. C. |title=Pakistan, Her Relation with India 1947–1966 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=frY5AQAAIAAJ |year=1966 |publisher=Vir Publishing House}}</ref>

On 8 September, Pakistan began the counter-attack with Pakistani artillery pounding the Indian advance on 8, 9 and 10 September.<ref name="Gupta_1965"/> This constant shelling slowed down the Indian advance but was unable to stop it completely.<ref name="Gupta_1965"/> This was followed by a counterattack by Pakistani armor consisting of considerable part of Pakistan's 1st Armored Division.<ref name="Major_1965"/> Indian infantry eventually clashed with Pakistani tanks at Burki, which resulted in most of the Pakistani armor being damaged or destroyed by 10 September.<ref name="sainik"/>

The Indian infantry was able to hold off the Pakistani armored units until Indian tanks from the 18th Cavalry Regiment arrived. They were then able to subsequently launch the main assault on 10 September with armor support. As most of the Pakistani tanks had already been incapacitated, the Pakistani defenders had little armored support from the remaining tanks. A few Pakistani fighter jets were called in to provide air cover for Pakistani troops and to target Indian positions.<ref name="Singh_1965"/> However, the use of fighters to perform ground [[strafing]] against ground troops instead of bombers with bombs and missiles meant that little was achieved through air support.<ref name="Singh_1965"/> The limited number of jets and the easy availability of trench and defensive structures for cover added to the ineffectiveness of Pakistani air operations. As a result, after intense fighting, Indian infantry captured Burki on 11 September and held it throughout the rest of the war despite the use of defensive structures like trenches and pillboxes as well as anti-tank weapons by Pakistani defenders during the defence of Burki.<ref name="Singh_1965">{{citation |first=Gp Capt Ranbir |last=Singh |title=Memorable War Stories |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jk0WIQsAlPEC |year=2009 |publisher=Ocean Books/Prabhat Prakashan |isbn=978-81-88322-66-4}}{{unreliable source inline|date=September 2020}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
After the capture of Burki, the Indian advance continued towards [[Dograi]] ({{coord|31.528300|N|74.446087|E}}), a town in the immediate vicinity of Lahore. They subsequently went on to capture Dograi on 20 September, thus bringing the main city of Lahore within range of Indian tank fire.Despite Indian Army's efforts of relatively easily capturing of the Burki sector through the BRB Canal, the outnumbered military companies under [[Major aziz bhatti|Major Aziz Bhatti]] had forced the Indian Army to engage in hand-to-hand combat during the night of the 7/8 September 1965, and the fighting continued till the next three days despite Indian Army having numerical advantage. Subsequently, the Indian Army's armory had to halt its plans of capturing Lahore but to focus of capturing the Burki sector and destroying the bridge connecting the [[Bambawali-Ravi-Bedian Canal|BRB Canal]].<ref name="Britannica_1965">{{cite book
|last = fgdd
|title = The New Encyclopædia Britannica
|publisher = Encyclopædia Britannica, 2002
|isbn =978-0-85229-787-2}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web|title=PAKISTAN ARMY|url=https://www.pakistanarmy.gov.pk/1965-war.php|access-date=2022-01-01|website=www.pakistanarmy.gov.pk}}</ref>

==Awards==
The [[5 Gorkha Rifles|Fighting Fifth Battalion]] of the [[Indian Army]], which played an important part in capturing Burki, was later was conferred with the Battle Honour of "Burki" and Theatre Honour of "Punjab".<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100826/bathinda.htm#2| title= War memorial inaugurated|author= |date= 25 August 2010|publisher= Tribune News service|accessdate=7 April 2011}}</ref>

The Pakistani commander, Major [[Raja Aziz Bhatti]], was later awarded the [[Nishan-e-Haider]], the highest military decoration given by Pakistan, posthumously. Each year he is honored in Pakistan on 6 September, which is also known as [[Defence Day]].{{citation needed|date=August 2012}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Military of Pakistan}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burki, Battle of}}
[[Category:Conflicts in 1965]]
[[Category:1965 in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Battles of Indo-Pakistani wars]]
[[Category:1965 in India]]
[[Category:September 1965 events in Asia]]
[[Category:Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]

Bharatpedia - User contributions [en]

Battle of Burki