Operation Chengiz Khan

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Operation Chengiz Khan
Part of the
Faridkot
class=notpageimage|
Locations of ineffectual airstrikes carried out by the Pakistan Air Force
Date3 December 1971
Location
11 Forward airfields[1]
Result

Pakistani failure[2]

  • Formal commencement of the
    Indo-Pakistani War of 1971[3]
Belligerents
 Indian Air Force  Pakistan Air Force
Commanders and leaders
Pratap Chandra Lal
Abdul Rahim Khan
Strength
Anti-aircraft guns
SAM
missiles		 36 aircraft in first two waves
15 aircraft in a third wave
Casualties and losses
No material damage to most of the IAF airfields, with only the runways at Amritsar getting cratered and a radar station destroyed.[4] Most airfields repaired within same night.[5] 4 aircraft reportedly shot down in response.[4]

Operation Chengiz Khan was the code name assigned to the preemptive strikes carried out by the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The operation targeted 11 of India's airfields and also included artillery strikes on Indian positions in Kashmir
. The targets were the Indian Airbases of Amritsar, Ambala, Agra, Awantipur, Bikaner, Halwara, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Pathankot, Bhuj, Srinagar and Uttarlai and air defence radars at Amritsar and Faridkot.

Not withstanding the multiplicity of targets, the Pakistani air strikes were ineffectual and failed to inflict any material damage to the IAF air fields, only cratering the runways at Amritsar and destroying a radar station.[4][6] The PAF reportedly lost four aircraft during the raid.[4]

In an address to the nation on radio that same evening, then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi held the air strikes to be a declaration of war against India and the Indian Air Force responded with initial air strikes the same night, which were expanded to massive retaliatory air strikes the next morning. Statements released by both nations the next day confirmed the "existence of a state of war between the two countries", although neither government formally issued a declaration of war.

Background

Main article: Bangladesh Liberation War

In March 1971,

1971 Bangladesh atrocities).[7][8]

Pakistan came under increasing criticism[9] from India, the Soviet Union, Japan, and Europe as the plight of the refugees and their impact on the Indian economy were highlighted by Indira Gandhi in the UN and on a number of global tours.[10] However, the United States and China showed little interest in the situation and actively opposed aid, intervention or support to the Mukti Bahini[11][12] (possibly fearing advancement of Soviet influence deep into South Asia[9]). India's aid to the Mukti Bahini continued unabated, and fighting between the Mukti Bahini and the Pakistani forces grew increasingly vicious. On 9 August 1971, India signed a twenty-year cooperation treaty with the Soviet Union[13] in which each promised military support to the other in the event it was attacked. This provided India cover against any possible Chinese or American intervention in aid of Pakistan if it went to war with India. To the Pakistani leadership, it became clear that armed Indian intervention and secession of East Pakistan was becoming inevitable.[14]

The strategy of pre-emption

By October 1971, the Mukti Bahini had started launching massive raids deep into East Pakistan with "alleged" active support of the Indian Army troops.

Ayub Khan's strategy – "The defence of East Pakistan lies in the West".[19]

This policy made the assumptions that an open conflict with India would not last long due to international pressure, and since East Pakistan was undefendable, the war-effort should be concentrated on occupying as large an area of Indian territory as possible as a bargaining tool at the negotiating table. To this end, General.

air dominance by the PAF under which Khan's troops could conduct a lightning campaign deep into Western India before digging in and consolidating their positions. In order to achieve air dominance, Pakistan decided to launch an offensive counter air
strike codenamed Operation Chengiz Khan on Indian airbases.

A second objective for the PAF was to conduct air interdiction against the supply routes for the Indian troops opposing Khan's proposed offensive, but these were accorded as secondary targets to be engaged after the operation started.[citation needed]

The PAF's strikes were based on the same strategy of pre-emptive neutralization of enemy air capability used by the Israeli Air Force against Egyptian and Arab air forces in Operation Focus during the Six-Day War of 1967.[20][21]

The decision to hit India with a pre-emptive air strike was taken on 30 November 1971 during a meeting among the Pakistani President, General

Chief of Army Staff General Abdul Hamid Khan, and the Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Gul Hassan Khan
.

The objectives of the strike were:[citation needed]

  • To surprise the IAF by attacking its
    forward airfields
    when it was least expected.
  • To neutralize these in order to obtain at least temporary battlefield
    air superiority
    in the West.
  • To counter-balance the Indian numerical advantage by hitting the forward operating bases of the Indian Air Force as a measure reducing the weight of expected counterattacks on PAF's own bases.

To achieve surprise, the decision was made to strike on a Friday, the day of the

blast pens.[citation needed] Also, anticipating difficulty in target acquisition for camouflaged targets such as fuel tanks, ammunition dumps and command centers, the primary objectives set for the operation were the runways and air defense radars.[citation needed
]

The II Corps offensive into Punjab

Under Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's II Corps offensive plan involved driving east from the vicinity of Bahawalnagar to cross the international border and push towards Bhatinda and Ludhiana in India's "Foxtrot Sector" or "F Sector."[22]

While describing the situation in the "F sector" of India, John H. Gill writes:

With poor dispositions and inept leadership, India's 67 Brigade lost a significant parcel of land to Pakistan's 105 Brigade despite repeated and costly counterattacks. Fortunately for India, indecision on the part of Pakistan's high command kept its potentially powerful II Corps from executing a planned offensive against India's “Foxtrot Sector” (or simply “F Sector”).

The II Corps offensive plan called for 105 Brigade and 25 Brigade to come under II Corps, while IV Corps advanced from its positions along the Ravi.[22]

The PAF had also positioned mobile radar and pre-stocked forward airfields in the proposed battle area to support the planned attack.[23]

Army headquarters ordered II Corps to shift to its forward assembly areas on 14 December and major elements of 1 Armored Division began to move the following day, while the 7 Division was also concentrating south of the Sutlej. However, by now, a major part of II Corps, 33 Division, had been broken up to reinforce Pakistani units against Indian offensives elsewhere.[24]

Thus, the II Corps offensive was deprived of approximately one third of its striking power before it had even begun.

On 16 December, Army headquarters issued new orders “freezing all movements” until further notice. Trains carrying equipment of 1 Division were unloaded, and II Corps, with its units on both sides of the Sutlej, settled in to await orders. If the operation had proceeded as planned, the corps would likely have launched their attack in the early morning of December 17. However, due to the "freeze" order, they remained on the Pakistan side of the border and were unable to cross before the cease-fire came into effect at 2000 hours on the same day.[25]

Pakistan's failure to launch the offensive in a timely manner has generated great controversy among subsequent commentators.[22][verification needed]

The first strikes

The final orders for the strike were issued at 17:30 hrs on Friday 3 December 1971. The first formations were in flight and heading for their targets by 17:40 hrs. Officially, it was announced via government channels that the airstrikes were launched in response to attacks along the western border on

Indian army, which the Indian Air Force was providing support to.[10] The Indians would later deny any engagement on the Western Front.[10] However, the Indian air defence radars failed to detect the approaching formations. The first indications for the Indians of the impending assault was the roar of the strike aircraft over their airfields,[20] while in Delhi, the air-raid sirens were the first indications for newsmen, gathered for the daily brief of the East-Pakistan situation, that something was going on.[10]

The first of the strikes were mounted against

Wing Commander S N Jilani hit the airbase with unguided rockets and dropped several 125 kg bombs. The main target of this strike was the runway, which was damaged and took the Indian ground crew several hours to repair. These missions went unopposed since the IAF had not scrambled any interception, and faced only anti-aircraft fire. Pathankot was covered by interceptors from Adampur following this first strike during the time it took the ground crew to repair its runway.[5]

At 17:45 hrs, four Mirages flying from

F-104 Starfighters, led by Wing Commander Amjad H Khan hit the P-35 radar station at Amritsar, rendering it inoperable for nearly an hour. Two Sukhois then took off from the one remaining serviceable lane of the runway, moments before it was bombed by a passing B-57 Canberra.[5]

Within forty-five minutes of these strikes, Pakistani troops had shelled India's western frontier and were reported to have crossed the border at Punch in the state of Jammu.[10]

Followup counter-air strikes

The third wave of the PAF counter air strikes were directed to strike

C-130. The B-57s flew seven single-plane sorties. These caused significant damage, especially in Uttarlai, and Halwara and impeded IAF's preparation for retaliation
.

Ambala Airbase was a hit by a two plane B-57 formation led by Wg. Cdr. Rais Rafi. The flight hit the runway with eight bombs, causing minor damage.

Like Ambala, Agra Airbase, which lay deepest among the PAF's targets that evening, was struck by a two-plane B-57 formation led by Wg. Cdr. Yunus and followed by Flight Lieutenant Mazhar Bukhari. The bombs dropped by Yunus did not explode. Rais Rafi explained the old age of the bombs as the reason for their ineffectiveness as these were supposed to be used in the Second World War.[28] The first Indian counter strikes launched that very night included the Canberras of No.5 Sqn[29] based at Agra.

Sirsa was hit by Sqn. Ldr. Alvi with bombs equipped with time-delayed fuses, damaging the runway heavily and forcing the runway to be closed for the rest of the night.[26]

Four

T-33s from A-Flight No.2 Squadron, led by Sqn. Ldr. Qureshi, hit Uttarlai, causing damage to the runway. These were launched at the same time as the second strike over Srinagar. Uttarlai was attacked a second time later that night by Wg. Cdr. Akhtar. The net damage to the runway was significant enough to keep the runway closed for six days and for the taxiway to be used instead.[5]

In the south, Sqn. Ldr. Ishtak Qureshi's bombs hit the underground power cable at Jaisalmer, cutting off the power supply and telephone connection for six hours. At the same time, Jodhpur was hit by two B-57s led by Sqn. Ldr. Sohail Mansur while Jamnagar was hit by Flt. Lt. Ejaz Azam.[5]

The Indian retaliation

See also:
East Pakistan Air Operations

As Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi addressed the nation on radio shortly after midnight

Chandhar, Risalewala, Rafiqui, and Masroor. In total, 23 combat sorties were launched that night, inflicting heavy damage to Sargodha and Masroor airbases.[20]
The PAF units stationed on these airfields had to operate from taxiways for the following two days.

Through the night the Indian Air Force also

Kurmitola. At the same time, the Indian Air Force was deploying additional aircraft to its forward airfields for the strikes that were to follow the next morning. Within days, India was able to achieve air superiority.[31][14]

Analysis

Of its stated objectives, the PAF was unable to neutralize the Indian Air Force in the west,[10] which on its part had dispersed its aircraft in hardened aircraft shelters, suffering only minor damage to a few aircraft.[32]

As Newsweek magazine (1971) described the attack:

Trying to catch the Indian Air Force napping, Yahya Khan, launched a Pakistani version of Israel's 1967 air blitz in hopes that one rapid attack would cripple India's far superior air power. But India was alert, Pakistani pilots were inept, and Yahya's strategy of scattering his thin air force over a dozen air fields was a bust![33]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-0300173789
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  2. ISBN 9780231507400
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  3. ISBN 978-0815722748
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  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-87474-680-8
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  5. ^ a b c d e "My years with the IAF" by Air Chief Marshal P C Lal
  6. ISBN 9781000317664
    .
  7. ^ "Genocide in Bangladesh, 1971". Gendercide watch. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  8. ^ "Emerging Discontent, 1966–70". Country Studies Bangladesh. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  9. ^ a b Donaldson 1972
  10. ^ a b c d e f "India and Pakistan: Over the Edge". TIMES magazine. 1971-12-13. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  11. ^ Sheren, Syeda Momtaz (2012). "War of Liberation, The". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  12. ^ Remarks of President Richard M Nixon on 10 April 1971 at State Department signing of Biological Weapons Convention.

    Every Great Power must follow the principle that it should not directly or indirectly allow any other nation to use force or armed aggression against one of its neighbors.

    .

    USIS Text, pp 1–2.

  13. ^ Kapur 1972
  14. ^ a b "Bangladesh: Out of War, a Nation Is Born". Time. Vol. 98, no. 25. 1971-12-20. Archived from the original on January 12, 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  15. ^ Ahmed, Helal Uddin (2012). "Mukti Bahini". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  16. ^ Col. Anil Shorey. "The Unique Battle of Garibpur. Sainik Samachar Vol.49, No.8, 16–30 April 2002". Sainik Samachar, Indian Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  17. ^ "Pakistan: Yahya Khan and Bangladesh". Library of Congress Country Studies. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  18. ^ Kyly R G. "The India-Pakistan War Of 1971: A Modern War". Global security. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  19. ^ Faruqui 2001
  20. ^ a b c d e Tom Cooper, with Syed Shaiz Ali. "India – Pakistan War, 1971; Western Front, part I". Air Combat Information Group. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  21. ^ "The War of December 1971". Indian Air Force. Archived from the original on 2009-04-10. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  22. ^ a b c Gill, John H. (2003). An Atlas of the 1971 India - Pakistan War: The Creation of Bangladesh. National Defense University, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies.
  23. ISBN 978-0-19-579772-5
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  24. ISBN 978-0-19-577990-5
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  25. OCLC 45399558
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  26. ^ a b Lal 1986
  27. ISBN 978-0853687511
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  28. ^ Rais Ahmed Rafi. PAF Bomber Operations 1965 and 1971 Wars. PAF Book Club. pp. 105–106.
  29. ^ "Indian Air Force. Squadron 5, Tuskers". Global Security. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  30. ^ "Pakistan intensifies air raids on India". BBC. 1971-12-03. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  31. ^ Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
  32. ISBN 0-8032-1344-1
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  33. ^ Singh, Mandeep (2020). Anti-Aircraft Artillery in Combat, 1950–1972: Air Defence in the Jet Age. Air World. p. 208.

Further reading

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