Strength
Armor
Tanks
- India
India's armored force was made up of two tank regiments which were the 9 Deccan Horse and 72 armored regiment along with an Armored Recce Squadron. Altogether, they comprised of 90 T-54s and T-55s with a handful of AMX-13s. 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. [2]
Artillery
- India
The Indian artillery force was the 10 Infantry Division's artillery brigade commanded by Brigadier Henry Srivivasan. It had six regiments other than smaller units. In total, the force had 18 fire units with a total 126 artillery guns of various calibers.
- Pakistan
Pakistani artillery at chumb was divided between the 23 Division's and 17 Division's artillery Headquarters which were being led by Brigadier Kamal Matinuddin and Brigadier Jamal Saeed Mian respectively. In total, the force had around 130 artillery guns.
Soldiers
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]
The battle
In the late hours of 3 December, Pakistani artillery initiated heavy bombardments on Indian positions all along the divisional frontline. During this time, 66 Brigade crossed the CFL and captured 3000 yards deep territory for 11 cavalry (Lt. Colonel Khurshid Ali Khan)to launch it's armored assault. 111 brigade however wasn't able to capture a similar objective southwards due to Indian resistance at moel area.
| Battle of Chumb (1971) | |||||||||
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| Part of 1971 Indo-Pakistani War | |||||||||
Top to bottom, left to right:
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
India |
Pakistan | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Maj. Gen. Jaswant Singh | Major General Eftikhar Janjua † | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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Civil defense
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| Strength | |||||||||
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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| Source(s): [3] [4] [5] | |||||||||
  Chamb Location of the battle with present−day geopolitical borders in the
Kashmir region | |||||||||
- ^
a
b 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.
-
^ Cite error: The named reference
aghawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Ghuman, Israr (2019). BATTLE HONOUR CHHAMB 1971. Vanguard Books. ISBN 9789692341608.
- ^ Tufail, Kaiser (2020). AGAINST ALL ODDS. Helion & Company. ISBN 9781913118648.
- ^ "Battle of Chhamb 71 : Through the 6/5 Lenses of an FAC". Bharat Rakshak. 2020-12-09.