# Battle of Asal Uttar

vteIndo-Pakistani war of 1965 :
Prelude
Desert Hawk
Biar Bet
Sardar Post
Gujarat
Dwarka
Rajasthan
Kishangarh Fort
Kashmir Front
Gibraltar
Grand Slam
Haji Pir Pass
Punjab Front
Batapur
Jassar Bridge
Burki
Ichogil
Phillora
Chawinda
Dograi
Khemkaran
Asal Uttar
Other
Air War
8-Pass Charlie
Pathankot Airstrike
Tashkent Declaration :
The Battle of Asal Uttar (Hindi : असल उत्तर , Punjabi: ਅਸਲ ਉੱਤਰ), also known as the Battle of Kasur (Urdu:قصور), was one of the worldbiggest tank battle after WW2. The battle mostly fought in Kasur Khemkaran axis, the battle consists of different battles and skirmishes throughout the period of 6 September to 23 September.

## Battle
### Attack on Kasur

To capture Lahore, on 6 september Indian army planned to capture Kasur and then advance toward Lahore. Indian invading forces contests of 4 mountain Division (7 and 62 Mountain Bridage) with under command Deccan Horse but the attack was repulsed and Pakistan army took the war inside the Indian territory.

### Captured Khemkaran

Pakistan's invading force, consisting of the 1st Armoured Division and 11th Infantry Division, crossed the International Border and captured the Indian town of Khem Karan. Considering the situation, GOC Indian 4th Mountain Division (Maj. Gen. Gurbaksh Singh) immediately ordered the division to fall back and assume a horseshoe shaped defensive position with Asal Uttar as its focal point. On 7 September, 6 Lancers squadron of Pakistan army captured Valtoha against stiff opposition but because of the lack of infantry they had to back to their basecamp Khemkaran at night in the process a fierce tank battle ensued in which 9 indian tanks were destroyed while Pakistan lost none according to Pakistani accounts.

### Battle at Asal Uttar

The battle strategy of the Asal Uttar was the brainchild of Brigadier Thomas K. Theogaraj.
In the night, the Indian troops flooded the sugar cane field, and the next morning, the Pakistani tanks of the 1st Armoured Division, consisting mainly of M47 and M48 Patton tanks, were lured inside the horse-shoe trap. The swampy ground slowed the advance of the Pakistani tanks and many of them could not move because of the muddy slush. Over 100 Pakistani tanks (mostly Pattons, and a few Shermans and Chaffees) were destroyed, with 40+ captured while the Indians, by their account, lost only 24 tanks during this counter offensive. By the neutral account India lost 32 tanks meanwhile pakistan lost 97 tanks at Asal Uttar.

### Attempts to recaptured Khemkaran

After the decisive victory at Asal Uttar, indian army made many attempts to recaptured the lost town of khemkaran first attempt on 12 September in which 125 indian solider captured, 8 tanks destroyed and many tanks captured and then second attempt on 21-23 September but all attacks were repulsed by Pakistani army. Khemkaran remained in Pakistan hand till the end of the war and returned during Tashkent Agreement.

## Conclusion

Despite the initial thrust of the Pakistani Army into Indian territory, the battle ended in a decisive Indian Victory. The commander of Pakistani forces Maj. Gen. Nasir Ahmed Khan was killed in action. According to military historian Steven Zaloga, Pakistan admitted that it lost 165 tanks during the 1965 war, more than half of which were knocked out during the "debacle" of Asal Uttar.
Pervez Musharraf, later Army Chief of Staff and President of Pakistan, participated in this battle as a lieutenant of artillery in the 16 (SP) Field Regiment, 1st Armoured Division Artillery. The battle also witnessed the personal bravery of an Indian soldier, Abdul Hamid, who was honoured with the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military award, for knocking out seven enemy tanks with a recoilless gun.
This battle led to the creation of Patton Nagar (or "Patton City") at the site of the battle. This is because a large number of Patton tanks fielded by the Pakistani forces were either captured or destroyed at the scene.

## Battle Honour

The honour Asal Uttar was awarded for the period 9 to 11 September to the following units-
* Deccan Horse
* 3 Cavalry
* 91 Mountain Regiment
* 40 Medium Regiment
* 4 Grenadiers
* 18 Rajputana Rifles (now 11 Mechanised Infantry Regiment)
* 1 Dogra (now 7 Mechanised Infantry Regiment)
* 2 Mahar
* 9 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles

## Published accounts
### Documentaries

Battle of Asal Uttar – Largest Tank Battle Since World War II (2018) is a TV documentary which premièred on Veer by Discovery Channel series, Mission & Wars.

## Gallery

* AMX-13 tank displayed at the Ahmednagar Cavalry Tank Museum in India. The AMX-13/75 was one of several types of armour fielded by the Indian Army during the battle
* Rear view of the same tank

## Other battles in the vicinity

See other battles in the vicinity during 1965 India-Pakistan War.