Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

The **Indo-Pakistani War of 1971** was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. The war sparks because of Bangladesh liberation war, on 21 November India start his invasion on East Pakistan in response West Pakistan airstrikes on Indian air bases on 3 December and all out war broke out.

During the war, Indian and Pakistani forces fought on the eastern and western fronts. The war effectively came to an end after the Eastern Command of the Pakistani Armed Forces signed the Instrument of Surrender (1971) on December 16, 1971. After the surrender, East Pakistan seceded as the independent state of Bangladesh. Around ~90,000 West Pakistanis who were in East Pakistan at the time of its independence, including some 45,000 – 79,700 Pakistan Army soldiers and paramilitary personnel and 12,500 – 45,000 civilians, were taken as prisoners of war by India.

## Major Battles

Battle of Chumb
Battle of Hilli
Tank ambush at Kushtia
Battle of Ashuganj
Battle of Fazilka
Battle of Daruchain
Battle of Hussainiwala

## Western and Soviet involvement

The Soviet Union sided with the Bangladeshis, and supported the Indian Army and Mukti Bahini during the war. The Soviets thought that the independence of Bangladesh would weaken the position of its rivals—the United States and China. The USSR gave assurances to India that if a confrontation with the United States or China developed, it would take counter-measures. This assurance was enshrined in the Indo-Soviet friendship treaty signed in August 1971.

The United States supported Pakistan politically and with supplies. President Richard Nixon and his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger feared Soviet expansion into South and Southeast Asia. Pakistan was a close ally of the People's Republic of China, with whom Nixon had been negotiating a _rapprochement_. Nixon was planning to visit China in February 1972. Nixon feared that an Indian invasion of West Pakistan would give the Soviets control over the region. It would seriously undermine the global position of the United States and the regional position of America's new tacit ally, China. In order to demonstrate to China the _bona fides_ of the United States as an ally, Nixon sent military supplies to Pakistan, routing them through Jordan and Iran, while also encouraging China to increase its arms supplies to Pakistan. The Nixon administration also ignored reports it received of the "genocidal" activities of the Pakistani Army in East Pakistan, most notably the Blood telegram. This prompted widespread criticism and condemnation both by Congress and in the international press.
The United States introduced a resolution in the UN Security Council calling for a cease-fire and the withdrawal of armed forces by India and Pakistan. It was vetoed by the Soviet Union. In the following days Nixon and Kissinger tried to get India to withdraw, but they did not succeed.

President Nixon requested Iran and Jordan to send their F-86, F-104 and F-5 fighter jets in aid of Pakistan.

When Pakistan's defeat in the eastern sector seemed certain, Nixon deployed a carrier battle group led by the aircraft carrier USS _Enterprise_ into the Bay of Bengal. The _Enterprise_ and its escort ships arrived on station on 11 December 1971. According to a Russian documentary, the United Kingdom deployed a carrier battle group led by the aircraft carrier HMS _Eagle_ to the Bay.

On 6 December and 13 December, the Soviet Navy dispatched two groups of cruisers and destroyers and a submarine armed with nuclear missiles from Vladivostok; they trailed U.S. Task Force 74 into the Indian Ocean from 18 December 1971 until 7 January 1972. The Soviets also had a nuclear submarine to help ward off the threat posed by USS _Enterprise_ task force in the Indian Ocean.

## Infobox (military conflict)

- **conflict**: Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
- **partof**: the Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts and Bangladesh Liberation War
- **image**: 1971 Instrument of Surrender WaPo.jpg
- **image size**: 350px
- **date**: Eastern Front:
*21 November –16 December 1971
Western Front:
*3–17 December 1971
- **place**: Eastern Front:
* India–East Pakistan border
** Bay of Bengal
** India–Bangladesh enclaves, Pasha enclaves
Western Front:
* Indo-Pakistani border, India–Pakistan border
** Line of Control
** Zero Point railway station, Zero Point
* Indian Ocean
** Arabian Sea
- **result**: Indian victory
**Eastern front:**
 Instrument of Surrender (1971), Surrender of East Pakistan military command
**Western front:**
Ceasefire
- **territory**: Eastern Front:
* Independence of East Pakistan as Bangladesh
Western Front:
* Indian forces captured around  of land in the West but returned it in the 1972 Simla Agreement as a gesture of goodwill.
- **combatant1**: Provisional Government of Bangladesh
---

Soviet Union
- **combatant2**: ----
 United States

United Kingdom

Sri Lanka

Pahlavi Iran

China
- **commander1**: Indira Gandhi

Leonid Brezhnev

Varahagiri Venkata Giri, V. V. Giri

Swaran Singh

Jagjivan Ram

General officer, Gen Sam Manekshaw

Lieutenant-General, Lt.Gen Jagjit Singh Arora, J.S. Arora

Lieutenant-General, Lt.Gen G.G Bewoor, G.G. Bewoor

Lieutenant-General, Lt.Gen K. P. Candeth

Lieutenant-General, Lt.Gen Premindra Singh Bhagat, Premindra Bhagat

Lieutenant-General, Lt.Gen Sagat Singh

Lieutenant-General, Lt.Gen Tapishwar Narain Raina, T. N. Raina

Lieutenant-General, Lt.Gen Sartaj Singh (general), Sartaj Singh

Lieutenant-General, Lt.Gen Khem Karan Singh, Karan Singh

Major General, MajGen J. F. R. Jacob, Farj R. Jacob

Major General, MajGen Om Prakash Malhotra, Om Malhotra

Major General, MajGen Inderjit Singh Gill

Admiral, Adm S. M. Nanda

Vice Admiral, VAdm Sourendra Nath Kohli, S. N. Kohli

Vice Admiral, VAdm Nilakanta Krishnan, N. Krishnan

Rear Admiral, RAdm S H Sarma

Air Chief Marshal, ACM Pratap Chandra Lal, Pratap C. Lal

R. N. Kao, Rameshwar Kao

Tajuddin Ahmad

Colonel, Col. M. A. G. Osmani, M.A.G. Osmani

- **commander2**: Yahya Khan

Richard Nixon

Nurul Amin

General officer, Gen. Abdul Hamid Khan (general), A.H. Khan

Lieutenant-General, Lt.Gen A. A. K. Niazi, A.A.K. Niazi

Lieutenant-General, Lt.Gen Gul Hassan Khan

Lieutenant-General, Lt.Gen Abdul Ali Malik

Lieutenant-General, Lt.Gen Tikka Khan

Lieutenant-General, Lt.Gen Bahadur Sher Khan, Sher Khan

Major General, MGen Iftikhar Janjua Killed in action, †

Major General, MGen Khadim Hussain Raja, Khadim Hussain

Vice-Admiral, VAdm Muzaffar Hassan

Rear-Admiral, RAdm Rashid Ahmed

Rear-Admiral, RAdm Mohammad Shariff, Moh'd Shariff

Rear-Admiral, RAdm Mujeeb Ahmad Khan Lodhi, M.A.K. Lodhi

Rear-Admiral, RAdm Leslie Mungavin, Leslie Norman

Air Marshal, AM Abdul Rahim Khan

Air Vice Marshal, AVM Patrick Desmond Callaghan, P.D. Callaghan

Air Commodore, Air Cdre Inamul Haque Khan, Inamul Haq

Group Captain, Gp.Capt. Zulfiqar Ali Khan, Z.A. Khan

Abdul Motaleb Malik

- **strength1**: Indian Armed Forces: 1,000,000
 Mukti Bahini: 180,000
 Total: **1,180,000**
- **strength2**: Pakistan Armed Forces: **750,000**
- **casualties1**:
3,600–4,200 killed
9,851–12,000 injured

2,100 captured

Mukti Bahni
30,000 killed

1 Breguet Alizé, Naval aircraft

1 INS Khukri (F149), Frigate

2 Gunboats

1 Minesweeper
*Okha harbour damaged/fuel tanks destroyed
* Damage to several western Indian airfields

**Pakistani claims**
* 130 Indian Air Force, IAF Aircraft

*30,000 Indian soldiers killed and wounded
**Indian claims**
* 35 Indian Air Force, IAF Aircraft

**Neutral claims**
* 32–43 Indian Air Force, IAF Aircraft
- **casualties2**:
5,700–7,000 killed
15,500–18,000 wounded

93,000 captured
 2 Destroyers
 1 Minesweeper (ship), Minesweeper
 1 PNS Ghazi, Submarine
 3 Patrol vessels
 7 Gunboats
* Pakistani main port Karachi facilities damaged/fuel tanks destroyed
* Pakistani airfields damaged and cratered

**Pakistani claims**
* 42 Pakistan Air Force, PAF Aircraft

**Indian claims**
* 94 Pakistan Air Force, PAF Aircraft

**Neutral claims**
* 78–86Pakistan Air Force, PAF Aircraft