Experts discuss 1965 war

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, August 27

Senior retired Army officers discussed various facts of the 1965 Indo-Pak war at an interactive session organised as part of the golden jubilee commemorations of the war.

Former General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, Lt Gen Depinder Singh, who had fought the war as a Major, said though the political leadership and the soldiers stood up to the occasion, operational planning was undertaken with indifference and marked with inadequate intelligence.

Pointing out that the action of the Indian forces were largely a knee-jerk reaction to the emerging situation, he said there was little coordination with the Air Force and the Navy.

Citing some anecdotes from the war as in the case of a Sikh soldier who steadfastly held the ground and prevented troops from withdrawing in the face of an enemy attack, thereby turning a rout into a victory, Lt Gen Depinder said in war it was not only innovations by the higher command or senior officers that control the action but every man played a part that could affect its outcome.

Lt Gen JS Lidder said fighting a war is a national effort and not just the responsibility of the armed forces alone. He pointed out that during the 1965 war, the entire nation had come together. An overview of the war was given by Nitin Ghokle, who has recently authored a book on the war.