| Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 |
| Part of the Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani Wars
|
Lieutenant-General A. A. K. Niazi, the commander of Pakistan Eastern Command, signing the instrument of surrender in Dhaka on 16 Dec 1971, in the presence of India's Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora. Standing immediately behind from Left to Right: Indian Navy Vice Admiral Krishnan, Indian Air Force Air Marshal Dewan, Indian Army Lt Gen Sagat Singh, Maj Gen JFR Jacob (with Flt Lt Krishnamurthy peering over his shoulder). Veteran newscaster, Surojit Sen of All India Radio, is seen holding a microphone on the right. |
| Date |
3–16 December 1971 (13 days) |
| Location |
Eastern Front:
Western Front:
|
| Result |
Decisive Indian victory.
Eastern front:
Surrender of East Pakistan military command.
Western front:
Unilateral Ceasefire. |
Territorial
changes |
Eastern Front:
Western Front:
- Indian forces captured around 5,795 square miles (15,010 km2) land in the West but returned it in the Simla Agreement as a gesture of goodwill.
|
|
| Belligerents |
|
 India
 Provisional Bangladesh
|
 Pakistan
East Pakistan
|
| Commanders and leaders |
V. V. Giri
(President of India)
Indira Gandhi
(Prime Minister of India)
Swaran Singh
(External Minister of India)
Jagjivan Ram
(Defence Minister of India)
 Gen Sam Manekshaw
(Chief of Army Staff)
Lt.Gen J.S. Arora
(GOC-in-C, Eastern Command)
Lt.Gen G.G. Bewoor
(GOC-in-C, Southern Command)
Lt.Gen K. P. Candeth
(GOC-in-C, Western Command)
Lt.Gen Manohar Lal
(GOC-in-C, Northern Command)
Lt.Gen Premindra Bhagat
(GOC-in-C, Central Command)
Lt.Gen Sagat Singh
(GOC-in-C, IV Corps)
Lt.Gen T. N. Raina
(GOC-in-C, II Corps)
Lt.Gen Sartaj Singh
(GOC-in-C, XV Corps)
Lt.Gen Karan Singh
(GOC-in-C, I Corps)
Lt.Gen Depinder Singh
(GOC-in-C, XII Corps)
MajGen Farj R. Jacob
(COS, Eastern Command)
MajGen Om Malhotra
(COS, IV Corps)
 Adm S. M. Nanda
(Chief of Naval Staff)
 ACM Pratap C. Lal
(Chief of Air Staff)
 Rameshwar Kao
(Director of RAW)
Tajuddin Ahmad
(PM Provisional Government)
Col. M.A.G. Osmani
(Commander, Mukti Bahini)
Maj Kazi Shafiullah
(Commander, BD Forces)
Maj Ziaur Rahman
(Commander, Z Force)
Maj Khaled Mosharraf
(Commander, Crack Platoon)
|
Yahya Khan
(President of Pakistan)
Nurul Amin
(Prime Minister of Pakistan)
 Gen. A.H. Khan
(Chief of Staff, Army GHQ)
Lt.Gen A.A.K. Niazi 
(Commander, Eastern Command)
Lt.Gen Gul Hassan Khan
(Chief of General Staff)
Lt.Gen Abdul Ali Malik
(Commander, I Corps)
Lt.Gen Tikka Khan
(Commander, II Corps)
Lt.Gen Sher Khan
(Commander, IV Corps)
MGen Iftikhar Janjua †
(GOC, 23rd Infantry Division)
 MGen Khadim Hussain
(GOC, 14th Infantry Division)
MGen Rao Farman
(Mil.Adv., EPR EPP, EPCG)
 VAdm Muzaffar Hassan
(Cdr-in-Chief, Navy)
VAdm S.M. Ahsan
(COS, Navy NHQ)
 RAdm Moh'd Shariff
(Cdr, Eastern Naval Command)
RAdm Hasan Ahmed
(Commander Karachi Coast)
RAdm Leslie Norman
(Commander, Pakistan Marines)
 AM Abdul Rahim Khan
(Cdr-in-Chief, Air Force)
AVM Zulfiqar Ali Khan
(COS, Air AHQ Dhaka)
AVM P.D. Callaghan
(Cdr, Eastern Air Command)
Abdul Motaleb Malik
(Governor of East Pakistan)
|
| Strength |
Indian Armed Forces: 500,000
Mukti Bahini: 175,000
Total: 675,000
|
Pakistan Armed Forces: 365,000
|
| Casualties and losses |
|
2,500–3,843 killed.
- 1 Naval aircraft
- Indian Okha harbour damaged/fueling facilities damaged.
- Damage to western Indian airfields.
Pakistani claims
Indian claims
Neutral claims
|
9,000 killed
25,000 wounded
97,368 captured
2 Destroyers
1 Minesweeper
1 Submarine
3 Patrol vessels
7 Gunboats
- Pakistani main port Karachi facilities damaged/fuel tanks destroyed
- Pakistani airfields damaged and cratered
Pakistani claims
Indian claims
Neutral claims
|
2,500–3,843 killed.
...
