Battle of Burki
| Battle of Burki | |||||||
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| Part of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 | |||||||
 Lt. Col. Hari Singh of the India's 18th Cavalry posing outside a captured Pakistani police station (Barkee) in Lahore District |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 India |
 Pakistan |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Har Krishan Sibal Anant Singh |
 Raja Aziz Bhatti †
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| Strength | |||||||
| 1 infantry division 1 Armor Regiment |
150 tanks(3 Regiments) 2 Companies of 17 Punjab Regiment 10 F-86 Sabre jets |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 4 tanks | 84 tanks | ||||||
Decisive Indian victory
The Battle of Burki (Barki) was a battle fought by Indian infantry and Pakistani armor in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.Barki is a village that lies south-east of Lahore near the border with Punjab, India. and is connected with Lahore by the Bridge of Ichogil canal. During the fighting, the relative strengths of the two sides were fairly even and Indian infantry clashed with Pakistani forces that were entrenched in pillboxes, dug-outs and slit trenches that had been carved into the canal banks. The Pakistanis were supported with a large number of tanks, as well as fighter jets. The battle resulted in an Indian victory after they were able to capture the town on 11 September 1965.
Pakistan launched Operation Grand Slam on 17 August 1965 in an effort to relieve infiltrators who had been surrounded after the failure of Operation Gibraltar on 15 August and to attempt to cut off the Indian supply lines. With supply lines under severe stress due to Operation Grand Slam, India launched an offensive towards Lahore to open up a second front in the war and distract Pakistani attention from Kashmir. After opening the Lahore front, Indian troops advanced towards Lahore along three axes— Amritsar-Lahore, Khalra-Burki-Lahore and Khem Karan-Kasur roads—overwhelming the small Pakistani force.
Indian infantry, supported by the only Indian armoured division, quickly pushed back unprepared Pakistani defenders with the aim of encircling and possibly besieging Lahore. Due to the element of surprise, India was able to capture a large amount of Pakistani territory from the town of Khalra, an Indian border town which lies on a straight road to Lahore through Burki. In the meantime, the Pakistani Army mobilized the troops in the region and mounted a three-pronged counter-attack to recapture lost ground. The Battle of Burki was subsequently fought on Khalra-Burki-Lahore road.
Pakistan's main goal was to force the Indian infantry into retreat before their armoured support and supply lines could catch up. The Pakistani Army's aim also was to capture much of the territory it had lost earlier in the fighting. The Indian infantry's aim was to capture and hold the town of Burki until reinforcements, including armour and supplies, could arrive.
India began their advance from Khalra under Major-General Har Krishan Sibal and tank operations under Lieutenant-Colonel Anant Singh with a village called Jahman being the first major Pakistani outpost to fall. Pakistani troops pulled back towards the next major town, which was Burki, leaving small pockets of resistance at each village to slow down Indian advance. On 8 September, Pakistan began the counter-attack with Pakistani artillery pounding the Indian advance on 8, 9 and 10 September. This constant shelling slowed down the Indian advance but was unable to stop it completely. This was followed by a counterattack by Pakistani armor consisting of considerable part of Pakistan's 1st Armored Division. Indian infantry eventually clashed with Pakistani tanks at Burki, which resulted in most of the Pakistani armor being mauled by 10 September.
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