Battle of Lahore

Part of 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.

Date	6 September 1965 to 12 September 1965 main battle, though sporadic fighting in this sector continued till ceasefire
Location	Lahore, Pakistan
Result	Stalemate Indian forces gain 360-500 sq. km. of Pakistani territory on the outskirts of Lahore but unilaterally halt at B.R.B.D and could not advance further into Lahore.

Belligerents

India

Pakistan

Commanders and leaders

JS Dhillion

Sarfraz Khan

Strength

100,000
1 Armored division

50,000
2 Armored division

Casualties and losses

Unknown

Stalemate

The Battle of Lahore (Urdu: لاہور محاذ, Hindi: लाहौर की लड़ाई Lāhaur kī laḍ.āī) or the Lahore Front were a series of battles in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 fought in around Lahore. The battle ended with a stalemate. Indian forces halted their assault on Lahore once they had reached the village of Burki. The rationale for this was that a ceasefire was to be signed soon, and had India captured Lahore it would likely have been returned in ceasefire negotiations.

After losing hope of a plebiscite in Kashmir, the Pakistani Army invaded the Indian part of Kashmir through a covert operation dubbed Operation Gibraltar. After the Indians spotted the infiltrators, the Indian Army eliminated the saboteurs and inflicted casualties on Pakistani posts across the Cease Fire Line.Pakistan retaliated by launching 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. To relieve forces almost cut off in their part of Kashmir, India then counterattacked by crossing the international border further south with the intention of diverting Pakistani units that were participating in Operation Grand Slam. India's goal was to take distract Pakistani Army's attention and resources away from Operation Grand Slam where unprepared Indian troops were at severe disadvantage against the Pakistani offensive.

On the night of 5–6 September 1965, Indian XI Corps began its operations by advancing towards Lahore along three axes – Amritsar-Lahore, Khalra-Burki- Lahore and Khem Karan-Kasur roads, overwhelming the small Pakistani force. Pakistan's 10 and 11 Divisions, which were deployed in the sector, began a series of rather confused delaying actions, and by the end of the first day the Indian infantry, backed by heavy armoured troops, were within striking distance of Lahore city. Some advance Indian units managed to capture Ichhogil canal on 6 September but soon withdrew, since support and reinforcements were not expected to reach any time soon.

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