Battle of Asal Uttar 1965: Largest Tank on Tank Armor Battle Since World War Two

India and Pakistan have spent the better part of the last half century in a state of war between one another. In 1965 this state boiled over into actual combined arms combat. The Battle of Asal Uttar (also called the Battle of Khemkaran in some sources) was of particular interest to students of armored combat. This battle was the largest tank on tank combat in the generational period between World War Two and the Arab-Israeli Six Day War.

On September 10, 1965 three Indian armored regiments with 45 old American M4 Sherman tanks, 45 light French built AMX-13 tanks, and 45 British-built Centurion tanks were arrayed outside the village of Asal Uttar in the western Punjab province of India. These tanks had set up defensive positions in a "U" formation and were superbly camouflaged by tall un-harvested sugarcane stalks. The Indian force was assembled to attempt to stop the invading Pakistani armored drive. The Pakistani force contained no less than 300 of the new American M47 Patton tanks along with a few M24 Chaffee Tanks. The 46-ton Patton was considered one of the best and most modern designs of the time and included a 90mm main gun that outranged the Indian tanks. The Indian tanks were largely outgunned (the Shermans and AMX-13s only having 75mm main guns) as well as grossly outnumbered by a factor of no less than 2:1. Four inches (100mm) of steel armor plating on the Patton's made them proof to all but the most close range or lucky shots

Advancing into an Indian artillery barrage, the Pakistani armor fell into the Indian trap. Much like the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill the Indian gunners held fast until they could 'see the whites of their enemy's eyes". Opening fire from their camouflaged hiding places at ranges of as short as five hundred meters the smaller Indian tanks were able to penetrate the Pakistani Pattons from all angles and shortly set dozens on fire. The Pakistanis left the field in disarray, leaving almost a hundred tanks behind. The Indians lost 32 tanks but gained a powerful victory, offsetting their defeat the day before at Taroah. This led to stalemate and a ceasefire that ended the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War on September 22nd.

Participating in the battle was a young Lt. Pervez Musharraf, in the Pakistani 1st Armored Division. He is now the president of the Pakistani state. Today the site of the battle is referred to as Patton Nagar (Patton City) after the large number of Patton tanks captured there.

Sources

Photos from www.bharat-rakshak.com and www.pak-defense.info (public domain/fair use)

Apr 26, 2008 8:44 AM

Guest :

well i saw all the photos and read the material regarding the battle it is clear that indians won the battle poor planing , logistics lead pakistanis to the defeat

Oct 22, 2008 5:40 AM

Guest :

no the insians did not pakistanis because if indians won it so why lahore is not captured till now

Dec 1, 2008 4:20 PM

Guest :

that indian centurion photo you show- is the tank of indian colonel tarapore - captured by pakistanis soldiers in chawinda- you can verify yourself. you should also talk about indian defeat at sialkot- that was the biggest tank battle- an entire indian division led by gen. k.k. singh
was halted by one pakistani regiment- 25 cavalry at tharoah. over 120 indian tanks were destroyed. I hope you have enough objectivity to publish this response.

Sep 30, 2009 11:47 AM

Guest :

The 1965 Indo-Pak war witnessed the largest Tank warfare since the WW2. This war was fought mostly by land forces. Pak was clearly better equipped with American made armor. The then famous Patton Tank was Pak’s MBT in addition to Shermans, Chaffees and a plethora of other equipment Pak had rapidly amassed from where ever possible for its planned attack on India. The Bulk of India’s fleet was made of the older Sherman M4 and India was totally unprepared with inferior equipment. Pak had an overwhelming technological advantage over the Indian Tanks and over all superior equipment. Pak also had a larger Tank fleet than India in 1965. Despite the qualitative and numerical superiority of Pakistani armour, Pakistan was outfought on the battlefield by India. Ultimately it boils down to the solider and his patriotism/determination behind the army’s equipment that decides the fate of war. India suffered huge casualty and many sacrificed their lives to bring victory in this war. India is today in a position to purchase the most morden equipment the world can provide. In view of the 1965 seanario – India must go for the full import of the Leopard 2A6EX, Challenger II 2Es (supposed to provide the utmost crew safety – yet to be battle tested) also the battle tested and proven ISRELI MERKAVA 4 which has a record on crew safety as on date.
AL-KHALID - Pak’s MBT is based on the Chinese Type 90/2 Tank armed with a 125 smooth bore gun – now manufactured in Pakistan.
While the ARJUN’s design is based on the German Leopard -2. Arjun has a huge advantage over superior design compared to the Chinese T-9l. They both have similar protection against several types of rounds while the Al-Khalid’s armor is modular Composite - the Arjun armor is Heavy modular Composite, providing better crew safety. The Arjun is heavier than the Al-khalid while they both are equal in speed. The Main Gun: Al-Khalid – smooth bore. Arjun – Rifled Gun. A rifled gun can deliver more power than smooth bores. The Arjun is semi-submersible while the Al-khalid is not which is a huge advantage for the Arjun. It is true that the Arjuns are not fully developed to it’s optimized performance levels and are snagged by defects. It is also true that India does not have enough of them. This day and age armor piercing technology is developing leaps and bounds. The M1 Abrams suffered huge casualty from a much inferior Iraqi army. Several M1s top side and rear armor suffered penetration while a few others suffered total destruction. Left and right side non-ballistic skirts were repeatedly penetrated by anti-armor RPG fire according to reports. The Tanks armor alone cannot provide crew safety in the future – range, speed, motor, automation, multi terrain maneuverability, suspension, defenses, weapons systems, firepower, electronics, computing, communication, jamming, and other technological edge over the enemy will count.