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Battle of Phillora
Part of Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Date 7–11 September 1965 Location Phillora near Sialkot (Punjab, Pakistan) Result Decisive Indian victory
Belligerents
India	Pakistan
Commanders and leaders
Ardeshir Tarapore	Unknown
Strength
1st Armoured Brigade(16 cav,17 Horse, 4 Horse)62 cav,43 lorried Brigade	10 Cavalry(Guides), 11 Cavalry, 33 TDU, 4 Frontier force, 14 Para Brigade
Casualties and losses
6 Centurions	66 tanks (31 confirmed)

The Battle of Phillora was one of the largest tank battles fought during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. It was the first major engagement between the two nations in the Sialkot sector and coincided with the Battle of Asal Uttar.

Battle

The battle started on 10 September, when Indian troops launched a massive attack at the Phillora sector. Its 1st Armoured Division was on the offensive in that area. Equipped with four armored regiments, this division faced stiff opposition from the Pakistani 6th Armoured Division. Pakistani air attacks did little damage to the tank columns and more to lorry and infantry columns. For the next two days intense fighting continued but the outnumbered Pakistani troops kept on holding. At one point India claimed to capture Phillora, but it was exposed by the BBC Correspondent James Abbot who covered the battle.

According to ex Indian Army Major(retd.)and Military historian A.H Sindhu summed up the failure of the Indian armour at the battle of Phillora "....Pakistan's 6 Armoured Division ordered Guides(10th) Cavalry and 14 FF to mount an attack from Bhagowal-Bhureshah area against the right flank of the Indians aimed at area Libbe-Chahr at 1130 hours on 11th September. The aim of this attack was to relieve pressure on 11 Cavalry. This Guides had a severe firefight with 16 Light Cavalry which suffered heavy losses by the hands of Guides, many tanks were destroyed and was able to make an impression on the main Indian attack against 11 Cavalry holding Phillora .Indian Attack on Phillora was finally repulsed by the Pakistanis on 1530 hours on 11th September. 11 Cavalry fought well and lost so many tanks that from 11th September onwards it ceased to function as a complete tank regiment". Major Sandhu also criticized India for its strategic miscalculation "The Indians fought well but in the overall strategic context attempt to capture Phillora was of little consequence.Had the Indians shown similar resolution and a little more coup d oeil and modified their plans at the brigade and divisional level on 8 September, by 11 September they would have been leisurely holding the east bank of MRL.

Conclusion

On September 12, 1965, the tank battle at Phillora ended in an important decisive victory for the Pakistan Army. A day before, the Indian Army had experienced victory at Asal Uttar when they successfully thwarted Pakistani offensive in the Khem Karan sector. The continued thrust by the Indian Army into Pakistani territory finally culminated in the Battle of Chawinda, where Indian army's advance was successfully halted. On 22 September with the signing of ceasefire, all the offensives were ceased on that front. On 22 September the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a resolution that called for an unconditional ceasefire from both nations. The war ended the following day.India Still retained almost 200 square miles(518 square kilometres) of Pakistan territory in the Sialkot sector including the villages of Phillora,Pagowal,Maharajke,Gadgor,Bajagrahi etc. which was returned to Pakistan after the Tashket Declaration.

References

1. url = Http://viralknot.com/battles-that-india-fought-bravely/ |last = Saxena |first = K. C. |title = Pakistan, her relation with India 1947-1966 |publisher = Vir Pub. House |asin = B003GB2IFU}}
2. Sainik samachar: the pictorial weekly of the Armed Forces, Volume 28. Directorate of Public Relations, Ministry of Defence. ASIN B0000CRWSD.
3. Berindranath, Dewan. The war with Pakistan: a pictorial narration of the fifty days which rocked the sub-continent. Asia Press. ASIN B0007JEFFA.
4. ^ Amin, Agha.H. "Situation Leading to and Battle of Phillora". Major. A.H Amin. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
5. ^ History, Official. "Operations in Sialkot sector" (PDF). Official history. Bharat-Rakshak.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
6. ^ Singh, Lt.Gen Harbaksh (1991). War Despatches. 56 Gautam nagar, New Delhi: Lancer International. p. 147. ISBN 81-7062-117-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
7. Cite error: The named reference Wilson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
8. Cite error: The named reference Cambridge was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
9. Amin, Major Agha H. "Situation Leading to and Battle of Phillora". Think Tank. AH Amin. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
10. Wilson, Peter. Wars, proxy-wars and terrorism: post independent India. Mittal Publications, 2003. ISBN 978-81-7099-890-7.
11. Zaloga, Steve (1999) The M47 and M48 Patton tanks ISBN 1-85532-825-9 pg.34-35.
12. Barua, Pradeep (2005) The state at war in South Asia ISBN 0-8032-1344-1 pg.192.
13. Pradhan, R.D. 1965 war, the inside story. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, 2007. ISBN 978-81-269-0762-5.

• Battles of Indo-Pakistani wars
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
• 1965 in India
• Tank battles
• Tank battles involving Pakistan