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It is the anniversary of the Battle of Lahore, fought between the 5th Gorkha Rifles & 18th Calvary Regiment of Indian army and the 17th Punjab Regiment of Pakistani armours at Burki, during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965. Burki is a village in Pakistan side near Punjab India, which connects Lahore by the Bridge of Ichogil canal. Indian forces confronted Pakistani forces that were hidden in slit trenches, pillboxes, and dug carved along the canal’s bank. In spite of having a large number of tanks and fighter jets, the enemy was overwhelmed on the battlefield, leading to the victory of India.
Indian flag was waving over city of Lahore – Battle of Lahore
Burki, Battle of Lahore Sparked
After Operation Gibraltar failed on August 15, Pakistan launched Operation Grand Slam to free infiltrators and cut off Indian supply lines that had been captured. When the supply lines became severely strained by Operation Grand Slam, India retaliated by launching an invasion of Lahore as a second front in the war and to divert Pakistan’s attention from Kashmir.
Indian troops opened the Lahore front (Battle of Lahore) by capturing the three main battleaxes, Amritsar-Lahore, Khalra-Burki-Lahore, and Khem Karan-Kasur. India’s infantry, backed by their single armored division, was able to push back Pakistanis without delay with the aim of encircling and possibly capturing Lahore. The surprise attack allowed India to capture a large area of Khalra, an Indian border town that lies on a straight road leading to Lahore through Burki.
While this was going on, the Pakistani Army initiated a three-pronged counterattack to recaptured the lost territory and started gathering the troop in Lahore. India’s army only wanted to take and hold Burki until reinforcements arrived with armour and supplies.
Fall of Pakistan In the battle of Lahore
As the battle began, the First major Pakistani outpost to fall was Jahman, a village located near Khalra, where the Indians advanced from. To slow the Indian advance, Pakistani forces pulled back towards Burki, leaving small pockets of resistance at each village. On Sept 8, 1965, Pakistan started the counter-attack on India with artillery, due to continuous shelling between Sept 8 and 10, this Indian advance was slowed down but not stopped completely. After that, Pakistani armor launched a counterattack, causing an Indian infantry clash with Pakistani tanks at Burki.
Until Indian tanks from the 18th Cavalry Regiment arrived, the Indian troops were able to repel the Pakistani armoured attack. With the help of tanks, India launched the main assault on September 10 and Most Pakistani tanks were destroyed by them, leaving defenders with very little armoured support. It took 84 Pakistani tanks to destroy just four Indian tanks, and the Indian tanks showed tremendous courage and daring under fire. September 10 marks the date when most Pakistani armour was defeated by the Indian Army.
As part of Pakistan’s air defenses, a few fighter jets are being dispatched to shoot down Indian positions, but the air operations failed due to limited aircraft and easy access to trenches and protective structures for cover. On Sept 11, India captured Burki after a fierce battle and held it for the entire duration of the Indo-Pakistan war.
A few days after Burki was taken, the Indians moved on to Dograi, which is in the proximity of Lahore. September 20, 1965, the Indians army captured Dograi and after capturing Dograi, Lahore was now within range of Indian tank fire.
