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Inspired by the bellicose nature of his prime minister, the Indian army chief has threatened Pakistan with punitive action in the form of limited war for waging a so-called proxy war against India. Apart from his misplaced confidence in his army, the Pakistan Army’s commitment on the western front could also have encouraged him. The unprovoked firing and shelling across the Working Boundary and the Line of Control could well be the prelude to starting a limited war.
Limited war is a geographically confined conflict short of general war in which the political aim, space, time and the weapons used are limited. According to André Beaufre, a French strategist, “Limited wars are a sort of tough negotiations”.
Limited war can be categorised as insurrectional and non-insurrectional. The former, basically a guerilla war, was fought by the US in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, by the erstwhile Soviet Union in Afghanistan, is being fought by India in India-held Kashmir, its seven north–eastern states and 14 states dominated by Naxalites, by Pakistan in Fata and outside it, and by Afghanistan against the Afghan Taliban. Examples of the latter are the Indo-Pak wars and the Arab-Israel wars. However, if during the non-insurrectional war, the geographical limitation is lifted, limited war would be transformed into general war.
The other differences between the two categories are that the insurrectional war is not geographically confined, and is not conditioned by time for the guerillas. Therefore, unless the counter-guerilla forces crush the guerilla forces within a year, the war tends to drag on for years, which makes the soldiers vulnerable to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
India’s war directors must question their commanders’ ability.
In the aftermath of the 10-month standoff fiasco in 2001 the Indian army developed a limited war doctrine called Cold Start to respond to what it calls proxy war by Pakistan. The essence of this doctrine is transferring the army’s offensive power from the three strike corps to eight division-sized integrated battle groups (IBGs) who would be positioned close to the border so that three to five are launched within 72 to 96 hours after mobilisation is ordered.
Patterned on Israeli army’s concept of task forces, Cold Start envisages high-speed operations to achieve the objectives in the desired time and space framework. Therefore, since a non-insurrectional limited war is conditioned by time, the matching of physical means of mobility with the mobility of mind assumes critical importance, for, commanders whose minds are characterised by lack of enterprise, imagination, flexibility and initiative, can reduce the value of a highly mobile force to zero.
In the 1965 war, despite its overwhelming numerical superiority, the Indian strike corps (1 Corps) penetrated some 11 kilometres only in Sialkot sector in 21 days, while in 1971 the same corps, though reinforced, penetrated approximately 13 km in 14 days, that too when it was opposed by light covering troops. In both wars the Indian army was schematic in its operations. Changes in dispositions, reassigning of objectives, switching of forces not in accordance with their original plans took time.
The following comments by Indian generals also highlight the weaknesses of their army: Lt Gen Harbaksh Singh, Commander Western Command in 1965, in his book War Despatches wrote “In XI Corps there was a sickening repetition of command failures”. “In 1 Corps the guiding hand of the corps commander was conspicuously absent…. leading to a dismal failure at lower levels.” Maj Gen Niranjan Prasad, GOC 15 Division in 1965, sacked on Sep 7, in his captured war diary said: “There is no deep thinking in the Indian army…. there is a cheap attitude to underestimate the enemy and to show off one’s own toughness to his superiors.” Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh, DDMO in 1971, in his book Defence of the Western Border wrote: “The generals who led the Indian army [in 1971] on the western front had no concept of conducting a short war”.
The Indian war directors must question the ability of their commanders at all levels to conduct high-speed operations with flexibility, rapidity and less military routine.
Despite the weaknesses demonstrated by the Indian army in 1965 and 1971, the Pakistan Army does not underestimate their war potential. They could launch an operation in southern Pakistan to split Pakistan in two, and another operation in Ravi-Chenab corridor to acquire depth for their vulnerable line of communication that connects the Indian mainland with Jammu and Kashmir.
However, the fact is that the army here can occupy its wartime locations much earlier than the Indian army confers on it the ability to pre-empt any Indian effort. Suffice it to say that the reorganised force has multiplied its capability to devastate the Indian army’s IBGs or strike corps in their assembly areas by powerful massed fires.
If the Indian army chief still decides to start a limited war, his country would have to pay dearly for his error of judgement.
The writer is a former armour and SSG officer.
Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2015
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Comments (87) Closed
Excellent fact based analysis of Indian vulnerabilties should this time lead to India's certain break up should they attempt to initiate a limited war or Cold Start or whatever...
That is a lot of Bravado.
The author has described, "Cold Start." All those who want to understand what the limited war means for both India and Pakistan must read this very well written article.
Indians thinking that a limited war will give them edge over Pakistan are living in fools paradise.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1208299/limited-war
India is too busy grappling with its economic problems to be thinking about a war. No one is war-mongering on the Indian side. The firings on the LOC are happening because of the proxies being sent across into Indian territory.
One thing is for sure no side is going to win the war, cold or hot, short or long. Pakistan has achieved that parity through her strategic assets eliminating India's conventional superiority because of sheer size. Every Pakistani should be proud of it.
Boring..
When the Indian Army chief said limited war, he meant war against insurgency. India for 5000 years never had a revisionist agenda.
In 1971 war India captured territory near Sialkot called "Bara Pind" 13 lancer failed to capture. Than Frontier force under command col Akarm Shaheed recaptured Bars Pind. My uncle Alamgir khan Mehsud fought along col Alarm.
There is no such thing "A Limited War" when a conflict arises between Pakistan and India. It will be a war of eith I or You. Not only a limited Nukes will not utilise, instead whole arsenal of nukes will be used. Not only India and Pakistan will go, many other countries will cease to exist. Not only 1.5 Billion population will vanish, with it will go 2 Billions more of the world population. Sure, there is a way out. resolve all the unfinished agenda of the creation of Pakistan and India as was announced the 1st PM of India, a just, fair plebiscite under the auspicious of UN, no less, no more and without if then else - PERIOD.
Indian soldiers prefer dying with dignity rather than surrendering in masses
Not just war, our life itself is a delusion , we live our entire life based on delusions.
Truth is usually bitter. Pakistan fully understands the vulnerability for the cold start doctrine and has thus developed the tactical nuclear weapons for such an adventure. India needs to understand that there will be no short war. It will be considered as a general war which will have deadly consequences for both countries
A very well written article sir. We ate proud of our Armed Forces who keep us safe every single day from india.
Thank you sir for enlightening us with your knowledge on limited war.
Thanks for preventing us from making the mistake.
Don't agree with the author. I believe that the Kargil war would qualify as a limited war. I agree with the author on the point that Pakistan can mobilize her forces to her eastern borders more easily and quickly than the Indians. Also in Kashmir, Pakistan has the advantage of height which is not the case for Punjab and Sindh borders. But the issue is that once India is able to get her forces to the action area, the advantage clearly shifts in India's favour. This was also evident during the Kargil war where the Indian losses exceeded Pakistan's and that too by a good margin but that was because the Indian forces, in the backdrop of Lahore Declaration, were caught napping and the Pakistani forces were ready and better prepared. But soon India had started to gain the upper hand and had regained all lost territories before cease fire was called. The above shows that limited wars are possible and work to Pakistan's advantage viz., probably why the Indians are focusing on it.
Still as an Indian I am not satisfied with the strength of Indian Army,as an one of the oldest civilization in the world India should have the strongest army in the world than only the message of non-violence will propagate in the world as India savior of freedom and non-violence in the world.
India should be prepared for not just limited war but for any war, our focus is currently on weapons that can destroy ,but we should also focus on weapons that can defend us from enemy attack , like missle defence etc.
There are a lot of articals written in the war context. Sadly, similar number of articals are not availed in peace context.
Keep beating the drums of war, what it achieves only God knows. If only chest thumping could bring results.
The gentleman and both countries should recognize the fact that war is not an option.Equally important, redrawing the borders are also not an option.
@Sam The fact that Pakistan's army has been able to defend the country from a bully state, that has one billion people more than us, is a succuss in itself. Keep cherry picking facts, to feel good about them. The fact is that Pakistan's army has done a brilliant job at defending the country, one or two mistakes don't make us Pakistanis overlook the bigger picture.
Just a thought- has Pakistan and India ever considered creating cold start/ hot start strategy to wage peace? In my youth Carter was quoted as saying that "peace like war has to be waged". Powers to be ignored him and look at where we, the humanity as a whole have landed ourselves into. Your paper should actively shape the public opinion against war. There is only but one optuon for both India and Pakistan- start implementing a long term peace agenda.
Dull article sir and lots of inaccuracies.
Only Bravado.. No Substance .. Dull Article !!
@Chai, LIES.
Excellent article.
A really good honest assessment Javed Sahib, but can I assure Pakistanis that we Indians have absolutely no desire to go to any limited or unlimited war with either Pakistan nor with China. You must realise India has close to nearly 200 million Muslims and we very much see Pakistan as a brother nation. Secondly after several unwanted wars with Pakistan and one war with China we Indians are fully aware we make better businessmen then we do as Soldiers. Thirdly we would rather socialize and trade with our Pakistani kith and kin then talk about any war at all, especially with the new gas pipeline joint initiative being undertaken by both countries.
need something more...:)
Mr.Javed you should've taken the article to the logical conclusion. The reality is that a Indo-Pakistan war is inevitable. It is not about Kashmir, water, etc. It is an mutually exclusive ideological battle. Either the idea of Pakistan or India. Both nations, better prepare yourselves.
@ZIC Thank you. That is the kind of article I want to read as well!
lots of inaccuracies and bravado. Seems propagating bravado is very popular.
No substance only talk! please up your game.
Empty bravado....
There already have been four limited war between India and Pakistan and a fifth is highly feasible with the current psychological and physical status of the countries. Psychologically the generals are harping bravado and physically soldiers exchanging bullets!
@Sam We will see ...
@Sam m not sure really
Not convincing, war is not an answer. All this is worth nothing after both countries acquired nuclear capability..... Shame on the people and the politicians of both the countries for not making peace after almost 70 years and keeping a high percentage of their populations below poverty lines ..............
Dear Friends, can some one enligten us why there should be War at all whether long or short between two neighbors ? Any use of nuclear weapons shall have a blow back effect apart from retaliation. Why we have to get our young men killed.What shall be achieved by these means. I invite my pakistani readers to come to India and meet common people/Aam admi. They are no different from you and want a growing Pakistan.
War between two nuclear armed countries is unheard of so I don't see one happening soon between India and Pakistan so let modi day dream
Can the war be controlled like a computer game? If India is thinking of a Cold start in this age and limiting the war by orchestrating yet achieving meaningful objectives, it's far fetched idea. Both countries are nuclear states, no one will allow other to achieve the desired objectives without a heavy cost.
@Najma Hisham unfortunately India has not shown any sincere desire for peace either.
@aarkay Dear Sir, war can only be avoided if we seriously hold talks on contentious issues like the civilized world. History is replete with examples where mature nations solved their problems with negotiations. What if we could find common grounds to start with, and simultaneously try to bridge the gap between the conflicting issues. If with patience we start with this approach we may reach to some conclusion; may be initially conflict management but later leading to conflict resolution.
There was a missing ingredient in the previous wars; nukes. Now you have two equally irresponsible governments and two armies pressing for an increase in budget and justification to exist (because there hasn't been a good ol' war for almost half a century). Hopefully common sense will prevail.
They must remember that the armed forces will defend every inch of their motherland at every cost. Let the force be with Pakistan and show the enemy what we really are capable doing. We are what we are and we will show the world who we are.
Pakistan Armed Forces Zinda Bad.
"If the Indian army chief still decides to start a limited war ..." In India, the army chief cannot decide to start anything ... period ...
@Jor El - "period" or no period, the fact is, as it says in the first line, the army chief did "threaten Pakistan with punitive action" which is not short of war!
If you want to fight then why tell your enemy what you going to do. If you going to shoot then shoot and not talk.
By the way both countries are nuclear which can destroy both countries several times. Please be sensible and talk PEACE.
War is not a solution to any problems - Learn it from history, the wars germans n french fought. It brings only death n destruction, loss of life and land & society in turmoil with abject poverty.
No need for the real war. Proxy war is better till both countries get exhausted.
Super analogy. India can no way engage any kind of war with Pakistan, as India is too busy in developing their economy, and has eye on China.
I think it is time to b friends forever because people from both sides have blood relations since years.
Dear SSG officer, thanks for raising the morale of masses. As you raised an important point to never underestimate your adversary, so the tough talk besides, both generals of Pakistan and India must think twice that their adventures would cost dearly in lives and property on either sides, and history would be a fair judge after all.
Limited war is already being fought across the borders and LoC!
Poor article, however enjoyed the comment section.Pakistan should stop comparing itself with india and build up its economy.The countries like Bangladesh and Srilanka are exporting more than you.
@Sam : You nailed it.I don't know if the brainwashed Pakistanis know that 1971 was the largest en masse surrender in history outside world wars.Probably tats the reason they are spoiling for a fight
All are theories, till tested.
It doesn't matter. War would be devastating to both countries and must NOT be fought. Limited Wars have a way to become full blown and with both sides having Nukes; can you imagine the carnage? Only idiots in both countries talk of war between the two casually.
War is war and nobody fights with swords, in South of India Tipu Sultan used rockets to defend his territory against British. But now everyone including India and Pakistan have missiles with nuclear power. So due to decisions of foolish Generals only people will die.
Anyway this article is so informational ! Respect .
It is a pure fantasy to use nukes in war to show supremacy. However it is unlikely that any nuclear war will be fought in future. But nuclear disaster will sure to happen.
You are absolutely right dear sir. I am totally impressed with your each word.
@Syed Chishti Its really amazing link. Thank you sir
@Harmony-1 -Indian army chief never. Threatened of any war. This whole write up is based on false accusation. Read or hear what exactly army chief said.
@Divya : Soul for soul, Pakistan is 20 times ahead of India! Living in a gigantic country does not make you a giant-souled as well!
A crisply written,objective article which exposes the strategic inability of indian armed forces to achieve the purpose of their grandiose cold start doctrine.Indians now know that any brutal ground assault would receive an equally befitting response.Further,by making warfield miniature nukes pakistan has made its nuclear deterrence threshold even lower and discomforting to the indians.Cold start it seems now is a virtual non starter.
@Anurag Priyadarshi Therefore, the conclusion is to solve the Kashmir issue through dialogue as soon as possible and become an economic partner with Pakistan.
India should stop cross border terrorism against Pakistan and also should forget about war mongering, and threatening Pakistan with swift and short war. Else India will be in any case a bigger loser.
Ratio proportion related of population mathematics, One billion of Indian's population verses Pakistan's say close to quarter of a billion (even though it is still much less than that).
What percentage of losses chances India has against Pakistan's losses. Indian population density of troops, and civilian population casualties of India in a nuclear limited war will be much more higher than Pakistan's.
Indians bite your nails and come back to round of table discussion and ignore outside worlds interference that is only interested in selling their weapon system to your war machinery, that every ten years goes obsolete anyway.
@Sam I have seen Indian soldiers and officers running away from their Artillery Gun position in Sakrana village of Chamb and Jurian Sector running with their hands on their heads and leaving their 25 Pounder Artillery guns entire battery in Sakrana village and across Tawi river bridge without shoes and shirts.
Indian's are fighting a nation that believes in facing the enemy face to face, and we as warriors don't show our backs when it comes to dying in a battle field when faced with enemy.
We don't conspire with enemies, nor with enemies friends. Your Indian RAW and other leadership conspires with the enemies of Pakistan and are sending terrorists, and are exporting terrorism through Afghanistan and through other sources to kill innocent Pakistani's female, male, children young and old. How messed up is your government and your General's? There is still time wake up India. Liberate Kashmir, and let go fundamentalist Hinduism mentality and start living in peace with your neighbors.
@Rehan In Kargil, Pakistani forces did not have the advantage of air support or heavy weopans that Indian forces had. Musharraf should never have initiated that war after the success of Lahore Declaration. Now the situation is different, if India initiates cold start, it will face Pakistani tactical nukes and that may very easily lead to full scale nuclear war destroying both countries completely and destroying World economy.
not sure what the writer is up to convey. Limited War is not an option for India or is that not advisable. not speaking on individual capabilities (no rhetoric). I would say the war will not be supported by people of India unless it is compelled to.
India has no background or history of warrior traditions, Kashmir has completely outwitted india forces. and the insurgency will continue to fester, Pakistan should openly support the freedom fighters in Kashmir.
As for indian forces patterned after Israel forces; one need to go no further than what b Hizbollah (God preserve them) has done to change the game in the middle east, they had totally demolished Israel's forces and their legendary tank called "Markawa" in 2006, Israel has not dared another misadventure except killing unarmed civilians, women and children..the same as India is doing in Kashmir. What india is having difficulty understanding is "When a push comes to a shove Pakistan is no push over"
@Jor El the best comment in my Pakistani eyes.
@sssj history is complicated and what Hizbollah has to do with Kashmir? They were united Shia religious force trained by Iranian. What is common their with Kashmir?
@Syed Chishti Nice analysis.
Get real!
@Shahid Akbar, New York Thanks Shahid.
@Najma Hisham : Very well said. Most sane words on this topic without hurting anyone.
we want peace but ready for every type of war in case
What a loser! Why does Pakistan not focus on its business? Of educating people? Of making people live better lives? I suppose when you have a country that exists to serve the needs of an army you get writers like this loser who have not one iota to contribute to humanity.
@ az kashmiris value their ethnic and religio-cultural link to Iran. Iran supports the UN kashmir plebiscite.
In a nuclear world the true enemy cant't be destroyed. In a nuclear world the true enemy is war itself.
Nice article,
Well written article.
We Indians and Pakistaanis are both proud of being stupid.
India and Pakistan are nuclear-weapon states. If any Indian leader has delusions of limited war, that's insanity, as Pakistan's nuclear strike can totally annihilate India. Leaders on both sides should be talking of peace and friendship, not war.
Limited war? Give me an inch, I will make it a mile.
@Chai => you my friend, has not read the 5000 years of history. To start with, there was no INDIA 5000 years ago.