Bharat Rakshak

From Mandeep Singh Bajwa on India-Pakistan military exercises Indian Army corps on the Pakistan front used to exercise every 2-3 years, but now the tempo has accelerated to once every year and the trend has become multi-corps exercises. In India the HQ above corps is the Command, which is both a geographical and a tactical arrangement. There are no field army HQs, though the matter comes up for discussion from time-to-time.

{Multi corps exercises are field Army units in any other country!}

Before Cold Start, the army on the Pakistan front was divided into strike and holding corps. So XV, XVI, XI, X, and XII Corps were holding, and I, II and XXI were strike. The holding corps defensively protected their area of the front. Now all corps are to go on the offensive; indeed, most of Cold Start will be conducted by the former holding corps. As part of the offensive doctrine - a major change because since 1947 India has used the defensive-offensive configuration - the assumption is a war will be short. There will be neither time for mobilization, nor for learning on the job.

Accordingly, there has been a steady shift of formations closer to the front as a way of reducing mobilization time. The process is slow, because creating new permanent bases is not just expensive, in a crowded country like India land for new bases is not easily obtained. Equally, under Cold Start, there is to be no waiting for strike formations to concentrate at the front. The corps in place (now XV, XVI, IX, XI, X, and XII, from north to south) are to begin offensives at very short notice. The offensives will be conducted by eight armor battle groups, each of brigade size and heavily reinforced, each operating on a separate axis.

If the war is short, the battle groups will seize territory out to 30-km before shifting to the defensive. If the war continues, the three strike corps will enter play. Each of the three Pakistan-front plains commands - Western, South Western, and Southern - has an assigned strike corps. From north to south these are I, II, and XXI Corps.


The new posture requires considerably higher readiness, which is the reason for the increased tempo of exercises. I Strike and X Corps in South Western Command have finished an exercise, and now all of Western Command - II Strike, IX and XI Corps - is starting an exercise. It may be noted that by staging the exercise in May, at a time of maximum heat, the Indian Army is giving notice there is no more "fighting season". In the past this was the late fall/winter/spring. Now India is prepared to fight in the summer. The monsoon is still off limits because the torrential rains turn the ground to mush so that even tracked vehicles get into trouble.

Similarly, India is now prepared to go on the offensive in the mountains even in the dead of winter.

Pakistan, naturally, has not been sitting back passively. Despite its limited resources it has also stepped up its exercise tempo. Units from its I Strike plus X Corps and II Strike plus XXXI Corps have finished training at the ranges. A major exercise for IV Corps (Lahore) designed specifically to respond to a Cold Start grab is planned soon.

I understand other weapons are not proofed like missiles, ammo, etc.

Tell me ramana, are they testing the ammo or the gun? If the gun, then why fire live ammo? Once the designs are frozen, then its very unglamorous job. When the gun is ready, they need to test the mechanism as laid out by the r&d and described by quality manual. Then pack it and ship it.