Possible Indian Military Scenarios - Part II

Dileep
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Post by Dileep »

The sweep party that fanned across the Pabbi forest saw remnants of long time jihadi and Paki armi activities there. There were shelters, arms storage facilities, training grounds, bunkers and even what looked like a prayer room. Surprisingly, all the stuff were removed, except some more ammo. That meant they knew about the Jag raids, anticipated the thrust and planned the blockade. That Also meant the opposition at Jhelum is going to be very tough.

The entire hill area was sanitized and secured. Guard posts stood on either side of the pass, while the convoy snaked through the GT road, supplying the advance towards Jhelum. the men frequently looked to the eastern sky.

They were rightfully anticipating for the ground attack campaign on Jhelum, and the ensuing Air war.

All were ready for Air Marshal Shankar to direct the drama.
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Post by Kakkaji »

daulat wrote: In his stone hut further along the salient, Makkaar kept sending updates on his Saathi, whilst along a dusty road further back, the great trident of lord Shiva moved inexorably to its launch point...
Daulat:

Great narration. Minor crib. IIRC 'Pinaka' is Lord Shiva's bow, not his trident.

Regards

Rajeev
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Post by Shalav »

No its the name of his trishul
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Post by Dileep »

Clarification: Pinaka IS the BOW of lord Shiva. Positive! 400% sure. The trident IIRC don't have a name.
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Post by Shalav »

You're right - my mistake became wrong.
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Post by daulat »

Captain Bhagi whispered to Lt. Vyas - "Get a work detail on that quickly"

"Sir"

Vyas quickly jogged back to the rear as Bhagi moved forward to inspect the bundh area as head of the relief battalion. The remnants of Captain Roy's company were slowly drifting back, up ahead Rajan's men were dug into the hills and resting, whilst a fresh battalion of Gorkhas joined the Madrasis in flushing out the hills. On the bridge a tricolour fluttered and an Abhay took up a guard position, more Madrasis took up station around the bridgehead, LMG's at the ready.

Vyas organised a work detail and set to. The severed heads would have to be buried quickly, before the TV crews were brought forward. He smiled, he knew the Gorkha reputation, but damn it, this was too bloody gruesome

Three young jehadis retched as they saw the work detail set about their grisly task, one urinated in his trousers - no more than a boy. A burly grenadier was scowling at him, muttering something about the death of Captain Roy, soon dragged away by an MP.

Vyas looked up at the hills ahead and caught the distant crack of rifles and saw the wisps of smoke rising up. Work details would be busy for some time.

Up overhead he saw the contrails of four Su30's sail past, westwards. he raised his fist in salute. Not looking carefully, he tripped over the body of a jehadi. Even as he fell, the booby trap grenade pinned under the corpse came free and in moments, Vyas was gone, his salute unfinished. So were the two men standing next to him.
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Post by Dileep »

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Post by Shankar »

PRODUCTION PLATFORM BG-10 MUMBAI HIGH NORTH
----------------------------------------------------------------
Asst manager drilling Arvind khanna finished feeding the sharks that loiter around the offshore oil rigs and production platforms rest of his breakfast of onion flavoured omlette and chicken sandwich . The dawn was braking out on the eastern horizon and his shift will be over in 2 hrs time and fromhisvantage point had a clear view of the 36 odd oil wells that feed his production paltform where the crude is processes and pumped out to a landfall point somewhere north of mumbai then refined and distributed through out the country . On the distant eastern horizon he could see the and he imagined the golden shore of juhu few kms away from hissmall 2 bedroom apartment in andheri . He also thought of his overtly religious wife and two kids parveen a strapping boy of 12 and nikeeta a cute littel doll only 4 yrs old.

For the last few days he has seen more than normal coast guard patrolling of the ofshore production zone no doubt connected with hostilities taht have broken out with pakistan and the usal su-30mki s doing the low level fly around once ina while . The international air corridor from london -paris to mumbai lay on his south where every 10 minutes or so he could watch the multi coloured navigation light s of all variety of wide bodied aircraft making their final approach to Mumbai particularly on lonely night shifts like today -they were hisonly companion on the sprawling platform sittingamidst the waves of arbian sea.

The mumbai high field is situated 160 kms west of mumbai and happens to be indias largets and most prolific oilfields with a total area more than 1500 sq kms roughly 75 kms long and 25 kms wide. This oilfield was discovered in 1974 by oil and natural gas commission in 1974 when no one really believed the possibility of crude oil in indias offshore region.

The entire oilfield is divided into north and south blocks The principal crude produceris the L-III resoiver .A zone of relatively low permeability inthe L-III resoiver acts as a divider between south and north production blocks thus allowing independent exploitation of north and south fields .

INS VIKRAMADITYA AND HER GROUP
---------------------------------------------
She was the queen of india navy and rightfully demanded the best that navy has to offer get the privilage to sail with her . And she got it . Flanked by INS Mumbai and INS Mysore along with 2 godavari class frigates around and 2 HDW sub s taking care of her bottom side she moved with the majesty of a queen . The fleet also included a fleet oiler and a couple of fast patrol craft oocean going type with her . Her job-very simple -keep the sea lanes open at any cost .

It is said her smaller sister INS Virat carried enough firepower to equate rest of western command ships , Vikramaditya was way ahead of Virat in her capability to project power -she was awesome in her destructive potential .

Rear admiral Ved prakash was in command of the task force -captain Jail singh commanded the carrier itself . But in todays net centric navy whose command ends where and whose starts is almost difficult to demarcate .All the ships in task force were datalinked with each other and with western naval command on real time basis. A bank of low reflection monitors on naval headquarters continiuosly dispalyed the task force status to top navy brass and enabled them to override any decision on tactical comand level whenever they choose to -which was very rare indeed.

The long range air search radars tracked each and every aircraft outside the commercial air corridor and even check the IFF transponder code of those flying within the comercial corridor but the high trafic density sometimes made positive identification of air type some times very difficuly .

Every one was aware of the destructive power at their disposal and also remembered the tragic iran air flt 6i7 incident when a A-300 was shot down by over eager crew of a USN destroyer in the gulf .
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Post by Khalsa »

Kartik wrote:the twisted Paki logic believes that whatever history undivided India has related to Muslims and Islam is theirs.. :evil: ..what history do they have otherwise ?
would they like the Taj Mahal as well .... ha ha ha
:D :D :D
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Post by Shankar »

THE EVENING BEFORE -PRESIDENTS OFFICE-ISLAMABAD
----------------------------------------------------
Kareen khan was not exactly happy at his navy chief so did not even get up from his presidential chair to greet him as he hastily arrived in response to his summon
- we need to do something drastic to weaken the indian war effort -the army is doing all it can to preserve the integrity of the state of pakistan but those damn indians are using everythin even the trainer jets for ground strike -they have killed hundreds of our brave boys ina gruesome manner -the world is quitely laughing at our plight -do you understand admiral - your inept handling of minicoy and leaves a lot to be desired ,if i may say so

- Mr president sir , the minicoy incident was unavoidable though wrong decision of the task force commander played a significant role in indian victory -sir we are getting ready to deliver a devastating blow to indian war efforts

- now you listen to me admiral -barked the president of pakistan -this is what i want you to do and this is the way i want it to be done -am i clear enough . Kareen khans finger emphatically pointed at the large sacle of map of arabian sea with the high altitude commercial airways marked in red and mumbai high oilfield in black .

The admiral wanted to protest the highly risky plan being put forward by thepresident but knew it wil be futile -the field marshal an ex special forces officer lived on risky moves and never thought of consequences his action .So he decided to give the plan his best shot .

- Mr president i shall need at least half a squadron of mirage III s from airforce and need your clearence to use 4 of my orion P3C s for the mission. I want this mission launched first light tomorrow so that chances of it leaking out is minimal . Since the target area is close to highly defended mumbai naval base route to target is critical .So this is how i plan to approach the traget zone without alerting the indian air defense .

The admiral bowed down and spoke to his president for a few minutes
and at the end of conversation was gratified to see the vetern soldier smiling .

HEATHROW AIRPORT -TERMINAL 3A
-----------------------------------------
- Air india announces departure of their flight 102 to mumbai and bangalore - passengers are requested to board in following sequence -rest of the announcement was drowned in mad rush for the gates and the boarding sequence details became useless.

The B-747 -400 was packed choc o block with passengers returning home for christmas . Whole families were travelling together many of them first time .The passenger list read 180 adult males - 145 females and rest children .
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Post by Singha »

with the PAF decimated in the east and the chinese preparing to pull out, Vayu Bhavan's supremo in charge of the northern air campaign Air vice marshal Alok Indiresan felt the time had come to relocate resources from the east to beef up his orbat to prosecute the PAF on a more aggressive basis. For the last week the bulk of PAF had played a successful game of hide and seek with IAF hunters. During the day they moved back to a dozen airstrips strung out in western sindh, out of his missile and strike a/c range. as dusk fell in 2s and 3s they slunk back to the east and carried out harassing strikes on indian army formations and logistics nodes. A particularly damaging blow had been 3 F16s somehow managing to sneak past a patrolling pair of Mig29s and unleashing 15 medium bombs
on a POL dump near Jodhpur setting off blaze that burnt off a weeks worth of POL for the composite desert strike corps and blaze visible from 50km away at night. the Pak and international media had trumpeted this as a crippling blow and proof of giving the indians a bloody nose. With all out efforts IR had managed to divert and add additional oil trains from the south to try making up the shortfall. a new dump had been created near the old and restocking was in progress...

"Krishna, what would you say to relocating the lightnings and hawks from the east into the south punjab area?"

Y S Krishna patney nodded his agreement. "Yes sir. the time has come for pressing deeper into the enemy AF and striking the PAF on the ground if possible. there is also the sargodha plan..."

"Hmmm...do you think we should do it? the latest risk factor analysis still looked unacceptably high to me"

"we have developed some means to reduce the risk as my report yesterday at the staff conf laid out"

"I will need to ask the ACM himself before we go ahead. but in the meantime let them come in from eastern sector"

"sir"

Late that night #20 and #24 assets spread across guwahati and silchar relocated to the west in groups of 8 fighters each targetted to meet a Midas from Rae Bareily/Nagpur over eastern UP to top up for the onward journey. They flew ready for immediate combat armed with 8 AAMs each. as usual jacob led the first unit of #20, das led the 2nd batch.
wing cmdr sarkar led the #24 flying an hour behind. 6 A320s requisitioned from kingfisher and Indigo airlines brought all the units technicians , security and personal belongings. 4 IL76 and 1 AI-A300 cargo brought the spare parts.

In the pre-dawn darkness. #20 landed at Chandigarh and #24 landed at Gwalior. pilots went off for a few hrs sleep. Mirage2000s were already flying constant night patrols. technicians got busy checking stuff for the gruelling days to come.
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Post by Kakkaji »

Khalsa wrote:
Kartik wrote:the twisted Paki logic believes that whatever history undivided India has related to Muslims and Islam is theirs.. :evil: ..what history do they have otherwise ?
would they like the Taj Mahal as well .... ha ha ha
:D :D :D
Don't be so surprised. I once had an argument on a Paki forum, where the view of the members was that Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Charminar etc. are all 'their' monuments that have unfortunately fallen currently under the possession of the evil, cowardly ones. Their dreams of 'Akhand Pakistan' consist of regaining their 'rightful' control over Delhi and Agra. :roll:
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Post by Shankar »

AI B-747 400 HEATHROW -LONDON- 1630 HRS ZULU TIME
-----------------------------------------
- Heathrow ground -request IFR to Mumbai -AI 102
- AI 102 IFR flight plan to mumbai is cleared -fly runway heading and climb to 35000 ft -contact ground when ready to taxi
- heathrow ground -ai 102 -request permission to taxi

and the normal boring inetraction with ground controller went on and captain
Rajeev bhasin let his xo deal with it . It was a very busy evening in one of the worlds busiest airport . A slight drizzzle was on ,quite common in london his time of the year and the sky was overcast with a cloud celing at 20000 ft. But he did not worry -his cruise altitude of 35000 ft will give him more than enough sky room to give the passengers a smooth flight . The 8 hrs flight to Mumbai will take him over paris -rome -tehran and Mumbai by passing pakistani airspace a small deviation incorporated in the standard flight plan as per ministry of civil aviation directive .

The 747-400 ER aircraft he was flying today had a total seating capacity of 416 in a typical 3 class configuration . The union petrloleum minister was travelling today with his wife and daughter inthe first class section .The four pratt and whitney PW 4062 engines will allow him to generate 63300 lb of thrust each to accelerate this massive aircraft to its normal take off speed of 148 knots and will also allow him to climb out at a respectable 1800 ft/min to his cruising altitude of 35000 ft. All his fuel tanks were full with nearly 241000 ltr of jet fuel. It would be a trick take off on aslippery runway but he did not worry much about it -after all runway 27 was the longest of all 5 runways and used to be used by the erstwhile concorde.

The sharp crackle on his earphone broke his thought chain .

- AI 102 cleared for immediate take off -fly runway heading- climb 35000ft-

Captain bhasin pushed the combined throttl lever all the way forward as his co pilot acknowledged the take off clearence . As the four mighty pratt and whitney engine came to lift the air frame shuddered and then shot forward over the rain slicked runway 27 towards it destiny.
- we have V1 captain intoned xo jasbinder singh as the air speed indicator flashed 110knots
More than 65 % of the runway was already gone and the controls not yet responsive -capt bhasins face lost some of its smile as he concentrated literally at the job in hand.

- we have V 2 captain- and capt bhasin did not waste a second as he rotated the giant aircraft off the ground - into a shalow 10 degree climb out
- retract undercarriage said he and jasbinder quickly snapped up the undercarriage lever and all three indicators turned red from green immediately .
As he climbed into the cloud bank at 7000ft and retracted flaps to cruise configuration -bhasin could atlast realx a bit

- AI 102 -london center -turn left 290 -expedite climb to 35000 ft -contact farenburrough approach at 119.5 --------

And the long flight comenced like any other he has flown so many times -except this time it will be different -very very different

INS VIKRAMADITYA - 300 LMS WEST OF MUMBAI SOMEWHERE IN ARABIAN SEA - 2200 hrs IST - THE NIGHT BEFORE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Admiral gorshkov was an aircraft carrie of soviet navy and in a typical russian style named as air craft carrying cruiser .Originally named B aku she was the fourth of the type1143 aircraft carrying cruisers known as kiev clas. The ship was layed out in 1978 ,launched in 1982 and commissioned in 1987 .The design of baku was somewhat different from otherkiev class aircraft carrying cruisers interms of her armament but carried an identical air wing consisting of a squadron of 12 yak-38 Forger
V/STOL aircraft ,twelve Ka -27 Helix A ASW/SAR helicopter ,2 Ka 31 AEW helicopter . Following the collapse of soviet union the ship was renamed Admiral Gorshkov in memory of legendary admiarl of the fleet who also was in a big way responsible for modernisation of indian navy in the late sixties and early seventies particularly the submarine arm . Gorshkov had a majot boiler room explossion in 1994 and returned to service in 1995 but was withdrawn in 1996 and offered for sale

The negotiation for purchase of this ship by indian navy was one the lengthiest in history and only in 2004 the deal was sighned and then the ship was extensively re fitted which included stripping of all ships weaponary from fore deck,making her suitable for mig-29k and sea harrier operation . The deal also included purchase of Ka-31 and mig 29 ks for the ships air arm . The ship was modified to operate on short take off and assisted recovery mode with a 14.2 degree bow ski jump and a set of 3 arrestor wires on the stern . On the engine room side all the boiler were modified to accept high speed diesel inplace of furnace oil to give the ship faster accleration and lower maintanance frequency.

Today she was on an overt sea control mission -with hostilities on western frontvreaching serious proportion it was imperative that nations sea lanes of communication be kept open and safe . Pakistani agostas were a serious threat and india still imported more than 65% of her crude oil requirement . Her patrol area will take her past mumbai high oil fields along iran coast line all the way up to iraq and back . USS Abraham lLinchon took up the job from there .

Admiral Ved prakash in his state room poured over the mass of awacs data and signal intercepts sent over from western naval command .Most of it was usal traffic except one . It was a humanit report from karachi naval air station confirming presence of six mirage III few hours back and 2 orions also getting ready for an unspecified mission . He did not think pakistani top brass is stupid or desperate enough to paln a strike of his carrier task force with a couple of refurbished mirages and a pair of orions but what the hell are they upto he kep on thinking as the bright lights of mumbai high oil fields passed him by
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Post by Sharma »

Shankar........It seems your present scenario of Bombai High is just going to put Indian Leadership in her biggest dilema (Hostages vs National Interest) and that too in ugliest way........ :twisted:

This made me remeber "The Fourth Round- Indo-Pak war 1984" by Ravi Rekhyi
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Post by daulat »

with the pabbi flank secure, the main armoured thrust now pushed through the rail junction at kharain and struck westwards - blasting its way through the hasty defences on the open plain. despite the POL dump attack at Jodhpur, the logistics moved around sufficiently for the momentum to be maintained. besides, the rapid movement of the poona horse supported by a paracommando heliborne raid in advance of the strike netted a number of POL assets from the enemy before they could react. other PA concentrations were hit hard by concentrated Pinaka and BOfor's strikes.

the madrasis and gorkhas continued to secure the pabbi hills, however at least two incidents had taken place of apparently surrendering pakistanis rushing the indian lines and blowing up explosive laden vests in suicide attacks, killing over 50 IA personnel.

then on, a quiet order went around and any untoward movements by PA or associated personnel were initially greeted with machine gun fire or on occaision by flamethrowers. out of five incidents in the past 24 hours, bombers were found in two. rather than invest any more time and lives on the mopping up, the tactic was changed to cut off and starve out.

In the meantime, the tanks thrust forward, despite the dusk raids by mirages and f16's. the mobile tunguska AAA tracked vehicles had accounted for a number of F6's and F7's pressed into service, but only 2 mirages had been taken down, and as yet - no F16's. some of these were clearly operating at night with the aid of LANTIRN pods that the PAF was not supposed to have.

PAF personnel surrendering - downed pilots, displayed a lack of enthusiasm for the war, as did a certain type of PA officer - english speaking, middle ranking. however, a large segment of hard core islamist JCO's and NCO's seemed to persist amongst the POWs...
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Post by Sunil »

On the edge of Pabbi forrest, a very young and very green Lt. Kamran Siddique was staring at the large Indian force passing just ahead of him. The T-90Ms belching smoke as they rumbled... occasionally a T-90M would stop and let loose a single round into an almost random patch of forrest... the screams that followed were terrible. In the distance Kamran could spot the approach of the Madrasis as they cautiously advanced spraying gasoline from a flame thrower into the trenches...

This was clearly outside the limit of what Kamran had bargained for. Kamran considered himself a tough boy, he had endured all those hours riding around in an unairconditioned Pajero jeep as his father and uncle visited the haris working on their landholdings near Multan. Kamran remembered the difficulty he had in using the primitive toilet that the haris seemed to have fashioned out of the ground but now after two years at PMA Kakul... Lt. Kamran knew he could definetely do that sort of thing. Very ethnic... but do-able.. He didn't really want to join the military but when he flunked his engineering school tests, his uncle Major (r) Aqil had told him that all he would have to do is stand around in his uniform and salute random officers and then he could quietly retire into a ASC posting or end up as an incharge for Military Farms and that is how Kamran ended up in an army where he could barely speak the Punjabi that his men spoke and his urdu ... lets just say ... left much to be desired. A sweat welled up on his forehead, Kamran repeatedly reached for his white handkerchief.

JCO Niaz Ahmed watched the young lt. with some concern. Niaz was a veteran of several tours in POK. On one such tour at a place called Keran, he had met a young arab preacher who had taught him many new things about the faith. At a time when Niaz was considering deserting the Army to care for his sick wife in Hassanabdal, the young arab preacher, who worked for the Jamaatul Dawah had helped him deal with his grief while retaining his job in the Army. The arab's teachings were at considerable variance with the more simplistic and mundane teachings of the Barelvi saints that Niaz was used to but the sheer elegance of the arab's thinking had made a lasting impression on Niaz. Niaz had eventually volunteered to serve as an instructor with at Samahini, the Lashkar-e-Taiba's training center for the Daura-e-Khas but quite to his anger - the request was turned down.

Now Niaz found himself facing the same madrasis as Kamran but alongside his platoon was a section of Jihadis. Niaz looked over the men of his platoon, he caught the JCO of the Mujahid section eyeing Kamran's antics with the handkerchief and for a brief instant after that their eyes met. Niaz only knew that the JCO of the Mujahid section had been in the JeM once and had done a tour of India's Kashmir. The Jehadi JCO had never seen Niaz before until yesterday morning but both men knew that the longer that this platoon sat here - the less effective they would be but Kamran seemed to be missing this point altogether.

Gently Niaz crawled up to Kamran's side and spoke...

"Janaab, platoon ready hain... kaafiron par hamla karein?"

This itself was unusual... a JCO asking his Lt. for a decision to attack... pretty strange by PA standards. Kamran would have caught the significance of this, had he not been preoccupied with the thoughts of Akleem, his girlfriend from Bahawalpur... sweet sweet Akleem...

upon receiving no response, Niaz turned around to face the mujahid JCO again. The Jehadi JCO responded with a very steely gaze. Pulling his service revolver from his holster, JCO Niaz Ahmed, 34 Punjab Regt. Alpha Company, Delta Platoon.... shot his CO, Lt. Kamran Siddique at point blank range. Kamran didn't have a clue... most of his brain flew out of the back of his head before he could have a single thought... Slowly Niaz turned to the men and with the words Allah Ho Akbar... led them over the top...
Last edited by Sunil on 01 Aug 2005 23:32, edited 3 times in total.
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Post by Singha »

vintage S2. you do a good job with the characterization and austere faith of the chosen ones.
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Post by Y I Patel »

The Indian Army Integrated Battle Group (IBG) was a uniquely Indian creature, one that could only be produced by the culture that gave rise to Narasimha Avatar. It was neither Corps nor Division; neither Infantry nor Armour; self contained for its doctrinal role but dependent on other units for successfully achieving its mission; containing integrated units from sister services that were commanded independently of each other. It was born during the intellectual ferment during the turn of this century, to fill a unique doctrinal niche: to move fast, hit hard, thrust deep. For this, it sacrificed staying power for mobility by shedding organic infantry and logistics support. It could hit hard to produce a gaping hole in any line of defense, or it could rove deep into enemy territory. It had the mobility and firepower to do so. But mobility and firepower are not sufficient in themselves to sustain gains, for this, plain old boots on ground are critical. And so, the IBG had its own unique vulnerability – it needed other units to watch its back and to feed it.

The core of the IBG comprised of an Independent Armoured Brigade (IAB), an Independent Engineer Brigade, a self-propelled Arty Brigade, and a RAPIDS division. IBG 606, for example, was constituted of the 14th IAB and the Gandiv RAPIDS Division. 14 IAB was almost an armoured division in disguise – it had four armoured regiments and two mechanized infantry battalions. Gandiv had its own Armoured Brigade, two mechanized infantry brigades, and one artillery brigade. For sea-borne missions, the IAB would have been augmented by an amphibious transport ship; but in a purely air-land battle role it had a flight (4 combat aircraft) of the latest F18Is. The F18Is, befitting their multirole status, handled air cover, forward airborne control, and precision strike/interdiction tasks for the IBG. When need arose, they could call on additional air support. They were also aided by dedicated, army-manned UAV batteries that were part of the IBG HQ orbat.

The IAB would be the tip of the spear for the IBG. Given the 14 IAB's potent armoured punch, the IAB could attack on a three to four battalion front with a combination of its armoured regiments and mechanised infantry battalions. Engineer units worked shoulder to shoulder with them to provide breakthrough support when necessary. The IAB reported directly to the army commander (i.e. GOCinC of the relevant army command). In more demanding situations, the army commander could call on his other formations (such as the arty division) to aid the IBG in its mission.

IBG 606 was a very recent raising, and was commanded by one of the army’s most resplendent stars – Lt.Gen. Abhimanyu Kaul. Gen Kaul was one of Army’s fast track promotions, and had been sent to raise IAB 606 directly after his tenure as GOC 1 Armoured Division. He had made his reputation as a resourceful and quick thinking officer very early in his career. In the Battle for Jaffna University, 10 Para Commando was stuck in murderous crossfire from LTTE. In desperation, its commander LtCol Dalvir Singh had turned to the attached armoured regiment to help him relieve his battalion. Maj Abhimanyu Kaul, the officer commanding a squadron of tanks, had risen to the occasion in a brilliant mix of audacity and resourcefulness. He used a tourist book map to locate railway tracks that went by the university, and ran his tanks on the railway tracks to smash his way to the beleaguered para-commando force. His audacious attack from the front had cost him a hand and an eye, and had earned him a well deserved Maha Vir Chakra. Later, as a senior Colonel during Exercise Poorna Vijay, Abhimanyu had used the same audacity and resourcefulness to ambush the Blue-Force’s armoured division headquarters encampment. The bold raid had earned him a special commendation from the army chief, and had cost the Armoured Division commander his promotion to LtGen. At 54, Abhimanyu was the Army’s youngest and most decorated Lt Gen. He cut an imposing and buccaneer-like figure with his bald pate, oversize mustache, eye patch, and steel claw.
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Post by VickersB »

That's funny that you mention the Taj - a Paki walked upto me in college here in the US and said, "Taj hamara hai" - I looked back at him and said "le sakte ho to lelo" - and that was it, that sent his little pea brain into a tizzy!

Khalsa wrote:
Kartik wrote:the twisted Paki logic believes that whatever history undivided India has related to Muslims and Islam is theirs.. :evil: ..what history do they have otherwise ?
would they like the Taj Mahal as well .... ha ha ha
:D :D :D
:wink:
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Post by Y I Patel »

Indra approached Karna in disguise before Kurukshetra, and took advantage of Karna’s generosity to rid him (Karna) of his impregnable kavach and kundala. In return, out of shame for his deed on behalf of his child Arjun, Indra gave Karna an invincible weapon (Shakti) that he could use once and only once…

Avadhesh knew that the time had come to use his Shakti. Paradoxically for the commander of Asia’s most powerful land formation, his was a crown of thorns. If he won, his victory would be attributed to the overwhelming power of his hordes. And if he even slipped or faltered, he would be painted as the one who squandered India’s victory. He would become the scapegoat for a modern day Panipat.

So he knew he had no choice but to win. Win quick, win big, win ruthlessly, and win by crushing all opposition. And he knew time was his enemy. Unlike his peers on other fronts, his was not the luxury of slogging it out or wining by attrition of inferior opposition. Already, impatient missives from HQ were informing him how the Pakistani resistance in his area was serving as a rallying point, as a morale booster for the badly rattled Pakistani forces. He knew his pivot corps had inflicted heinous losses on Pakistanis, that Doraiswamy’s 1 Corps had already started drawing out elements of the third Pakistani armoured division and creating a gaping void for Ashwini’s 21 Corps to exploit. He suspected that the stalemate was because Dushyant had been pulling his punches. Avadhesh operated by gut feel, and was disdainful of fancypants theory. He was especially contemptuous of Dushyant Saha who Avadehsh felt had risen not on field experience but by looking good on paper – specifically, through publication of books and articles ghost written by suborned juniors.

Avadhesh also knew that the IBG was designed to be employed under very specifically shaped environments – it could be launched deep from a carefully prepared firm base obtained by a pivot corps, or it could be used in a Cold Start situation to effect quick, shallow breakthroughs. But the exigencies of the situation forced him to take a gamble, to contemplate launching the IBG in a very unorthodox situation. IBG 606 would be ordered to thrust deep, to smash through successive Pakistani defensive lines. And it would have to do so without a firm base to protect its vulnerable shaft. The only protection would be follow on forces from 2 Corps. Lt Gen Doraiswamy had managed a few shallow breakthroughs in his area of ops closest to Rahim Yar Khan. So the Pakistani’s would expect any IBG launches through those area, especially since they would expect the Indians to race to the Indus through the path of shortest distance. So Avadhesh sought surprise by launching IBG 606 much farther to the north, in the Bikaner-Anupgarh axis under Saha’s 10 Corps. He had another motive for this as well. He knew one of his primary military objectives was not territorial but moral. He had to smash Pakistan’s prize military formation, the Army Reserve South. He had to catch Duryodhan in his lair and annihilate him. Right now, the Pakistani 2 Corps had barely crossed the Sutlej, and was lying coiled to unleash its riposte against any Indian breakthrough. Avadhesh knew he had to find, fix, and smash 2 Corps, if his race to Indus were to have any chance of success.

So Avadhesh called Abhimanyu and his men, and gave them their orders: smash though the Pakistani lines, and do not stop until you hit the ARS. Abhimanyu had just one question: What happens to my back? Parth and his Kharga will follow you. You just keep going. Yes sir. Jai Hind.

Abhimanyu had been unleashed against the Chakravuyha. The most fateful battles of the war were about to commence
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Post by Sudhir »

This is good stuff... addicting too.... gimme more :shock: :x :twisted:
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Post by Y I Patel »

A request to map savvy gurus - can someone post a decent map of the Sahiwal - Okara (PakPunjab) area? Preferably not aerial imagery, but road network. I am thinking an area about 30 to 40 km E-W; same N-S (ie about 1600 sq km in the Sahiwal-Okara districts). Thanks in advance!
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Post by Shalav »

http://www.travelpost.com/ME/Pakistan/P ... ap/3052807

click on level one to get road and rail map of Okara.
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Post by Dileep »

YIPji check out the berkeley site:

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EART/india/250k.html.

This gives physical maps (of 1961 vintage) to 1:250,000 scale of India and Pak.

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/EART/india/250k/nh43_5.jpg

This gives the area you want. Sahiwal was called Montgomery that time. Okara is near the right edge, closer to the top right corner. Montgomery (Sahiwal) is on the rly line going left-down from Okara.

These maps, though old, gives very good info, especially when co-ordinated with google earth.
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Post by viktor »

Shatkoti pranam to all the gurus who keep feeding us with this high quality content. I think Tom Clancy would be mad with rage if he crossed this forum. :twisted:
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Post by Babui »

YIP - very nice, indeed !! I like the references to the Mahabharat. Keeps things on an 'epic' proportion :D ......but, hoping that armored commander, Abhimanyu, does not meet the same fate as his namesake :roll:
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Post by Singha »

[continuing from] Slowly Niaz turned to the men and with the words Allah Ho Akbar... led them over the top...

charged up and crackling with emotional intensity the Jihad platoon to a man ran after the figure of Niaz and burst over the crest of the shallow rise like a thunderclap around 50m from the passing column of indian armour. A small section of IA troopers walking casually up the line alongside the tanks was the first to feel the impact...two men, veterans of many a hard fight in the pir-panjal in 'occupied kashmir' expertly dived into a burrow, setup their pilka LMG in no time and sprayed a deadly hail of bullets to mow down the enemy like ripened corn before the scythe. 600m downwind, another indian platoon was advancing and started running towards the engagement, as yet too far to be involved.

Niaz, standing tall like Hector in his chariot atop the ridge barked crisp orders..oblivious to the bullets randomly flying around and the crump-crump of his own incoming PA artillery trying to target the gap opened by the indians.

Two teams armed with RPGs immediately let loose RPG-24 projectiles (procured from eastern europe) at nearly point blank range on the nearest T90s aiming for the vulnerable rear aspect of the turrets. They knew the criticial weak points of T-series from close lessons on T-80U and moreover the main gun had to elevate to a std position for reload round giving them easy notice of when to duck and hide. Both the RPG shots penetrated and ignited the carousel, stacked thick with HE projectiles.

The broken turrets of both tanks landed 45 meters away such was the force of the explosion. Both were carrying large drop tanks in the rear, these set aflame a third tank nearby which cooked off in two minutes.

Two more members ran full tilt at the fourth tank with satchel charges and dived under the belly before the gunner could bring his co-ax MG to bear. A second later, both charges ignited ... obliterating the tank in spectacular fashion.

Only two more tanks left in immediate vicinity. the RPG gunners had darted back over the ridge to meet other men waiting with reloads. The alerted survivor tanks raked the ridge with their 12.5mm HMGs throwing up clumps of debris ...Niaz sprinted over the ridge and hustled with one RPG team to a position 100m downwind , more to the side of where the tanks were firing. this spot had the additional advantage of overlooking the tanks.

Again the RPG barked from 100m distance and the T90 took a solid hit in its thin top armour , all electro-opticals and MG blown to bits with flaming debris threatening to break through the spall liner. The commander ordered the driver to veer left and run for it. a fatal mistake. the 2nd RPG hit the tanks spare fuel tank in the rear, setting it ablaze, killing the engine and bringing it to a deal halt.

Niaz slowly and calmly shot dead the three crewmen attempting to escape.
...counting his shots..using single shots only.

The last surviving tank threw a futile shell on their position and turned tail, this kind of attack was impossible to defend without infantry support now still 500m behind.

The infantry commander seeing the five burning tanks decided to wait until another platoon came up before probing forward.

Suddenly all firing stopped and the only sound was the crack crack of HMG ammo cooking off in a burning tank.

Silhouetted by the burning flames Niaz turned back to his emotional troopers positioned along the ridge and raised his AK, ....he didnt say anything.

With one voice the cry from the platoon rent the darkening sky "Allah ho Akbar...Allah ho Akbar...."

"Shabbash, ab hume do kilometer peeche move karke naya position lena hai....wapas hamla karenge kafiro par kuch ghante mei, Chalo!"

In 5 minutes they all vanished into the forest.
Last edited by Singha on 02 Aug 2005 21:35, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Sunil »

Singha,

Silhouetted by the burning flames Niaz turned back to his emotional troopers positioned along the ridge and raised his AK, ....he didnt say anything.

Shades of the battle of Abadan (1981) in the Iran-Iraq war!

Boss.. I have another masterpiece planned here.. give me a day or two.

YIP... the chakravyuha has many nasty surprises in it.
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Post by Y I Patel »

Thanks Shalav and Dileep! The Berkeley site has just the kind of maps for this scenario. Guys keep these links in mind when I post my next instalments.

Sunil I have a few twists of my own as well - in fact, I have the whole action with IBG 606 in my mind, it's just a matter of finding time and hammering it out in small pieces... The kind of actions you guys have been describing on the northern front I can handle within my scenario, since they will not change the overall play of things. However, in case you were thinking any major twist that would alter the entire thrust (and can think of some myself), can you give me a heads up before you go ahead? Don't want things to get inconsistent.

Another useful map of the area I will be talking about - this one is easier to read because it has less detail

http://www.cybercity-online.net/Pakista ... unjab.html
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Post by Sunil »

YIP,

I have a short sketch here, you can fit it whereever you like... it is fairly general in that sense. I was reminded of the photos of the Iran-Iraq war after reading Singha's piece... so I fashioned something along the lines of the battle of Basra. I will work on the Jihadi pov in this piece.

*****

When Maj. Gen. Fahim Akhtar heard of the events at Pabbi his fury knew no bounds. All around him his staff seemed to be melting into the ground as his punjabi turned more and more colorful. Fahim was an oddity in the Pakistan Army, he was actually a serious and competent military officer - you didn't find too many of those. Most Pakistani Army officers were either corrupt or hopelessly incompetent or both ... and made it to flag officer status by kissing a** in their respective biradaris. That sort of promotion scheme made sense for an army that never intended to fight a real shooting war, but cassandras within the army had long predicted, that a day of reckoning would someday come and equally predictably everyone had ignored them. Fahim knew this all too well - perhaps that is why he was still a Maj. Gen. when he was barely a year form retirement.

Though he wasn't politically savvy, Fahim was a Pakistani patriot, not that he actually understood a single word about the Nazariya Pakistan.. in his more candid moments he would even say the Nazariya Pakistan sounded like complete gibberish and probably was just that... gibberish. However Fahim knew where his home was and where he would die and he would be damned a thousand times over if he was going to let some Godless communist or filthy dhoti wearing Hindu take his home and rape his women. From Fahim's somewhat cynical point of view - there were plenty of Pakistanis around to do any pillaging and raping that was to be done. Allowing foreigners into that line of work would only come by depriving his own countrymen of much needed work. Perhaps a simplistic way of thinking - but Fahim seemed comfortable with it. He once said as much to an over-enthusiastic cadet who was bent on sucking upto him after his lecture at the Armor school, and man - if there was one thing that Fahim hated more than the congenitally incompetent --- it was the c*cks*kers.

"Look Ejaz.. it is very fu*king simple.. that piece of land under your feet... that is Pakistan!... and it is *your* *fuc*ing* *land* you lose that piece of land and you will have nothing to stand on... and that's all. You want to spend the rest of your life as janitor in your uncle's grocery store in Leeds or operate a gas pump in New Jersey, you might as well go there now... because if you lose this land of Pakistan- that is all you'll ever be... Forget about War and Peace and politics... remember this ... the Indians will come with their tanks and our job is to make sure that we kill as many of them as we can.. if we are successful.. this land will still be ours.. otherwise a visit to Allah Miyan is overdue... for us anyway... "

Fahim never knew whether Ejaz understood that, but that was how Fahim kept things - politically simple - it left his mind free to concentrate on other things like actual armor warfare. The same philosophy was applied to religious affairs.

"Yes yes... one must do Salah etc... etc... and very good Maulana Sahab I want to conduct the nikah of my daughter... but when I need a cold beer... I must have a cold beer and that is that... if Khuda wants one.. well that is His problem. "

The pragmatic Gen. Fahim was now quite pragmatically p*ssed. The Jihadis who Fahim regarded with some suspicion were the only ones who seemed somewhat ready for combat - the rest of the uniformed lot especially the officers were behaving like school girls on a picnic. The snooty little motherf*ckers were acting as if they were doing Gen. Fahim a favor by filing regular reports at his divisional HQ. Fahim toyed with the idea of sending his PSO and some MPs and shooting some of the errant officers but he realized that he didn't have the manpower to spare for that. He didn't like the Jihadis and would have asked them to go shoot some officers for him but he realised that if he let those boys out of his sight they might just go over to the nearest Shia village and burn all the women and children and that was the problem with them. The Jihadis failed to understand their sole purpose ie. to die instead of regular soldiers, to do the dirty disgusting things that a regular soldier cannot be bothered to do, and instead these two-bit homicidal psychos took it upon themselves to teach the regulars about Islam - to talk down to the regulars about their lack of faith. All this coming from men who idea of faith revolved around rape and murder of unarmed civilians. Naturally as a professional soldier who distinguished between unarmed civilian and armed professional adversaries, Fahim's personal opinion of the Jihadis and their brand of unrestricted war was low - to him they were human trash, cannon fodder that seemed to be willing to talk back... but all said and done.. Fahim was in a tough spot - he knew he would need them.

The once famed 31st Division of the Pakistan Army now under Gen. Fahim was in total disarray. At the ABHQ there was a regiment of tanks and a battalion of men sitting around. Some signals and communication troops and some logistics troops and about another two battalions of Jihadi irregulars sitting outside the perimeter. At this point Fahim realized that with his depleted command staff he was in no position to coordinate the defence lines and his best hope lay in striking a single blow at the enemy's flanks.

A scouting party had reported early that morning that an Indian sapper unit was seen laying mines to the south of a major road junction some distance from Fahim's ABHQ. To Fahim this suggested that there was a major resupply node just north of there. If Fahim could penetrate the minefield he could in theory attack the node. However the complete absence of air cover and coordination with anything made a regular de-mining operation difficult and time consuming. It was getting into the late afternoon... and that meant that time was off the essence. The Indians were moving fast and at night. Fahim would have to do something right now otherwise this entire division would be worth less than toilet paper at GHQ. With about a moments thought Fahim summoned the commander of the Jihadi battalion and told him to assemble a company of his youngest volunteers. Other officers recieved orders for similar preparations and soon the ABHQ was buzzing with activity.

The "men" that the commander of the Jihad battalion returned with almost made Fahim vomit. These weren't men - they were boys, mostly 13 - 15 years old. A few had RPGs and Kalashnikov's which were bigger than them. Fahim put his distaste aside - its just human trash - ignore the fact that they are alive - he reminded himself - and told the teenagers what they had to do for Allah and Pakistan. He wasn't into big speeches and quite frankly he didn't recall enough of it to quote at random from the Quran Sharif, so he simply ended his instructions with the phrase.. "Pakistan sey rishta kya? --- La Ilaha il Allah.." and ordered the JCO of the sapper platoon to coordinate this newly designated ... "Badr Force".

As dusk slowly fell, small expeditionary force somprising a three tank squadrons cautiously approached the minefield, south of the Hazrat Shah junction. At precisely 6.29 pm PST, the boys of the Jihadi company formed up in ten 20 foot wide lines at the southern edge. Each line had one man carrying a burning torch. By 6.45 pm all the tanks from A and B squadron had lined up behind them along with two companies of 15 Sindh Regt. and the C sqn was bringing up the rear. Fahim and his PSO sat casually on the lead tank "Changez" of the 2nd troop A Sqn, which stood just behind the Jihadi lines. The Jihadi CO walked between the lines encouraging the men.

At 7:00 pm.. the men of Badr Force screaming "Allah Ho Akbar" began to run across the minefield. The first wave made it about 40 yards before a large anti-tank mine exploded killing 10 men and maiming most of the remaining except one. The mine had been rigged to a smaller anti-personnel mine - the runner set off the AP mine, which triggered the AT. The last man, one Usman, the son of Karim, a farmhand from Chakwal in Punjab, kept running another 15 yards until he stepped on an another anti-personnel mine. After this the second wave started towards the mine field and then the third. In all not a man wavered, not one Jihadi turned the other way and ran. They were too young to do that and the SSP preachers had picked their boys well. Usman's brother Afzal, was part of the fourth wave and was injured. There were no medics available to wander into the minefield and he bled to death an hour later. In 20 minutes a gap about 10 feet wide had opened across the length of the mine field and the last of the three waves of the Jihadis now walked across the field and 2nd Troop A Sqn 89 Armour regiment with "Changez" in the lead followed in their wake. As "Changez" lurched ahead, Fahim and his PSO daintily jumped off the top and began to walk back along the line of tanks. The men saluted as the General passed them.

The Pakistani assault on the resupply node at Gheb bridge... had begun.

(thanks folks... I completely forgot about the weight issue!).
Last edited by Sunil on 03 Aug 2005 20:37, edited 3 times in total.
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Post by Singha »

a potential force multiplier in the mine clearing is run a herd of cattle across, using jihadi types as herders to keep them in right direction. A buffalo could weigh 300kg and with 4 small hooves the ground pressure maybe enough to set off anti-tank mines also.
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Post by Shalav »

Wouldn't the triggering of AT mines required a minimum pressure of ~150 kg or more?
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Post by Singha »

per this it needs 100kg, but if someone just wants a big charge to target infantry I am sure the pressure can be settable somehow.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landmine
quote: Some anti-tank mine types are also able to be triggered by infantry, giving them a dual purpose even though their main and official intention is to work as anti-tank weapons.
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Post by Shalav »

I was under the impression US AT mines required 150+ kg. Some Bosnian AT mines required ~100 kg. Some ATM required 200+ kg. All depends on manufacturer, but you're right 100 kg seems to be the minimum not 150kg.

In any case an AT minefiled would also be peppered with AP mines, else sapper squads could walk in fearlessly and dectivate the AT mines. You could also tripwire the AP and AT mines, most of them seem to have at-least two options to detonate them the trigger and an anti-handling measure at the very least. I assume it would be easy to rig the mine to detonate the anti-handling trigger by means of tripwire too?
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Post by Dileep »

YIPji e-mail pls dileepks at hotpop dot com
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Post by Y I Patel »

Brigadier Shivinder Singh Randhawa of the 14th Independent Armoured Brigade had taken to using his wife’s makeup. It would not do to have his men or his superiors see the dark patches under his eyes. If planning for war is hell, it was doubly so for Shivi and his men – they had to first plan for possible operations in Bangladesh; then, with the shift in the strategic situation, they had to dust off their old plans for potential thrusts on the western front. IBG 606 was the only fully formed, fully equipped and fully operational IBG in the Indian Orbat, and it had the onerous responsibility of planning for potential employment anywhere along almost 1000 kilometers of heavily defended territory. And in addition to the usual painstaking and back breaking labours of planning movement schedules, lines of ammunition and schedules of supply and replenishment, and the like, the closely watched IBG component had another important imperative: to avoid detection by prying eyes. Since this was easier said then done in the densely populated environs of Indian cantonments, the only way to confuse watching eyes was unceasing movement. So Shivi and other IBG units were in a constant welter of movement, from siding to railway siding in stations all over huge tracts of western India. So it was with something akin to relief that Shivi and his men greeted their orders – this, in spite of their certain knowledge that they would be in the thickest and deadliest of action.

Now Shivi stared pensively at the thick ream of printout that detailed his movement plans and logistics schedules. Here was Lt Gen Jaiswal’s bold gamble, in all its gritty detail. The plan was typical of Gen Jaiswal – simple, direct, and ruthlessly efficient. 10 Corps engineer units, with fire support from 41 Arty Division would blast open lanes in the first two lines of Pakistani defense, and “shoot” 606 IBG through. The launch points would be from Indian enclaves west of Sutlej, just some 10-odd kilometers northwest of the Indian town of Fazilka. Shivi could appreciate that this location had the virtue of being one of the few places where the Sutlej would not have to be forded in the teeth of Pakistani fire. Furthermore, this ment that the thrust would be in the rich Ravi-Sutlej heartland of Southern Pakistani Punjab. This was not the desolate semi-arid area of RYK as visualized by many Indian strategists, but a lush farmland irrigated by a dense network of canals. This was the home of military farms; of lands appropriated from farmers by retired Pakistan Army top brass. It was also land where the Pakistani Generals would think twice before employing their nuclear weapons on advancing Indian columns, Shivi thought wryly. Wouldn’t do to ruin their retirement plans now, would it?

On the flip side, the fight would be no cakewalk. The thrust was designed to exploit the relative weakness arising from the whole area being in Pakistani 34 Corps seam with 4 Corps – not that the area would be lightly defended, just that it would be easier for Indian formations like 11, 10 and 1 Corps to stretch the Pakistani holding formations thin and keep the defending units tied down, while 606 IBG plunged a sharp dagger into a vulnerable and sensitive area. The thrust, even if shallow, was sure to bring Pakistani 2 Corps roaring out of its lair, out of its carefully prepared and camouflaged dispersal areas. And that was all Avadhesh was asking for.

The plan was that 606 IBG would, with 10 Corps help, smash through the first four lines of defense and cross the main barrier in the area - the main line of the Dipalpur Canal. Thereafter, IBG 606 would split into two roughly equal pincers on either bank of the canal, and follow it westwards along the grain of the land. 14 IAB and one brigade from Kota based 18 RAPIDS would take the south bank or left pincer, and the armoured brigade and second mechanized brigade of 18 RAPIDS would take the right pincer on the north bank. About 20 miles west of the jump off points, and roughly to the south of Dipalpur Village, the entire formation would pivot northwestwards to cut off the Lahore Multan road between Sahiwal and Okara. The military and geographic objective of IBG 606 was to straddle the Lahore-Multan highway, the main north-south artery of Pakistan. It would take about 50 kilometers of movement, and the timelines envisaged that IBG 606 would be at the Lahore Multan highway in about 3 days. The plan was that as IBG 606 pivoted northwestwards, follow-on forces from Indian 2 corps would launch themselves westwards from IBG’s pivot point, bypass Sahiwal (thereby sandwiching it between IBG and 2 Corps), and attack along the Lahore-Multan road and parallel to south bank of River Ravi. At that point, IBG 606 would become the right (northward) block for the main attack by 2 Corps and its heavy armour assets. IBG’s slender shaft up to the Dipalpur canal would be protected by 10 Corps brigades, in a belated attempt to establish a firm base after the IBG had been launched.

All in all a reasonable gamble, Shivi thought. What he did not have to articulate even to himself, because it was so glaringly obvious, was this: his 14 IAB would be the tip of the spearhead. The pair of 18 Div brigades on his north would protect his right flank from any attacks out of Okara region, while the other 18 div brigade on his left would provide a thin screen along the south. The Pakpattan Canal and Sutlej River would thus form the southern base and protective obstacle for the thrust. Any Pakistani units venturing northwards across it would have to be peeled off from the already hemorrhaging fronts against determined and repeated assaults by 1 and 10 Corps; furthermore, they would also be subjected to the tender affections of roving IAF BAS CAPs.
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Post by daulat »

Captain Nalini Chauhan jumped into the cab of the truck in a swift move. The orders to move forward had come through, she had to get her signals unit on the road and moving quickly as the FEBA surged ahead following the break out of the Pabbi forest.

She tensed a little as the last MP's waved her column through. From now on, it was bandit country. No problem, she was leading five trucks with her unit of 65 men and some women - SIGINT and COMMS being their main functions. She patted her side arm unconsciously and fought back the lump in her throat. Got to lead by example...

The fast moving battle had plunged ahead, leaving many bewildered in its wake. Villagers, dislocated people, deserters and sometimes relatively intact small PA formations,and many irregulars who had not found space on PA trucks heading back to more solid defences.

Chauhan blinked into the darkness to make out the road ahead. Lights out, so making do with starlight and anything glimmering out there. The infantry had got all the NVG's, the signals had to make do with eyeball mark 1.

Soon, there was a lot of light, almost too much - and a lot of noise. When she came too, she found rough hands on her, pulling her through the thicket, her head hurt and she tasted blood on her lips.

Havildar Ghatke regrouped the three surviving trucks and rallied the unit around him and took up defensive positions, firing back at the rapidly retreating shadows that had wreaked havoc out of the inky black night. Having stabilised the situation, Ghatke got on the radio to base

"Saab, dushman ne akraman kiya... han... abhi thik hai... " he gave out the coordinates and sighed in relief as he heard the Colonel request a casevac helicopter with armed escort out towards them

"aur saab..." Ghatke paused... "Woh loge Captain Madam ko utha le gaye..." and cursed himself for not being able to get to her first and save her as she lay on the ground next to her burning truck

The two irregulars tugged their captive through the brush into a thicket, almost chuckling with glee. The 'political officer' had not promised such loot in this war - "aa gaye bakhri!" he laughed as the two jehadis dropped Chauhan at his feet.

Ghatke could bear it no longer - the izzat of his unit and much more was at stake now. He looked around the nearby scrub frantically, trying to hide his anguish, confirming his long held fears about allowing women into the army...
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Post by daulat »

Ghatke could bear it no longer, once he confirmed that casevac was on the way, he quickly summoned up a team of five volunteers and headed out into the night in the direction he saw the irregulars head off towards. He would find his Captain - no matter what lay ahead.

An hour of heading through the forest scrub and no real trace. Ghatke managed to keep the team focused. Navigating in the dark was facilitated by their Saathi terminal and its GPS module, but it was still a large and difficult arena.

"Bachao!" he head a scream up ahead, followed by a muffeld groan as whoever had screamed was quickly silenced.

Ghatke signalled his men to fan out and creep forward, fingers on the trigger, safety catch off. They had been located

"Ghatke!" the Captain's familiar voice rang out

"Madam!"

Chauhan stepped out into the clearing along the path and smiled broadly, the starlight glinting in her eyes.

"Udhar hai... leke ayo... waqt barbaad ho raha hai" and she stepped smartly along the path back towards the road.

Ghatke found the 'political officer', tied with plasticuffs lying on the ground, his nose broken and bleeding and whimpering. Quickly he hauled him up and frogmarched him behind the rapidly moving Captain, not quite believing what he was seeing.

"Madam... sab thik to hai?"

"Han, aur do bhi the, lekin unko bancha nahi paya..." she smiled, silently nursing her bruised knuckles and thanking her close combat trainer back at the academy in Dehra Dun. The jehadis had not expected a woman, and that too a woman who fought. She had to shoot the other two, unavoidable... and strangely pleasurable... but the leader was clearly a prize worth capturing. He would have much to say... pity, she would not be the one interrogating him.

She turned to Ghatke for a situation report on the ambush and its aftermath.
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Post by Singha »

whew for a moment I thought she was a gone case. rape and war are linked since ancient times. other than the assorted peoples you have outlined running around in the forest (byproduct of a rapid breakthrough), you can also factor in staybehind units of scouts, saboteurs and SF units tasked to hit the vulnerable logistical tail, locate HQ camps and call in airstrikes or arty. jihadi militias being in civilian clothes will ofcourse be there as usual. these small units can have a devastating impact like wiping out a lightly guarded corps HQ in the rear by surprise attack or setting on fire a vital POL depot...

NATO had extensive plans for such harassment units in germany.
daulat
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Post by daulat »

yes indeed - i had initially thought of a SSG encounter with Nalini, but then waqt barbaad hoh raha tha, aur kaam bhi jaada tha ;)

GWII had a lot of incidents of tail biting - and women being captured too. brits lost a few men early on through this

rapid moving fronts have lots of complications...
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