Manikmusicscapgk at 06:49, 19 March 2026

2026-03-19T06:49:42Z

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{{Short description|1971 war battle in Sindh}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Chachro
| partof = the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]
| date = 5–10 December 1971<br />({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=12|day1=5|year1=1971|month2=12|day2=10|year2=1971}})
| place = [[Chachro]], [[Sindh]], [[Pakistan]]
| map_type = Pakistan#Pakistan Sindh
| coordinates = {{coord|25.1115|N|70.2613|E|display=inline,title}}
| map_size = 250px
| map_caption = Location of the battle with geopolitical borders in [[Pakistan]]
| map_label = Chachro
| territory =
| result = Indian victory
| combatant1 = {{flag|India|23px}}
| combatant2 = {{flag|Pakistan|23px}}
| commander1 = {{plainlist|
* {{flagicon|India|army}} Lt Col [[Bhawani Singh]]
}}
| commander2 = Unknown
| units1 = [[Indian Army]]<ref>Gill (2003), p.58</ref>
*11 Infantry Division
:*330 Brigade
:*85 Brigade
:*31 Brigade
17 Grenadiers
[[Para (Special Forces)|10 Para SF]]
| units2 = [[Pakistan Army]]<ref>Gill (2003), p.58</ref>
*33 Infantry Division
:*55 Infantry Brigade (initially)
:*60 Infantry Brigade (following the fall of Chachro and failure of [[Battle of Longewala]])
[[Pakistan Rangers]]
| strength1 =
| strength2 =
| casualties1 = '''Indian claim:'''

None
| casualties2 = ~3,000 sq miles of territory lost <ref>Gill (2003), p.58</ref>

'''Indian claim:'''

36 killed<br>22 captured

4,000 sq miles of sandy wastes lost <ref>Praval (2011)</ref>
| notes =
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Indo-Pakistani War of 1971}}{{Campaignbox Indo-Pakistani Wars}}
| image = 10 Para (SF) team after capturing Chachro village in Pakistan.jpg
| caption = 10 Para (SF) team after capturing [[Chachro]] town
}}
The '''Battle of Chachro''' involved a division-sized assault and multiple raids by the Indian Armed Forces on the eastern town of [[Chachro Tehsil|Chachro]] in the [[Tharparkar]] district of West Pakistan. The battle resulted in India capturing the town and around 3,000 sq. miles of surrounding sandy wasteland.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gill |first=John H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m2q6SgAACAAJ |title=An Atlas of the 1971 India - Pakistan War: The Creation of Bangladesh |date=2003 |publisher=National Defense University, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies |pages=58 |language=en}}</ref> While a large area was captured, it had little to no economic or political impact on Pakistan owing to the region's emptiness.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Maj Gen Sukhwant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4688VpqB8r8C |title=India's Wars Since Independence The Liberation Of Bangladesh |date=1981 |publisher=Lancer Publishers LLC |isbn=978-1-935501-60-2 |language=en |quote=The biggest territorial conquest in terms of territory was however in the Naya Chor and Chachro area of the Barmer sector, where two simultaneous thrusts towards Naya Chor and Umarkot had created a salient in the Sind sector of Pakistani territory. Although impressive on maps and in terms of statistics, this was a vast expanse of empty, unproductive sand. Apart from the burden of upkeep of the refugee population of the desert, its continued occupation was embarrassing to the holding troops because of lack of water and an inadequate logistic infrastructure. Much work had to be done in the way of laying a sweetwater pipeline and storage tanks, restoring the railway line to Naya Chor and constructing desert roads with coastly duckboards to maintain the troops deployed there. These facilities, created at considerable expense, had to be abandoned, almost intact, at the time of withdrawal. Militarily, conquest was a prerequisite for an advance into the productive green belt. Since the momentum of the thrust had already fizzled out on reaching its fringes possession of this territory was of no consequence. Economically, it was a drain and certainly no longer cost effective. Its loss had made no dent in Pakistan’s economy, nor affected its political standing in Sind. |access-date=10 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522034726/https://books.google.com/books?id=4688VpqB8r8C |archive-date=22 May 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Background==
The 10 Para (Special Forces) was raised in 1967 as an offshoot of 9 Para (Special Forces). The unit specializes in [[desert warfare]]. From five months prior to the 1971 war, two teams (Alpha and Charlie) of 10 Para SF were trained intensively to carry out long-range raids, inspired by [[Raid on Sidi Haneish Airfield|British SAS raids of German airfields]] in North Africa during the [[Second World War]].<ref name="News18">{{cite news |last= Paljor|first= Karma|date=15 January 2017|title=The Chachro Raid of 1971 – India's Most Daring Surgical Strike in Pakistan|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/the-chachro-raid-of-1971-indias-most-daring-surgical-strike-in-pakistan-1336153.html|newspaper=News18| access-date= 3 January 2023}}</ref>

==The raid==
The following account of the raid is made entirely from Indian sources.

The teams of 10 Para SF were given the objective of striking Pakistani positions 80 km inside, hitting [[supply lines]] and creating confusion.<ref name="News18" />
The raid began on the night of 5 December, with the Alpha team advancing quietly through the night towards Chachro. However, they were spotted by a Pakistani [[Outpost (military)|outpost]] in the morning and came under attack, and were forced to take cover. To break the impasse, [[Naik (military rank)|Naik]] Nihal Singh took a jeep and charged at high speed at the Pakistani post, firing the mounted [[light machine gun]]. This allowed the rest of the team to also attack, with 18 machine guns firing in unison, causing the Pakistani defenders to flee.<ref name="Week" /><ref name="News18" />

Next, on the night of 7 December, the raiders moved to capture the wing headquarters of the [[Pakistan Rangers]] in Chachro. The Alpha team took covering positions, while the Charlie team moved in for the offensive. By first light, Chachro was captured. In the raid, 17 Rangers were killed, and 12 were captured alive. The post and the prisoners were handed over to the [[Rajput Regiment|20 Rajput Battalion]] which had linked up.<ref name="News18"/><ref name="Week"/>

After that, the team crept towards Virawah, reaching it close to midnight. They attacked the Ranger camp there, resulting in the Rangers at Virawah also abandoning the post and fleeing. The unit then proceeded towards the [[tehsil]] headquarters of [[Nagarparkar Tehsil|Nagarparkar]] and captured it as well before the daybreak of 8 December. After the arrival of the regular infantry, the prisoners were handed over. Thereafter, the unit was tasked with destroying an [[ammunition dump]] at [[Islamkot Tehsil|Islamkot]]. However, on arrival, it found the place to be empty. While heading back towards India, it spotted a Pakistani convoy at Lumio and ambushed it, killing 20 Pakistani soldiers and taking others prisoners.<ref name="News18"/><ref name="Week">{{cite news |last= Prasannan|first= R|date= 12 December 2021|title=The Army's surgical strike of 1971|url=https://www.theweek.in/theweek/cover/2021/12/04/the-army-surgical-strike-of-1971.html|newspaper=The Week| access-date= 3 January 2023}}</ref><ref name="DNA"/>

==Result==
By the end of the war, India captured an area of about 13,000 sq km of Sindh up to [[Umerkot]].<ref name="DNA"/><ref name="DJ">{{cite book|author=Ikram ul-Majeed Sehgal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1IzfAAAAMAAJ|title=Defence Journal|publisher=Ikram ul-Majeed Sehgal|year=1999|isbn=|pages=26}}</ref> India continued to hold the captured territory until 22 December 1972 and handed it over to Pakistan after the [[Simla Agreement|Shimla Pact]] of 1972. During this time, an Indian sub-post office was opened at Chachro and allotted a [[Postal Index Number]].<ref name="Vadophil">{{cite book|author=Prashant H. Pandya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4esMBAAAQBAJ|title=Vadophil: Issue No. 139|publisher=Baroda Philatelic Society|year=2014|isbn=|page=}}</ref>

10 Para SF was conferred the [[Battle honour#Battle and theatre honours in India|Battle Honour]] 'Chachro 1971', and received 10 gallantry awards including a [[Mahavir Chakra]] awarded to its commanding officer Lt Col [[Bhawani Singh]].<ref name="DNA">{{cite news |last= Karthikeyan|first= Ananth|date=16 December 2018|title=The Desert Raids of the 1971 War|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-the-desert-raids-of-the-1971-war-2696445|newspaper=DNA| access-date= 3 January 2023}}</ref>

The Chachro Raid was the first long-distance raid across desert terrain undertaken by the Indian Army, and became a benchmark for future operations of a similar nature.<ref name="Katoch">{{cite book|author=Lt Gen Prakash Katoch|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nPG3DwAAQBAJ|title=Special Operations Case Studies|publisher=Lancer Publishers|year=2019|isbn=9781940988474|pages=182}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[Battle of Chamb#Other|India-Pakistan battles]]
* [[Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chachro 1971}}
[[Category:Battles of the India–Pakistan war of 1971]]
[[Category:Military raids]]
[[Category:Tharparkar District]]
[[Category:History of Sindh (1947–present)]]
[[Category:Military history of Sindh]]
[[Category:Desert warfare]]

Chachro Raid - Revision history

Manikmusicscapgk at 06:49, 19 March 2026