Page 9 - ch 19

India-Pakistan War-1971 Module - V

Major Wars Post
many other submarines.
Independence
Intext Questions 19.4

1. How many Divisions did Indian Army use in the Eastern Front in the 1971 war?
2. Name the Commander in Chief of India’s Eastern Army Command.

3. Name the two important naval operations at the Western front during the 1971 Note
war.

4. What was the objective of Operation Trident?
5. What is INS Vikrant?

6. Name the commanders of India’s Western and Eastern Naval Command.

19.2.4 The End of the War

Overall, you have seen that this was a short and a decisive war that lasted only 13
days. On all fronts the Indian action relied on leadership, speed, logistics and accuracy
and exploited the weakness in enemy’s positions resulting in swift victory. The Pakistani
side could not match the superiority and speed with which the Indian armed forces

were attacking right from day one. Besides, the Pakistani side also lacked, intelligence,
strategy and the troops were demoralised and ill eqipped to fight. Hence they faced
big losses and yielded in less than a fortnight. There was panic in the Pakistani Eastern
Command’s military leadership commanded by Lieutenant General A.A.K. Niazi.
Indian advances demoralized the Pakistani soldiers and subsequently, the Indian Army
th
encircled Dacca. On 16 December an ultimatum was issued to surrender and on
hearing the ultimatum Lieutenant-General A.A.K. Niazi surrendered and signed the
instrument of surrender to Lieutenant General J.S. Aurora [Fig. 19.2]. On the same
day Pakistan called for unilateral ceasefire and surrendered its combined military to
Indian Army. 93,000 troops were taken as Prisoners of War thereby ending war. And
with that the objective of liberating East Pakistan was realized and a new nation-
Bangladesh was born.

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MILITARY HISTORY 65