6th Armoured Division (Pakistan)
Encyclopedia
The 6th Armoured Division is a Pakistan Army
armoured division currently based in Gujranwala
, in Punjab Province
.
broke out.
in Chamb sector where it was the armoured contingent. However the general weakness of Pakistan Army defence around Sialkot and the fact that war was expected to break out over the international border, meant that the division would see only a few days of fighting before it was sent to Sialkot, where it would earn its spurs at a village called Chawinda
. On 8 September the Indian attack came and thus began the Battle of Chawinda
. Initially the division was surprised and outflanked by the Indians as the enemy chose an unexpected axis to attack, desperate holding actions by some individual units, famously 25th Cavalry, would hault the advance outside Chawinda. A counter attack against the Indians at Phillarah would be badly mauled resulting in the loss of 22 tanks. The division then settled in defensive positions around Chawinda, and it and other divisions than withstood multiple corps sized attacks by the Indian I Corps , until the biggest on the 18th of September when the Indian 1st Armoured and 6th Mountain divisions attacked, and would be destroyed. The Indians than went on the defensive as the 6th and its sister formations steadily and remorselessly forced them back across the international border; a task which was mostly (though not completely) completed by the ceasefire on 23 September.
The divisions' action at Chawinda remains its most famous action. This battle was the largest tank battle since Kursk
in 1943 and has been forver associated with the 6th. Amongst the many commendations received was one by the President which read:
The division would lose over 200 killed and over a thousand wounded during the battle of Chawinda.
One of the regiments of the division is reportedly the 29th Cavalry.
In addition the following units are attached and stationed in Kharain.
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
armoured division currently based in Gujranwala
Gujranwala
Gujranwala is a industrial city in the north-east of the Punjab province. It is the sixth largest city in Pakistan with a population of approximately 2,661,360 as on 24 June 2011...
, in Punjab Province
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
.
Formation
The division was originally an armoured brigade known as the 100 Independent Armoured Brigade Group. In 1964, it was decided to use the headquarters and other assets of this formation to create a new armoured division. It was still in the process of raising when the 1965 war against IndiaIndo-Pakistani War of 1965
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...
broke out.
1965 War
The formation would see its first taste of action in Operation Grand SlamOperation Grand Slam
Operation Grand Slam is virtually synonymous with the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War. It refers to an audacious plan drawn up by the Pakistan Army, in May 1965, to attack the vital Akhnoor Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, which was not only the lifeline of an entire infantry division in Jammu and Kashmir but...
in Chamb sector where it was the armoured contingent. However the general weakness of Pakistan Army defence around Sialkot and the fact that war was expected to break out over the international border, meant that the division would see only a few days of fighting before it was sent to Sialkot, where it would earn its spurs at a village called Chawinda
Chawinda
Chawinda is a town of the tehsil Pasrur of Sialkot District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located at 32°23'08.05" N 74°42'43.94" E with an altitude of 165 metres . It is known as "the Graveyard of Tanks" because of the large number of tanks destroyed in Battle of Chawinda during 1965...
. On 8 September the Indian attack came and thus began the Battle of Chawinda
Battle of Chawinda
The Battle of Chawinda was a part of the Sialkot Campaign in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. It was one of the largest tank battles since the Battle of Kursk in World War II....
. Initially the division was surprised and outflanked by the Indians as the enemy chose an unexpected axis to attack, desperate holding actions by some individual units, famously 25th Cavalry, would hault the advance outside Chawinda. A counter attack against the Indians at Phillarah would be badly mauled resulting in the loss of 22 tanks. The division then settled in defensive positions around Chawinda, and it and other divisions than withstood multiple corps sized attacks by the Indian I Corps , until the biggest on the 18th of September when the Indian 1st Armoured and 6th Mountain divisions attacked, and would be destroyed. The Indians than went on the defensive as the 6th and its sister formations steadily and remorselessly forced them back across the international border; a task which was mostly (though not completely) completed by the ceasefire on 23 September.
The divisions' action at Chawinda remains its most famous action. This battle was the largest tank battle since Kursk
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
in 1943 and has been forver associated with the 6th. Amongst the many commendations received was one by the President which read:
The President of Pakistan has commanded that his personal congratulations be conveyed to All Ranks under your command for the exemplary, succeessful and courageous battle that they have fought. The President and the whole NationPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
are proud of these untarnishable deeds of valour.
The division would lose over 200 killed and over a thousand wounded during the battle of Chawinda.
Present Order of Battle
The division is at present stationed in Gujranwala and has four armoured brigades attached.- HQ 6 Armoured Division, Gujranwala
- 7th Armoured Brigade, Kharian
- 9th Armoured Brigade, Kharian
- 8th Armoured Brigade Group, Mangla (wartime only, normally under corps control)
One of the regiments of the division is reportedly the 29th Cavalry.
In addition the following units are attached and stationed in Kharain.
- 6 Armoured Division Support troops (a brigades worth of troops, mostly engineers, signal and other logistic troops)
- 314 Assault Engineers
- 6 Armoured Division Artillery Brigade
- 6 Armoured Division Air Defence
- 6 Armoured Div Aviation Brigade (wartime only, ordinarily units are dispersed)