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| Operation Brasstacks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Indian Army Military exercise |
| Planned | General Krishnaswamy Sundarji, CoAS |
| Planned by | Western Army Command Southern Command |
| Target | Southern Pakistan |
| Date | 18 November 1986 – 6 March 1987 |
| Executed by | Indian Army |
| Outcome | Exercises were halted; Pakistan redeployment its armed forces Cricket diplomacy defused the threat |
Operation Brasstacks was a major combined arms military exercise of the Indian Armed Forces in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The operation took place from November 1986 to January 1987 near Pakistan border.[1][2]
As part of a series of exercises to simulate the operational capabilities of the Indian armed forces, it was the largest mobilization of Indian forces on the Indian subcontinent, involving the combined strength of two Army Commands - almost 500,000 troops - half the Indian Army. Operation Brasstacks was tasked with two objectives: the initial goal was the deployment of ground troops.[3] The other objective was to conduct a series of amphibious assault exercises by the Indian Navy near to the Pakistan naval base.[which?][3] Operation Brasstacks involved numbers of infantry, mechanized, air assault divisions, and 500,000 army personnel who were massed within 100 miles of Pakistan.[3] An amphibious assault group formed from Indian naval forces was planned and deployed near to the Korangi Creek of Karachi Division in Pakistan.[3] However, the most important aim of this war alert simulation was to determine tactical nuclear strategy, overseen by the Indian Army.[3]
The Pakistan Military regarded this war game as a threatening exhibition of overwhelming conventional force, perhaps even as a rehearsal for nuclear war,[4] amounting to the most critical moment in India–Pakistan relations. The security information website Global Security.org characterized Operation Brasstacks as "bigger than any NATO exercise – and the biggest since World War II".[3] Even today, Pakistani military analysts and strategists regard it as a planned "blitzkrieg-like" integrated deep offensive strategy to infiltrate into dense areas of Central Pakistan. On the other hand, India maintained that "[the] core objective of Operation Brasstacks was to test new concepts of mechanization, mobility, and air support devised by Indian army."[2][5]
- ^ Lyon, Peter (2008). Conflict Between India and Pakistan : An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-57607-713-9.
- ^ a b Brigadier-General Muhammad Aslam Khan Niazi of Pakistan Army Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (29 October 2011). "India Toying With Dangerous Cold Start War Doctrine – Analysis". Euroasia Review. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f GS. "Brass Tacks". Global Security.org. Global Security. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- ^ Shafik H. Hashmi, Professor Emeritus of Political Science Georgia Southern University (6 March 2012). "The Nuclear Danger in South Asia". Pakistan Link News. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- ^ Mahar Regiment. "General Krishnaswamy Sundarji". Bharat-Rakshak. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2012.