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Battle of Phillora
Part of Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Date September 7 – September 11, 1965 Location Phillora near Sialkot (Punjab, Pakistan) Result Indian victory
Belligerents
India	Pakistan
Commanders and leaders
Ardeshir Tarapore	Unknown
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
29 tanks destroyed	66 tanks destroyed

The Battle of Phillora was one of the largest tank battles fought during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. It was the first major engagement between the two nations in the Sialkot sector and coincided with the Battle of Asal Uttar.

Battle

India had its 1st Armoured Division on the offensive in this area. Equipped with four armoured regiments, this division faced stiff opposition from the Pakistani 6th Armoured Division. Some of the fiercest tank battles were fought at Phillora and then at Chawinda. At the end of the fighting, India had claimed more than 170 tanks destroyed, of which 42 were captured in the I Corps area (11 of them intact and 31 of them in destroyed or damaged condition). India's own losses in the area were 29 tanks destroyed and another 41 damaged, that were repaired after the war. This is substantiated by a Pakistani Official History of the 6th Armoured Division "Men of Steel" that states that 35 tanks were left in Indian control (17 M48, 9 M47, 9 M36B2) but that nine of these were recovered after the war when Indian troops vacated the Sialkot area following the declaration of ceasefire.

Conclusion

On September 11, 1965, the tank battle at Phillora ended in a decisive victory for the Indian Army with the Pakistani forces retreating to put up a last stand in Sialkot. A day before, the Indian Army had experienced another victory at Asal Uttar when they successfully thwarted Pakistani offensive in the Khem Karan area. Following the two consecutive Indian victories at Asal Uttar and Phillora, the Pakistani Army was on the defensive. The continued thrust by the Indian Army into Pakistani territory finally culminated in the Battle of Chawinda.

References

1. ^ Wilson, Peter. Wars, proxy-wars and terrorism: post independent India. Mittal Publications, 2003. ISBN 8170998905, 9788170998907. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help) Cite error: The named reference "Wilson" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
2. http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Galleries/Wars/PattonNagar/1965/

• Battles of Indo-Pakistani wars
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
• 1965 in India
• Tank battles