Thread by @mhaiderimtiaz

50 years ago (on December 3, 1971), Pakistan launched Operation Chengiz Khan which marked the official beginning of all-out war between India & Pakistan, culminating in the fall of Dhaka on December 16. Indian incursions into East Pakistan had already begun in late November 1971.

Pakistan's strategy for defense of East Pakistan called for offensive in the West, therefore the PAF launched pre-emptive strikes against several air bases in western India on the evening of December 3, and soon after the Pakistan Army began offensive all along the western front.

PAF's pre-emptive strikes were inspired by the Israeli Air Force's pre-emptive strikes at the beginning of the Arab-Israeli war of 1967, which had a crippling effect on the opposing Arab air forces and had allowed Israel to maintain crucial air superiority throughout the war.

However, PAF's pre-emptive strikes in 1971 failed to make the desired impact, in part because the Indian Air Force was alert & better prepared than Arab air forces in 1967. The strikes, instead, provided India the much needed excuse to launch an all out invasion of East Pakistan.

Over the next two weeks, Indian forces overran much of E. Pakistan. Pakistan's attempts to counter the losses in the east by capturing Indian territory in the west failed. Both sides fought indecisively on the western front, one side’s advances balanced by the other side’s gains.

As war raged from December 3 till December 16/17, the military regime in Pakistan painted a rosy picture of Pakistan's performance & gains on the battlefield. Military spokespersons gave daily briefings, contents of which were reported without verification in the national press.

For example, front page headlines of Pakistan's leading English newspaper Dawn from December 4, 1971 onwards, point out towards how the media & public were misled & misinformed in relation to the actual situation on the battlefield. Here's Dawn's front page from December 4, 1971:

Dawn on December 4, 1971, the day after Op Chengiz Khan was launched:

'West Pakistan attacked at 7 points'

'It's now all-out war'

'PAF bombs 7 Indian Airfields including Agra'

'New escalation by India in E. Wing: PAF in action'

Will be sharing more over the next two weeks.

Dawn's front page on December 5, 1971:

'49 Indian jets downed'

'Advance & shatter enemy, Yahya bids the nation'

'Invaders beaten back: some posts taken'

'We have captured'

'They kill civilians'

'Fears of Chinese intervention worries India'

#50Years #1971IndoPakWar

Dawn's front page on December 6, 1971:

'Big gains on land, in air'

'Enemy loses 20 outposts'

'PAF 'bag' now 74'

'Nixon for pull-out and ceasfire'

'Peking condemns Indira's call for long war'

'India will taste fruit of provoking war, warns Chou'

#50YearsAgo #1971IndoPakWar

#50YearsAgo
#1971IndoPakWar

Dawn's front page on December 7, 1971

'PAF sinks missile boat'

'95th IAF jet downed'

'15-mile push in Kashmir'

'Pakistan Army in full control in East Pakistan'

'Failure of war plans causes panic in Delhi'

'Faisal mobilising Muslim aid for us'

#50YearsAgo
#1971IndoPakWar

Dawn's front page on December 8, 1971

'Chhamb is liberated'

'IAF losses now 104'

'Ultimatum to IAF'

'PN bags 8 jets'

'Gallantry awards' (President Yahya awards 'Hilal-e-Jurat' to Lt. Gen. Tikka Khan and 'Bar to Hilal-e-Jurat' to Lt. Gen. Niazi)

A rosy picture despite the fact that Jessore, a major border town in the western part of East Pakistan, along with its cantonment area, had been captured by Indian forces on the previous day i.e. Dec 7. The news of its capture had been reported in international media on Dec 8.

The New York Times' headline from Dec 8, 1971:

'India claims capture of Jessore, admits a 5-mile Kashmir retreat'

'The Indian Army reported a victory in Jessore tonight that virtually insured it of control of about half of East Pakistan...'

Full report: nytimes.com/1971/12/08/arc…

The gravity of the situation in East Pakistan by the time Jessore was captured can be assessed from the message sent by Dr. Abdul Motaleb Malik, the last Governor of East Pakistan, to President Yahya Khan, on December 7, 1971. Worth reading till the end:

https://twitter.com/leftofthepincer/status/1335872938227195905?t=vtAnD5CIW5dD6uAmZ3gftg&s=19

Dr. Malik: 'it is imperative that correct situation in EAST PAKISTAN is brought to your notice. I discussed with GEN NIAZI who tells me that troops are fighting heroically but against heavy odds without adequate artillery and air support. rebels continue cutting their rear and...

...losses in equipment and men very heavy and cannot be replaced. the front in EASTERN and WESTERN SECTOR has collapsed. loss of whole corridor EAST OF MEGHNA RIVER cannot be avoided. JESSORE has already fallen which will be a terrible blow to the morale of PRO-PAKISTAN elements.

...No amount of lip sympathy or even material help from world powers except direct physical intervention will help. If any of our friends is expected to help that should have an impact within the next 48 hours. If no help is expected, I beseech you to negotiate...

...so that a civilised and peaceful transfer takes place and millions of lives are saved and untold misery avoided.

IS IT WORTH SACRIFICING SO MUCH WHEN THE END SEEMS INEVITABLE? if help is coming we will fight on whatever consequences there may be. request be kept informed.'

Associated Press (AP)'s footage from December 8, 1971, captioned 'City of Jessore, in East Pakistan, falls to the Indian army'.

Bengali locals can be seen welcoming the Indian army into Jessore, while shouting 'Joy Bangla'.

#50YearsAgo
#1971IndoPakWar

#50YearsAgo
#1971IndoPakWar

Dawn's front page on
December 9, 1971

'Heavy enemy losses'

'Telling blows by PAF in air, on ground'

'Steady advance in Chhamb, E. Punjab'

'Pakistan Navy damages one Indian sub'

'Our Army also remained in control of the situation in East Pakistan'

#50YearsAgo
#1971IndoPakWar

Dawn's front page on December 10, 1971

'Gains in East & West'

'Major Indian debacles in E. Pakistan'

'Good showing in E. Punjab & Rajasthan'

'No rest till enemy is crushed, [PM] Amin's call'

'It is going to be world war, [Deputy PM] Bhutto warns'

More gems from front page on December 10:

'Our troops are hardening their lines all over East Pakistan despite increasing enemy pressure. The towns of Jessore, Comilla and Sylhet, which the Indians claimed to have captured are still "with us".' (Jessore had fallen on December 7)

#50YearsAgo
#1971IndoPakWar

Dawn's front page on December 11, 1971

'IAF losses now 120'

'Heavy Indian losses in E. Wing'

'Outnumbered 6 to 1, jawans fight back [in E.P.]'

'Pak punch has gory effect'

'Peace or shameful defeat for India'

'Hilal-iJurat for Rahim [C-in-C PAF]'

#50YearsAgo
#1971IndoPakWar

Dawn's front page on December 12, 1971

'Indian frigate sunk' (referring to the sinking of INS Khukri by PNS Hangor. More:

https://twitter.com/leftofthepincer/status/1224411574586216448?t=FprpM7HRQyOTe7TwBXTHCA&s=19

)

'Heli-landings by enemy badly mauled' (Reality:

https://twitter.com/TheBrownBeagle/status/1469536719305277443?t=ayPojbUr1SBcbi0mgykZjQ&s=19

)

'Heavy damage to IAF lairs'

#50YearsAgo
#1971IndoPakWar

Dawn's front page on December 13, 1971

'3 I.N. [Indian Navy] gun-boats sunk, another damaged'

'145 Indian tanks destroyed'

'Fierce fighting on'

'Immediate halt to attack on Pakistan: Nixon warns India'

'Indira predicts darker days for India'

#50YearsAgo
#1971IndoPakWar

Dawn's front page on December 14, 1971

'Dacca will fall only over my dead body: [Lt. Gen.] Niazi'

'Resistance stiffens'

'All attempts of the invading Indian Army to advance towards Dacca were foiled...'

'[US] 7th Fleet on way to Bay of Bengal'

More from Dawn's front page on December 14:

'Slapping his chest, the General (Niazi) said: "They (Indians) will have to drive a tank over this."

...

General Niazi said the country's valiant armed forces will fight until the enemy is driven out of the sacred land of Pakistan..

...He scornfully dismissed any idea of surrender by the Pakistani forces or their repatriation. He said our army will either live honourably or perish for our cause.'

Gen. Niazi's interaction with newsmen at Dacca airport, being referred in Dawn's report:

Also, this is Gen. Niazi's interview from December 13, 1971, as available in AP's archives:

Reporter: 'Will you make any attempt for a conditional surrender?'

Niazi: 'No sir, the question is we either live or we die... We'll fight it out till our last.'

'most people imagine that [Niazi] was an incompetent buffoon at every stage in his career, but... that is not entirely true. While no Rommel or Guderian, he had done reasonably well in various positions until he got promoted above his level of competence.'
brownpundits.com/2020/12/30/gen…

Lt. Gen. Niazi had won the Military Cross (MC) during WWII & the Hilal-i-Jurat (HJ) in the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965. At the time of his appointment as the Commander of the Dacca-based Eastern Command in April, 1971, he was one of the most decorated generals in the Pakistan Army.

He was famously nicknamed ‘Tiger’ by his brigade commander during WWII. In 1971, he had volunteered for transfer to East Pakistan when Lt. Gen. Bahadur Sher Khan had chosen to decline the posting. There were at least two other generals who had also refused postings in the East.

Many senior officers had felt that East Pakistan was now a lost cause. However, Niazi was willing to assume the responsibility of bringing the insurgency-hit province to normalcy, 'without necessarily realizing the risks involved and how to counter them.'
dawn.com/news/1065607