Battle of Basantar
Armoured battle in the Shakargarh bulge during the 1971 war, fought across minefields on the Basantar river.
In December 1971, during the war for Bangladesh, the Indian Army attacked the Shakargarh bulge, a piece of Pakistani territory jutting into India between Jammu and Punjab.
From 4 to 16 December Indian forces fought their way across minefields to the Basantar river, where a great tank battle took place. Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, aged twenty-one, kept fighting in his burning tank, destroying several Pakistani tanks before he was killed; he received the Param Vir Chakra.
Both sides suffered heavily. The battle ended with the ceasefire of 17 December.
Same era
Colonial and modern wars
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