THE 1965 Pakistan-India war had three dimensions military, economic, and psychological. The military dimension had three elements; land, air and sea. The land war saw great feats of individual heroism, repulsion of enemy against heavy odds,and great tank battles.
It also exposed poor leadership at higher echelons, while the middle and junior tiers were outstanding. The air war was won by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) which gained air superiority and secured the skiesfor the ground forces.
The war at sea was a psychological triumph. The sea lines of communications were kept open all along. The potential threat of our only submarine kept the Indian navy bottled up in safe havens.
The raid on Dwarka Operation Somnath was a daring act of bravery that ranks alongside the World War II raid on St Nazaire and the Italian frogmen`s attack on the harbour in Alexandria.
The sheer audacity of the planners to mount such an attack 200 nautical miles inside enemy waters with a navy outgunned, outnumbered, without air cover, and with insuf ficient intelligence about enemy`s naval and air assets must surely rank on a par with the above historical episodes.
The questionable material state of an ageing fleet made matters more complex for Pakistan Navy.
This could easily have ended in a disaster. The war at sea was handily won, but remains underreported and underacknowledged. It was an overwhelming case of `mission accomplished`.
