Army changes tack, puts tanks at Akhnoor

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 25

India has reorganised an Army division to hold tanks and armoured vehicles in its arsenal and located it to tackle threats from across the Line of Control (LoC) in the lower parts of Jammu and Kashmir. The division is tasked with countering the threat in the Chammb-Jaurian sector, west of Akhnoor.

The area is of immense strategic importance. During the 1965 and 1971 wars, Pakistan had tried to run its armoured columns through these fertile plains located smack on the LoC in an attempt to cut off India’s access to Kashmir, resulting in pitched tank battles. 

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The existing 10th Infantry Division of the Indian Army based at Akhnoor has now been converted into “Rapids” or Reorganised Army Plains Infantry Divisions. It will hold two regiments of tanks (around 100) and another two regiments of mechanised armoured vehicles (100).  The Army uses the Russian-built BMP as armoured vehicles.

This will be the first of the series under Army’s Northern Command. The first ones came up at locations under the Western Command in the late 1980s. Former Army Chief General K Sundarji (retd) is credited with the creation of “Rapids”.

Each of “Rapids” also consists of two infantry brigades, artillery elements, a reconnaissance and support battalion, an engineer regiment, a signals regiment and latest surveillance with target acquisition equipment. 

On September 1, 1965, the Pakistan army had launched “Operation Grand Slam” to take control of the Akhnoor bridge in a bid to cut off the Nowshera-Rajouri-Poonch area from Jammu. In 1971, the tactic was repeated.