Kargil order of battle

US Navy map of Kargil, 2008.

The Kargil war order of battle (KWORBAT), is a deposition and systematic combatant structure of the Indian Army troops and the unified Pakistan Armed Forces combat commands, active in the Kargil region in 1999, during the Kargil War. The Indian Army orbat is based on the publications provided by the Indian military authors, news media and official sources.

The Pakistan orbat is based on the intelligence information provided by the Pakistani media (both electronic and print media), military authors, and Pakistani documentaries made after the 1999 conflict. The Pakistan orbat does not include the separatist fighters who, claimed by India, to be also involved in fighting atop the peaks of Kargil. However, this claim has been strongly dismissed by the senior military commanders of the Pakistan armed forces command, quoting that "all soldiers were the active duty personnel of the Pakistan Armed Forces.[1]

India

Indian Army infantry battalions were often transferred between brigade commands during the war, so sometimes appear under multiple brigades.

Indian Army

Northern Command

3rd Infantry Division

  • 3 Artillery Brigade
  • 70 Infantry Brigade
  • 102 (Independent) Infantry Brigade
    • 11th Battalion, Rajputana Rifles
    • 9th Battalion, Mahar Regiment
    • 13th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment
    • 27th Battalion, Rajput Regiment
    • High Altitude Warfare School Permanent Cadre Detachment
    • ATGM Detachment, 19th Battalion, Brigade of the Guards

Kargil Theatre Artillery
These units took part in the war serving under various formations:

  • 4 Field Regiment
  • 15 Field Regiment
  • 41 Field Regiment
  • 108 Medium Regiment
  • 139 Medium Regiment
  • 141 Field Regiment
  • 153 Medium Regiment
  • 158 Medium Regiment
  • 197 Field Regiment
  • 212 Rocket Regiment
  • 244 Heavy Mortar Regiment
  • 253 Medium Regiment
  • 255 Field Regiment
  • 286 Medium Regiment
  • 305 Medium Regiment
  • 307 Medium Regiment
  • 315 Field Regiment
  • 1861 Light Regiment
  • 1889 Light Regiment

Other battalions[2]

    • 5th Battalion, Special Frontier Force
    • 663 Reconnaissance & Observation Squadron
    • 668 Reconnaissance & Observation Squadron
    • 13th Battalion, Punjab Regiment
    • 12th Battalion, The Grenadiers
    • 22nd Battalion, The Grenadiers
    • 7th Battalion, Jat Regiment
    • 14th Battalion, Sikh Light Infantry
    • 9th Battalion, Rashtriya Rifles
    • 14th Battalion, Rashtriya Rifles
    • 17th Battalion, Rashtriya Rifles
    • 11th Battalion, Sikh
    • 3rd Battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles
    • 16th Battalion, Dogra Regiment
    • 5th Battalion, Rajput Regiment
    • 9th Battalion, Mahar Regiment

Indian Air Force

Apart from the involvement of the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force (IAF) also participated in the Kargil War as part of Operation Safed Sagar.

Pakistani Orbat

Initially, the Kargil order of battle was planned by the Directorate-General for Military Operations (DGMO) Brigadier-General Nadeem Ahmed. However, after the IAF strike and Indian advancement in the region, the PAF and the Navy deployed and issued orders to their combat forces. Their missions were to conduct surveillance and air patrolling; no other combat units of PAF and Navy participated in the combat. The inter-services order of battle is mentioned in the table. According to the Pakistan news channels reports and military declassified information, the Kargil infiltration was comprehensively planned by the joint officers at the Joint staff Headquarters, a joint office secretariat which then-served under General Pervez Musharraf.

From the start of the conflict, there were numerous inter-services meetings coordinated by the chairman joint chiefs, to Prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The controversy still surrounds in the military science circle of the Pakistan armed forces, with chief of naval staff and chief of air staff including key theatre commanders of army combatant corps, bringing up the accusations that the Kargil front was launched without their knowledge or confidence.

Army formation

  • Notes: Confusion still remains in Pakistan Army on how many actual army corps and units fought in the Kargil War. In a 2013 television interview to Capital Talk programme of Geo News, Colonel Ashfaq Hussain maintained that "not the entire army was fully informed; only few independent army units, assisted by special forces, were active in the area." It is confirmed that all personnel were the active-duty members of the Pakistan Army. According to Kargil theatre commander Lt. Gen. Shahid Aziz, no foreign elements were active in fight against the Indian army.

PAF formation

  • Note: No Navy units took active participation. The Navy was on high-alert but strictly ordered by Admiral Bokhari not to escalate the crises into sea. Although, Navy had its own significance in the Kargil theatre, but no crucial operations and efforts were applied or undertaken by Navy to support the army. According to the chief of naval staff, General Pervez Musharraf, as chairman joint chiefs, had failed to take navy into confidence prior to the start of the conflict.
    • Pakistan Navy Commander Karachi[7]
    • Pakistan Naval Air Arm
      • The Pakistan Navy, in a defensive mood, directed all its units to keep clear of Indian naval ships. As the exercise shifted closer to the Makaran Coast, Pakistan moved all its major combatants out of Karachi. The Navy remained on high-alert, although orders were not to escalate the crises to sea. The Navy launched surveillance operations; Karachi port remained on high-alert.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Aziz, Shahid (6 January 2013). "Putting our children in line of fire". The Nation. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  2. ↑ This list is compiled from newspaper and casualty reports.
  3. ↑ Nishan i Haider
  4. ↑ In the FCNA region from October 1998 onwards
  5. ↑ Lieven Dewitte. "PAF F-16s deployed in Skardu". July 3, 1999. General F-16 News. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  6. ↑ "Kargil Conflict and Pakistan Air Force". PAF operations. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "Navy in Kargil war". GLobal war. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  8. ↑ Hiranandani, G.M. (2009). Transition to guardianship : the Indian navy 1991–2000. New Delhi: Published by Principal Director of Administration, Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy) [in association with] Lancer Publishers. ISBN 1-935501-26-7.

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Sources

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