Asal Uttar: Episode 2 — Operation Gibraltar
Pakistan’s Operation Gibraltar was intended to change the balance in Kashmir through infiltration, sabotage, and covert military pressure before a declared conventional war could begin. The plan rested on the belief that unrest could be triggered behind Indian lines and that India might be forced into a limited response. Instead, the operation helped expose the limits of strategic ambiguity, drawing Indian forces into wider counteraction and setting the stage for open war. This episode explores the terrain of Kashmir, the assumptions behind Pakistan’s plan, the role of local intelligence and infantry operations, and why a failed hidden campaign helped lead to one of the most important armored clashes of 1965. Asal Uttar begins here, in a mountain crisis that eventually drove tanks toward Punjab. For more military history writing and books, visit MilitaryAuthor.me, and for magazines, galleries, and a massive archive of military photos and video, visit Trackpads.com.
