11th Infantry Division (Pakistan)
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The 11th Infantry Division, or the Battle-Axe Divison is an active formation of the
Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...
. It is currently deployed under
IV Corps 4 Corps, 4th Corps, Fourth Corps, or IV Corps may refer to: France * 4th Army Corps (France) * IV Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * IV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperi ...
and is responsible for the defence of
Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
and its surrounding areas. The division was formed just before the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Prior to this, the army chief at the time, General
Muhammad Musa Muhammad Musa Khan (, ; born 28 August 2000) is a Pakistani cricketer. He made his international debut for the Pakistan cricket team against Australia in November 2019. Early career Musa was born in Islamabad but his family is originally from Ch ...
, had been calling for raising two new divisions; this was denied by the government citing a benign security environment, the lack of funds and the general reluctance of the US to fund new risings under the foreign military assistance scheme.Orders of Battle - Orders of Battle
After the
1962 Sino-Indian War The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...
, the Indian army underwent a substantial increase in numbers and capability and, therefore, the Pakistani government reversed its position and the division was raised by utilising reserve GOC, Major General Abdul Hamid Khan. The Division was then assigned to the defence of
Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
.


1965 Indo-Pak War

The Division as a whole first went into action at the Battle of Lahore, though individual units had seen action already in the
Rann of Kutch The Rann of Kutch is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan. It is located mostly in the Kutch district of the Indian state of Gujarat, with a minor portion extending into the Sindh province of Pakistan. ...
and in
Operation Grand Slam Operation Grand Slam was a key military operation of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. It refers to a plan drawn up by the Pakistan Army in May 1965, that consisted of an attack on the vital Akhnoor Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The br ...
. It, along with the 10th Division, successfully withstood the Indian assault towards Lahore, with the 11th fighting in the
Kasur Kasur (Punjabi language, Punjabi / ; ; also Romanization, romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to the south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. The city s ...
region. After this battle, the division was committed to the
Khem Karan Khem Karan is a town and a nagar panchayat in Tarn Taran district of Patti tehsil of the Majha region of the Indian state of Punjab. It was the site of a tank battle in 1965. The Battle of Asal Uttar was the second largest tank battle of the ...
offensive, for which the Divisional HQ was given command of the 1st Armoured Division. The two formations successfully managed to capture Khem Karan, though further attacks by the 1st Armoured were checked by the Indians. At the same time as the fighting in Khem Karan, the Indian offensive towards
Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...
was making progress at the
Battle of Chawinda {{Infobox military conflict , width = 380px , image = Indian Centurian tank being examined by journalists near Chawinda.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = Journalists examining a knocked out Indian ...
and the 1st Armoured was withdrawn to reinforce the Pakistani forces in that sector. The 11th was forced to fall back to Khem Karan, where it withstood multiple attempts by the Indians to retake the town, however the ceasefire found the division in command of the town and several hundred square kilometres of Indian territory.


1971 War

Six years later, the division once again went into action in the 1971 war, and in a repeat of the experience in 1965, the Division crossed the
Radcliffe Line The Radcliffe Line was the boundary demarcated by the two boundary commissions for the provinces of Punjab Province (British India), Punjab and Bengal Presidency, Bengal during the Partition of India. It is named after Cyril Radcliffe, 1st Visco ...
, the international border, once more. 106 Brigade succeeded in overwhelming the resistance of the Indian 15th Battalion,
Punjab Regiment Punjab Regiment may refer to the following existing units: *Punjab Regiment (India) *Punjab Regiment (Pakistan) From 1922 to 1947, the British Indian Army included 6 numbered Punjab Regiments: *1st Punjab Regiment * 2nd Punjab Regiment *8th Punj ...
(35 Infantry Brigade, 14th Infantry Division of India) to take significant ground near
Hussainiwala Hussainiwala is a village near Firozpur city in Firozpur district in Punjab state, India. It lies near the bank of the Sutlej river. The village is on the border with Pakistan, opposite the Pakistani village of Ganda Singh Wala. It is a borde ...
, thereby controlling a key dam and threatening the border town of
Ferozepur Firozpur, (pronunciation: ɪroːzpʊr also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in the Firozpur District of Punjab, India. After the Partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan bor ...
. One of the famous features that the formation captured was the Qaisar-e-Hind Fort.


1989 Battle of Jalalabad

According to former Afghan General Syed Quddus, who took part in the Battle of Jalalabad and wrote about his experiences in his 2019 publication Hamāsa-ye Nabard-e Jalālābād''', the 11th Infantry Division and two border brigades of the Pakistan Border Forces, supported the Mujahideen assault on
Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Help:IPA/Persian, ͡ʒä.lɑː.lɑː.bɑːd̪ is the list of cities in Afghanistan, fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 200,331, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part ...
with rocket and artillery fire from a distance.


Order Of Battle

The division is at present deployed around Lahore and has the following composition:Karl Erickson, PhD; Personal discussions with MG Aamer Riaz, 7 September 2012 *21st Infantry Brigade, Lahore *52nd Infantry Brigade, Lahore *106th Infantry Brigade, Lahore *Artillery Brigade, Lahore *15th Heavy Mechanized Brigade, Lahore


References


External links


A tank belonging to the division advances. '65 War
{{Military of Pakistan Divisions of the Pakistan Army Military units and formations established in 1965