This document provides a review of the book "The Pakistan Army –War 1965" by Major General Shaukat Riza. It summarizes that this was the first official effort to record Pakistan's military history in the 1965 war. However, as an official publication, the book was "doctored and sanitized" and did not allow for critical analysis. Nevertheless, it contains valuable information like orders of battle and insights into important battles. The reviewer also critiques some of the book's weaknesses, like vague maps and missing details about how armor was divided on the first day of war.

1. THE PAKISTAN ARMY –WAR 1965
MAJOR GENERAL SHAUKAT RIZA
(RETD) –ARMY EDUCATION PRESS
1984-309 PAGES , MAPS AND
PHOTOGRAPHS
Reviewed by Major Agha H Amin
(Retired)
This book was the first official effort to
record military history of 1965 war.
Major General Shaukat Riza an artillery
officer dabbled in military writing and had
penned many articles and military papers
etc.
He was described as a soft spoken gentle
man who did not take kindly to being

2. ordered to carry out ruthless action
against civilians thus his removal from 9
Divisions command in 1971 in East
Pakistan.
On the other hand Brigadier Amjad
Chaudhry when I met him in 1977-78
described him as not getting along well
with major general abrar in the staff
college in 1967-68 while serving as chief
instructor.
In addition he had a long record of having
served as an instructor at various army
schools of instruction including the
prestigious command and staff college.
The first major attempt at writing the
1965 war history was made by Brigadier
Amjad Ali Khan Chaudhry whose book on
1965 war was published in 1977.

3. Shaukat Rizas book was officially
sponsored and he was provided access to
all records.
However as all official publications are ,
the book was doctored and sanitized and
the author did not enjoy the right to
critical analysis.
The book nevertheless has great value.
First it contains almost all major orders of
battles of all major formations .
Second it gives a clear picture of major
events of the war.
Third it manages to give insights about
some most decisive battles of the 1965
war.Most interesting battle of Gadgor
where Shaukat Riza described how
clueless the 24 Brigade commander was
when the Indian 1st
Armoured Division

4. broke in and all he could say was “ Nisar,
Do Something”.
Brigadier Shaukat Rizas analysis of
Operation Grand Slam is also reasonably
critical where he faults 12 Division with
bad handling of artillery and dispersing
artillery fire.
He totally misses out how armour was
divided by 12 Division on first day of the
war thus leading to failure although B
Squadron 11 Cavalry had reached
Chhamb at Tawi River at 0830 Hours in
the morning.
However with regard to change of
command it appears that major general
shaukat riza was forced to give legitimacy
to the post 1965 pakistan army
whitewash, i.e that change of command
of operation grand slam was pre planned

5. and not a surprise as was mostly
believed.
His treatment of Pakistan Armys First
Armoured Division attack is critical and
incisive.He admits that whole 4 cavalry
was captured by the Indians .Further he
admits that there was much exaggeration
of enemy strength in the reporting of
armoured division commanders at various
levels.
When he describes how various brigades
of Pakistans 1st
armoured division were
ordered left and right away from the
scene of attack he hints at a Pakistan
Army general headquarters deeply
afflicted and paralysed by supreme
indecision vacillation and irresolution.
The maps of the book are weak in details
of what actually happened merely
showing topgraphic details while what

6. formations actually did is left to the
readers imagination.
However when we received this book via
the army book club in 1985-86 this was a
revolutionary development as till that
time censorship had deeply plagued the
cause of military history in Pakistan.
Much blame of the failure was passed to
ZA Bhutto while Generals Ayub and Musa
were presented as innocent bystander
pure maidens !
One must admit that the general was
handicapped by too many books
doctoring his book and practicing
sycophancy with the usuper and dictator
zia , at the height of his power.
Even General Mc Chrystal confessed that
his book was subjected to some kind of
official censorship and sanitization.

7. This is the cost of becoming generals in
any army where a man has to
compromise over many things . As Sir
Francis Bacon brilliantly summed it up ,
men gain dignities through indignities.
Major General Saeeduz Zaman Janjua
many times recounted how even General
Asif Nawaz , although his close relative ,
had to be obsequious and flexible with his
seniors , as a brigadier and major general
, failing which he would not have been
promoted. Particularly he recounted a
situation where a very senior officers son
was caught cheating in the Pakistan
Military Academy and General Asif Nawaz
had to stop at relegation while the
minimum punishment was withdrawal
from the academy.
This is how the world moves and only
those who compromise and submit climb

8. high in the so called systems or
hierarchies.
A man with no war record but one who
was all in all in Pakistan of 1984.A sad
year like George Orwells book 1984.
The book ignores how badly Pakistan
Army was organized with formations like
12 Division holding an area of
responsibility occupied by some five
Indian divisions. What stopped Ayub
Khan from raising 5 more divisional
headquarters in 12 Division area of
responsibility.
At least this book gave us some idea
about what had happened and a skeleton
structure to construct a more detailed
picture.
His two later books Pakistan Army 1947-
59 and Pakistan Army 1966-71 were also

9. similarly handicapped by censorship and
sanitization by the Pakistan Army GHQ
but more of this in subsequent book
reviews.