The Times of India has posted an article commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1965 war between India and Pakistan with a focus on the defeat of Pakistani M48 Patton tanks by Indian forces.

Excerpt:

The brave men who had demolished Pakistan’s feared Patton tanks in 1965 are a part of village lore in Asal Uttar, Punjab.

The landscape surrounding the memorial of Abdul Hamid is pretty as a picture postcard. Paddy fields sway in the easy breeze and ashen clouds play hide and seek with the sun. It’s impossible to imagine that 50 years ago the region was the theatre of one of the most intense and decisive tank battles in history.

Asal Uttar and neighbouring villages — Bhura Kuhna, Chima, Amar Kot, Valtoha and Bhura Karimpur — had turned into a battleground for four days. The desperate, do-or-die battle between Pakistan and India began on September 7, 1965.

By the time it was over, Pakistan’s General Ayub Khan’s dream of capturing Amritsar had turned into a nightmare. The combat zone had also become a graveyard for the feared Patton tanks. Pakistan lost 97 tanks in all, including 72 Pattons. Enough to create, for a brief while, an open-air showroom called Patton Nagar in nearby Bhikkiwind.

Read the full article here.

Video of this particular Pakistani M48 on display can be seen in this youtube clip (warning, this clip features some rather poor grammar as well as some inaccurate tank ID)

For those interested in the armored clashes between Indian and Pakistan in the 1965 war, be sure to check out the upcoming book “M48 Patton vs Centurion: INdo-Pakistani War 1965 (Duel)” by David Higgins scheduled for a January 2016 release.