Osprey books has listed a new addition to their “Duel” series titled M48 Patton vs Centurion: Indo-Pakistani War 1965.  Written by David Higgins, this is the first of his Duel series books not to deal with WW2 German armor (King Tiger vs IS-2, Jagdpanther vs SU-100, Panzer II vs 7TP.)  The tank battles between India and Pakistan in the 1960’s and 70’s have received far less coverage than the Middle east tank battles of the same period.  We hope this volume will help fill the void of good reading material on these rather interesting though much overlooked armored clashes.  This book is slated for an early 2016 release.

Publishers description:

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 witnessed the largest tank battles seen since World War II, notably between India’s British-made Centurion Mk 7s and the American-made M48 Pattons fielded by Pakistan. Following nearly two decades of tensions and sporadic conflict between India and Pakistan, in August 1965 several thousand Pakistani soldiers entered the disputed territory of Kashmir disguised as local civilians, to which India responded with a successful ground assault. After a week of fighting, India’s 1st “Black Elephant” Armoured Division launched an offensive toward Sialkot, where it rebuffed Pakistan’s 6th Armoured Division, which suffered considerable tank losses. The ensuing battle at Chawinda on 14-16 September 1965 would demonstrate that the Centurion, with its 105mm gun and heavier armour, generally proved superior to the faster, lighter but overly complex Patton, mounting a 90mm main gun; however, the latter performed exceedingly well in the Sialkot sector, exacting a disproportionately heavy toll on its Indian opponents.

Featuring full-colour artwork, expert analysis and absorbing combat accounts, this is the story of the clash between the Centurion and the M48 Patton in the massed armour battles of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.