Around Bertanocost, the two sides engaged in a fierce battle.

It was also here that the first tank battle since the start of the war broke out, "Khalid 2" against "Arjun 2".

Interestingly, both Pakistan and India claim to be self-developed tanks, and both claim to be one of the best main battle tanks in South Asia and the world.

However, "Khalid 2" was not developed by Pakistan itself, but a deeply customized version of the VT-4.

Of course, Pakistan owns most of the intellectual property rights and is able to produce its own products, with a localization rate of up to 80%, and only a few core equipment that cannot be produced by the country needs to be imported from China.

In addition, the "Khalid 2" received overseas orders for thousands of vehicles.

"Arjun 2"?

The Indian Army has only purchased more than 100 vehicles symbolically, and there is no overseas user, and its localization rate is less than 40%.

The battle took place east of Bertangate.

Bertankot is a border city bordered by Pakistan to the west, Indian-administered Kashmir to the north, and the road to Jalandar to the south.

Because the Indian army has built a strong defensive position along the border, the Pakistani army has focused on the north.

According to the battle plan drawn up by the Pakistani army, it will first attack from the east of Bertanokot to the south, cut off the road to the south, and then attack Bertankot.

To put it simply, it is to encircle first, and then attack.

If all goes well, the Indian army will collapse before the detour is completed and the siege of Bertankot will be completed, and then the army will occupy Bertankot without bloodshed.

Why?

The guards were all infantry units.

The battle at Jammu showed that if there were no armored troops, it would not be possible to hold it at all.

In addition, many Indian officers and soldiers who escaped from Jammu were in Bertankot, and they were well aware of the tactics used by the Pakistani army to attack the city.

These Indian troops did not fight hard with the Pakistani army in Jammu, so how could they fight to the death in Bertankot?

The key to the encirclement of Bertankot is the road to Jalandar to the south.

As long as this road can be cut off, the Indian army of Bertankot will not want to get outside support, and it will definitely not be able to hold Bertankot.

Sticking to it is nothing more than adding casualties.

The problem is that this set of tactics of the Pakistani army is also too simple for anyone to guess.

Of course, there is no need to guess.

For the Indian army, if they want to hold Bertanokot, they must keep the road to Jalandal, and they must also keep an eye on the east of Bertankot.

Why?

The city of Bertankod is right next to the border.

Unless the Pakistani army committed heavy forces and made a breakthrough from the front of the Indian line, it could only attack from the north and then make a detour to the east of Bertankot.

On the front, how many troops does the Pakistani army have?

There are only 4 brigades, and only 1 is an armored brigade.

What's more, the Pakistani army in this direction also needs to guard the border defenses, and the only line of attack is southwest of Bertankot.

Moreover, even if a breakthrough is made, after entering India, it is necessary to take a detour along the road to the north, that is, to the city of Bertanoad, and then to turn south.

If you go directly south, you will have to face the defenders in the direction of Amritsar.

Because there is a possibility of being flanked by the Indian army from the north and south, the Pakistani army's assault operation in this direction is bound to be difficult, and it may not necessarily choose this direction.

In this way, the Pakistani army will inevitably make a detour to the east of Bertanot.

In fact, this is also the key to the fact that the Pakistani army hit 6 brigades in the north and put 2 armored brigades and 2 mechanized infantry brigades in this direction.

For the Indian army, no matter how it fights, it has to block the Pakistani army east of Bertanot.

For this reason, the Indian army put all 2 armored brigades in this direction.

It's just that time is too rushed for the Indian army.

Why?

By the time the two armoured brigades arrived, it was already the night of the 24th day of the war, and the 48-hour temporary ceasefire would expire the following morning.

Can it be deployed in one night?

Obviously, the Indian army simply can't do it.

To this end, on the 25th day of the war, the Indian army launched the first offensive.

Of course, the main forces were not invested.

According to the Indian army's battle plan, the infantry units should first be allowed to launch an offensive to curb the offensive momentum of the Pakistani army and buy time for the armored troops.

Why?

Deploy a defensive line to the east of Bertangate.

Next, the Indian army will rely on this defense line to block the southbound Pakistani army and do its best to thwart the Pakistani army.

After destroying the main force of the Pakistani army, it will launch an offensive relying on the defensive line, to be precise, a counterattack, and strive to attack the Kashmir region in one go.

To put it simply, it's a defensive counterattack.

It's well thought out, but it's very difficult to implement.

Why?

There are too few troops.

2 armored brigades, what can be done?

What's more, these two armored brigades have nominally two armored battalions each, but each battalion only has about 30 tanks, and they are coordinated with infantry battalions.

That is, 2 armored brigades, in total, only more than 100 main battle tanks.

In peacetime, this establishment is not bad.

In fact, before the outbreak of the war, most of Pakistan's armored brigades had only a few dozen tanks.

However, during the war, there were too few tanks.

After the outbreak of the war, all the armored units of the Pakistani army were strengthened, with more than 100 tanks, as well as a large number of armored vehicles and artillery.

The number of troops is really limited, how to fight?

Fortunately, the Indian commander was very self-aware, or rather frightened.

Why?

The 2 armored brigades of the Pakistani army on the opposite side are all equipped with "Khalid 2" main battle tanks, with a total of nearly 300 units!

Fight head-to-head?

Obviously, that's looking for death!

To this end, the Indian commander divided the two armored brigades, allowing one armored brigade to enter the pre-set position, and the other to act as a reserve.

The implication is that the Indian commander has put his hopes on defensive positions.

The plan was to defeat the Pakistani army's armored forces by fighting a defensive battle, and then launch a counterattack to reverse the disadvantage in numbers.

Of course, the Indian commander was also shrewd and sent an armored battalion to lure the enemy.

However, it is not an armored battalion equipped with "Arjun 2", but an armored battalion that has been put together from east to west, and the main force is more than 20 T-72M main battle tanks.

It must be admitted that the Indian army commander is indeed self-aware.

Why?

"Arjun 2" is not at all suitable for sports warfare.

Poor maneuverability, coupled with a huge combat weight, the "Arjun 2" has extremely poor field maneuverability, and in many places it is not even possible to maneuver.

On the contrary, deployed in pre-set positions, at least its 120-mm tank guns are still useful.

In addition, relying on the position, it can also effectively solve the problems of protection.

All in all, the Indian commander never thought of using such a bulky tank to challenge the "Khalid 2", let alone win on the field battlefield.

It's just that, relying on the position, "Arjun 2" can defeat "Khalid 2"?