Battle of Burki
The Battle of Burki was a battle fought by Indian infantry and Pakistani armour in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Burki (also spelled Barki, Burkee and Barkee) is a village, that lies south-east of Lahore near the border with Punjab, just 11 km from the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, and is connected to Lahore by the a bridge over the Bambawali-Ravi-Bedian (BRB) Canal. During the battle, the strength of the two sides were relatively even and Indian infantry clashed with Pakistani forces that were entrenched in pillboxes, dug-outs and slit trenches that had been carved into the canal banks. The Pakistanis were supported by a large number of tanks, as well as fighter jets. The battle resulted in an Indian victory. Background Pakistan launched Operation Grand Slam on 17 August 1965 in an effort to relieve infiltrators who had been surrounded after the failure of Operation Gibraltar on 15 August and to attempt to cut off the Indian supply lines. With supply lines under severe stress due to Operation Grand Slam, India launched an offensive towards Lahore to open up a second front in the war and distract Pakistani attention from Kashmir. After opening the Lahore Front, Indian