Operation Cold Start - India's Strategy for War

The recent war exercises carried out by the Indian army was called Brazen Chariots. The major fire power of the armed forces was in diplay for everyone to see including the delegates from over 59 countries, ofcourse excluding Pakistan

This strategy was in a bid to increase India's readiness to go to war (in case there is one) as soon as the orders were isued from the government. This was a lesson learnt from the experiences of the attack on Parliament in December 2001. When the government issued orders to the army it took them 3 weeks to get ready for war. Enough time for the US to put pressure on the Indian government to avert a war and for Pakistan to threaten using the nuclear war possibility

Operation Cold Start was designed to get the forces ready within 72 hours of the order issued to go to war. It is a daunting task given the lack of military hardware for the Indian army. Lets discuss that part later. The main aspect of this operation is to attack the key facilities of the enemy and then holding fort using the forces that arrive later. Earlier it was holding the fort along the battle lines until the attack forces came by. This change in tactics will save a lot of time for the army to get ready

Here is a comparison between the old and the new strategies

Old: Mobilise the whole army and then attack the enemy
New: Hit, mobilise, hit harder. All the key enemy installations will be attacked first

Old: 3 weeks to prepare for the war
New: Operations will start within 24 hours

Old: Pivot corps (troops holding fort) get into position until the attacking troops arrive
New: Pivot corps themselves carry out the offensive without waiting for the attack corps

Old: Sequential attack of enemy territory (time consuming)
New: Simultaneous attack of all enemy targets – Shock and awe

One main aspect of the operation that Indian army is missing the lack of military hardware. The army needs atleast a 100 helicopters to airlift the troops to the battle fiel. It is a great start for a strategy as India is one of the largest consumer of military hardware in the world it will eventually get all the military hardware it needs in due course. But the presence of such a doctrine will itself deter countries like Pakistan in carrying out operations which could provoke a war.

In a nuclearised subcontinent the whole prospect of war seems to be a grave danger for the whole world. So lets hope these measures by the Indian army will only help maintain peace and stability in the region

A complete review can be seen in the below link
http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/land-forces/4342-india-s-new-cold-start-war-doctrine-strategically-reviewed.html

More blogs can be found in the below links
http://www.srshamil.blogspot.com