Real life what-if, Indian Army assault on Deigo Garcia

**1979** · 19 Mar 12,, 21:05

33 IL-12 Cub ,

For all other transports ( CARIBOU, HAWKER SIDLEY,C-119G Packet ) it's a one way trip.

**Blademaster** · 19 Mar 12,, 21:07

Originally Posted by Officer of Engineers

You can't help but admire the gutsy move but as I stated, I've been wracking my brain for years on this one but I do not see what the InA saw at the time.

Maybe gutsy, but suicidal. InA and IN were never known for suicidal tendencies.

**Blademaster** · 19 Mar 12,, 21:09

Originally Posted by 1979

33 IL-12 Cub ,

For all other transports ( CARIBOU, HAWKER SIDLEY,C-119G Packet ) it's a one way trip.

Then I guess it was to be done when no US CVBG was in the area. More of a surprise raid. Question is: did USN have any radar or early warning coverage there? What about the Soviet angle? Were the Soviets expected to assist India? I don't think so. The Soviets would tell India to back the hell off which maybe in this case, did happen because after all, India did back off.

**Albany Rifles** · 19 Mar 12,, 21:11

All,

Okay...who is engaged in combat? Indian and US? India v US/UK?

I admit I am lost.

And we are positing forces in place in 1971 not 2012, correct?

**Officer of Engineers** · 19 Mar 12,, 21:13

India vs the US during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.

**Officer of Engineers** · 19 Mar 12,, 21:13

Originally Posted by Blademaster

Maybe gutsy, but suicidal. InA and IN were never known for suicidal tendencies.

Precisely which meant that they had some confidence of success ... whatever success meant.

**Blademaster** · 19 Mar 12,, 21:18

Originally Posted by Officer of Engineers

Precisely which meant that they had some confidence of success ... whatever success meant.

Maybe they were expecting Enterprise to be busy or it could be that, they wanted to draw Enterprise away from Bay of Bengal as to relieve the Indian naval forces there. Maybe they were gonna throw a sacrificial lamb as a small price to draw the Enterprise force away from Bay of Bengal and saw the payoff as worth the risks and casualties.

**Albany Rifles** · 19 Mar 12,, 21:20

Originally Posted by Officer of Engineers

India vs the US during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.

Grazi

Any specified ROE?

**commander** · 19 Mar 12,, 21:22

Originally Posted by Officer of Engineers

Precisely which meant that they had some confidence of success ... whatever success meant.

Sir maybe they had the help of Russian subs to divert the attention of US troops and try a surprise attack using the para troopers ?? When I looked for Diego Garcia IMHO it looks like a place with strategic importance.

**Officer of Engineers** · 19 Mar 12,, 21:27

Originally Posted by Albany Rifles

Grazi

Any specified ROE?

Buck, that's the point. We don't know. This is not some theory that we dream up. This op actually took place but called off at the last second.

What I posted in the original piece is what we do actually do know. Our own WAB's Lemontree's father was part of an ambulance tasked to taking Deigo Garcia. He was on the tarmac before he got called back to barracks. And if the ambulance was on the tarmac, then the initial entry force had already left.

What's been bugging me for years is what the hell was the Indian Army thinking to have a reasonable chance of success?

**1979** · 19 Mar 12,, 21:27

Originally Posted by Blademaster

Maybe they were expecting Enterprise to be busy or it could be that, they wanted to draw Enterprise away from Bay of Bengal as to relieve the Indian naval forces there. Maybe they were gonna throw a sacrificial lamb as a small price to draw the Enterprise force away from Bay of Bengal and saw the payoff as worth the risks and casualties.

seams possible to me, albeit i'm not familiar enough with Indian interest in Bangladesh to judge if it was worth the risk.

**Albany Rifles** · 19 Mar 12,, 21:42

Originally Posted by Officer of Engineers

Buck, that's the point. We don't know. This is not some theory that we dream up. This op actually took place but called off at the last second.

What I posted in the original piece is what we do actually do know. Our own WAB's Lemontree's father was part of an ambulance tasked to taking Deigo Garcia. He was on the tarmac before he got called back to barracks. And if the ambulance was on the tarmac, then the initial entry force had already left.

What's been bugging me for years is what the hell was the Indian Army thinking to have a reasonable chance of success?

Got it sir.

I see where you are going. I am wondering if the Indians didn't figure they had bitten off enough with Paks and causing WW 3 to start on their door step was going to add badly for India.

I wonder where our boomers and attack subs were?

And most USN carriers back then carried nuclear weapons.

**Firestorm** · 19 Mar 12,, 21:45

Aside from the huge tactical difficulties of launching an airborne assault on Diego Garcia, such an attack if launched pre-emptively would have been strategic suicide. It would have given the US an excuse for intervening in the war on the pakistani side. Not only would India have lost the war but it would have suffered severe damage if the US had launched an all out attack.

My guess is this could have been decided as a desperate last-ditch response to a potential attack by the Enterprise on Indian naval assets in the Bay of Bengal, since India would already be at war with the US in such a case. Perhaps Indian intelligence had initially suspected that such an attack was imminent and the IA had readied it's assets for the Diego Garcia assault. If the Enterprise was busy attacking the Indian navy in the BoB, it wouldn't have been available to defend Diego Garcia. But since the Enterprise never attacked the assault was called off.

This is all highly speculative of course. personally I still find it hard to believe that this was real. I read about this a long time ago but it felt like rumor and hearsay at the time.

**Firestorm** · 19 Mar 12,, 21:50

Originally Posted by 1979

33 IL-12 Cub ,

That would be the Antonov An-12, not Il-12. Where did you come across the 33 number? It seems rather high.

**1979** · 19 Mar 12,, 22:05

yes , my mistake an-12 .

Trade Registers
list 24 delivered in 1963-1964
8 delivered in 1962 (missed them first time i looked )
8 delivered in 1961

also 24 Il-14/Crate Transport aircraft 1961 1961-1962 which may explain my error