No eyeball to eyeball any more in new war doctrine

In short, no longer will armed forces be mobilised to prepare for war. Global powers in the changed world do not allow it. Op Parakram is a prime example: the international community intervened once the Cabinet signalled mobilisation of forces, five days after the attack on Parliament in December 2001. It took 20 days to mass the troops.

Military commanders are now looking at the ‘cold start’ doctrine. Although it was drawn before the Indo-Pak border stand-off, it was fine-tuned only after Op Parakram, taking into account the reality of a nuclear neighbourhood.

While many in the forces may take credit for this doctrine, the then Western Army Commander Lt General Vijay Oberoi was one of the first to root for this strategy. Present Army Vice Chief Lt General Shantano Choudhary has refined the concept keeping in mind the existing nuclear environment.

Gen Oberoi, who retired as Army Vice Chief in 2002, presently heads an Army think tank called CLAWS. This doctrine, debated at the last tri-Services military commanders conference, will be on the agenda again during the commanders’ conference next month.

The new doctrine does not believe in dividing the forces into defensive or attack formations. India’s three Strike Corps — Mathura-based I Corps, Ambala-based II Corps and Bhopal-based XXI Corps — will be there only for training purposes. The war will be fought through eight battle groups with integrated elements from the IAF and Navy.

Backed by tank regiments, heavy artillery, missile regiments and the air force, the battle groups will go for limited but lethal destruction on enemy territory. The Navy with its carrier-based fighters will have the key role of supporting the battle groups. Ships will also launch missiles like the Russian Klub. The idea is to destroy, not to hold or capture territory.

This concept was first war-gamed during Exercise Vijay Chakra in the Thar desert by Gen Oberoi in 2001 and synergised between the three forces during Exercise Brahmastra later that year. Still being war-gamed, a part of it was on view at Exercise Divya Astra in Pokharan this week.

This strategy was fine-tuned once the threat of nuclear war dawned on the security establishment. It was done by Gen Choudhary, then commander of the Jalandhar-based XI Corps, and his counterparts in IAF and Navy.

Measuring the force application during war time, they took into account the nuclear threshold of the adversary.

In short, don’t hit the adversary’s strategic points so hard as to invite a nuclear response or international intervention.