1962: The War That Wasn't

......a thread bare and frank analysis of the war with China. Up till I read the book, I only had a hazy picture that Nehru had messed up the war.

Thorough

A documentary that is a telling indictment of the total lack of governance or control during one of the most crucial periods in the life of a young nation.

Quite a well researched book, gives a minute to minute details of the actual happenings on the ground during the war

Listened to the audio book version during my drive to & from work. Like most books I would have never completed reading it especially when its so detailed with remote locations, names, army terminologies, etc. I learnt a lot and gained so much more after looking more into all that was told in this book especially maps. A must for any student of India's military & modern political history fan. In my opinion even if realistic Generals like Thimayya or Thorat would be in command, India would have lost the war against Maoist China no matter what; but at least more respectfully! Understanding that after independence, in experienced officers got rapid promotions but by installing 'yes' men like Kaul, Thapar etc. as commanders who had no combat experience or even experience in commanding a fighting infantry unit, was the recipe for disaster! Had it been some other nation, these 'babu' Generals along with Lt. Gen. Bogey Sen, Maj. Gen. Anant Pathania etc. would have been at least court martial, if not shot for cowardice & incompetence. All the time one hears of orders to retreat or break contact with chaotic planning to a fall back to a certain location; forget reinforcement. It's the right wing BJP trend these days to blame Nehru for all things wrong in India, but the humiliating defeat of 1962 surely was his wrong doing along with what can be termed as 'purging' of the Indian army.

One of the best books ever created for 1962. Great details to history and the build up and then of the events and how they un folded.Must read for anyone wanting to understand the war and the reasons

One of the most brilliantly researched books on 1962 war. I "heard" this book on Audible.

A great read. As soon as I started the book, it was unputdownable. The language is very lucid, clear and easy to understand. The writing is so good, it feels as if the entire war is being fought in front of our eyes. The emotions have been captured extremely well and the scenes are extremely well described to paint a vivid picture of the setting and the war sequence. And yet the author has provided all the relevant sources for each sequence.The best part is that the author has not focussed making a villain out of a particular individual and has shown that the failure was cumulative with the rot emanating from the top which made even the bravest of the soldiers to abandon the posts.The most important learning that we as Indians can take from this book is the line "In the annals of Indian warfare, time and again the battles that were being won turned on their head whenever the king was killed." This is an extremely important message that we need to keep in mind. The leaders should be confident and leading from the front willing to take calculated risks. A strong leader at the top is extremely important. In the case of 1962, Nehru, due to his political insecurities and baseless ideals never let the Indian Armed Forces operate independently while keeping it highly under prepared in terms of resources.This is a book that every Indian should read. As important it is to know about our successes, it is equally important, if not more, to know about our losses and the reasons behind them. I am extremely grateful to Shri Shiv Kunal Verma ji for this detailed account of the war that wasn't.

The more I read this book, the more I can understand that part of India's history that didn't make any sense. We tarred everyone with the wrong brush and didn't look inward at all. This is highly recommended to everyone in India - Read it before you make the next comment on social media.

Great book and a lot of details, which can be a goldmine for people.However, while mentioning different locations and features, and with new names popping up every now and then, it becomes difficult to keep track. It seems the author wrote the book for readers who are well-versed in NE and Arunachal.It would have been great if the author had created the first chapter only to explain the different features and locations he would be talking about, along with a foldable map with all the markings, directions of attack, and all the tracks. I know every chapter has micro maps, but they are not enough to keep track of the number of names thrown at you while reading.Also, the features and difficulties of the terrain could have been explained in a much more lucid form. I would recommend the author look at Arjun Subramanian's style of writing, with a little bit more detail.I am sure if I go and ask people who have read this book, they won't be able to recall anything about the names and locations.While reflecting the flaws in the General, it seems he was suffering from the same issue. Not knowing the ground realities of his readers.

I have been an avid reader of military history and official campaign accounts specially those penned by sources who were actually involved in those campaigns are generally embellished or spruced up with heroics and vainglorious events which generally have pernicious undertones , a motive to exonerate or exculpate the protagonists who might be the author or narrator/ source on whose diction the book is being published.However this account by Mr Verma, having being written after an exhaustive research, perusing battalion and formation war diaries, archival records and few interviews of survivors at various echelons , is one such exception And I personally concur with each and every conclusion he has derived - the most factual but pernicious one being that the war was a command failure , top down , right from army headquarters, eastern command, corps , division, brigade and most unfathomable being the battalion.How and why despite being in possession of NEFA since 1947 and having inclination of nefarious Chinese designs were no steps taken to formulate, implement and rehearse contingency op plans ? Why were conclusions of war games shrugged aside and lingered amid the files piling filth and dust in South block. ? Why wasn't infrastructure developed which as Chinese showed was acheivable even during the course of the war? How did our gallant generals, highly decorated,erudite, even exoerienced in world wars, suddenly develop cold feet when encumbered with Chinese conundrum? Why did we not follow the basic principles of defence and how did the command echelons forget the immutable laws of war , the primary being " MAINTAINENCE OF AIM" ? Why bloody why?The ludicrous official histories divulge different conclusion but Mr Verma has rightly concluded that Indian forces were not merely defeated but routed, the brigade in 4 hours, division in less than 36 hours that too by enemy who was neither preponderant in firepower nor numerical strength , in a terrain that was a defenders delight and attackers nightmare both logistically and physically.The mental dissonance caused in the mind of our commanders by Communist generals is a classic example of Maneouver warfare and displays that more than the physical domain, battles are fought mentally. The COAS, Army commander, corps commander, DMO - the cream of Indian military strategy- all sitting at Tezpur when the second phase was abruptly launched by Chinese , all clueless regarding ORBAT and none repeat none could even comprehend the basic designs of the enemy, his thrust, his objectives, his designs, his tactics etc and this shows how much our armed forces of that era had been politicised when such elements were allowed to persist , rise even though they had no ability beyond commanding a platoon leave alone a battalion.Finally , Mr Verma could do with some maps and use army symbols to describe the battles as they unfolded . This would make the read far more comprehensible and interesting. But overall one one of the best and unbiased book on this dark epic of Indian army and such book should be a must read specially the commanders of today, who it is believed are falling back into the same old habits of yesteryears.

Must read for getting the insight of the Courage of Young men, resultant of Interference of Govt in military affairs, Ego of govt authorities & the debacle of Higher military authorities