Special Operations Case Studies

Lt Gen Prakash Katoch

Oct 2019 · Lancer Publishers LLC

About this ebook

This book in four sections covers the ‘Operational Milieu and Special Operations’, ‘Successful Special Operations’, ‘Failed Special Operations’, and ‘Implications for India’. It covers regular, irregular and mixed operations under the rubric of hybrid warfare of select foreign militaries, and Indian experience in sub-conventional operations. A myriad of successful and failed special operations covering a span of over seven decades from 1943 onwards have been analyzed in detail, drawing lessons from each. The last Section, ‘Implications for India’, covers lessons, challenges and recommendations in three chapters. These highlight India’s adverse strategic asymmetry vis-a-vis China-Pakistan, inability of India to put in place SOF structures to optimize the considerable SF potential for employment at the strategic, operational and tactical levels, and ending up with policy recommendations.

About the author

Lt Gen PC Katoch, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SC, is a third-generation army officer who superannuated as Director General Information Systems of Indian Army in 2009. A Special Forces officer, he participated in the 1971 India-Pakistan War, commanded a Special Forces Battalion in Sri Lanka, a Brigade on Siachen Glacier, a Division in Ladakh and a Strike Corps in the South-Western Theatre. He was part of the Indian contingent to the international sky-diving competition to USSR in May 1976. He was India’s Defence Attaché to Japan and Republic of Korea, and has served as DDGMO (Special Forces) at Army HQ, and as ACIDS (Strategic Operations) at HQ Integrated Defence Staff. A Masters in Defence Studies, he is alumni of the National Defence College. A former Colonel of the Parachute Regiment, post-retirement he has authored over 1800 articles on international relations, strategic affairs, national security, military, technical and topical issues. A leading defence expert, he contributes regularly for Indian and foreign publications. Active in seminars at both national and international levels, he has presented papers in USA (Washington DC and Hawaii), China, Taiwan, Japan, Republic of Korea, Afghanistan and Maldives. He is Distinguished Fellow with United Service Institution of India and held the Field Marshal KM Cariappa Chair of Excellence for the year 2011-2012. He co-authored the book, India’s Special Forces — History and Future of Indian Special Forces, (published in 2013), and has authored the book, Indian Military and Network Centric Warfare (published in 2014).