Military History and Evolution of Warfare
This domain tests the chain of change in warfare - from massed infantry and elephants to precision strikes and drones - and the chronology of India's wars since 1947.
Landmarks you must hold in order
- Mauryan era: Kautilya's Arthashastra describes the six-limbed army (shadanga) and types of troops - maula (hereditary), bhritya (mercenary), shreni (guild), mitra (allied), atavi (forest/tribal).
- 1526, First Battle of Panipat: Babur's field artillery and tulughma tactics beat Ibrahim Lodi's larger, elephant-heavy army - gunpowder becomes decisive.
- 1857: the greased-cartridge grievance sparks the great uprising; Crown rule begins in 1858.
- World Wars: machine gun, trench, tank, aircraft, radar - industrialised attrition.
India's wars
1947–48 Kashmir operations; 1962 Sino-Indian conflict; 1965; 1971 - Instrument of Surrender signed at Dhaka on 16 December, about 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war; 1999 Kargil (Operation Vijay); 2019 Balakot air strike.
Themes
The shift from mass to precision, from platform-centric to network-centric warfare, and the addition of cyber, space, information and hybrid warfare.
Worked example
"Arrange in order: Kargil, First Panipat, 1971 war, 1857." Reasoning: fix a date to each - Panipat 1526, 1857, 1971, Kargil 1999. Anchoring to dates rather than to a feeling of "big war" prevents rearrangement errors.
Traps
- Mixing 1965 (stalemate, Tashkent) with 1971 (decisive, Bangladesh).
- Kargil Vijay Diwas is 26 July; the 1971 surrender is 16 December (Vijay Diwas).
- "Operation Vijay" was also the 1961 Goa liberation - check which war the question means.