AHC: Indo-Pak '71 escalates into WWIII

I've wanted to do this one for a while, because I've always felt that this one was underutilized in terms of Cold War flashpoints.

As the title says, come up with a way that the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 escalates into the Third World War (or at the very least, a massive regional conflict in Southwest Asia involving as many as three major powers: the United States, the Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China).

For context, the war was waged primarily over the status of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), which was predominantly Bengali and wished greater autonomy from Pakistan. Pakistan committed some pretty horrific war crimes trying to suppress the Bengalis, sparking a war for independence that eventually drew in India. As the crisis escalated, the US, the PRC, and Imperial Iran provided support to the Pakistanis, while the USSR supported India.

Of particular note is a series actions taken late in the war by the US and the USSR. The US Navy deployed a carrier battle group led by the USS Enterprise into the Bay of Bengal to intimidate the Indians against launching an offensive into West Pakistan; in response, the Soviet Navy deployed two groups of warships from Vladivostok to counter the American ships and reinforce a small number of Soviet warships already in the Bay of Bengal. Before those additional ships could arrive, however, Pakistani troops in East Pakistan surrendered to Indian forces, ending the war and sealing Bangladeshi independence.

So, how could the war escalate into a larger conflict? I assume that it would have to last a bit longer than the two weeks it did OTL in order to put US and SU navies in a position to potentially fight one another. That, or somehow have the Chinese get involved on the side of Pakistan (though I have seen people discredit that possibility, as the Sino-Indian War of '62 had resulted in India creating formidable defenses along it's border with China that would have made an invasion quite unpleasant).
 
So, how could the war escalate into a larger conflict? I assume that it would have to last a bit longer than the two weeks it did OTL

Agreed. I suppose that would've been possible had the Pakistani commander tried to turn Dacca into a stalingrad for India instead of capitulating.

in order to put US and SU navies in a position to potentially fight one another. That, or somehow have the Chinese get involved on the side of Pakistan (though I have seen people discredit that possibility, as the Sino-Indian War of '62 had resulted in India creating formidable defenses along it's border with China that would have made an invasion quite unpleasant).

In addition to the fortifications in December 1971 snow had blocked the Himalayan passes. I don't know if China could've launched air strikes back then. The old PLA wasn't all that interested in matching enemy technology.
 
For context, the war was waged primarily over the status of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), which was predominantly Bengali and wished greater autonomy from Pakistan. Pakistan committed some pretty horrific war crimes trying to suppress the Bengalis, sparking a war for independence that eventually drew in India. As the crisis escalated, the US, the PRC, and Imperial Iran provided support to the Pakistanis, while the USSR supported India.

While I don't know a great deal about the wider context, I do know a fair bit about the situation on the ground at the time, being one of the dozen Royal Marines ensuring the British Embassy (it might have been a High Commission, I really wasn't paying that much attention) remained secure while the disturbances went on around us. I can confirm that "Pakistan committed some pretty horrific war crimes" is putting it mildly.

Others will know the geopolitical situation way better than I do. I was just a 17-year-old Royal Marine watching the situation unfold in front of him. It wasn't a great deal of fun.
 

orwelans II

Banned

This video has some details on how the Soviets moved their forces to deter an Anglo-American attack on India. It mentions the Treaty of Friendship which bounds the USSR to defend India in case of sucha an attack. One option is that the Americans would presume the Soviets won't dare to get involved if they bomb India's army.
 
This video has some details on how the Soviets moved their forces to deter an Anglo-American attack on India. It mentions the Treaty of Friendship which bounds the USSR to defend India in case of sucha an attack. One option is that the Americans would presume the Soviets won't dare to get involved if they bomb India's army.

It's rather questionable as to cause and effect. The mighty Russian fleet scaring off the US and UK fleets?

Given that the UK actually deployed troops (only a dozen, and I was one of them) into what was to become Bangladesh, with specific instructions to protect British interests in the area, and with very specific authorisation to shoot Pakistan forces encroaching, and very specific instructions to welcome Indian troops (and we were bloody glad to see them), the implication of the video you posted is that British forces would have been prepared to go to war to prevent Indian forces getting involved while British forces were busy against the Pakistan forces the Indian forces were engaged with. I am not, to put it mildly, convinced.

I know the MOD suffers from Left Hand Right Handitis, but if the video is accurate, British forces would be engaged in fighting against British forces. Which isn't impossible, but I would have been seriously annoyed.
 
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