Tank Battle Of Shiromoni Pdf Download

On 31st March 1971 i.e. five days after Bangladesh declared independence from Pakistan and waged war against the Pakistani military, members of the East Pakistan Rifles and other Bengali armed forces (who now formed the Mukti Bahini of Bangladesh) from Khulna, Satkira and Jessore were able to liberate the city of Jessore from the occupying Pakistani military. Even though the city was liberated, one of the main power bases of the Pakistan military was in the nearby Jessore cantonment. During the Second World War when the Japanese were able to occupy the Burma region of the then British India (which also included present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh), the British government established the Jessore cantonment to create a strong defense against any potential Japanese attack. As such, even after the British left and East Bengal became a region of Pakistan, the Jessore cantonment remained a powerful military base for the Pakistanis. Thus the Pakistanis were able to re-empower themselves on 3rd April and by 6th April the Pakistani military retook the Jessore city. In order to liberate the city again, the Bangladeshi forces had to wait for nine-months during the war, when on 6th December the Bangladeshi forces along with their Indian allies retook the city from Pakistani army. The next day, i.e. 7th December, the allied Bangladeshi and Indian forces prepared themselves to take the Jessore cantonment which was full of Pakistani tanks and armoury. Sensing the approach of the enemy, the Pakistani forces left the cantonment with all their arsenals and tanks and moved almost fifty-four kilometers towards Shiromoni of the Khulna Division.

Whatever was their reason, the Pakistanis prepared themselves from 7th to 12th December to fight their enemies. The Pakistanis had thirty-two tanks, besides these the Pakistani soldiers stationed themselves on every building of Shiromoni and established their headquarters at the Shiromoni Cable Factory (now known as Bangladesh Cable Shilpa Limited). Apart from these, from the cable factory to Daulatpur the Pakistanis set up huge number of bunkers and landmines which established a strong defensive position for them.

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On the other hand, after finding the Jessore cantonment completely empty of enemy troops on 7th December, the Bangladeshi and Indian forces got to know that the Pakistanis have taken position at Shiromoni. After this, Sector VIII of Mukti Bahini under the command of Major Muhammed Abul Manzur began to march towards Khulna and on 11th December took position at Fultola near Shiromoni to prepare for an offensive against the Pakistani forces. Right after this, Indian forces under the command of Major Gani and Major Mahendra Singh led the Indian Rajput Regiment with large number of tanks to enter Bangladesh through Benapole. Through Kalaroa Sub-district, the Indian forces joined Major Manzur's forces at Fultola. Also, members of Sector IX of the Mukti Bahini under the command of Major Joynal Abedin took positions at Gollamri More of Khulna and Khulna Shipyard, south of Shiromoni. By this time, since Khulna, Jessore, Faridpur and Kushtia had been liberated from Pakistani forces, Mukti Bahini from all these areas began to surround Shiromoni from all directions.

The Battle of Shiromoni officially started on 13th December. The Mukti Bahini under the command of Major Manzur started to fire heavily with machine guns at Pakistani soldiers stationed at Shiromoni. Simultaneously, the Indian forces established communication with Kolkata to launch air strikes at Shiromoni. The Pakistanis also retaliated with heavy fire through their tanks and ammunitions but suffered immense losses. The next day, seeing no signs of aggression from the Pakistanis, Major Mahendra Singh of the Indian Army thought the Pakistanis might have left Shiromoni and retreated south towards Khulna. For this reason, they were contemplating to move towards Khulna to chase the enemy. Even though Major Manzur asked the Indians to maintain caution, the Indian army under the command of Major Mahendra Singh and Major Gani took 28 vehicles and started to move towards Khulna. On their way to Khulna, after passing through Shiromoni and getting near Badamtola, the Indians faced an ambush by the Pakistani military.[5] Among the 28 vehicles, 26 vehicles got destroyed by the Pakistani Army. In the midst of this ambush, Major Gani was killed but Major Mahendra Singh was able to flee back towards Major Manzur's position at Fultola. Around 250 Indian soldiers got killed or injured at Badamtola.

On 17th December at 3:00 am, the Bangladeshi and Indian forces faced heavy casualties: among the Indians, seven soldiers died and thirty men got injured; among the Bangladeshis, thirty-one soldiers died and more than 120 men were injured. At 3:10 am, Major Mahendra Singh again requested Kolkata for launching air strikes at Shiromoni, however, they were told that air strike was impossible until sunup. Due to continuous casualties, taking a jeep with him, Major Manzur decided to go to Jessore Cantonment and re-evaluate their battle plans. After a military meeting of ten minutes, it was decided that Major Manzur will be in command of the joint Bangladeshi and Indian forces at Shiromoni and Fultola. As soon as he took responsibility of his new command, Major Manzur sent a wireless message to the Sector IX Commander, Major Joynal Abedin, whose forces were still stationed south of Shiromoni at Khulna region. On receiving Major Manzur's message, Major Joynal Abedin with the aid of Sector IX Mukti Bahini and fighters from Satkhira and other regions of Khulna began to attack the Pakistani defense positions at southern Shiromoni and started to slowly move towards the Shiromoni region. By this time, in the north, Major Manzur moved back near Shiromoni and took charge of his new command and set new battle tactics for the mission. Major Manzur decided that they were no longer going to wait for the Indian airstrikes at dawn and face more casualties. Instead they were going to face the enemy head-on. Firstly, he brought the Mukti Bahini fighters stationed at the right of Shiromoni to the second line of defence in the front line and sent the Indian soldiers at the front line to the right of Shiromoni. Two commandos on the left side and three commandos on the back side were put on the front line defense, while the other Indian soldiers were posted at the back side of the defense. Manzur then ordered two Indian tanks to move towards Shiromoni using the main road and ordered an additional six tanks to attack the Pakistani strong positions from the right side. Behind each of these tanks Major Manzur sent twelve Mukti Bahini men eager to get martyred. With them joined Major Manzur himself.[8]

On December 7, 1971, the Pak Army was forced to leave the Jessore Cantonment and spread to various areas, including Khulna. Brigadier Muhammad Hayat Ali Khan, the commander of the Khulna Headquarters, along with a large brigade of the Pakistani Army, built camps at several places in Shiromoni, Gilatala, Shyamganj and Teligati areas of Khulna. They set up the biggest camp in the desolate Shiromoni area. Commander Hayat Khan with his armoured and artillery brigades built a defense system around the north and north-west of Khulna city. Moreover, special countermeasures were prepared to plant anti-tank mines on Jessore Road in Shiromoni area from Atra.

A large convoy led by Major Mahendra Singh and Major Gani of the Allied forces, stationed at Chouddo Mile of Phultala, left for Khulna on December 14, receiving no response from the Pakistani forces despite heavy fire and their silence. When the allied forces reached the battlefield in the Shiromoni area, the Pak forces ambushed them from different directions.

On December 16, the Pak forces surrendered in Dhaka. But Commander Hayat Khan did not accept it and continued to fight. From that night, under the leadership of Major Manju, the all-out frontal battle began. In the face of heavy losses in the night-long battle, the beleaguered Pakistan army decided to surrender at one point in the morning of December 17. Then the defeated Pak army surrendered near Nasu Khan's brick kiln in Shiromoni area.

On 6 December, two regiments of armour and one mechanised battalion 9 Infantry Division advanced towards Jessore. Higher commanders sent messages highlighting that we were entering a decisive phase of the war. Jessore was expected to be the mother of all battles in our area. To our surprise, we found that the fortress of Jessore had been abandoned in haste by Pakistan troops, who had withdrawn to the port of Khulna to the south.

An unsung military heroBrigadier Hayat fought a brilliant defensive battle from 10 December to 17 December. The terrain did not permit any manoeuvre. Attacks per force had to be frontal. Attack after attack was repulsed imposing very heavy casualties. On the night 15-16 December, 4 Sikh managed to establish a roadblock behind the main defence. The main defences held by 15 FFR were attacked by 13 Dogra at 9:30 am and two company localities were captured. Hayat quickly plugged the gaps with his reserves and held his nerves and the battle continued. When the surrender was taking place in Dacca at 4 pm on 16 December, some of the heaviest fighting in the entire war was taking place at Khulna.

9 Infantry Division suffered more casualties in the seven-days fighting in Khulna than it did in the one month of fighting before that. Instead of being the first to enter Dacca, 9 Infantry Division remained engaged in a purposeless battle up to 17 December.

The 1971 Liberation war of Bangladesh was comparatively short-lived but included some of the finest examples of modern-day warfare. As the Indians joined on the 3rd of December, Bangladesh theatre saw increased usage of heavy weaponry and tactics. Many of the 1971 battles remain important due to their unique strategies and tactics involved, often employed by the Indian army. The battle of Shiromani is one such. A fierce all-around battle fought in the Khulna region of Southern Bangladesh, at least 35 military schools today have included the war strategy in their curriculum. e24fc04721