East Bengal Regiment

Infantry regiment of the Bangladesh Army

East Bengal Regiment

ইস্ট বেঙ্গল রেজিমেন্ট

Insignia of the East Bengal Regiment

Active| 15 February 1948 – present
Country|

* Pakistan (1948–1971)
* Bangladesh (1971–present)

Branch|

* Pakistan Army (until 1971)
* Bangladesh Army

Type| Infantry
Size| 45 battalions
Garrison/HQ| East Bengal Regimental Centre, Chittagong Cantonment
Nickname(s)| The Tigers
Motto(s)| Grace, Strength, Speed
Colours|  (BCC–37)
March| Notunēr Gān
Mascot(s)| Bengal tiger
Anniversaries| 15 February
Engagements|

* Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
* Battle of Chawinda
* Battle of Lahore
* Bangladesh Liberation War

Insignia
Regimental Flag|

Military unit

The East Bengal Regiment (Bengali: ইস্ট বেঙ্গল রেজিমেন্ট) is one of the two infantry regiments of the Bangladesh Army, the other being the Bangladesh Infantry Regiment. East Bengal Regiment was founded by Major Abdul Gani.[1]

## History

[edit]

The East Bengal Regiment was formed on 15 February 1948, following the Partition of India into the Dominion of Pakistan and the Dominion of India in 1947. The core of the unit was made up of soldiers of the Bihar Regiment and the Bengal Pioneer Corps who had opted for Pakistan when partition divided the British Indian Army and the Pakistan Army was born. A shortfall of JCOs was made up from the Punjab Regiment until sufficient Bengali officers became available.[2] Two companies composed of Bengali Muslims were regimented in to the first training regiment in East Pakistan and was named the East Bengal Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel V. J. E. Patterson as Commanding Officer and Major Abdul Waheed Choudhury as Officer Commanding (O.C.).[3] Between 1948 and 1965, a total of eight battalions were raised. The East Bengal Regiment was primarily composed of Bengali men from East Pakistan.[4]

### 1965 Indo-Pakistan War

[edit]

At the end of the Indo-Pakistan War in 1965, a new battalion called the Lucky Tigers of the 7th East Bengal Regiment was created. The creation of the battalion was not finished until 1966.[5] During the war, soldiers of the East Bengal Regiment defended Lahore, West Pakistan, for which they were awarded 12 gallantry awards. The East Bengal Regiment was also known for causing heavy casualties on the Indian Army.[6]

### History during the Bangladesh War of Independence

[edit]

Main article: Bangladesh Liberation War

In March 1971, in response to a crackdown on local populace in East Pakistan, the five battalions of the East Bengal Regiment under the command of Major Ziaur Rahman revolted against the Pakistan Army. Members of the East Bengal Regiment across East Pakistan organized and initiated the Bangladesh War of Independence. The East Bengal Regiment formed the core of the independence struggle forces, which became known as the Bangladesh Forces. The structure and formation of the Bangladesh Forces during the Independence War of 1971 was determined at the Sector Commander's Conference that was held from 11 to 17 July 1971.[7]

Colonel M.A.G. Osmani (promoted to general after independence of Bangladesh) was the Commander-in-Chief of all Bangladesh Forces. Lieutenant Colonel M. A. Rab was appointed as the Chief of Army Staff and Squadron Leader M. Hamidullah Khan, was appointed Bangladesh Military Representative to coordinate guerilla training at the largest training camp of the war effort at Chakulia, Bihar, India. The decision of the formation of three separate brigades were formed with East Bengal battalions.[7] The East Bengal Regiment battalions that participated in the war were as follows:

Z Force, commanded by Major Ziaur Rahman, consisted of 1st, 3rd and 8th East Bengal Regiment. These battalions were formed during May~June 1971 at Teldhala village of Tura, Meghalaya, in 1971 by Major Ziaur Rahman. These three battalions principally constituted the backbone of Bangladesh Forces Sector 11, later commanded for a brief stint (24 days) by Major Abu Taher and subsequently by Squadron Leader M. Hamidullah Khan from 3 November until 14 February. The main two battles fought in Bangladesh Forces Sector 11 was the Kamalpur battle (land attack), led by Major Zia and the Chmarch ilmari Battle amphibious attack (landing raid) led by Squadron Leader M. Hamidullah Khan.

K Force, commanded by Major Khaled Mosharraf was created with 4, 9 and 10 East Bengal.

S Force, under Major K M Shafiullah, was created in October 1971 and consisted of 2 and 11 East Bengal. Further units were raised to replace those that remained stranded in West Pakistan. Following the foundation of Bangladesh, these units formed the core of the new army. However, the 7th Battalion was incorporated as 44th Battalion, Frontier Force Regiment of the Pakistan Army, which led to the raising of the 10th Battalion in 1971.

## Role

[edit]

The East Bengal Regiment is the oldest infantry regiment of the Bangladesh Army. Its role is to engage and defeat an enemy in frontal combat, within a traditional infantry combat scenario. The regiment also aids the civilian government when called on and contributes regularly to Bangladesh's peacekeeping commitments overseas. Bangladesh is among the countries contributing troops to the United Nations.[8]

* UNOCI
* 10th East Bengal Regiment
* 13th East Bengal Regiment
* UNMIL
* 26th East Bengal Regiment
* MONUSCO
* 44th East Bengal Regiment

## See also

[edit]

* Bangladesh Infantry Regiment
* Senior Tigers
* East Bengal Regimental Centre

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Flag distribution parade of 57 EBR held". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
2. ^ Rizvi, Hasan-Askari (2000). Military, state and society in Pakistan. Macmillan Press. p. 61\. ISBN 978-0-230-59904-8.
3. ^ Khan, Waqar (19 April 2021). "The myth of martial race: Seared into a schoolboy's memory!". The Daily Star. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
4. ^ "The 1965 War: A view from the east". Rediff.com. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
5. ^ Sein, Mange Kyaw (20 May 2011). "Remembering a Tiger's Last Journey". Star Weekend Magazine. The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
6. ^ Chowdhury, Ishfaq Ilahi (22 September 2015). "Indo-Pak War 1965". The Daily Star. Retrieved 14 June 2024. "In early August 1965, Pakistan launched a clandestine operation, code named Operation Gibraltar. The aim was to send infiltrators into Indian Kashmir to carry out insurgent activities there. Pakistan started a radio station called "Sada-e-Kashmir", purported to be the voice of the mujahedin fighting for Kashmir's liberation. The Pakistani leadership expected that it would trigger a general uprising among the Kashmiris. Nothing of the sort ever happened, however. Most of the infiltrators were arrested or killed in encounters. By the end of August, Operation Gibraltar petered out; remnants of the so-called mujahedins tracked back to Pakistan. On September 1, 1965, Pakistan launched Operations Grand Slam when regular Pakistani troops crossed the cease fire line (CFL) and moved towards Jammu. The forces made quick advance in the next couple of days, and threatened to cut the Jammu-Srinagar road. On September 2, the air forces came in to play. PAF fighters shot down 2 IAF Vampire fighters in the first encounter. On the same day, the Indian PM issued a warning that unless Pakistan withdrew its forces across the CFL, India would respond "at a time and place of its own choosing". The Indian response came on the nights of Sept 5-6 when it launched attacks across Sialkot and Lahore. The Indian forces, besides threatening two key cities, poised to cut the vital road and rail links between Lahore and Islamabad. At this time, the first Battalion of the East Bengal Regiment (EBR) was deployed in defence of Lahore along the Bambawali-Ravi-Bedian (BRB) canal. The regiment held their ground despite repeated Indian attacks and in the process, inflicted heavy casualty to the attacking Indian Army. At the end of the war, this regiment had the honour of being awarded the highest number of gallantry awards among all the regiments of the Pakistan Army. The Regiment won three Sitara-e-Jurrat (SJ, equivalent to Bir Bikram), eight Tamgha-e-Jurrat (TJ, equivalent to Bir Protik), and medals and citations. 1 EBR were hailed as the saviours of Lahore. An Indian Army tank that the regiment destroyed in the war is displayed as a war trophy in Chittagong Cantonment."
7. ^ a b "War of Liberation". Banglapedia. Banglapedia. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
8. ^ As of Dec 2008, Bangladesh was ranked second behind Pakistan and ahead of India in terms of numbers of troops deployed on UNPKOS. See official UN figures, available at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/contributors/2008/dec08_2.pdf

## Further reading

[edit]

* Makieg, Douglas C. (1989). "National Security". In Heitzman, James; Worden, Robert (eds.). Bangladesh: A Country Study. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. pp. 208–209.
* Gill, John H. (2003). An Atlas of the 1971 India - Pakistan War: The Creation of Bangladesh. Washington D.C.: National Defense University, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies. p. 20–. OCLC 53906774.
* Cohen, Stephen P. (2016). The South Asia Papers. Brookings Institution Press. p. 206\. ISBN 978-0-8157-2841-2 - via Project MUSE.
* Wilkinson, Steven (2015). Army and Nation: The Military and Indian Democracy Since Independence. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-72880-6.

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* 5 Light Commando Battalion
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Special Forces|

* Special Service Group

Former regiments|

* Bahawalpur
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