BATTLES OF BELONIA BULGE

Feni-Belonia is an enclave of Bangladesh that penetrates

the Indian territory, a narrow finger-like strip about
16km-long and 4-6km wide in area. A metre gauge
railway track connects Belonia Border Outpost with Feni
and two semi-metal roads connect Belonia, one from
Chagolnaiyya and another from Feni. The corridor was
under the administrative sub-division of Feni, now Feni
District, and is surrounded on three sides by Indian
territory except the south. Feni town is situated at the
south and at the entry point of the enclave. Dhaka-
Chittagong highway and Dhaka-Chittagong railway line
run through Feni township. Feni river and Muhuri river
play a vital role in the topography of the area.
Strategic importance of Feni and Feni-Belonia Bulge
Feni has always been treated as the lifeline between the
port city of Chittagong and the capital city of Dhaka. It
was the Main Supply Route (MSR) and was considered to
be a very important line of communication by the
Pakistani occupation forces for movement of their forces,
including arms and ammunition, from Chittagong to
Dhaka and the rest of the country. Feni, therefore, was
treated as a militarily and strategically vital place both by
the Pakistani forces and by the freedom fighters.
Pakistan also apprehended the installation of Provisional
Bangladesh Government at Parshuram in the northern
side of the Bulge which was contiguous to the Indian
border where Pakistani army would not be able to
effectively intervene.
During the nine-month-long Liberation War, Feni-Belonia
Bulge had always been a fiercely hot battlefield. To take
control of the Bulge, three major battles were fought
where freedom fighters successfully applied their
improvised tactics. The battles of Belonia Bulge are
looked upon as an important chapter of the Liberation
War of Bangladesh. The Second Battle of Belonia Bulge
has been included in the syllabus/curriculum of
Bangladesh Military Academy and many other military
academies of the world.
November 5 was fixed as the D-day. It was a cold winter
evening. And against the usual weather pattern, after
sunset, it started raining heavily and the weather turned
ghastly. Thus, nature presented a perfect opportunity for
the successful infiltration. At 10:30pm, Bravo Company
under the command of 2/Lt. Mizan silently crossed
Muhuri river and slowly started the infiltration followed
by Charlie Company under 2/Lt. Didar. After a few
minutes' pause, Charlie Company of 2nd East Bengal
Regiment infiltrated commanded by Capt. Helal
Morshed. Alpha Company of 10 East Bengal Regiment
commanded by Lt. Imam-uz-Zaman infiltrated thereafter
followed by headquarter company under the direct
command of Maj. Jafar Imam. Freedom fighters took
defensive position covertly from west to east covering
Chondona, Sholia and Guthuma and immediately started
digging trenches and making bunkers facing both north
and south. Maj. Jafar Imam established his command
post at Anantapur. Likewise Capt. Mahfuz of Sector #1
crossed the Indian border from eastern side, built
defence line up to Guthuma and established contact with
Bravo Company of 10 East Bengal Regiment. Thus, the
border from east to west was sealed off by the freedom
fighters by encircling the enemy forces located at
Parshuram and Belonia. Hectic preparation continued
throughout the night for the imminent battle.

On November 6, early in the morning, a captain and five

soldiers of Pakistan army were seen coming from Feni
towards Parshuram/Belonia in a motor-driven railway
trolley and reached in front of the defence line of
freedom fighters. They were completely unaware of the
presence of the guerilla force in their occupied territory.
When the enemy trolley crossed the Chitholia railway
station and reached within the firing range, Habilder Yar
Ahmed of Bravo Company and his men opened heavy fire
on them. As a result, all the enemy soldiers, including the
captain, died and the trolley with all the arms and
ammunition fell scattered. Habilder Yar Ahmed was
overcome with joy and emotion. He got out of his bunker
with 'Joy Bangla' slogan, rushed to the spot, picked up
the rank badges and the revolver of the enemy captain
and started running towards his bunker. But
unfortunately when he had almost reached the bunker,
Pakistani forces from surrounding areas were alerted and
started firing sporadically. Habilder Yar Ahmed received a
bullet in his left eye and was instantly martyred. It was
the first casualty of the freedom fighters, whereas six
enemy soldiers fell in the operation! Habilder Yar Ahmed
was posthumously awarded the gallantry of 'Bir Bikram'.

After a while, a few enemy patrol and recce parties

approached the defensive position of the freedom
fighters to assess the situation but ran away due to fire
from the defence line of the freedom fighters. After
about an hour, our defences were attacked by the enemy
forces simultaneously from both north and south. They
were beaten back. During November 6-7, the enemy
tried to break and penetrate our defence line from the
south to rescue their forces under siege at the north, but
all of their attempts resulted in utter failure with huge
casualties. At about 2:30pm on November 7, four U.S.-
made Pakistani Sabre Jets approached our defences and
started strafing and bombing our positions. Their heavy
machine gun and devastating rocket fire resulted in
substantial casualties at our end. However, one of the
enemy jets was struck with our heavy machine gun fire
and was badly damaged giving out dark plumes of smoke
while desperately trying to fly away.

November 8 witnessed a desperate and determined

attack by the enemy from the north with the aim of
penetrating our defences and break out of the siege but
all of their attempts were faced by the freedom fighters
with tremendous bravery under the courageous and
determined leadership of Capt. Helal Morshed, Lt. Imam,
2/Lt. Mizan and 2/Lt. Didar.
At about 10:30am on November 8, Brigadier B.S.
Shandhu, the Brigade Commander of 83
Mountain Brigade of Indian army, along with his Brigade
Officers arrived at the Command Post of Maj. Jafar Imam
at Anantapur, had elaborate discussions on the
battlefield situation and visited the defensive position
despite great risk. He assured of necessary artillery
support on call of the task force commander. As per the
plan, Task Force Commander Maj. Jafar Imam called for
artillery support on enemy positions both at Parshuram
and Belonia after midnight between November 9 and 10.
In the first phase, the divisional artillery of 23 Mountain
Division started rapid shelling on enemy positions for
about 30 minutes, followed by intense shelling which
caused devastating consequences for the enemy.

In the early morning on November 10, the freedom

fighters and 3 Dogra Regiment of Indian Army carried out
a concerted attack and started advance towards the
enemy positions. The morale of the enemy forces broke
down completely with huge casualties and fresh thrust of
attack. They immediately raised a white flag and after
brief formalities a Pakistani captain along with 72 soldiers
gave up arms and surrendered to the Mukti and Mitro
Bahini (joint forces). Maj. Jafar Imam hoisted the
Bangladesh Flag at Parshuram and Belonia while the
freedom fighters and a few local residents beaming with
pride sang our national anthem 'Amar Sonar Bangla, Ami
tomae bhalobashi'. The entire area of Parshuram and
Belonia was thus liberated on November 10, 1971. This
was the first major setback for the enemy and surrender
of such a large number of Pakistani forces to the freedom
fighters and a major strategic victory of the Bangladesh
Liberation Forces. In fact, this was the beginning of the
end for the Pakistani occupation forces.

The techniques applied by freedom fighters in this

historic battle were a gross violation to tactical teachings
and conventional military ethics. There was no depth
between the two defence lines which, in fact, were back-
to-back! It was also not only a battle of brawn but also a
battle of brain and wisdom. There is an expression:
“Nothing succeeds like success.” In the year

1973, a good number of senior army generals from

around the world visited the battlefield of Belonia with a
lot of curiosity. The new technique, so successfully
applied by the freedom fighters during the second Battle
of Belonia Bulge, has been recognised and accepted as a
war technique. In between the First and Second Battles
of Belonia Bulge, 10 East Bengal Regiment under the
command of Maj. Jafar Imam and his officers demolished
bridges, laid anti-tank and anti-personnel mines on the
roads frequently used by the Pakistani forces, conducted
many ambushes and raids on enemy positions by
inflicting heavy casualties to them. The First, Second and
Third Battles of Belonia Bulge including innumerable
ambushes and raids resulted in about 1,000 casualties to
the enemy forces.

Maj. Zafar Imam, CO, 10 E. Bengal introduces his officers

to Maj. Gen. RD Hira, GOC, 23 Mountain Division at Ctg
University Campus after defeating 24 Frontier Force
Regiment. From left to right: Capt. Baizid, Capt.
Mokhlesur, Lt. Imamuz Zaman, 2/Lts Didar & Syed
Mizanur Rahman. Source: "juddhyo Korechi, Bijoy
Enechi" By Ghulam Mustafa
Third Battle of Belonia Bulge
After the surrender of Pakistani forces at Belonia, 'K'
Force was reorganised and renamed as 'Kilo' Force under
the command of Brig. Anand Swarup of Indian army
comprising of 4 East Bengal Regiment and 10 East Bengal
Regiment including 31 Jat Regiment and 32 Mahar
Regiment from Mizo Hill Range. Kilo Force started
advance to liberate Feni but faced stiff resistance from
the enemy forces near Feni at a place called Pathan
Nagar and its surrounding areas. Sporadic and heavy
battle continued between the Kilo Force and the
Pakistani forces from November 20 up to December 5.
Kilo Force attacked the Pakistani positions with new
vigour. Facing heavy casualties, the defeated remnant
Pakistani forces abandoned Feni and disgracefully fled
towards Comilla and Chittagong cantonments. With
unprecedented joy of the local population and with the
thunderous 'Joy Bangla' slogan, Feni and Noakhali were
liberated on December 6 and 9 respectively. Kilo Force
continued their advance towards Chittagong. After
reaching Kumira, Maj. Jafar Imam left Charlie Company
there under the command of 2/Lt. Didar and started a
difficult advance towards Hathajari through the hills and
jungles by the left side of Dhaka-Chittagong highway. At
Hathajari, his forces along with the forces of 4 East
Bengal Regiment under the command of Capt. Gaffar
Halder attacked the 24 Frontier Force Regiment and
defeated it. At Kumira Bazar, 2/Lt. Didar and his troops
had a fierce battle with the Pakistani forces. At one stage
of the battle, the demoralised enemy forces fled towards
Chittagong Cantonment. And the hostilities ended on
December 16, 1971 with the surrender of Pakistani
forces to the joint command of freedom fighters and the
Indian Army at Natun Para Cantonment at Chittagong.

The regular and citizen soldiers together ended the war.

The battalion was thus rightly conferred with the nom de
plume 'Durdhorsho Dosh' (The Daring Ten) of the 10th
Battalion of the East Bengal Regiments.

The patriotism, heroism and immense bravery of all

ranks of 10 East Bengal Regiment in defeating the
Pakistani forces and in liberating the Feni-Belonia Bulge
shall always imbue the nation and successive generations
with pride and patriotism.