Leap Across Meghna
Dear Readers,
Yesterday, i.e 08th December 2021 was a sad day for the Indian Armed Forces. We lost the first CDS General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 12 gallant officer and men. Each of them was an achiever in his/her own right. General Rawat was the first CDS of the country and he took the task with great sincerity and pride. He seemed to be against the popular tide many times but it was all for the larger good of the nation and its armed forces. He possessed a childlike enthusiasm and zeal which was misconstrued many a time. The Helicopter crash at Coonoor in Nilgiris has left the nation grieving, with a single thought that this was not a fate they deserved. I dedicate this piece to the memories of those who perished yesterday in the helicopter crash.
Today 9th of December in 1971 laid the foundation for a decisive victory in East Pakistan for the Indian Armed Forces. This was possible because of the indomitable courage of the helicopter pilots of the 110 Helicopter Unit operating out of Kumbhigram and Agartala. They airlifted a force of more than two Infantry Brigade worth strength in a matter of five days and put them on the doorsteps to Dacca, to lay the foundation of the collapse of the Pakistani Army in East Pakistan. This piece “ Leap Across Meghna” is a story of the courage of the helicopter pilots and the army troops crossing the Meghna. Hope you find it interesting.
Leap Across Meghna
Today on 9th December 1971, a historic event took place which changed the course of war decisively in India’s favour and led to the capitulation of the Pakistani forces in East Pakistan. The event was the crossing of the Meghna by the Indian troops of 311 Mountain Brigade by helicopters, what later came to be known as the Helibridge. The story of a leap across Meghna was scripted between 9th December to 13th December 1971. If the para drop at Tangail had opened the road to Dacca from the North, the leap across Meghna opened the road to the capitulation of the entire East Pakistan.
Meghna emerges due to the confluence of the Surma and Kushiyara rivers which flow in the Eastern part of Bangladesh. The river’s source exists in the North in the hills in India. The river goes south to join the Padma River to form the Gangetic delta. It is one of the major rivers of Bangladesh, and at its widest, it stretches between 5 to 15 km. It looks like a sea to an onlooker. Meghna during the war was a formidable obstacle. It protected Dacca, the capital city and the seat of power in East Pakistan from the East as the river runs down from North to South on the eastern part of East Pakistan. General AAK Niazi was secure in the thought that as long as Meghna existed with its bridges in their hands, they were safe in Dacca. All he had to do was prevent the Indian armed forces from crossing the Meghna. The easiest way was defending it from the Eastern banks and, if beaten back, destroy the bridges on it, thus precluding any chance of the Indian Army to cross the mighty Meghna.
Indian Army’s 4 Corps was responsible for progressing the operations into East Pakistan from the East through the states of Meghalaya, Assam, and Tripura. 4 Corps Commander Lieutenant General Sagat Singh, was well aware of the difficulties of navigating his Corps for operations across three Indian states into the most challenging terrain in East Pakistan. He was up against the Hills of Sylhet in the North, followed by the riverine terrain and the bulge of the Meghna in the Centre. In the south were the jungle and hill tracts of Chittagong on one side and the seawater and the Gangetic delta on the other. With such a vast area to subdue, General Sagat Singh was given an operational task to capture area in the three sectors mentioned above and capture area up to the Eastern banks of the Meghna river. But General Sagat had his sights much beyond, i.e. on Dacca. His superior Commander and Army Head Quarters in Delhi were not very keen to plan for capture for Dacca as they thought it was beyond reach in the strategic time frame of 15 days.
Operations of 4 Corps were based on three centres of gravity: Sylhet, Bhairab Bazar, and Comilla. In the North was the town of Sylhet, South was Comilla, and in the Centre was the Strategic towns of Ashuganj and Bhairab Bazar, which guarded the vital bridge across Meghna called Coronation bridge. The advance had to confront the strong point at Akhura, a border town west of Agartala in East Pakistan, to reach the coronation bridge. And this action met the fiercest resistance offered by Pakistani forces to the Indian advancing forces on their advance to the coronation bridge. 57 Mountain Divison, led by Major General Ben Gonsalves, was responsible for progressing the operations from Agartala to the East bank of Meghna up to Bhairab Bazar. They had the critical task of capturing the Ashuganj, the east end of the coronation bridge. 311 Mountain Brigade led the advance under Brigadier Misra. Akhura, a strong point, was heavily defended by all possible measures. But 311 Mountain Brigade put in a brilliant tactical manoeuvre to isolate the strong point first and then attack from the rear, i.e. from the West and Northwest. The units involved were 4 Guards encircling the objective, 10 Bihar closing in with 5 (Independent) Armour Squadron, and the 18 Rajput launched a fierce attack from the rear to demolish the enemy. The enemy 27 brigade abandoned Akhura and ran back to Ashuganj.
While 57 Mountain Divison was battling in the Centre, Indian Amy’s 23 Mountain Divison under General Hira tried to get a foothold in the general area bounded by Comilla-Laksham- Chandpur and Daudkandi. The Pakistanis held this bowl in strength as they led to the crossing points to get across Meghna, at Chandpur and Daudkandi. The Centre of gravity in the south, too, aimed at getting to the gates of Dacca from the Southeast. Fighting in all three centres was fierce, with Pakistani units unwilling to give the advancing Indian Army an inch. Around 7/8th December, it was apparent to General Sagat Singh that the Indian advance on the East banks of Meghna was going well, yet there were no crossing points captured.
Getting back to the operations of 57 Mountain Divison. The Pakistani 27 brigade falling back straight to Ashuganj instead of an intermediate strong point at Brahmanbaria resulted in rapid advance towards the coronation bridge, which threatened the strong point at Bhairab Bazar. This pressure compelled Gen Majid GOC 14 Divison of Pakistan, to blow up the Coronation bridge, even when his 27 Brigade troops were holding on to the eastern end at Ashuganj. The bridge’s destruction precluded any chance of 57 Mountain Divison getting across the Meghna by a land route. The collapse of the Coronation bridge firmed in General Sagat’s mind to cross the Meghna by helicopter. Never had such a daring and audacious manoeuvre ever planned in the history of military warfare. The MI 4 helicopter, which was the workhorse of the Indian Air Force, had never attempted more than a company airlift, and General Sagat wanted to airlift the entire Infantry Battalion, that too at night.
General Sagat first asked the Air Force Commander Group Captain Chandan Singh if the heli drop could be done. He replied in affirmative. There was some ground noise about enemy fire, and Group Captain Chandan Singh shut it up by saying he would be in the first helicopter. The Eastern Air Command HQ wanted an assurance that there would be no anti-aircraft guns on the ground, and Group Captain Chandan Singh vouched for it. Thus, the Plan to airlift troops from the East bank of Meghna to the West bank of Meghna was hatched and sealed. The drop zone selected was Raipura, a town west of the Meghna river, which had a road leading to Narsinghgadi, a town well connected by rail and road network for reaching Dacca.
The young helicopter pilots of 110 Helicopter Unit flew nonstop their MI 4s that night to ferry across the troops and stores much more than the limits prescribed for the helicopters. The helicopters flew even when the enemy bullets were hitting them. But so relentless was their zeal that they continued ferrying troops across.
Luckily for the 4 Corps Commander, General Majid of Pakistan had refused to heed the order of General Niazi, his superior, who had ordered his 14 Infantry Division to move to Dacca. Instead, he moved one Brigade to Sylhet, and the balance of his Division was ensconced in Bhairab Bazar till the end of the war. Had he listened and obeyed the orders, the heliborne troops would have landed amid his Division at Raipura and Narsinghadi. The history of the Bangladesh war would have been different. General Majid was sacked from his command by General Niazi for disobedience of orders. If anything, this episode reflects the state of morale of the Pakistani Army.
311 Mountain Brigade’s 4 Guards was heli lifted to establish a bridgehead in the area of Raipur and Narsinghadi on the night of 9th and 10th December 1971. The balance of the units of 311 Mountain was to be inducted across Meghna either by helicopter or by boats.
By 4 am the entire battalion of GUARDS and a troop of a light Regiment of artillery was ferried across by the helicopters. 19 PUNJAB of 73 Mountain Brigade crossed over using boats. Thus by the 10th morning, there was a Brigade minus strength across Meghna.
On 10th December, 4 GUARDS continued its advance to Narsinghadi, and their advance was greeted and cheered by locals who joined them; it looked more like a marriage party than a tactical advance. But the resultant effect was Narsinghgadi was captured with little or no resistance from the Pakistani most of whom had abandoned their positions. On securing Narsinghadi, the rest of the 311-Infantry Brigade of 57 Div was heli lifted. Eight helicopters flew 164 sorties between 11 and 13 Dec’ 71 to transport 1350 armed troops and 40 tonnes of weapons and equipment.
The operations of 4 Corps were like Rommel and Guderian’s Blitzkrieg. General Sagat was instrumental in putting three Infantry Brigades across Meghna within five days. A force consisting of more than nine Infantry battalions, supported by the elements of artillery, armour and engineers, were poised to attack Dacca from the Northeast East and Southeast when the Pakistani Army decided to surrender. Thus, the crossing of Meghna in the central sector and later in the southern sector of the 4 Corps operational area sealed the fate of Dacca, which agreed to an unconditional surrender on 16th December.
The generalship of General Sagat is studied at many places, and it deserves mention. The establishment of the heli bridge across Meghna was General Sagat Singh’s brainchild. He was mulling over it even before the war. He wanted to use the vertical envelopment as a manoeuvre to surprise the enemy if he got an opportunity. The destruction of the coronation bridge at Ashuganj allowed General Sagat to execute his audacious plan. There was tremendous opposition to General Sagat extending his operation across Meghna; he was even warned not to do it. But General Sagat was no ordinary Commander. He was a field Commander in the league of Montgomery and Patton who seized the initiative and forced the enemy to provide an opportunity. He informed his seniors:
“I am a Corps Commander. I am expected to exploit an opportunity. If an opportunity presents itself to cross the Meghna and gives you an aim, I will take it. I am not restricting you to the East bank of Meghna; I am giving you the west bank and beyond. You should be happy.”
General Sagat was one of that rare breed of field commanders born to lead in battle. He is known to have lost no battle in his life, and he fought one too many. Giving admirable support to General Sagat Singh was his Airforce Commander: Group Captain Chandan Singh. An equally dynamic and brave officer. Their combination was lethal.
A soldier, A general and a Patriot of the best creed: General Sagat Singh. General Sagat was like a hawk flying in his helicopter looking for his prey below, and whenever he sighted an opportunity, he would swoop down and grab it. When a grim-faced General Niazi was introduced to him at the Race Course in Dacca after the surrender ceremony, he had this to say in admiration: “Oh my god, you have accomplished the inconceivable”. General Sagat Singh took every setback in his stride for the greater glory of the nation.
The 4 Corps operations up to and beyond the Meghna river were the Indian Army’s finest achievements. It shaped the destiny of three nations.