East Bengal Regiment

The East Bengal Regiment
Cap badge of the East Bengal Regiment
Active	15 February 1948 – present
Country	Bangladesh
Branch	Army
Type	Infantry
Size	70 battalions
Garrison/HQ	Chittagong
Nickname(s)	The Tigers
Motto(s)	Grace, Strength, Speed
Colours	Colour of coagulated blood (BCC 37)
March	Chal Chal Chal
Mascot(s)	Royal Bengal tiger
Anniversaries	15 February
Engagements	Battle of Chawinda, Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Bangladesh Liberation War

The East Bengal Regiment (Bengali: ইস্ট বেঙ্গল রেজিমেন্ট) is an infantry regiment of the Bangladesh Army. It is the largest military formation of Bangladesh Army.^[1]

History

The East Bengal Regiment was formed on 15 February 1948 following Pakistan's independence and transition from post British rule. The infantry of the new Pakistan Army was made up exclusively of men from the western part of the country. It was consequently necessary to raise a regiment in the east. Two companies of Bengali pioneers from the Bihar Regiment were regimented into the 1st Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel VJ Patterson as Commanding Officer (C.O.) and Major Abdul Waheed Choudhury as Officer Commanding (O.C.) Training Coy. Captain Sami Ullah Khan and Captain Abdul Gani in the lead of two Pioneer Companies (1256 and 1407). Between 1948 and 1965, a total of eight battalions were raised.^[2]

1965 Indo-Pakistani War

At the end of the Indo-Pakistani War in 1965, a new battalion called the Lucky Tigers of the 6th Bengal was created. The creation of the battalion was not finished until 1966.^[3]

Bangladesh War of Independence

In March 1971, in response to a crackdown on locals in East Pakistan, the five battalions of the East Bengal Regiment mutinied and actively participated in 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 Bangladeshi Forces during the Independence War of 1971 was determined at the Sector(Division) Commander's Conference that was held from 11 July to 17 July 1971.

General Osmani was appointed Commander-in-Chief of all Bangladesh Forces. Lieutenant Colonel M A Rab was appointed as 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. Hamidullah Khan was made Chief Military Representative of the Bangladesh government in exile, including the decision of formation of three brigades which were formed with East Bengal Regiments.

Several regiments participated in the war including the 1st, 3rd and 8th East Bengal Regiments. These regiments were formed and was commanded during the war at Teldhala of Tura, Meghalaya, in 1971 by Major Ziaur Rahman. These three regiments principally constituted Sector 11, for a brief stint (22days) was under Major Abu Taher and subsequently came under command of Squadron Leader M. Hamidullah Khan. K Force, commanded by Major Khaled Mosharraf was created with the 4th, 9th and 10th East Bengal Regiments.

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

Today, the East Bengal Regiment consists of about 50 battalions and plays a key role as an infantry force in safeguarding the sovereignty of Bangladesh. The Regiment provides support to the civilian government when called upon. Major A Ghani formed the Bangladesh Infantry Regiment with a small number of units from the East Bengal Regiment. The Bangladesh Infantry Regiment has grown to contain more than seventy regiments and is a key element of the army.

Role

The East Bengal Regiment is the largest formation of the Bangladesh Army, with battalions in each of the nation's twenty five infantry brigades. 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.^[4]

• UNOCI
  • 12th Battalion, The East Bengal Regiment
  • 13th Battalion, The East Bengal Regiment
• UNMIL
  • 14th Battalion, East Bengal Regiment
• MONUSCO
  • 15th Battalion, The East Bengal Regiment

See also

• Bangladesh Infantry Regiment
• Senior Tigers

Notes

References

• "Abdul Waheed Choudhury Video | Interviews". OVGuide.com. Retrieved 9 November 2016. 
• "Amardeep Singh: The Myth of Martial Races". www.lehigh.edu. Retrieved 27 February 2017. 
• Palit, D. K. (1972). The Lightning Campaign: The Indo-Pakistan War 1971. Compton Press Ltd. OCLC 911881160. 

Further reading

• Makieg, Douglas C. (1989). "National Security". In Heitzman, James; Worden, Robert. 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 (PDF). 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. (Subscription required (help)).