The Crack Platoon was a special

commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

team of the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

which was formed in 1971 during the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...

. It was formed by young members of Mukti Bahini which carried out commando operations in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest ...

and its surroundings and led by Major

Khaled Mosharraf Khaled Mosharraf, Bir Uttom ( bn, খালেদ মোশাররফ; 9 November 1937 – 7 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi military officer known for his role in the Bangladesh Liberation War. Khaled was the Sector Commander of Bangladesh ...

. The commandos were mostly students and civilians, received guerrilla training later in the training camps for Mukti Bahini and then engaged in battle against

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...

Formation

Formation and deployment of Crack Platoon

In June 1971, during the

, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

sent a mission to observe the situation in East Pakistan. The media cell of Pakistan government was circulating a news that situation in East Pakistan was stable and normal.

, a sector commander of

, planned to deploy a special commando team. The task assigned to the team was to carry out commando operations and to terrorise

. The major objective of this team was to prove that the situation was not normal actually. Moreover, Pakistan. at that time, was expecting economic aid from World Bank, which was assumed to be spent to buy arms. The plan was to make World Bank Mission understand the true situation of East Pakistan and stop sanctioning the aid. Khaled along with

Abu Taher Mohammad Haider Abu Taher Mohammad Haider, Bir Uttom (12 January 1942 – 7 November 1975) was a Bangladesh Army officer and recipient of Bir Uttom, the second highest military award in Bangladesh. He fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War as the second-in-c ...

, another sector commander formed the Crack Platoon. Initially, number of commandos in the platoon was 17. Those commandos were receiving training in

Melaghar Camp Melaghar Camp was a training camp for Bengali guerilla fighters during Liberation war of Bangladesh. In a cabinet meeting of Bangladesh government, held on July 11, 1971, the Bangladeshi forces were divided into eleven sectors. Melaghar, near Agar ...

at that time. From Melaghar, commandos of Crack Platoon headed for Dhaka on 4 June 1971 and launched guerrilla operation on 5 June. Later, number of commandos was increased, the platoon was split and deployed in different areas surrounding Dhaka city.

Major objectives and success

The basic objectives of Crack Platoon were to demonstrate the strength of the Mukti Bahini, terrorising Pakistan Army and their collaborators. Another major objective was proving to the international community that the situation in East Pakistan was not normal. That commando team also aimed at inspiring the people of Dhaka who were frequently being victims of killing and torture. These objectives were successfully fulfilled by Crack Platoon. The World Bank mission, in its report, clearly described the hazardous situation that was prevailing in East Pakistan. In the report, the World Bank mission prescribed to end the military regime in East Pakistan. Between July and September 1971, operations by the Crack Platoon resulted in the death of 8 Pakistan Army commissioned officers from the rank of Second Lieutenant to Colonel and 31 soldiers and NCOs Crack Platoon carried out several successful and important operations. The power supply in Dhaka was devastated which caused severe problem for Pakistan Army and the military administration in Dhaka. The Chinese restaurants in Dhaka had become almost prohibited for Pakistani army officers.

Recognition and awards

The role of Crack Platoon in the Bangladesh Liberation War was highly appreciated by the post war government of Bangladesh and the people. Six commandos including Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury, the leader of Crack Platoon and a former minister were awarded Bir Bikrom, third highest gallantry award in Bangladesh and two commandos were awarded Bir Protik, fourth highest gallantry award in Bangladesh.

Some of the members of Crack Platoon

* Habibul Alam * Kazi Kamaluddin * Abdul Halim Chowdhury Jewel * Ali Ahmed Ziauddin * Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya * Golam Dastagir Gazi *

Sadeque Hossain Khoka Sadeque Hossain Khoka (12 May 1952 – 4 November 2019) was a Bangladeshi politician. He served as the 2nd mayor of Dhaka City Corporation during 2002 to 2011. He was the vice chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and was President of undi ...

* Nasiruddin Yousuf Bachchu * Artist Shahabuddin Ahmed * Singer Azam Khan *

Raisul Islam Asad Asaduzzaman Mohammad Raisul Islam (known as Raisul Islam Asad; born 15 July 1953) is a Bangladeshi freedom fighter and an actor in radio, theatre, television and film. He won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Actor four times for his roles i ...

* Ahmed Munier Bhashon * Fateh Ali Chowdhury * Abu Sayeed Khan * Anwar Rahman * Shahadat Chowdhury * Ahrar Ahmed *

Shafi Imam Rumi Shafi Imam Rumi (29 March 1951 – 30 September 1971) was a guerilla fighter of the Bangladesh Liberation War. He was the eldest son of Jahanara Imam. In her memoir about the war, ''Ekatorer Dinguli'', Rumi was portrayed as the premier character ...

* Magfar Ahmed Chowdhury (Azad) * Qamrul Huq Shawpon * Bodiul Alam Bodi * AFMA Harris * Mukhtar * Masud Sadik Chullu THE CRACK PLATOON, Of valour and love for motherland, New Age, 29 August 2021
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References

{{Reflist Bangladesh Liberation War Mukti Bahini