S Force was a military brigade of the Bangladesh Armed Forces that was formed under the leadership of Major

K M Shafiullah Kazi Mohammed Shafiullah Bir Uttam (born 2 September 1934), also known as K. M. Shafiullah, is a retired Bangladeshi general, former Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army, and former Member of Parliament. As the Second in Command of Second ...

on October 1, 1971. The brigade was composed of the 2nd and 11th East Bengal Regiments.

Background

On March 25, 1971, the Pakistan Army cracked down on the

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

population of what was then

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

. They massacred the capital of the East Pakistan that so enraged the Bengali military officials of the Pakistan Army they revolted and joined the Bangladesh Liberation War. The officers of the 2nd

East Bengal Regiment The East Bengal Regiment ( bn, ইস্ট বেঙ্গল রেজিমেন্ট) is an infantry regiment ( regimental system type) and the largest military formation of the Bangladesh Army. History The East Bengal Regiment was for ...

, situated in the Joydevpur Cantonment adjacent to the capital Dhaka, also revolted with other regiments and left the cantonment on March 28, under the leadership of

. Major Shafiuallah was initially selected as the sector 3 commander. At the end of June, considering the need of regular brigades to intensify the war against the Pakistan Army, the Provisional Government of Bangladesh decided to form three brigades under the leadership of Majors

Ziaur Rahman Lt. General Ziaur Rahman (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981), was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in an army coup d ...

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 ...

and Shafiullah.

Formation

Shafiullah, once the second-in-command of the 2nd East Bengal Regiment, was given the mission of organizing a brigade in September 1971. Major ANM Nuruzzaman replaced him as the new commander of sector 3. Shafiullah reorganized the two battalions of freedom fighters he had with him who were fighting in sector 3 to form a brigade that is popularly known as S Force. The two battalions were the 2nd and 11th East Bengal Regiments. He added 1200 new recruits to bring the brigade up to strength after an initial selection process. The new recruits were trained for two months. The headquarters of S Force was in Fatikchhara.

Organization of the brigade

* Brigade Commander - Major K M Shafiullah * Brigade Major – Captain Azizur Rahman * D-Q Officer - Captain Abul Hossain * Signal Officer – Flight Lieutenant Rauf

2nd East Bengal Regiment

* Commanding Officer - Major Moinul Hossain Chowdhury * Adjutant - Lieutenant Mohammad Sayed * A Company Commander – Major Matiur Rahman * B Company Commander – Lieutenant Badiuzzaman * C Company Commander - Lieutenant Syed Mohammad Ibrahim * D Company Commander – Lieutenant Ghulam Helal Morshed * A Company Officer – Second Lieutenant Anisul Hasan * B Company Officer - Second Lieutenant Salim Mohammad Kamrul Hasan * Medical Officer - Lieutenant Abul Hossain

11th East Bengal Regiment

* Commanding Officer - Major

Abu Saleh Mohammad Nasim Abu Saleh Mohammad Nasim Bir Bikrom (born 4 January 1946) is a former Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army. In 1996, he attempted a military coup of the caretaker government which was preparing for general elections. After failure of the ...

* Adjutant - Lieutenant Nasir * A Company Commander - Lieutenant Shamsul Huda Bacchu * B Company Commander – Captain Subid Ali Bhuyan * C Company Commander - Second Lieutenant Nazrul Islam * D Company Commander - Second Lieutenant Abul Hossain * B Company Officer - Second Lieutenant Kabir * Medical Officer - Lieutenant Moinul Hossain

Major operations

S Force was ready for battle by the last week of November. It operated in Akhaura, Mukundpur, Dharmaghar and many other places from the end of November until the independence of Bangladesh was achieved.

References

{{Liberation of Bangladesh Bangladesh Liberation War