On 25 March 1971, the

Pakistani military The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the Military, military forces of Pakistan. It is the List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel, world's sixth-largest military measured by Active duty, active military personnel and c ...

, supported by paramilitary units, launched the

military operation A military operation (op) is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operati ...

to pacify the insurgent-held areas of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

, which led to a prolonged conflict with the Bengali

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

. Although conventional in nature during March–May 1971, it soon turned into a guerrilla insurgency from June of that year.

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

had not directly supported the Bengali resistance but had launched

Operation Jackpot Operation Jackpot () was a codename for three operations undertaken by the Mukti Bahini in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) against Pakistan forces at the climax of the Bangladesh War of Independence. After the Pakistani Army drove the Bengal ...

to support the insurgency from May 1971. The initial deployments of the Pakistan armed forces were to combat and contain the activities of the Mukti Bahini. This was changed over time and by December 1971, 3 Infantry and 2 ad hoc divisions were deployed to face the ''Mitro Bahini''.

Background: Initial deployments against Mukti Bahini

From the March 1971, the

's Eastern Command under its commander

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

A.A.K. Niazi, started

military deployment Military deployment is the movement of armed forces and their logistical support infrastructure around the world. United States There are numerous groups within the military, these groups include (1) Army, (2) Navy, (3) Air Force, (4) Marine ...

to provide the defence of borders linked with India against a possible penetration by the

. During this time, the 9th Infantry Division, headquartered in

Jessore Jessore (, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District in Khulna Division. It lies in southwestern Bangladesh. It is home to the first flight training school of the Bangladeshi Air Force, established in 1971. Jessore city consists of 9 wa ...

under its GOC Major-General Shaukat Riaz, had held the area of responsibility for looking after the looking area south of the

Padma River The Padma () is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the eastern and main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River, near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is situated on the banks ...

for the defence of borders linked with India while the 16th Infantry Division, that headquartered in

Bogra Bogra (), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, officially Bogura, is a city located in Bogra District, Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh. The city is a major commercial hub in North Bengal, Northern Bangladesh. It is the second largest city in te ...

under its GOC Major-General Nazar Hussain Shah, had been responsible for the area north of Padma and west of Jamuna rivers. The 14th Infantry Division under its GOC Major-General Rahim Khan, was headquartered in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), 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. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

that had the entire area of responsibility for the rest of the province. The original plan was based on a series of exercises, known as ''Titumeer'', which were held during 1970–1971, was revised several times and approved in October 1971. General Niazi had created 4 ad hoc infantry brigades and 2 ad hoc infantry divisions before the final order of battle was devised. The final order of battle prior to 3 December 1971, was: Eastern Command Headquarters, Dhaka
Commander, Eastern Command: Lt. Gen. A.A.K. Niazi
GOC, 14th Infantry Division (till March '71): Maj. Gen.

Khadim Hussain Raja Khadim Hussain Raja (; 23 November 1922 – 9 December 1999) was a Pakistani military officer and author. He is largely known for his role in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and was in charge of planning Operation Searchlight. He was the genera ...

Military Advisor Military advisors or combat advisors are military Military personnel, personnel deployed to advise on military matters. The term is often used for soldiers sent to foreign countries to aid such countries' militaries with their military education ...

: Maj. Gen.

Rao Farman Ali Rao Farman Ali Khan ( ; 1 January 1923 – 20 January 2004) was a Pakistani military officer who is widely considered complicit in the Rayer Bazar killings during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Farman oversaw the deployment of local militia ...

COS: Brig. Baqir Siddiqui
CO

Artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

: Brig. S.S.A. Kashim
CO

Armoured Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat ...

: Col. Bakhtier
CO

Engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while consider ...

: Brig. Iqbal Sharif
CO

Signals A signal is both the process and the result of Signal transmission, transmission of data over some transmission media, media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processin ...

: Brig. Areef Reza
CO

Medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

: Brig. Fahim Ahmed Khan
CO SSG Army: Lt. Col. Tariq Mehmood
Dir. ISPR:

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Siddique Salik
Dir.

Military Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

: Major K.M. Arif *Units under HQ Control:
**6th Engineer Regiment
**10th Engineer Regiment – detached to various locations
**11th Engineer Regiment – Lt. Col Sarwar
** 43rd Light Ack Ack – Lt. Col. Mohammad Afzal
** 19th Signal Regiment
**3rd Commando Battalion (less elements)
**Army Aviation Squadron #4 – Lt. Col. Liakat Bokhari

Dhaka Defence Scheme (Adhoc)

Brig. Kashim (North): Dhaka Cantonment & Tongi area
Brig. Mian Mansoor (East): Munshiganj & Narayanganj
Brig. T.H. Malik: Hilli &

Brig. Bashir: Dhaka city proper
Brig. William Harrison:

Comilla Comilla (), officially spelled Cumilla, is a metropolis on the banks of the Gomti River in eastern Bangladesh. Comilla was one of the cities of ancient Bengal. It was once the capital of Tripura kingdom. Comilla Airport is located in the Duli ...

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

*EPCAF HQ and Sector units: **Police and Razakars

36 Ad hoc Infantry Division

GOC: Major General Muhammad Jamshed HQ Dhaka
Area of Operation: Dhaka, Tangail and Mymensingh districts *93 Infantry Brigade: Brig Abdul Qadir Khan HQ Mymensingh **83 Independent. Mortar battery **31 Baluch – Jamalpur **33 Punjab – Mymensingh **71 Wing WPR – Kishorganj **70 Wing WPR – Bijaipur

14 Infantry Division

GOC: Major General Abdul Majid Qazi, HQ Brahmanbaria
Area of Operation: Sylhet and Northern Comilla districts **31st Field Artillery – Ashuganj – Brahmanbaria – Shamshernagar **88 Independent Mortar Battery –

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

**171 Independent Mortar Battery –

Sylhet

*202 Adhoc Brigade: Brig. Salimullah **31

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

–

**91 Mujahid Force Battalion – Sunamganj **12

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir ( ), is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger ...

–

Also: Wings of Tochi, Thal and Khyber scouts

Moulvibazar

*313 infantry Brigade: Brig. Iftikar Rana **22 Baloch – Kulaura ( Battle of Gazipur) **30 Frontier Force – Shamshernagar (in Kamalganj) **91 Mujahid Force (minus elements) & Tochi Scouts – Sherpur

Brahmanbaria

*27th Infantry Brigade: Brig. Saadullah **33rd Baluch – Kasba **12th Frontier Force – Akhaura **2 Troops of M-24 Chaffee – Akhaura

39 Ad hoc Division

GOC: Maj. Gen. Rahim Khan (replaced by Brig. Mian Mansoor) – Chandpur
Area of Operation: Comilla, Feni and Northern Chittagong **53rd Field Artillery – Comilla

Comilla

*117th Infantry Brigade: Brig. Sheikh M.H. Atif **30 Punjab – Saldanadi **25th Frontier Force – Mainamati *12th Azad Kashmir – Comilla

Feni

*53rde Infantry Brigade: Brig. Aslam Niazi **15th Baluch – Belonia **39th Baluch – Laksham **23rd Punjab – Mean Bazar **21 Azad Kashmir – Laksham

Ramgarh

*91st Ad hoc Brigade: Brig. Mian Taskeenuddin HQ Chittagong **24th Frontier Force – Ramgarh ** Chakma and Mizo troops **EPCAF 11th and 14th Wings

Chittagong

*97th Independent Brigade: Brig. Ata Mohd. Khan Malik **48th Baluch – Chittagong **2 SSg Commando – Rangamati **60th Wing Rangers – Ramgarh **61st Wing Rangers – Cox's Bazar ** 1 Navy Marine Battalion-Chittagong ** Naval Contingent ***46th Light Ack Ack Battery

16th Infantry Division

GOC: Maj. Gen. Nazar Hussain Shah HQ:

, then

Natore Natore is a city ("town" in some sources) in western Bangladesh. It is the headquarters of the Natore District. Its current administrator is Asha Khatun. The Narod river is passing through the center of the city with pollution from upstream industr ...

Area of Operation: Rajshahi, Bogra, Dinajpur, Rangpur and Pabna
Districts **29th Cavalry less elements –Rangpur **30 SIGNALS BATTALION - Rangpur **13 Engineer Battalion - Hilli, Bogra, Paksey **48th Field Regiment – Thakurgaon **80th Field Regiment – Hili **117th Mortar Battery – Kurigram

Saidpur

*23rd Infantry Brigade: Brig. Iqbal Shaffi **25th Punjab – Lalmanirhut **26th Frontier Force –

Dinajpur Dinajpur ( ) is a city and the district headquarters of Dinajpur district situated in Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. It was founded in 1786. It is located 413 km north-west of Dhaka. It is bounded on the north by Suihari, Katapara, Bangi ...

**48th Punjab – Thakurgaon **8 Punjab – Rangpur **34th Punjab – Nilphamari **86th Mujahid – Gaibandha

Bogra

*205th Infantry Brigade: Brig. Tajammul Hussain Malik HQ: Khetlal **32nd Baluch – Ghoraghat **4th Frontier Force – Hili **3rd Baluch – Jaipurhut

Nator

*34th Infantry Brigade: Brig. Mir Abdul Nayeem **32nd Punjab – Nawabganj **13th Frontier Force – Sapahar

Rajshahi

*Rajshahi Ad hoc Brigade

9th Infantry Division

GOC: Maj. Gen HM. H. Ansari HQ

Area of Operation:

Khulna Khulna (, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of the Khulna District and the Khulna Division. It is the divisional centre of 10 districts of the division. Khulna is also the seco ...

, Jessore,

Kushtia Kushtia () is a city located on the banks of the Gorai River in Bangladesh. It serves as the headquarters of Kushtia District and is considered the cultural capital of Bangladesh. The city is known for its Tiler Khaja (sesame sweets), kulf ...

, Faridpur,

Barisal Barisal ( or ; , ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal District and Barisal Divi ...

and Patuakhali districts **3rd Ind. Armored Squadron – Jessore **55th Field Artillery – Satkhira and Chaugacha **49th Field Artillery – Chuadanga **211th Independent Mortar Battery – Chaugacha

Jhenidha

*57th Infantry Brigade: Brig. Manzoor Ahmed **18th Punjab – Darshana **50th Punjab – Jhenida **29th Baluch – Kushtia **Squadron 29th Cavalry – Kushtia

Jessore

*107th Infantry Brigade: Brig. Malik Hayat Khan **22nd Frontier Force – Benapole **38th Frontier Force – Afra **6th Punjab – Jessore **21st Punjab – Satkhira **15th Frontier Force – Jessore **12th Punjab – Jessore

Khulna

*314th Ad Hoc Brigade: Col. Fazle Hamid

Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...

Air Officer Commanding, Dacca airbase: Air Cdre

Inamul Haque Khan Inamul Haque Khan ( ; 25 May 1927 – 10 August 2017) was a Three-star general, three-star air officer in the Pakistan Air Force who is known for his role as Air Officer Commanding, AOC of the Dacca airbase of the Pakistan Air Force. In 1971, ...

Officer Commanding (Operations Wing): GP.Capt.

Zulfiqar Ali Khan Zulfiqar Ali Khan (Urdu: ذوالفقار علی خان; 10 December 1930 – 8 March 2005) , was the first four-star air officer in the Pakistan Air Force and later a diplomat. He was the Air Force's Chief of Air Staff from 15 April 1974 to ...

Officer-in Charge (OIC), No. 14 Squadron "Tail-choppers’’: Wg. Cdr. Mohammed Afzal Chowdhury *Number of aircraft of the squadron: 20

F-86 The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

Sabers *Training unit: 3 T-33

Pakistan Navy The Pakistan Navy (PN) (; ''romanized'': Pākistān Bahrí'a; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Com ...

Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Naval Command: R.Adm

Mohammad Shariff Mohammad Shariff ( ; 1 July 1920 – 27 April 2020), was a Pakistani senior admiral who served as the 2nd Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and a memoirist who was at the center of all the major decisions made in Pakistan in the ev ...

Pakistan Marines The Pakistan Marines (Urdu: ) or simply as Pak Marines, is an expeditionary and amphibious warfare uniform service branch within the Pakistan Navy, consisting of the naval officers and other personnel to perform their duties within the Marine ...

/ CO SSG Navy: Capt. Ahmad Zamir
Dir.

MILCOM Milcom or Milkom (Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤌𐤋𐤊𐤌 *''Mīlkām''; Hebrew language, Hebrew: ) was the name of either the national god, or a popular god, of the Ammonites. He is attested in the Hebrew Bible and in archaeological finds ...

: Cdr. T.K. Khan
Dir. Nav Intel.: Cdr.

Mansurul Haq Mansurul Haq (16 October 1937 – 21 February 2018) was a senior officer of the Pakistan Navy who was forcibly retired from his service in 1997 on the allegations leveled against him in the corruption and kickbacks resulting during the technol ...

*4 Gunboats: PNS ''Rajshahi'', ''Comilla'', ''Sylhet'' and ''Jessore'' **1 Patrol Boat: PNS ''Balaghat'' **17 armed boats

Notes and references

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pakistan Army Order Of Battle December 1971 Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War orders of battle