The East Bengal Regiment () is one of the two infantry regiments of the Bangladesh Army, the other being the Bangladesh Infantry Regiment.
History The East Bengal Regiment was formed on 15 February 1948, following the Partition of India into the Dominion of Pakistan and the Dominion of India in 1947. The core of the unit was made up of soldiers of the Bihar Regiment and the Bengal Pioneer Corps who had opted for Pakistan when partition divided the British Indian Army and the Pakistan Army was born. A shortfall of JCOs was made up from the Punjab Regiment until sufficient Bengali officers became available. Two companies composed of Bengali Muslims were regimented in to the first training regiment in East Pakistan and was named the East Bengal Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel V. J. E. Patterson as Commanding Officer and Major Abdul Waheed Choudhury as Officer Commanding (O.C.). Between 1948 and 1965, a total of eight battalions were raised. The East Bengal Regiment was primarily composed of Bengali men from East Pakistan.
1965 Indo-Pakistan War At the end of the Indo-Pakistan War in 1965, a new battalion called the Lucky Tigers of the 6th East Bengal Regiment was created. The creation of the battalion was not finished until 1966. During the war, soldiers of the East Bengal Regiment defended Lahore, West Pakistan, for which they were awarded several gallantry awards. The East Bengal Regiment was also known for causing heavy casualties on the Indian Army. Most of the gallantry awards were given to the 1st Battalion of the Regiment.
History during the Bangladesh War of Independence
In March 1971, in response to a crackdown on local populace in East Pakistan, the five battalions of the East Bengal Regiment under the command of Major Ziaur Rahman revolted against the Pakistan Army. Members of the East Bengal Regiment across East Pakistan organized and initiated 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 Bangladesh Forces during the Independence War of 1971 was determined at the Sector Commander's Conference that was held from 11 to 17 July 1971.
Colonel M.A.G. Osmani (promoted to general after independence of Bangladesh) was the Commander-in-Chief of all Bangladesh Forces. Lieutenant Colonel M. A. Rab was appointed as the 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, India. The decision of the formation of three separate brigades were formed with East Bengal battalions. The East Bengal Regiment battalions that participated in the war were as follows:
Z Force, commanded by Major Ziaur Rahman, consisted of 1st, 3rd and 8th East Bengal Regiment. These battalions were formed during May–June 1971 at Teldhala village of Tura, Meghalaya, in 1971 by Major Ziaur Rahman. These three battalions principally constituted the backbone of Bangladesh Forces Sector 11, later commanded for a brief stint (24 days) by Major Abu Taher and subsequently by Squadron Leader M. Hamidullah Khan from 3 November until 14 February. The main two battles fought in Bangladesh Forces Sector 11 was the Kamalpur battle (land attack), led by Major Zia and the Chmarch ilmari Battle amphibious attack (landing raid) led by Squadron Leader M. Hamidullah Khan.
K Force, commanded by Major Khaled Mosharraf was created with 4, 9 and 10 East Bengal.
S Force, under Major K M Shafiullah, was created in October 1971 and consisted of 2 and 11 East Bengal. Further units were raised to replace those that remained stranded in West Pakistan. Following the foundation of Bangladesh, these units formed the core of the new army. However, the 7th Battalion was incorporated as 44th Battalion, Frontier Force Regiment of the Pakistan Army, which led to the raising of the 10th Battalion in 1971.
Role The East Bengal Regiment is the oldest infantry regiment of the Bangladesh Army. 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.As of Dec 2008, Bangladesh was ranked second behind Pakistan and ahead of India in terms of numbers of troops deployed on UNPKOS. See official UN figures, available at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/contributors/2008/dec08_2.pdf UNOCI 10th East Bengal Regiment 13th East Bengal Regiment UNMIL 26th East Bengal Regiment MONUSCO 44th East Bengal Regiment
Units This is the list of the present battalions/units in the East Bengal Regiment. Some of the units from East Bengal Regiment were transferred to the Bangladesh Infantry Regiment. Unit Nickname 1 East Bengal Senior Tigers 2 East Bengal Junior Tigers 3 East Bengal Minor Tigers 4 East Bengal Baby Tigers 5 East Bengal Victory Tigers 6 East Bengal Mighty Tigers 7 East Bengal Lucky Tigers 8 East Bengal The Pioneers 9 East Bengal Charging Tigers 10 East Bengal Vicious Tenth 11 East Bengal Eleventh time 12 East Bengal Striking Twelve 13 East Bengal Restless Thirteen 14 East Bengal Ferocious Fourteen 15 East Bengal Adventurous Fifteen 16 East Bengal Majestic Tigers 17 East Bengal Invisible Seventeen 18 East Bengal Afar Eighteen 19 East Bengal Roaring Nineteen 20 East Bengal Awakening Twenty 21 East Bengal Ideal Tigers 23 East Bengal Daring Tigers 24 East Bengal Durjoy Twenty Four 25 East Bengal Immortal Twenty Five 26 East Bengal Rising Tigers 27 East Bengal Eternal Twenty Seven 28 East Bengal Valiant Tigers 29 East Bengal Heroic Twenty Nine 30 East Bengal Infinite Thirty 32 East Bengal Fearless Thirty Two 34 East Bengal Deadly Tigers 36 East Bengal Dashing Tigers 38 East Bengal Accomplished Thirty Eight 40 East Bengal Everlasting Forty 56 East Bengal Adamant Fifty Six 57 East Bengal Invincible Fifty Seven 58 East Bengal Euphoric Fifty Eight 59 East Bengal Pioneer Fifty Nine 60 East Bengal Superior Sixty 61 East Bengal 62 East Bengal 63 East Bengal Shining Sixty Three 64 East Bengal 65 East Bengal Radiant Sixty Five 66 East Bengal 67 East Bengal 79 East Bengal
Notes
See also Bangladesh Infantry Regiment
References
Further reading