Feni-Belonia is an enclave of Bangladesh that penetrated into the Indian territory, a narrow finger-like strip of about 16 Kilometer long and 4-6 Kilometer wide in area. In 1971 , a meter gauge railway track connected Belonia Border Out Post (BOP) with Feni and two semi metal roads connected Belonia, one from Chagolnaiyya and another from Feni. The corridor was under the administrative Sub-Division of Feni, now Feni District and are surrounded three sides by the Indian territory excepting the south. Feni town is situated at the south and at the entry point of the enclave. Dhaka-Chittagong highway and Dhaka-Chittagong railway line runs through Feni township. Feni river and Muhuri river plays a vital role in the topography of the area.
Strategic importance of Feni and Feni-Belonia Bulge: Feni has always been treated as the lifeline between the port city of Chittagong and the capital city of Dhaka. It was the Main Supply Route (MSR) and was considered to be a very important Line of Communication (LofC) by the Pakistani occupation forces for movement of their forces including arms and ammunition from Chittagong to Dhaka and the rest of the country.
During the 9-month-long Liberation War, Feni-Belonia Bulge had always been hot war field. To take control of the bulge, 3 Major battles were fought where Freedom Fighters successfully applied their improvised tactics. The Battles of Belonia Bulge are looked upon as an important chapter of the Liberation War of Bangladesh. The Second Battle of Belonia Bulge has been included in the syllabus/curriculum of Bangladesh Military Academy and many other Military Academies of the world.
First battle of Belonia Bulge: With the dual aim of liberation of Feni and the establishment of the headquarter of Provisional Bangladesh Government in the liberated territory of the bulge, four companies of Freedom Fighters under the command of Captain Jafar Imam, popularly known as Captain Humayun of Sector #2, covertly infiltrated in the enclave on June 1, 1971 from the western side in the Belonia bulge. Capt Jafar Imam established his command post and headquarter at the southern bank of the pond of Muktar Bari and deployed his forces at the village of Darbarpur (now under Fulgazi P S) covering the strategic places of Feni-Belonia road and rail line. UOTC Capt. Mujibur Rahman Khan acted as the Liaison Officer to the CO. Capt Shahidul Islam and his force took position in the village of Jammura by the right of Capt Jafar Imam and Lt Imam-uz-Zaman established his defence line in the village of Boshikpur by the left of Capt Jafar Imam Capt Gaffar Haldar was in charge of the rear platoon stationed at Munshirhat.
The Freedom Fighters dug trenches and bunkers and built a strong defence line from the border village of Jammura through Darbarpur and Boshikpur upto the western bank of Muhuri river. Simultaneously, the forces of Sector #1 under the command of Major Ziaur Rahman along with 3 Companies of Freedom Fighters entered the eastern side of the bulge near Chandgazi and built their defence line from the border point up to the eastern bank of Muhuri river and established contact with the forces of Sector # 2. Major Zia established his command post and headquarters near Chandgazi Capt Matiur Rahman and his troops took defence adjacent to the border, Lt Mahfuzur Rahman deployed his troops in the middle and Capt Oli Ahmed built his defence by the eastern side of the Muhuri River. Thus the bulge was sealed off from Feni and the rest of the Country.
Pakistan army was informed of the penetration of Freedom Fighters and on June 4, 1971 they callously attacked the position of the Freedom Fighters, thinking that it was an unconventional and scattered unit of Freedom Fighters. The attack was effectively foiled by the Freedom Fighters with shocking surprise and heavy casualties to the enemy. The enemy again attacked the defensive position of the Freedom Fighters, this time with a battalion-plus strength on June 7, 9, and 11 under the cover of heavy artillery and mortar fires. The battles continued uninterrupted from June 4 up to June 21. But all of these attacks were successfully repulsed by the Freedom Fighters with lot of courage and bravery with only a few casualties. The enemy lost more than 140 of their soldiers.
The failure of Pakistani forces in driving out the Freedom Fighters from Belonia Bulge became a prestige issue for them. It also became very important for the Pakistan army to eliminate the Freedom Fighters from Feni Belonia Bulge because the President of Pakistan General Yahya Khan was planning to deliver a speech through Radio Pakistan by declaring that there are no existence of any Freedom Fighters in East Pakistan, that the entire province were under their complete control and that peace and stability were prevailing in the eastern wing of Pakistan. Hence, to eliminate the Freedom Fighters, President of Pakistan General Yahya Khan ordered General Abdul Hamid, the Chief of Staff of Pakistan army, to sort it out. General Hamid arrived Feni in person via Colombo and Dhaka alongwith senior Pakistani Generals and Commanders. He established his headquarter at Feni Circuit House, prepared a detailed assault plan and mobilised a formidable force to face and exterminate the Freedom Fighters.
As per the plan,after sunset on June 21, Pakistan army dropped a strong contingent of heliborne commando force of 3 Commando Battalion of Pakistan army at the rear of the defence line of the Freedom Fighters. The commandos attacked the defence line of the Freedom Fighters from behind. Simultaneously, the enemy conducted a frontal attack on the entire defensive position of the Freedom Fighters with a brigade-strength force including tanks under the cover of intensive artillery and mortar shelling. Gun Boats of Pakistan Navy also attacked the Freedom Fighters through Muhuri river. Although it was an uneven battle, the Freedom Fighters valiantly faced the brigade-strength attack of the enemy with great courage and heroism. In such a crucial situation,Maj. Ziaur Rahman abandoned his defensive position in the evening after the commando attack, withdrawn his troops and took shelter inside the Indian territory without any information or co-ordination with Capt. Jafar Imam and his forces. Pakistani forces took the advantage and started advance towards north by the eastern side of the bulge without any resistance.
In the meantime, the Indian army intercepted the wireless communication of Pakistan army and understood the gravity of an all out assault on all fronts--ground, air and river. Brig Anand Swarup of the Indian army contacted Capt Jafar Imam and advised him to withdraw his troops to safety. In such an awkward situation, to save lives at the initial stage of the Liberation War and as a war strategy, Capt. Jafar Imam and his officers withdrew their forces after midnight and retreated inside the Indian territory. Pakistani forces continued their advance, crossed Munshirhat, Fulgazi, Chitholia, Parshuram and reached Belonia. They occupied the entire Feni-Belonia bulge and fortified their position.
The heroic performance of Freedom Fighters in this battle with a battalion-strength under the command of a captain against the brigade-strength forces of Pakistan commanded by the Chief of General Staff of Pakistan Army himself made it evident that the Freedom Fighters could attack and face powerful Pakistani army at a time and place of their choice and can overwhelm them. They are not only a volunteer force but also have the patriotism, dedication and militarymight to confront the enemy face-to-face and give them the taste of defeat. The Freedom Fighters would be able to liberate Bangladesh if they are provided with enough supply, support and logistics. This battle, therefore, was a great moral victory for the Freedom Fighters in the early phase of our Liberation War.
Raising of 10 East Bengal Regiment: After the withdrawal of his forces from the First Battle of Belonia Bulge, Capt. Jafar Imam regrouped his forces again at a place named Barakashari, engaged with the enemy forces, fought and liberated a small chunk of occupied land at the north-western side of the bulge and reached up to the northern bank of Muhuri river near Shubar Bazar. Muhuri river from India enters Bangladesh territory by the side of Belonia BOP and moves towards west and then turns to the south. Taking advantage of the location of the river, Capt. Jafar Imam deployed his forces and built a defensive line facing the enemy forces.
Thus, Muhuri river became the dividing line between the Pakistani forces and the Freedom Fighters. Sporadic clashes continued day and night between the enemy forces and Freedom Fighters without any decisive results. In the meantime, Capt. Jafar Imamwas also assigned as the Rajnagar/BeloniaSub-Sector Commander covering greater Noakhali including Feni and Chauddogram of Comilla. Guerilla warfare against Pakistani positions intensifide with constant directions and support from the Sub-Sector Commander.
Because of the timely and orderly withdrawal from the First Battle, the forces under the command of Capt. Jafar Imam remained intact in addition to acquiring valuable combat experience. And at the instruction of Lt Col Khaled Mosharraf, the Commander of Sector # 2, Capt Jafar Imam reorganised his forces and on October 10, 1971 (10-10-1971) raised 10 East Bengal Regiment. The nucleus of 10 East Bengal Regiment was, in fact, developed during the first battle of the bulge. Battalion Headquarters was established at Rajnagar, inside the Indian territory, adjacent to the international border in the western side of Belonia town. Capt.
Jafar Imam was promoted to the rank of Major and became the founding Commanding Officer (CO) of the battalion. The officers of 10 East Bengal Regiment during and immediately after its formation were:
1) Founding CO - Maj. Jafar Imam
2) Adjutant of the Battalion - Lt. Mokhlesur Rahman
3) Alpha Company - Lt. Imam-uz-Zaman
4) Bravo Company - 2/ Lt. Syed Mizanur Rahman
5) Charlie Company - 2/ Lt. Didar Atwar Husain
6) Staff Officer (I.O.) to the CO - FF Ghulam Mustafa
7) Quarter Master-FF Mujibuddin Chowdhury Dulal and
8) Battalion SM - Subedar Maj. Maizur Rahman.
Headquarter Company including Pioneer Platoon were under the direct command of the CO Maj. Jafar Imam. Pioneer Platoon of the Battalion accomplished splendid job by laying anti- tank and anti-personnel mine in front of the defence line of the Freedom Fighters during both First and Second Battle of Belonia Bulge which caused heavy casualties to the enemy forces during their advance.Mines don't recognise friends or foes. So, the accomplishments are duly credited tothe Pioneer Platoon's Freedom Fighters for mine-laying, mine-lifting, demolition of bridges/culverts, mining on the roads used by the enemy forces etc as they did these risky tasks without any proper professional gadgets like mine detectors, prodders etc.
Unlike other battalions, 10 East Bengal Regiment had two Subedar Majors instead of one. Relating to the fire power, 10 Bengal had four LMG per section instead of two and had about 1000 fighters instead of 800. The number of civilian freedom fighters with short military training were about 20% who acquired valuable combat experience in the process of their engagement in the battlefield against the enemy forces and became an integral part of the battalion with complete harmony with the regulars.
The writer was the Intelligence
Officer (lO) to the Commanding Officer (CO) of 10 East Bengal Regiment (Durdharsha Dosh) during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in the year 1971
