Page 292 - Leadership in the Indian Army

rickshaws, both brigades advanced rapidly, and on 14 December, the first
artillery shell was fired on Dacca. On 15 December, 311 Mountain Brigade
was poised to enter Dacca when orders were received from HQ Eastern

Command to halt further advance. Tactical HQ 101 Communication Zone
Area, 95 and 167 Mountain Brigades and 2 Para were placed under the
command of 4 Corps the same day. On the night of 15–16 December, Dacca
was subjected to shelling by Sagat’s artillery, which hastened its surrender,
and ceasefire was declared on 16 December.
In the southern sector of the Corps, 23 Mountain Division commenced its
advance towards Comilla and the Lalmai Hills. On 4 December, 301

Brigade captured over 200 prisoners of the 25 Frontier Force, including the
battalion commander, near Comilla. Simultaneously, 181 Brigade cut the
road and rail links between Laksham and Lalmai, enabling 301 Brigade to
capture Mudfarganj on 5 December. The Pakistanis made an attempt to
recapture the town on 7 December, but failed. Comilla was taken on 8
December, as were the Daudkandi ferry site and the major river port of

Chandpur. The brigade group garrison at Laksham, comprising four
battalions, had been encircled by 8 December. It disintegrated and headed
for Maynamati on 9 December. Almost a thousand of them were captured
before they could reach the brigade group defences in Maynamati, which
was heavily defended and defied capture until the ceasefire and surrender
on 16 December.
As had happened in the Goa operations, it was not the main column but a

subsidiary thrust that claimed the final prize. In Goa, Sagat’s 50 Para
Brigade had been given a secondary role, but he managed to reach Panjim
before the troops of 17 Mountain Division. In the Bangladesh operations, 2,
4 and 33 Corps constituted the main thrusts, while 101 Communication
Zone Area had been assigned a complementary role in the Mymensingh–
Tangail area. Ultimately, it was this column that reached Dacca first and

won the race. However, this was only made possible by the crossing of the
Meghna and the minor rivers of Balu and Satlakhya by 4 Corps, and its
imminent entry into Dacca. After the crossing of the Meghna, 120 Pak
Brigade, which was facing 101 Communication Zone Area, was hurriedly
withdrawn for the defence of Dacca. The Pakistanis had prepared defences
around Dacca that had been christened ‘Fortress Dacca’. Pak 120 Brigade
disintegrated after Tungi was occupied by 73 Mountain Brigade of 57

Mountain Division. Niazi’s predicament can be gauged from the fact that he