Page 293 - Leadership in the Indian Army

had to employ the ‘walking wounded’ from military hospitals to occupy
positions on the perimeter of ‘Fortress Dacca’.
The rapid advance of 101 Communication Zone Area under the command

of Major General G.S. Nagra, who had replaced Major General G.S. Gill
after the latter was wounded, was also facilitated by the paradrop at Tangail
on 11 December. On that day, 4 Corps was in Narsingdi, 35 kilometres from
Dacca, while the leading elements of 95 Infantry Brigade, commanded by
Brigadier H.S. Kler, were in Jamalpur, 160 kilometres from Dacca. Two
days later, on 13 December, 95 Infantry Brigade and 2 Para were still at
Tangail, almost 100 kilometres from Dacca, while Sagat’s troops had

reached the Satlakhya river and were just 10 kilometres from Dacca. Nagra
was lucky to find a tarmac road running south, a few miles west of Safipur,
which led to Dacca via Sabhar without having to cross the water obstacles
of Turag and Dhaleshwari. Even at midnight on 14 December, when 95
Infantry Brigade was still on the Turag river, elements of the 57 Infantry
Division of 4 Corps had crossed the Satlakhya, and had started shelling

Dacca. Sagat would have reached Dacca first, but this honour went to
Nagra, who had been placed under Sagat’s command on 15 December and
was thus technically a part of 4 Corps when he entered Dacca. However,
though Nagra was the first across the finish line in the race for Dacca, the
real winner was undoubtedly Sagat. If the Pakistanis had not surrendered,
there is no way 101 Communication Zone could have taken Dacca earlier,
since it would have required a major assault. Since Sagat had firmed in at

Narsingdi and already planned the attack for 16 December, in all likelihood
the honour of taking the city would have gone to him. That he lost the
chance does not in any way detract from his brilliant performance. Sagat
was also anxious to avoid entering the built-up area of the city, where the
Pakistanis would have had an advantage over Indian troops.
Sagat’s decision to cross the Meghna proved to be crucial to the entire

operation. This was also the first instance in military history of an ‘air-
bridge’ being used to cross a major water obstacle by a brigade group. In
his book, Victory in Bangladesh , Major General Lachhman Singh, who
commanded 20 Mountain Division, which was part of 33 Corps during the
campaign, writes:

It was here that Sagat Singh exhibited the genius and initiative of a field commander. It was this
decision which finally and decisively tilted the scale in our favour and led to the early surrender
of the Pakistani forces at Dacca.