The
Bangladesh Army (
Bangla: বাংলাদেশ সেনা বাহিনী) is the
land forces branch and the largest of the three uniformed service of the
Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to provide necessary forces and capabilities in support of Bangladesh's security and defense strategies including defense of the nation's territorial integrity against external attack. Control and operations are administered by the Department of the Army of the Armed Forces Division. The civilian head is the Prime Minister, who by law also holds the defense ministry portfolio. In addition to its primary mission the Bangladesh Army is also constitutionally obligated to assist the civilian government during times of national emergency. This role is commonly referred to as “aid to civil administration”.
Early history
The martial tradition of Bengal has its roots in the
Bengal Army during
Mughal rule since the early 18th century, when three successive Muslim dynasties, namely the Nasiri, Afshar and Najafi, ruled Bengal.
[citation needed]During the Colonial Rule of the British, Bengal was principally a bulwark of British power and trade in the South Asian region. The British under
Robert Clive defeated a 50,000 strong Bengal Army of Nawab Siraj-ud-daullah in the
Polashey(Plassey) in 1757 and later the forces of Nawab
Mir Qasim at the
Battle of Buxar in 1764. The
Army of Bengal was formed, which later became part of a united
Indian Army from 1895 to 1947. The eastern part of the region was a prominent place for military and police recruitment, with entire horse-mounted cavalry and lancer units being recruited there prior to the
Bengal Sepoy Mutiny of 1857.
[citation needed] Post-mutiny, units with the epithet "Bengal" in their name, such as
Bengal Sappers and Bengal Cavalry, were largely recruited from non-Bengali peoples from Bihar, Varanasi and Uttar Pradesh which were technically still part of
Bengal Presidency at that time. After the creation of the nation of
Pakistan, recruitment from erstwhile East Pakistan began in 1948 into the
East Bengal Regiment, newly created with all Bengali personnel, part of the
Pakistan Army till 1971.
[citation needed]\== Military operations were formally launched after the Sector Commanders Conference during 11–17 July 1971. The conference was held three months after the oath of the newly formed Bangladesh Government at Meherpur, Kushtia. During this conference the structure and formation as well as resolving issues surrounding the organization of the various sectors, strategy and reinforcements of the Bangladeshi forces was determined. It was of considerable historical importance from a tactical point of view, as it determined the command structure of the Bangladeshi forces throughout
Bangladesh Liberation War that was fought between Bangladesh(East Pakistan until 25 March 1971) and West Pakistan in 1971.This conference was presided over by the Bangladesh interim government in exile, headed by then Prime Minister
Tajuddin Ahmed and
Colonel (Retd.)
M A G Osmani. M A G Osmani was reinstated into active duty and promoted to General as the Commander-in-Chief of the Bangladesh Forces. Principal participants of this conference included:
Squadron Leader M.Hamidullah Khan, Major
Ziaur Rahman, Major
Abdul Jalil, Captain
ATM Haider,
Lt. Col. Abdur Rab and
Major Khaled Musharraf. Lt.Col Rab was appointed as Chief of Army Staff. As a result of this meeting, Bangladesh was divided into
eleven sectors.
[citation needed] These sectors were placed under the control of Sector Commanders, who would direct the guerilla war against
Pakistani occupation forces. For better efficiency in military operations each of the sectors were also divided into a number of sub-sectors. As a point of note, the 10th Sector was under direct command of the Commander-in-Chief and included the Naval Commando Unit as a C-in-C’s special force.Following the conference a period of prolonged guerilla warfare was launched by
Bangladesh Forces, which continued for a number of months. A further restructuring was undertaken, and the Bangladesh Forces were organized into three brigade size combat groups.
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