Battle of Shiromoni

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Battle of Shiromoni
Part of Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Date 13–17 December 1971 Location Shiromoni, Khulna, Bangladesh Result Bangladeshi-Indian victory
Belligerents
Bangladesh  India	Pakistan
Commanders and leaders
Major Muhammed Abul Manzur (Sector VIII Commander of the Mukti Bahini) Major Joynal Abedin (Sector IX Commander of the Mukti Bahini) Major Gani † of Rajput Regiment Major Mahendra Singh of Rajput Regiment	Brigadier Hayat Khan
Strength
Mukti Bahini  Defected Bengali soldiers of the 9th Infantry Division of the Pakistan Army i. 32nd Infantry Brigade ii. 42nd Infantry Brigade iii. 350th Infantry Brigade  Sector VIII of the Mukti Bahini  Sector IX of the Mukti Bahini Indian Army  50th Parachute Brigade  45th Cavalry  1st Squadron 5th Cavalry	Pakistan Army  107th Infantry Brigade (under 9th Infantry Division of the Pakistan Army) i. 6th Punjab Regiment ii. 12th Frontier Force iii. 15th Frontier Force iv. 21st Punjab Regiment
Casualties and losses
250-300 Indians killed at the Badamtola ambush 7 Indians killed and 30 injured at the battle 31 Bangladeshis killed and 124 injured	157 Pakistanis killed

The Battle of Shiromoni (Bengali: শিরোমণির যুদ্ধ) (13–17 December 1971) fought during the Bangladesh Liberation War and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 between the Pakistan Army and the joint forces of the Bangladesh and Indian Army. This was one of the last battles of the Bangladesh Liberation War which continued till 17 December 1971, even though the commander of all Pakistani Forces in Bangladesh had already surrendered on 16 December 1971.

Background[]

Even though the Jessore city was lost, the Pakistanis were able to develop a strong resistance against the Bangladeshi and Indian forces at Shiromoni. Commanding the Pakistani forces at Shiromoni was Brigadier Hayat Khan of the 107th Infantry Brigade. According to the book ‘The Tank Battle of Shiromoni’ by Gazi Saiful Hasan, there were three main reasons why the Pakistanis positioned themselves at Shiromoni:^[1]

The Battle[]

Ambush at Badamtola[]

On their way to Khulna, after passing through Shiromoni and getting near Badamtola, the Indians faced an ambush by the Pakistani military. Around 250-300 Indians were killed by the Pakistani Army.^[2]

Major Manzur takes command of the joint Bangladeshi and Indian Forces at Shiromoni[]

Behind each of these tanks, Major Manzur sent twelve Mukti Bahini men eager to get martyred. With this suicidal commando force joined Major Manzur himself.^[3]

Surrender of Brigadier Hayat Khan[]

On that day, at around 1:30 pm, Brigadier Hayat Khan, along with his 3,700 men,^[4] officially surrendered to joint Bangladeshi and Indian Forces on the premises of Khulna Circuit House, fifteen kilometers away from Shiromoni. Brigadier Delvar Singh of the Indian Army, who arrived at the surrender ceremony via helicopter, signed the document for the Pakistani surrender on behalf of the allied forces.^[5] The instrument of surrender was signed at 1:55 pm.

References[]