Mitro Bahini Order of Battle December 1971

The Indian Army had no standby force ready in 1971 with the specific task of attacking West Pakistan, one of the many reasons why India did not immediately intervene after Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight in March 1971. Indian Army Eastern Command was tasked with defending the northern and eastern borders and fighting the insurgencies in Nagaland, Mizoram and Naxalites in West Bengal at that time.^[1] Mukti Bahini, aided by the Indian army through Operation Jackpot, led the struggle against the Pakistan army while the Indian army readied for intervention. General M. A. G. Osmani, Commander in Chief Bangladesh Forces, had divided Mukti Bahini forces into 11 geographical sectors for command and control purpose. Mukti Bahini forces numbered 30,000 regular soldiers (including 3 brigades containing 8 infantry battalions and 3 artillery batteries) and at least 100,000 guerrillas by December 1971. The Indian Army Eastern Command assembled two existing infantry corps, the IVth and the XXXIIIrd, for operations in Bangladesh, and created a new corps (II)^[2] besides reorganising the 101st Communication Zone as a combat formation.^[3] On 21 November 1971, Indian and Bangladesh forces were put under a joint command structure, led by Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora, and this force came to be known as Mitro Bahini. In addition to 29 BSF battalions,^[4] Mukti Bahini guerrillas operating near the border or awaiting deployment in camps inside India were organised into infantry companies and attached to various Indian formations.

Indian Army Eastern Command HQ: Fort William, Kolkata

Location of Mitro Bahini and Pakistani units on December 1971. Some unit locations are not shown. Map not to exact scale

GOC-in-C (Indian Army): Lt. General Jagjit Singh Aurora
COS: Maj. Gen. JFR Jacob
Director Military Operations: Major General Inderjit Singh Gill, MC
Director Operation Jackpot: Lt. Gen. B.N. 'Jimmy' Sirkar
Bangladesh Forces Liaison: Group Captain A.K. Khandkar,
HQ: 8, Theater Road, Kolkata

Units attached to Eastern Command but outside Bangladesh operational area:
From IV corps:

• 2nd Mountain division in North eastern border
• 5th Mountain division in North eastern border

From XXXIII corps:

• 17th Mountain division in Sikkim
• 27th Mountain division in Kalimpong, North Bengal

Airborne forces attached to Eastern Command:

• 50th (Indep) Parachute Brigade Cdr: Brig Mathew Thomas
• 2 Para Bn (in airborne role) CO: Lt Col KS Pannu
• 7 Para Bn CO: Lt Col RP Singh (KIA)
• 8 Para Bn CO: Lt Col Afsir Karim
• 17 Para Fd Regt CO: Lt Col Khanna
• 60 Para Medical Company CO: Lt Col M Kumar

Eastern Command Reserve:

• 6th Mountain division less brigade HQ: Cooch Bihar GOC: Maj. Gen P.C. Reddy
  • 2 Engineer Regiments and bomb disposal group

Western Sector

Area of Operation: Khulna, Jessore, Kushtia and Faridpur districts

North Western Sector

Area of Operation: Rajshahi, Bogra, Dinajpur and Rangpur districts

 * A fd bty of 17 Para Fd Regt
 * A section of 411 Para Fd Coy
 * A surgical team of 60 Para Med Coy

North Eastern Sector

Area of Operation: Mymensingh and Tangail districts

Eastern Sector

Area of Operation: Sylhet, Comilla, Noakhali & Chittagong districts

Indian Navy Eastern Fleet

FOC: Vice Admiral N. Krishnnan HQ: Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Fleet Commander: Rear Admiral S. A. Sharma
A liaison officer from the Navy was posted at Fort William to coordinate matters with the Army Eastern Command. The fleet was at its peacetime standing when radio intercepts warned of PNS Ghazi entering the Bay of Bengal. INS Vikrant and part of the fleet was moved to the Andamans as a result.

• INS Vikrant – Captain Sawraj Prakash (Majestic class light Aircraft Carrier)
• INS Brahmaputra – Captain J.C. Puri (Leopard class frigate)
• INS Beas – Captain L. Ram Das (Leopard Class Frigate)
• INS Kamrota – Captain A.P. Awati (Petya class frigate)
• INS Kavaratti - Captain S. Paul (Petya class frigate)
• INS Rajput – Lt. Commander Inder Singh (destroyer)
• INS Kalvari – (Submarine)
• INS Khandari – Commander R. J. Milan (Submarine)
  • INS Panvel – Lt. Com. G.R. Naroha (Gunboat)
  • INS Pulikat – Lt. Com. S. Krishnnan ( Gunboat)
  • INS Panaji – Lt. Com. R. Gupta (Gunboat)
  • INS Akshay – Lt. Com. S.D. Moore (Gunboat)
    • INS Gharial – Lt. Commander U. Dabir (Landing Ship)
    • INS Gildar – Lt. Commander A.K. Sharma (Landing Ship)
    • INS Maggar – Lt. Commander AT. N. Singhal (Landing Ship)

Indian Air Force Eastern Command

Location of Mitro Bahini and Pakistani units on December 1971. Some unit locations are not shown. Map not to exact scale

AOC: Air Marshal H. C. Dewan, Temporary advanced HQ at Fort William
Prior to 1971, Indian Air Force had two command centers dealing with the East, Eastern Command (HQ Shillong) responsible for the North Eastern Border, and the Central (HQ Allahbad), looking after areas south of the Ganges river. Air Chief Marshal P.C Lal formed an advance HQ at Fort William after consultation with Maj. Gen Jacob to coordinate operations with the army before the start of the war.

Western Sector:

• No. 7 Squadron (Battle Axes): Hawker Hunter F. MK 56 and 2 F. MK 1 - Bagdogra (WC Ceolho, then WC Suri). The squadron was moved Chamb after 12 December.
• No. 14 Squadron (Bulls): Hawker Hunter F. MK 56 - Kalaikudda (WC Sundersan) - Fighter
• No. 16 Squadron (Rattlers): Canberra - Kalaikudda - (WC Gautum) - Bomber
• No. 22 Squadron (Swifts): Folland Gnat MK 1 Dum Dum, then Kalaikudda, then Calcutta (WC Sikand)
• No. 30 Squadron (Charging Rhinos): Mig 21 FL - Kalaikudda (WC Chudda) - Interceptor
• No. 221 Squadron (Valiants): Su-7 BMK - Panagarh (WC Sridharan) – Fighter/Bomber
• No. 104 (Alluitte 3) and No. 104 (Mi-4) Heli units

North East and North Western Sector: AOC-in-C: Air Vice Marshal Devasher HQ: Shillong

• No. 4 Squadron (Oorials): Mig 21 FL - Gauhati (Wing Commander JV Gole)
• No. 15 Squadron (Flying Lancers): Folland Gnat - Gauhati then Agortala (WC Singh)
• No. 17 Squadron (Golden Arrows): Hawker Hunter F MK 56 - Hashimara (WC Chatrath)
• No 37 Squadron (Black Panthers): Hawker Hunter F MK 10 - Hashimara (WC Kaul)
• No. 24 Squadron (Hunting Hawks): Folland Gnat Gauhati (WC Bhadwar)
• No. 28 Squadron (First Supersonics): Mig 21FL Gauhati (WC Bishnu)
• No. 105 (Mi-4) and 121 (Alouette III) Helicopter Squadrons - Agartola

Bangladesh Air Force: Kilo Flight CO: Flight Lt. Sultan Mahmud HQ: Dimapur Nagaland, then Agartala
This unit was formed by Bengali pilots and technicians defecting from the Pakistan Air Force. Flying light aircraft donated by India, they launched attacks on depots and communication lines on 2 December 1971, before the start of the war. The unit relocated to Agartala and then Shamshernagar after 3 December 1971.

References

Sources

• Salik, Siddiq (1997). Witness to Surrender. ISBN 984-05-1374-5.
• Jacob, Lt. Gen. JFR (2004). Surrender at Dacca: Birth of A Nation. The University Press Limited. ISBN 984-05-1532-2.
• Qureshi, Maj. Gen. Hakeem Arshad (2003). The Indo Pak War of 1971: A Soldiers Narrative. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-579778-7.
• Islam, Major Rafiqul (2006). A Tale of Millions. Ananna. ISBN 984-412-033-0.