Battle of Hilli

Battle of Hilli
Part of Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

Major Niazi of 31 Punjab regiment surrendering to Lt Col V.R. Swaminathan of 22 Maratha Light infantry after the battle of Hilli/Bogra on 16 December 1971
DateFirst Battle: 22-24 November 1971
Second Battle: 10-11 December 1971
Location
Hilli, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Result Indian victory[1][2][3][4]
Territorial
changes
  • Morapara was liberated on November
  • Hilli was liberated along with Bogra on December
Belligerents

 Bangladesh

 India (22 November –18 December 1971)

 Pakistan

Commanders and leaders

Major Kazi Nuruzzaman, Commander Sector VII

Maj. Gen. Lachhman Singh Lehl, CO 20th Mountain Division

Brigadier Farhad Batti, CO 202nd Mountain Brigade

Lt. Col. Shamsher Singh, CO 8 Grenadiers		 Brigadier Tajammul Hussain Malik (POW), acting-CO 205th Infantry Brigade
Units involved

First Battle, 23-24 November
Sector VII
20th Mountain Division
202nd Mountain Brigade

  • 5th Battalion, Garwhal Rifles
  • 8th Battalion, the Guards
  • 22nd Battalion, Maratha Light Infantry
  • 37th Mountain Regiment (artillery)
  • 38th Medium Regiment (artillery, understrength)
  • 100th Mountain Regiment (artillery)
  • 1 Squadron of T-55s detached from 63 Cavalry

Second Battle, 10-11 December
20th Mountain Division
202nd Mountain Brigade

  • 8th Battalion, the Guards
  • 22nd Battalion, Maratha Light Infantry

First and Second Battles
205th Infantry Brigade

  • 3rd Battalion, Baluch Regiment
  • 4th Battalion, Frontier Force
  • 32nd Battalion, Baluch Regiment
  • 1 M24 Chaffee Squadron
  • 1 artillery regiment
Strength

Total
~18,000 including support and non-combat elements

First Battle
~2,700-3,600

Second Battle

~1,800-2,400

Total
~8,000 including support and non-combat elements

First and Second Battle

~2,700-3,600
Casualties and losses

First Battle 196 KIA/WIA

Second Battle
20 KIA/WIA

First Battle
~80 KIA/WIA

Second Battle
20 KIA
3 POW
2 M24 Chaffees destroyed
3 105mm howitzers destroyed

The First and Second Battles of Hilli[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] were two major battles fought during the Bangladesh Liberation War on 22–24 November and 10–11 December 1971. They are generally regarded as the bloodiest battles of the eastern front of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The first battle saw, according to veterans of the battle, the fiercest fighting of the war, but the second was much tamer.

The Indian objective was to capture a network of Pakistani fortifications centred around the village of Hilli to allow for an advance on the town of Bogra.[13][14]

  1. ^ "Battle of Hilli". Banglore International Centre. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Liberation Of Bangladesh: War in Northwestern Sector". Indian Defence Review. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Battle of Hilli". Global Security.
  4. ^ "1971: Making Bangladesh a reality - II". Indian Defence review. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  5. ^ "1971 War: Battle of Bogra". Indian Defence Review. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Battle of Hilli". Bangalore International Centre. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  7. ^ "1971: Making Bangladesh a reality - II". Indian Defence Review. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Scars of Bangladesh independence war 40 years on". BBC News. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Tales of Valour Season 2 unfolds the bloodiest battle of the 1971 war – The Battle of Hilli | India News". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Tales of Valour Season 2 unfolds the bloodiest battle of the 1971 war – The Battle of Hilli". www.timesnownews.com. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Tales of Valour Season 2 unfolds the bloodiest battle of the 1971 war – The Battle of Hilli". www.timesnownews.com. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  12. ^ SNS (20 December 2023). "Army commemorates victory in Battle of Hilli". The Statesman. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  13. ^ Cardozo, Ian, ed. (2016). In Quest of Freedom : the War of 1971 - Personal Accounts by Soldiers from India and Bangladesh. London. ISBN 978-93-86141-66-8. OCLC 958464642.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ^ SNS (20 December 2023). "Army commemorates victory in Battle of Hilli". The Statesman. Retrieved 17 April 2024.