Meghna Heli Bridge

"Operation Cactus-Lilly" redirects here. Not to be confused with Operation Cactus.

Operation Cactus Lilly
Part of Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani war of 1971

Mi-4 of IAF mounting troops in Brahmanbaria on 9 December 1971.
Date9–12 December 1971
Location
Ashuganj, East Pakistan
Result
  • Indian operational success
  • Successful crossing of the Meghna River
Belligerents

 India

Supported By:
Bangladesh Bangladesh		  Pakistan
Commanders and leaders

Lt Gen Sagat Singh, GOC IV Corps

Maj. Gen. Gonsalves, GOC 57th Mountain Division

Brigadier R. N. Mishra, CO 311 Mountain Brigade

Group Captain Chandan Singh

Maj. Gen. Q. A. M. Khan, GOC 14th Infantry Division Brigadier Saadullah Khan, CO 27 Infantry Brigade

Brigadier Iftikhar Rana
Units involved

311 Mountain Brigade

  • 4 Guards
  • 18 Rajput
  • 10 Bihar
  • 19 Raj Rif (on 11 Dec)
  • 15 Engineer Regt.

73 Mountain Brigade

  • 14 Guards
  • 19 Punjab
  • 9 Madras

Indian Air Force units attached to IV Corps

313 Infantry Brigade

  • 22 Baluch
  • 30 Frontier Force

27 Infantry Brigade

  • 6 x M24 Chaffee light tanks
  • 33 Baluch
  • 12 Frontier Force
Strength

Total
~6,000

First Phase
~1,800

Second Phase

  • Air Assault: 656
  • Amphibious: 800-1000

First and Second Phase

~6,000
Casualties and losses

First Phase
44 KIA

Second Phase
None

First Phase
29 KIA

Second Phase
4,958 POWs

Operation Cactus Lilly, better known as The Meghna Heli Bridge or the Crossing of the Meghna, was an air assault operation conducted between 9 and 12 December 1971 during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. It was conducted by the Indian Army and Indian Air Force to cross the Meghna River, bypass a Pakistani stronghold at Ashuganj/Bhairab Bazar and reach Dhaka. The operation is generally regarded as the brainchild of Maj. Gen. (later Lt. Gen.) Sagat Singh. Without it, Indian forces would not have been able to complete the encirclement of Dhaka and it would likely have led to a lengthening of the war.[1][2][self-published source?]

  1. ^ MoD, History Division (1992). "Official History of the 1971 India Pakistan War" (PDF).
  2. ^ Gadkari, Nitin (9 December 2021). "Leap Across Meghna". faugystrategy.substack.com. Retrieved 9 April 2023.