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Although during the nine months of the liberation war,a number of military operation by Indian armed forces was code named "Operation Jackpot".But the one we will be discussing here is about the Bangladeshi naval commando operation,which destroyed tonnes of Pakistani shipping anchored at Bangladeshi docks in a simultaneous attack.
The outcome of this particular operation was very significant.
Firstly,it busted the myth of "East Pakistan was under control".The world came to know more about the situation in East Pakistan.
Secondly,it deprived Pakistan army off valuable logistical support.With air-drop option already cut down by India,it was a major set back for the occupying Pakistani troops.
Thirdly,it certainly boosted the morale of Freedom fighters who were already high on spirit and patriotism.If the war from March 26th to August was won by Pakistani army,it can certainly be said that this operation turned the tide.
Prologue
Bangladesh naval commando operation actually originated at Toulon, a coastal city of Southern France. In 1971, there were 11 naval crews of East Pakistan who were receiving training in a Pakistani submarine. Among them, only one commissioned officer (Mosharraf Hassain) and 8 crews decided to take the submarine and to fight against Pakistani. However, their plan was disclosed and they had to ran away under severe death threats from Pakistani intelligence. Out of these 9 crews, one were killed by Pakistani Intelligence and rest of the 8 managed to travel to Indian Embassy in Geneva, Switzerland. From Geneva, Indian Embassy took them to New Delhi on the 9th of April at 9:30 a.m. and set up a top secret naval training for them.
Planning
At the conclusion of Operation Searchlight, the Pakistani Army had driven the Mukti Bahini into India, where they entered a period of reorganization during June and July 1971 to train guerrillas, set up networks and safe houses in the occupied territories to run the insurgency and rebuild the conventional forces. As the pace of military operations in East Pakistan slacked off, the civilian morale was adversely affected, which prompted Pakistani authorities to claim that the situation had returned to "normal".
In response to this declaration, the Mukti Bahini launched 2 operations:
1) Guerrilla attacks in targets in Dhaka by a crack commando group trained by Major ATM Haider (ex-SSG commando).
2) the simultaneous mining and damaging of ships in Chittagong, Chandpur, Mongla and Narayanganj on the 15th of August, which became known in Bangladesh and international media as "Operation Jackpot".Now among naval commandos included Bengali sailors who defected from Pakistan navy and off course the civilians.From students to workers to farmers.
Preparation
Indian commander Bhattachariya, major Jalil and Colonel M.A.G. Osmani in collaboration with top regional commanders established the secret camp codenamed C2P in Plassy, West Bengal on May 23, to train volunteers selected from various Mukti Bahini sectors (Bangladesh was divided in 10 operational sectors for Mukti Bahini operations) for this purpose. Initially 300 volunteers were chosen, ultimately 499 commandos were trained in the camp. The course included swimming, survival training, using limpet mines, hand to hand combat and navigation. By August 1971, the first batch of commandos were ready for operation.
Mosharraf Hossain,who was probably a Commodore in the Independent Bangladesh Navy later on.It nice listening to the details of the operation from him.I am just writing down some details,hope my memory doesn't betray me.
The operation was an extremely dangerous one,actually it was a "suicide mission".How often one see such a large suicide squad,except may be for the Japanese in WW2.
It was suicidal,as they had to attach limpet mines to their body and swim to the ships.Then there was the threat of triggering alarm and then get caught.Which meant certain death by torture.
Every naval commando had accepted that this was a suicidal mission,yet they decided to volunteer.
He mentions one particular case,where he even had to make one freedom fighter learn to swim and then given commando training.When asked,he said,"He was at the war longer than me,I was at France,but he was there from the word go".
Navy in Chittagong, Mongla ,Chandpur and Naryanganj on August 15,1971 is known as operation Jackpot. During liberation war of Bangladesh,the whole Bangladesh was divided in following sectors to conduct different operations:
Initial Planing and training:
The Bangladesh naval commando operation that was called “Operation Jackpot” was precipitated by events in Toulon, a coastal city of southern France. The operation was planned to take on Naval Special Service Group of Pakistan Navy, after it had conducted several other operations. 9 crewmen decided to take control of the submarine PNS MANGRO(First commissioned on 5th August 1970) and to fight against Pakistan. Their plan was disclosed, however, causing them to flee from death threats made by Pakistan’s Naval Intelligence. Out of the 9 crewmen, one was killed by Pakistan Naval Intelligence, but the others managed to travel to the Indian Embassy in Geneva, Switzerland. From Geneva, embassy officials brought them to New Delhi on April 9, 1971,where they began a program of top-secret navaltraining.The initial training of these 8 submariner were in Delhi under commander Sharma and *** chief Brd. Gupta, from April 25 to May 15,1971 . Indian Commander Bhattachariya, Major Jalil and Colonel M. A. G. Osmani in collaboration with top regional commanders established the secret camp, codenamed C2P, in Plassey, West Bengal on May 23,1971 to train volunteers selected from various Mukti Bahini sectors (Bangladesh was divided in 10 operational sectors for Mukti Bahini operations) for this purpose. Initially 300 volunteers were chosen, ultimately 500 volunteers were trained in the camp.The Camp Commander at C2P was Commander M. N. Samanth,MVC, Training Coordinator was Lt. Commander G. Martis,VrC,NM both from the Indian Navy, among other 20 Indian Navy instructors were 1.Lt.V.P.Kapil,VrC,2.Lt.S.Das,VSM,3.Leading seaman C.Singh,MVC,4.Leading seaman M.K.Gupta,NM,5.Leading seaman K.Singh,NM, 6.Marathi Combat Trainer Nanabuz . Among Bangladeshi 8 Bengali submariner trainers were Chief Patty Officer,Rahamatullah,BP, Radio Operator A.W.Chowdhury,BU, Submariner Md.Badiul Alam,BU, Submariner A.U.Sheikh,B.U. Patty Officer Moshraf Hossain ,B.U(his award was later revoked by Bangladesh Govt), Submariner Abedur Rahman,Bir Uttam,Submariner Ahsanullah and Submariner A.Raquib Miah.India and Bangladesh Military high command gave an extra importance to the Naval Commando Operation. Special care were taken on training. The naval commandos received the best food and military rations compared to the other Mukti Bahini.They were given extra allowances shared same medical facilities as the Indian Navy.The naval commando training camp was often inspected by Chief of Indian Naval Staff Admiral Nanda, Commander of Armed Forces of Bangladesh Col.M.A.G.Osmani and Commander of Eastern Theater Lt.Gen.G.S.Aurora. During these inspections, officers personally talked with trainee commandos and asked about their training development and discussed their personal and social problems .In a discussion on 15th June, 1971 at Plassey with trainee commandos, Admiral Nanda said that
“Our aim is not only to destroy the ships in ports but also create an international opinion that foreign ships are not secured in East-Pakistan sea port, so once we are successful in our operation, foreign countries will not send their ships and supply to East Pakistan ports”.
He added further that “The second target was to destroy ships as well to cut the cable by which ships are berthed with anchorage post. If the cables are demolished in the mined ships, then the power of the tide shall push the ship to sink horizontally in a port and if few ships sink in a port horizontally ,then the ports will be damaged for years together”.
Due to this particular instruction of Admiral Nanda, necessary training were given to the commandos as to how to put a cable cutting charge on a berthed ship. The instructors made it very clear to the trainees that ships are to be mined as well as the cables should be demolished along with the ships.
The training program was almost 15 to 18 hours daily . The course included swimming, night swimming, survival training, under water demolition, night demolition, object demolition training with strong foundation like bridge or big building, using limpet mines on ship like objects, hand to hand combat etc. During training commandos were divided into 8 Grades according to their training results. The best commandos were in Grade A and as per the training result they were posted till Grade H. The training of the first batch was completed by mid July 1971.The commandos were selected for operation not only based on their results but also on their origin of home district. Information on river tides, weather and East Pakistan naval infrastructure and deployment was collected through the Indian Military report and Mukti Bahini. Selected commandos were sent from C2P to diffrent sectors for operation.
Operation:
Mukti Bahini in Sector No. 1 assisted the group going to Chittagong, Sector No. 2 aided the groups going to Chandpur and Narayanganj and Sector No. 9 assisted the group targeting Mongla. Naval commandos groups were mostly assisted by the Land Commandos and were equipped with all kinds of arms and ammunition to protect them,beside these each naval commando received 1 limpet mine, a pair of fins and a knife.Each mini group leaders received cable cutting explosives to put on cable of a mined ship. The Port commanders and 2nd in command of the port carried 1 transistor radio each.They were instructed not to attack any military target of Pakistan Army during their journey to respective port rather to do the operations in particular port safely.They were further ordered not to involve in any kind of activities which might hamper the targeted operation. All the groups carried their own equipment to their targets with the help of land commandos or Mukti Bahini and after entering Bangladesh within in 1st August,1971 ,and reached their destinations by August 12,1971 .It was briefed to each port commander that the high command of both countries have decided to transmit operation signal through Calcutta radio center B and these operation signal will be two songs.One will be warning song and other will be action song.Action song will be played with in 48 hours of playing the warningsong.The first song means warning song was AMAR PUTUL LOKKHI PUTULAJKE PROTHOM JABE SHOSHUR BARI,it is a children song,voiced by Alpona Bandhopaddhay and second song was AMI SUNIE CHELEM TOMAI JE GAN,it is a Tagore song,voiced by Ponkoj Mallick.Itwas briefed to all Port commanders that these two song will be played from Calcutta Radio Center B from Morning 6 AM to 6.30 AM and/or evening 10-30PM to 11 .00 PM in special program for eastern listeners. 0n 13th August the warning song were played twice and on 14th Aug,71 action were played twice either.
Strength of Each Port and Commanders of Ports and the result of operation:
Pakistan Navy had taken measures to safeguard East Pakistan naval assets since March 25, 1971. Pakistan Marine battalion under Captain Zamir deployed 3 Naval Marine companies and a Naval platoon at Chittagong in November 1971, while the Marine base PNS Haider was established at Chittagong. Two Fast Gunboats were obtained from Royal Saudi Navy, but PNS Sadaqat and PNS Rifaqat were never deployed in East Pakistan. Pakistan Army increased security at bridges, ferries and ports, setting up numerous bunkers and strong points near these installations.
The Naval Special Service Group fought back to protect its naval assets. A small teams of Pakistani Special Service Group Navy (SSGN) and Marines were established that took aggressive counter-measure to eliminate the threat. Naval SSGNs, under Commander David Felix, were ordered to kill Bengali commando leaders. While the SSGNs were successful in killing a number of Bengali guerrillas, they failed to protect naval assets in East Pakistan waters, which was the main objective of Operation Jackpot.
Assessment
A graphical representation of Bengali Naval Commando activities against Shipping in East Pakistan in 1971. A generic representation, not all geographic features are shown.
Not all Naval commando missions met with success. Tightened security prevented any operations in Chittagong after the first week of October, while four attempts to damage the Hardinge Bridge failed.Some Commando teams were ambushed and prevented from reaching their objectives. Misfortune and miscalculation caused some missions to fail.Security measures prevented any sabotage attempts on the oil depots at Narayanganj, Bogra, Faridpur and Chittagong, and Mukti Bahini managed to damage the oil depots at Chittagong and Naryanganj using an Alouette Helicopters and a Twin Otter plane in December 2, 1971.
In total, 515 commandos received training at C2P. Eight commandos were killed, 34 wounded and 15 captured during August–December 1971. Naval commandos managed to sink or damage 126 ships/coasters/ferries during that time span, while one source confirms at least 65 vessels of various types (15 Pakistani ships, 11 coasters, 7 gunboats, 11 barges, 2 tankers and 19 river craft by November 1971).had been sunk between August–November 1971. At least 100,000 tons of shipping was sunk or crippled, jetties and wharves were disabled and channels blocked, and the commandos kept East Pakistan in a state of siege without having a single vessel.The operational capability of Pakistan Navy was reduced as a result of Operation Jackpot.
Operation Hotpants
After the operation of August 16, all commandos returned to India. After this no pre-planned simultaneous operation was launched by the Naval Commandos. Instead, some groups were sent to destroy specific targets, and other commandos began to hit targets as opportunity presented itself.
Major Jalil, Commander of Mukti bahini Sector No. 9 had obtained permission from Premier Tajuddin Ahmed to form a naval unit in August and had requested four gunboats to Commander M. N. Samanth. In October 1971 Kolkata Port Trust donated two patrol crafts (Ajay and Akshay) to Mukti Bahini. The boats underwent a month-long refitting at Khidirpur dockyard at the cost of 3.8 million Indian Rupees[58] to carry two Canadian 40X60 mm Bofors guns and two light engines and eight ground mines, four on each side of the deck in addition to 11 ground mines. Renamed BNS Padma and Palash, the boats were crewed by 44 Bengali sailors and 12 Naval commandos, the boats were officered by India Navy personnel and handed over to Mukti Bahini on October 30, 1971. Bangladesh Government in Exile State Minister Captain Kamruzzaman was present when the boats were commissioned by Kolkata Port Trust Chairman Mr. P. K. Sen. Lt. Commander KP Roy and K. Mitra on Indian Navy commanded the boats. The mission for Bangladesh Navy flotilla was:
Indian Army IV corps operation (November 21, 1971)
Final Indian Army operational plan in November 1971. A generic representation, some unit locations are not shown. Indian IV Corps operation may have been known as "Operation Jackpot".
The plan of operation for the Indian Army IV corps (8 Mountain Div., 23 Mountain Div., 57 Mountain Div. and "Kilo Force") may have been codenamed "Operation Jackpot". The opposition forces included the Pakistani 14th Infantry division defending Sylhet, Maulaviabazar and Akhaura, the 39th ad hoc division in Comilla,Laksham and Feni and the 97th independent infantry brigade stationed in Chittagong. Indian army had seized salients in the Eastern border from November 21, 1971. After Pakistan launched air attacks on India on December 3, the Indian army crossed the border into Bangladesh. By the end of the war on December 16, 1971, the Indian army had isolated and surrounded the remnants of the 14th division in Sylhet and Bhairabbazar, the 39th division was cornered in Comilla and Chittagong, with all other areas of Sylhet, Comilla, Noakhali and Chittagong clear of enemy forces. Part of the corps had crossed the Meghna river using the "Meghna Heli Bridge" and using local boats to drive towards Dhaka when the Pakistani army surrendered.
International news and medias:
The news of the operation were broadcasted on 15th August 1971 night through Voice of America,BBC,Akashbani and many other world-famous news medias. The news medias reported that on 15th August,1971 Bangladeshi Naval commandos or East Pakistani Infiltrators destroyed 27 Foreign Ships at Mongla,Chittagong,Narayanganj and Chandpur ports .This operation has been evaluated by the Military experts of the World as one of the thrilling and famous naval commando operation of the World.
Naval Commandos killed or became Shahid in Operation Jackpot were:
Mr. A.W. Chowdhury- Bir Uttam,Mr. Badiul Alam- Bir Uttam,Dr. Shah
@HRK Source : References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Jackpot
http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Operation_Jackpot
https://defence.pk/threads/banglade...ions-in-the-1971-war-operation-jackpot.18158/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24835986-operation-jackpot
https://www.facebook.com/Operation-Jackpot1971-1440132286268622/photos#
The outcome of this particular operation was very significant.
Firstly,it busted the myth of "East Pakistan was under control".The world came to know more about the situation in East Pakistan.
Secondly,it deprived Pakistan army off valuable logistical support.With air-drop option already cut down by India,it was a major set back for the occupying Pakistani troops.
Thirdly,it certainly boosted the morale of Freedom fighters who were already high on spirit and patriotism.If the war from March 26th to August was won by Pakistani army,it can certainly be said that this operation turned the tide.
Prologue
Bangladesh naval commando operation actually originated at Toulon, a coastal city of Southern France. In 1971, there were 11 naval crews of East Pakistan who were receiving training in a Pakistani submarine. Among them, only one commissioned officer (Mosharraf Hassain) and 8 crews decided to take the submarine and to fight against Pakistani. However, their plan was disclosed and they had to ran away under severe death threats from Pakistani intelligence. Out of these 9 crews, one were killed by Pakistani Intelligence and rest of the 8 managed to travel to Indian Embassy in Geneva, Switzerland. From Geneva, Indian Embassy took them to New Delhi on the 9th of April at 9:30 a.m. and set up a top secret naval training for them.
Planning
At the conclusion of Operation Searchlight, the Pakistani Army had driven the Mukti Bahini into India, where they entered a period of reorganization during June and July 1971 to train guerrillas, set up networks and safe houses in the occupied territories to run the insurgency and rebuild the conventional forces. As the pace of military operations in East Pakistan slacked off, the civilian morale was adversely affected, which prompted Pakistani authorities to claim that the situation had returned to "normal".
In response to this declaration, the Mukti Bahini launched 2 operations:
1) Guerrilla attacks in targets in Dhaka by a crack commando group trained by Major ATM Haider (ex-SSG commando).
2) the simultaneous mining and damaging of ships in Chittagong, Chandpur, Mongla and Narayanganj on the 15th of August, which became known in Bangladesh and international media as "Operation Jackpot".Now among naval commandos included Bengali sailors who defected from Pakistan navy and off course the civilians.From students to workers to farmers.
Preparation
Indian commander Bhattachariya, major Jalil and Colonel M.A.G. Osmani in collaboration with top regional commanders established the secret camp codenamed C2P in Plassy, West Bengal on May 23, to train volunteers selected from various Mukti Bahini sectors (Bangladesh was divided in 10 operational sectors for Mukti Bahini operations) for this purpose. Initially 300 volunteers were chosen, ultimately 499 commandos were trained in the camp. The course included swimming, survival training, using limpet mines, hand to hand combat and navigation. By August 1971, the first batch of commandos were ready for operation.
Mosharraf Hossain,who was probably a Commodore in the Independent Bangladesh Navy later on.It nice listening to the details of the operation from him.I am just writing down some details,hope my memory doesn't betray me.
The operation was an extremely dangerous one,actually it was a "suicide mission".How often one see such a large suicide squad,except may be for the Japanese in WW2.
It was suicidal,as they had to attach limpet mines to their body and swim to the ships.Then there was the threat of triggering alarm and then get caught.Which meant certain death by torture.
Every naval commando had accepted that this was a suicidal mission,yet they decided to volunteer.
He mentions one particular case,where he even had to make one freedom fighter learn to swim and then given commando training.When asked,he said,"He was at the war longer than me,I was at France,but he was there from the word go".
Navy in Chittagong, Mongla ,Chandpur and Naryanganj on August 15,1971 is known as operation Jackpot. During liberation war of Bangladesh,the whole Bangladesh was divided in following sectors to conduct different operations:
- Alpha (HQ: Murti Camp, West Bengal, C.O. Brig. B. C. Joshi—serving Mukti Bahini Sector No. 6).
- Bravo (HQ: Rajgaunj, West Bengal, C.O. Brig. Prem Singh—handling logistics for Mukti Bahini Sector No. 7).
- Charlie (HQ: Chakulia, Bihar, C.O. Brig. N. A. Salik, giving logistical support to Sectors No. 8 and 9).
- Delta (HQ: Devta Mura, Tripura, C.O. Brig. Sabeg Singh, supporting Sectors No. 1, 2 and 3).
- Echo (HQ: Masimpur, Assam, C.O. Brig. M. B. Wadh, coordinating logistics for Mukti Bahini Sectors No. 4 and 5).
- Foxtrot, (HQ: Tura, Meghalaya, C.O. Brig. Sant Singh, supplying Sector No. 11).
Initial Planing and training:
The Bangladesh naval commando operation that was called “Operation Jackpot” was precipitated by events in Toulon, a coastal city of southern France. The operation was planned to take on Naval Special Service Group of Pakistan Navy, after it had conducted several other operations. 9 crewmen decided to take control of the submarine PNS MANGRO(First commissioned on 5th August 1970) and to fight against Pakistan. Their plan was disclosed, however, causing them to flee from death threats made by Pakistan’s Naval Intelligence. Out of the 9 crewmen, one was killed by Pakistan Naval Intelligence, but the others managed to travel to the Indian Embassy in Geneva, Switzerland. From Geneva, embassy officials brought them to New Delhi on April 9, 1971,where they began a program of top-secret navaltraining.The initial training of these 8 submariner were in Delhi under commander Sharma and *** chief Brd. Gupta, from April 25 to May 15,1971 . Indian Commander Bhattachariya, Major Jalil and Colonel M. A. G. Osmani in collaboration with top regional commanders established the secret camp, codenamed C2P, in Plassey, West Bengal on May 23,1971 to train volunteers selected from various Mukti Bahini sectors (Bangladesh was divided in 10 operational sectors for Mukti Bahini operations) for this purpose. Initially 300 volunteers were chosen, ultimately 500 volunteers were trained in the camp.The Camp Commander at C2P was Commander M. N. Samanth,MVC, Training Coordinator was Lt. Commander G. Martis,VrC,NM both from the Indian Navy, among other 20 Indian Navy instructors were 1.Lt.V.P.Kapil,VrC,2.Lt.S.Das,VSM,3.Leading seaman C.Singh,MVC,4.Leading seaman M.K.Gupta,NM,5.Leading seaman K.Singh,NM, 6.Marathi Combat Trainer Nanabuz . Among Bangladeshi 8 Bengali submariner trainers were Chief Patty Officer,Rahamatullah,BP, Radio Operator A.W.Chowdhury,BU, Submariner Md.Badiul Alam,BU, Submariner A.U.Sheikh,B.U. Patty Officer Moshraf Hossain ,B.U(his award was later revoked by Bangladesh Govt), Submariner Abedur Rahman,Bir Uttam,Submariner Ahsanullah and Submariner A.Raquib Miah.India and Bangladesh Military high command gave an extra importance to the Naval Commando Operation. Special care were taken on training. The naval commandos received the best food and military rations compared to the other Mukti Bahini.They were given extra allowances shared same medical facilities as the Indian Navy.The naval commando training camp was often inspected by Chief of Indian Naval Staff Admiral Nanda, Commander of Armed Forces of Bangladesh Col.M.A.G.Osmani and Commander of Eastern Theater Lt.Gen.G.S.Aurora. During these inspections, officers personally talked with trainee commandos and asked about their training development and discussed their personal and social problems .In a discussion on 15th June, 1971 at Plassey with trainee commandos, Admiral Nanda said that
“Our aim is not only to destroy the ships in ports but also create an international opinion that foreign ships are not secured in East-Pakistan sea port, so once we are successful in our operation, foreign countries will not send their ships and supply to East Pakistan ports”.
He added further that “The second target was to destroy ships as well to cut the cable by which ships are berthed with anchorage post. If the cables are demolished in the mined ships, then the power of the tide shall push the ship to sink horizontally in a port and if few ships sink in a port horizontally ,then the ports will be damaged for years together”.
Due to this particular instruction of Admiral Nanda, necessary training were given to the commandos as to how to put a cable cutting charge on a berthed ship. The instructors made it very clear to the trainees that ships are to be mined as well as the cables should be demolished along with the ships.
The training program was almost 15 to 18 hours daily . The course included swimming, night swimming, survival training, under water demolition, night demolition, object demolition training with strong foundation like bridge or big building, using limpet mines on ship like objects, hand to hand combat etc. During training commandos were divided into 8 Grades according to their training results. The best commandos were in Grade A and as per the training result they were posted till Grade H. The training of the first batch was completed by mid July 1971.The commandos were selected for operation not only based on their results but also on their origin of home district. Information on river tides, weather and East Pakistan naval infrastructure and deployment was collected through the Indian Military report and Mukti Bahini. Selected commandos were sent from C2P to diffrent sectors for operation.
Operation:
Mukti Bahini in Sector No. 1 assisted the group going to Chittagong, Sector No. 2 aided the groups going to Chandpur and Narayanganj and Sector No. 9 assisted the group targeting Mongla. Naval commandos groups were mostly assisted by the Land Commandos and were equipped with all kinds of arms and ammunition to protect them,beside these each naval commando received 1 limpet mine, a pair of fins and a knife.Each mini group leaders received cable cutting explosives to put on cable of a mined ship. The Port commanders and 2nd in command of the port carried 1 transistor radio each.They were instructed not to attack any military target of Pakistan Army during their journey to respective port rather to do the operations in particular port safely.They were further ordered not to involve in any kind of activities which might hamper the targeted operation. All the groups carried their own equipment to their targets with the help of land commandos or Mukti Bahini and after entering Bangladesh within in 1st August,1971 ,and reached their destinations by August 12,1971 .It was briefed to each port commander that the high command of both countries have decided to transmit operation signal through Calcutta radio center B and these operation signal will be two songs.One will be warning song and other will be action song.Action song will be played with in 48 hours of playing the warningsong.The first song means warning song was AMAR PUTUL LOKKHI PUTULAJKE PROTHOM JABE SHOSHUR BARI,it is a children song,voiced by Alpona Bandhopaddhay and second song was AMI SUNIE CHELEM TOMAI JE GAN,it is a Tagore song,voiced by Ponkoj Mallick.Itwas briefed to all Port commanders that these two song will be played from Calcutta Radio Center B from Morning 6 AM to 6.30 AM and/or evening 10-30PM to 11 .00 PM in special program for eastern listeners. 0n 13th August the warning song were played twice and on 14th Aug,71 action were played twice either.
Strength of Each Port and Commanders of Ports and the result of operation:
- Chittagong: Radio Operator A.W.Chowdhury led 60 commandos were divided into 3 groups of 20 each, but one group failed to arrive due to Pakistani security on time. Out of 40 commandos, 9 refused to take part, while 31 commandos mined 10 ships instead of 22 initially planned on August 15th,1971, Between 1:45 and 2:15 am, explosions sank the MV Al-Abbas, the MV Hormuz and the Orient barge no. 6, sinking 19,000 tons of arms and ammunition along with damaging/sinking 7 other barges/ships.
- Mongla:Naval Commando Aminur Rahman Khosru led 260 commandos to Mongla port .260 commandos started their jouney from Port Canning Matler,India on 27th July,1971 and arrived on Mongla on 13th August,1971.On 15th August,71 they started from Dhangmari Zaminder House to Mongla port at 00.01 a.m.Last time to mine the ships in Mongla port was briefed by high command was 2.00 A.M . Due to the mistake of Navigator Mr.Afzal, commandos arrived at Mongla at 4.00 A.M .For this reason coomandos were unable to attack all 14 ships berthed at Mongla port.It was quickly decided by the commander Aminur Rahman,Khosru that only six ships will be mined.As a matter of fact 24 Naval Commandos could take part in this Operation.They were divided in 6 mini groups and each mini group had a group leader with the objective to mine 6 ships from the Bania Santa Side.The operation started at 4.30 A.M. and 24 naval commandos mined 6 ships sucessfully.Six Ships were fully destroyed .Among them 1 US,2 Japanese, 1 Chinese,1 Somalian 7000 ton Ship and 1 Pakistani 5000 ton Ship.The commander of the operation Aminur Rahman,Khosru along with two other commandos crossed the security barier of Mongla port and destroyed the Somalian ship 7000 Ton ship SS Lightning in this operation.
- Chandpur: Submariner Badiul Alam led 20 commandos were sent to mine ships at Chandpur. Two commandos ultimately refused to take part, the other 18 divided into 6 groups and mined 4 ships. 3 steamers/barges were sunk.
- Narayanganj:Submariner Abedur Rahman led 20 commandos to Narayanganj operation. 4 ships were sunk .
Pakistan Navy had taken measures to safeguard East Pakistan naval assets since March 25, 1971. Pakistan Marine battalion under Captain Zamir deployed 3 Naval Marine companies and a Naval platoon at Chittagong in November 1971, while the Marine base PNS Haider was established at Chittagong. Two Fast Gunboats were obtained from Royal Saudi Navy, but PNS Sadaqat and PNS Rifaqat were never deployed in East Pakistan. Pakistan Army increased security at bridges, ferries and ports, setting up numerous bunkers and strong points near these installations.
The Naval Special Service Group fought back to protect its naval assets. A small teams of Pakistani Special Service Group Navy (SSGN) and Marines were established that took aggressive counter-measure to eliminate the threat. Naval SSGNs, under Commander David Felix, were ordered to kill Bengali commando leaders. While the SSGNs were successful in killing a number of Bengali guerrillas, they failed to protect naval assets in East Pakistan waters, which was the main objective of Operation Jackpot.
Assessment
A graphical representation of Bengali Naval Commando activities against Shipping in East Pakistan in 1971. A generic representation, not all geographic features are shown.
Not all Naval commando missions met with success. Tightened security prevented any operations in Chittagong after the first week of October, while four attempts to damage the Hardinge Bridge failed.Some Commando teams were ambushed and prevented from reaching their objectives. Misfortune and miscalculation caused some missions to fail.Security measures prevented any sabotage attempts on the oil depots at Narayanganj, Bogra, Faridpur and Chittagong, and Mukti Bahini managed to damage the oil depots at Chittagong and Naryanganj using an Alouette Helicopters and a Twin Otter plane in December 2, 1971.
In total, 515 commandos received training at C2P. Eight commandos were killed, 34 wounded and 15 captured during August–December 1971. Naval commandos managed to sink or damage 126 ships/coasters/ferries during that time span, while one source confirms at least 65 vessels of various types (15 Pakistani ships, 11 coasters, 7 gunboats, 11 barges, 2 tankers and 19 river craft by November 1971).had been sunk between August–November 1971. At least 100,000 tons of shipping was sunk or crippled, jetties and wharves were disabled and channels blocked, and the commandos kept East Pakistan in a state of siege without having a single vessel.The operational capability of Pakistan Navy was reduced as a result of Operation Jackpot.
Operation Hotpants
After the operation of August 16, all commandos returned to India. After this no pre-planned simultaneous operation was launched by the Naval Commandos. Instead, some groups were sent to destroy specific targets, and other commandos began to hit targets as opportunity presented itself.
Major Jalil, Commander of Mukti bahini Sector No. 9 had obtained permission from Premier Tajuddin Ahmed to form a naval unit in August and had requested four gunboats to Commander M. N. Samanth. In October 1971 Kolkata Port Trust donated two patrol crafts (Ajay and Akshay) to Mukti Bahini. The boats underwent a month-long refitting at Khidirpur dockyard at the cost of 3.8 million Indian Rupees[58] to carry two Canadian 40X60 mm Bofors guns and two light engines and eight ground mines, four on each side of the deck in addition to 11 ground mines. Renamed BNS Padma and Palash, the boats were crewed by 44 Bengali sailors and 12 Naval commandos, the boats were officered by India Navy personnel and handed over to Mukti Bahini on October 30, 1971. Bangladesh Government in Exile State Minister Captain Kamruzzaman was present when the boats were commissioned by Kolkata Port Trust Chairman Mr. P. K. Sen. Lt. Commander KP Roy and K. Mitra on Indian Navy commanded the boats. The mission for Bangladesh Navy flotilla was:
- Mine the Chalna port entry point
- Attack Pakistani shipping
Indian Army IV corps operation (November 21, 1971)
Final Indian Army operational plan in November 1971. A generic representation, some unit locations are not shown. Indian IV Corps operation may have been known as "Operation Jackpot".
The plan of operation for the Indian Army IV corps (8 Mountain Div., 23 Mountain Div., 57 Mountain Div. and "Kilo Force") may have been codenamed "Operation Jackpot". The opposition forces included the Pakistani 14th Infantry division defending Sylhet, Maulaviabazar and Akhaura, the 39th ad hoc division in Comilla,Laksham and Feni and the 97th independent infantry brigade stationed in Chittagong. Indian army had seized salients in the Eastern border from November 21, 1971. After Pakistan launched air attacks on India on December 3, the Indian army crossed the border into Bangladesh. By the end of the war on December 16, 1971, the Indian army had isolated and surrounded the remnants of the 14th division in Sylhet and Bhairabbazar, the 39th division was cornered in Comilla and Chittagong, with all other areas of Sylhet, Comilla, Noakhali and Chittagong clear of enemy forces. Part of the corps had crossed the Meghna river using the "Meghna Heli Bridge" and using local boats to drive towards Dhaka when the Pakistani army surrendered.
International news and medias:
The news of the operation were broadcasted on 15th August 1971 night through Voice of America,BBC,Akashbani and many other world-famous news medias. The news medias reported that on 15th August,1971 Bangladeshi Naval commandos or East Pakistani Infiltrators destroyed 27 Foreign Ships at Mongla,Chittagong,Narayanganj and Chandpur ports .This operation has been evaluated by the Military experts of the World as one of the thrilling and famous naval commando operation of the World.
Naval Commandos killed or became Shahid in Operation Jackpot were:
- Commando Abdur Raquib, who was killed during the Foolchhori Ghat Operation
- Commando Hossain Farid, who was executed during the second Chittagong operation. He was captured by Pakistani army, who tortured him to death by placing him inside a manhole and bending his body until his vertebral column was shattered.
- Commando Khabiruzzaman, who was killed in second operation in Faridpur
- Commando Sirajul Islam, M. Aziz, Aftab Uddin, and Rafiqul Islam were caught by Razakars near Budhata,Sathkhira and were killed after brutal torture.
Mr. A.W. Chowdhury- Bir Uttam,Mr. Badiul Alam- Bir Uttam,Dr. Shah
@HRK Source : References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Jackpot
http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Operation_Jackpot
https://defence.pk/threads/banglade...ions-in-the-1971-war-operation-jackpot.18158/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24835986-operation-jackpot
https://www.facebook.com/Operation-Jackpot1971-1440132286268622/photos#
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