About Bangladesh Army

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Bangladesh Army website : http://www.army.mil.bd

History of Bangladesh Army: http://www.army.mil.bd/node/146

Ranks of Bangladesh Army: http://www.army.mil.bd/node/147

[Golam Kibria]

The Bangladesh Army (Bangla: বাংলাদেশ সেনা বাহিনী) is the land forces branch and the largest of the three uniformed service of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to provide necessary forces and capabilities in support of Bangladesh's security and defense strategies including defense of the nation's territorial integrity against external attack. Control and operations are administered by the Department of the Army of the Armed Forces Division. The civilian head is the Prime Minister, who by law also holds the defense ministry portfolio. In addition to its primary mission the Bangladesh Army is also constitutionally obligated to assist the civilian government during times of national emergency. This role is commonly referred to as “aid to civil administration”.

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Bangladesh Liberation War

During the night of 25 March a sudden, unprovoked and brutal crackdown codenamed Operation Searchlight was unleashed by Pakistani Armed Forces upon the local Bengali population in major cities of Dhaka, Chittagong, Comilla, Sylhet, Jessore, Rangpur, Syedpur, Rajshahi and numerous other localities. Hundreds of thousand innocent civilians as well as Bengali military, para-military and law-enforcement personnel were executed in cold blood by the Pakistani military with countless instances of arson, murder, rape, looting and massive human rights violation. Important facilities and buildings, religious institutions, hospitals, student dormitories were bombed and set ablaze. Surviving Bengali officers and NCOs organized revolts in military installations around the country and attacked arms depots, while many managed to defect with weapons and ammo. During late afternoon of 26 March, before departing Chittagong city then Major Ziaur Rahman managed to stop by the Kalurghat Radio Station in Chittagong, and by late evening read out the three line declaration of independence he wrote in Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's name that was transmitted throughout the day. On 27 March while being retransmitted the message was picked up by a Japanese ship in the Bay of Bengal area. 26 March became the official day the nation's independence struggle broke out, and thus became to be the national independence day and the nation was officially proclaimed as Bangladesh.


Arms and ammunition captured and confiscated from the military stations around the country are started being used in guerrilla operations. On 10 April under the leadership of (then) Colonel M A G Osmani in charge of Bangladesh Forces four sectors were formed. By mid-November most of the Pakistani forces at different strategic points all over occupied Bangladesh were severely weakened and demoralized due to constant guerrilla attacks, hostile local population, difficult terrain and overall sheer incompetence of the rank and file. On 21 November 1971, vehemently opposed by Colonel Osmani and without the consent and knowledge of the front line field commanders, the Bangladesh government, handed over the full command and authority of all Bangladeshi Armed Forces and their operations to the Indian armed forces, reasons and intent still unpublished to this day. After Pakistan's desperate and futile last-ditch attack on India's western front on 3 December an all out war finally broke out between India and Pakistan. Following a few skirmishes, on 16 December 1971, the already weakened and demoralized Pakistani Armed Forces readily surrendered en masse to the joint Bangladeshi-Indian Military command.

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Contribution to UN Peacekeeping Operations
Bangladesh Army personnel unloading boxes of food to a waiting CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter from the US 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit at a Barisal airfield.
Non-lethal weapons training.
Main article: Bangladesh UN Peacekeeping Force

The Bangladesh Army has been actively involved in a number of United Nations Peace Support Operations (UNPSO) since its formation in the 1970s. Its first deployments came in 1988, when it participated in two operations – UNIIMOG in Iraq and UNTAG in Namibia[2] President HM Ershad initiated these deployments for the first time, starting with the contribution to UNIIMOG in Iraq.

Later, as part of the UNIKOM force deployed to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia following the Gulf War the Bangladesh Army sent a mechanized infantry battalion (approx. 2,193 personnel). Since then, the Bangladesh Army has been involved in up to thirty different UNPKOs in as many as twenty five countries. This has included activities in Angola, Namibia, Cambodia, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Uganda, Rwanda, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Mozambique, former Yugoslavia, Liberia, Haiti, Tajikistan, Western Sahara, Sierra Leone, Kosovo, Georgia, East Timor, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire and Ethiopia.

As a result of its contributions to various UN peacekeeping operations, up to 88 Bangladesh soldiers have lost their lives (as of February 2009). However, the performance of Bangladesh's contingents has been described as being of the "highest order" and the appointment of several senior Bangladesh military officers as the Commander of UN peacekeeping missions and Senior Military Liaison Officers, may be seen as further recognition of the Bangladesh Army's growing esteem in the peacekeeping community.

In January 2004, BBC described the Bangladeshi UN Force as "The Cream of UN Peacekeepers".Bangladesh Armed Forces participated in the Gulf war with finest cause of war of liberation of a sovereign nation; the state of Kuwait in 1991 alongside other multinational forces. Iraq invaded Kuwait, a sovereign and independent state in the year 1990. Bangladesh, being a peace loving member of UN and having respect for the sovereignty of all nations. Bangladesh Army was deployed during Operation Desert Storm under Allied Command to defend Kuwait. That was the beginning of Bangladesh Army's involvement in the Gulf Region. Kuwait was liberated on 26 February 1991. However, as the dawn of liberation smiled on Kuwait, closely followed the realization that every inch of its soil remained littered with lethal mines and bombs. Bangladesh came forward in rebuilding Kuwait alongside other countries. Bangladesh Army undertook the challenging task to clearing Kuwait braving all odds and adversaries. In the passage of time, military support and cooperation merely for their agreed formally to bring a contingent if Engineers from Bangladesh Army to undertake the challenging task of reconstruction of the war-devastated Kuwait; under the operational code name "Operation Kuwait Punargathan (OKP)" in English "Operation Rebuilding Kuwait (ORK)". Soldiers undertook the mammoth task of clearing the deadly mines and bombs scattered all over Kuwait. The reputation and the confidence that Bangladeshi soldiers built through their performance paved the way for more Bangladeshi troops to Kuwait. Since the year 1991, Bangladesh Military Contingent(BMC) was working under two different protocols named OKP Protocol and Skilled Technical Men for Kuwait(STMK)Protocol. On 2 May 2004, these two protocols were merged into a single protocol under which the Bangladesh Military Contingent is Presently operating.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Army