Senior Tigers
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2017) |
| 1st East Bengal Regiment | |
|---|---|
 East Bengal Regimental Flag Unit Monogram | |
| Active | 15 February 1948 – present |
| Country |  Bangladesh |
| Branch |  Bangladesh Army |
| Type | Infantry Battalion |
| Size | Regular Infantry Battalion |
| Part of | 10th Infantry Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Ramu Cantonment |
| Nickname(s) | Senior Tigers |
1st East Bengal Regiment or 1st Bengal also known by its nickname The Senior Tigers of Bangladesh Army.[1]
History
1st East Bengal Regiment is the oldest battalion of the
The unit took part in the 1965 Pakistan - India war, the war of 1967, the 1971 liberation war of Bangladesh,[2] the 1990 Kuwait war and has served in various peacekeeping roles. The unit is a proud recipient of red piping — a decoration for their gallant contribution in the liberation war of Bangladesh.
It includes a Bir Shreshtho (The highest gallantry award of Bangladesh) amongst its numbers and many other gallantry award recipients. The raising day of the unit, 15 February, is also known as 'Tigers Day' in the Bangladesh Army.
Commanders
The regiment was raised and commanded by senior most Bengali Commander Major Abdul Waheed Choudhury.[3] Officer Commanding O.C. of the Senior Tigers was a WWll veteran and late of the British Indian Army and Pakistan Army. The unit has been commanded by some of the most renowned officers of the Bangladeshi Army. It is also unique in that it has been headed by an Air force Officer for a very brief period during the war of liberation in 1971. The Commander-in-Chief of the Bangladeshi Forces during the liberation war, General M A G Osmani, was the commanding officer (CO) in 1950 at Jessore. Colonel A T K Haq, Major General Sadeque, Major General A M Abdul Wadud BP, Brigadier General Hossain Mohd Sadeq, Brigadier General Shah Md Sultan Uddin Iqbal Bir Protik, Major General Ehteshamul Haque, Colonel Mohabbat have all left their mark on the unit. In addition, Major General Quazi Golam Dastgir, KAAO, psc was commissioned in the First Bengal Regiment and as a Lieutenant Colonel served as the Commanding Officer from 1969 to 1970 while the battalion was posted in Jessore.[5]
Deployment
The unit has probably served in all the divisional formations of the Bangladesh Army. At present it is in the Order of Battle (ORBAT) of the 10th Infantry Division. The unit's former CO General Dastgir served as the Ambassador of Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War and was instrumental in the selection of the Senior Tigers as Bangladesh's contingent under the United Nations command during Operation Desert Storm—and this pioneered the way for Bangladeshi troops participating in future UN forces. The unit had been reorganized temporarily to serve the UN Mission as BANBAT 17 (Bangladeshi Battalion 17). The previous CO of 1st Bengal, Lt Col Shakil, had been transferred to SI&T while Lt Col Motlub Ahmed, afwc, psc had taken command of BANBAT 17. The Battalion was also commanded by Lt Col Salahuddin Khaled whose father was also the CO of the same Battalion. Lt Col Azaher Uddin Ahammed, psc being the 51st CO of the traditional Battalion has left his distinct footprint, when the unit made significant leap forward in various fields of professionalism through a renovation program. Lt Col Mohammad Saiful Islam, psc being the 54th CO re-established the culture of connectivity and cohesion among the men, trust and open communication, learning and professional development. All these efforts resulted a highly motivated and tightly knit battalion. Under his dynamic command Senior Tigers completed the responsibility of Interim Response Force at Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant with excellence. Currently the battalion is being commanded by Lt Col Golam Kibria Khondokar, psc.
The unit was deployed to Liberia for its UN mission. Its first flight landed on 17 April, its arrival in Liberia was complete on 4 May 2009. The unit, after completing its tour of duty in Liberia, returned to Bangladesh and reorganized as a regular infantry battalion under the ORBAT of 9 Infantry Division. The battalion left a remarkable footprint at Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant construction site during 2021-2022. Presently the Battalion is under ORBAT of 10 Infantry Division.
References
- ^ Maung Kyaw Sein (20 May 2011). "Remembering a Tiger's Last Journey". Star Weekend Magazine. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
- ^ a b "Military". Banglapedia. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
- ^ a b Huq, Mohammed Abdul. "Loraku Bengali Major A W Chowdhury". DalyNayadiganta. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ^ Khan, Waqar (19 April 2021). "The myth of martial race: Seared into a schoolboy's memory!". Thedailystar. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ "Home". dastgir.net.
Further reading
- The Detective. Vol. 10. Dacca: East Pakistan Police Co-operative Society. 1965. p. 197 [1]
- The Pakistan Review. Vol. 15. 1967. p. 42 [2]
- Pakistan News Digest. Vol. 15. 1967. Principal Information Officer, Press Information Department [3]
- The Tempest. Vol. 3. 1968. Tempest House. p. 82 [4]
- Siddiqi, Abdul Rhman (1986). "Bangladesh – The Military Factor". Defence Journal. 12 (4): 3–11.
- Defence Journal. Vol. 11. 2007. Karachi. p. 79 [5]
- Kaul, Brij Mohan (1971). Confrontation with Pakistan. Delhi: Vikas Publications. p. 87. OCLC 212001.
- Musa, Mohammed (1983). My version: India-Pakistan war, 1965. Lahore: Wajidalis. p. 55. OCLC 566331043.
- Siddiqi, Abdurrahman (1996). The Military in Pakistan: Image and Reality. Lahore: Vanguard Books. pp. 7–. ISBN 978-969-402-282-6.
- Wilkinson, Steven I. (2015). Army and Nation: The Military and Indian Democracy Since Independence. Harvard University Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-674-72880-6.
| Organization |  | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership | |||||||||
| History and wars |
| ||||||||
| War leaders | |||||||||
Decorations |
| ||||||||
| Personnel and equipment |
| ||||||||
