The Tangail Airdrop (11th December, 1971) was an airborne operation conducted by the Indian Army in order to seize Poongli Bridge and ferry in the Tangail area. The operation, involving 2 Para of the Indian Army's Parachute Regiment is often regarded as one of the largest - if not the largest - airborne operation following World War 2. The operation saw the capture of all objectives and the repulsion of the Pakistan Army's 93rd Infantry Brigade which was attempting to withdraw to Dhaka to bolster its defence.
Objective and Preparation
Objective
The objectives of 2 Para for the drop were simple:
Secure Poongli Bridge over the Lohajang River
Secure the ferry crossing point and the ferries on the East of the bridge
Intercept and prevent the Pakistani 93rd Infantry Brigade from withdrawing across the river Link up with 1 Maratha Light and push towards Dhaka
Reconnaissance
The Indian Army had realised the importance of Poongli Bridge and crossing the river there early on and had recognised that for any future offensives into Bangladesh, its capture was necessary. To this end, in November 1971 Captain F. K. Ghosh of the Parachute Regiment had been infiltrated into Bangladesh and then into the Tangail area through 11 Sector. His objective had been to link up with Mukti Bahini commander Kader Siddiqui in order to locate potential drop zones.
It was the intelligence gathered by Captain Ghosh that allowed the Indian Army to develop the plan required to capture the bridge and secure the advance towards Dhaka.
Orders of Battle
Indian Army
Though the entire 95th Mountain Brigade was advancing down towards Tangail, the battle would only be fought by the following:
2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (detached from F-J Sector Force, an ad hoc brigade size formation) 1st Battalion, Maratha Light Infantry
Pakistani Army
The 93rd Infantry Brigade, that had fought the advance of the 95th every step of the way, was also an ad hoc force. However, they were severely understrength at the time of the Tangail battle. The order of battle was thus:
33 Punjab
Understrength by 1 Company at the time of battle. 31 Baluch Destroyed during the Battle of Jamalpur, December 10th. Survivors surrendered to Indian forces. 70 Wing Rangers (Understrength, folded into 33 Punjab) 71 Wing Rangers (Understrength, folded into 33 Punjab) ~5,000 Razakars (Reduced to 600 at the time of battle, according to Pakistani sources)
The Operation: 11th/12th December, 1971
The Drop
The operation began in the afternoon of the 11th of December. By 1650hrs, the 750 men of 2 Para along with their pack howitzers and jeeps had landed successfully north of Tangail. However, 20 men had gotten lost during the drop. 19 of them would be dropped 24 kilometers north of the DZ. The 20th man, Paratrooper Mahadeo Curao, suffered a "hang up" during the drop and had to be dropped near Sara Airfield with his secondary parachute. Despite being wounded and alone, he evaded capture and linked up with a local Mukti Bahini unit, with whom he went on numerous raids to eliminate "Razakars" before rejoining his unit on January 2nd, 1972 - a full 33 days after the end of the war.
2 Para was dropped 9 kilometers north of Tangail. Near Kalihati (a town near Tangail), Brigadier Qadir (CO of 93rd Brigade) witnessed the drop and ordered a nearby company to engage the paratroopers while they were still regrouping. However, the company did not reach in time and the paratroopers had managed to regroup and organise themselves. Realising this, Brigadier Qadir ordered his brigade to begin preparations to attack the paratroopers.
By the evening, the paratroopers had crossed the 9km towards their objective - Poongli Bridge. Initial reconnaissance revealed that the bridge was lightly defended: only 2 Pakistani infantry platoons with a ragtag group of Razakars. Leaving "D" Company behind to cover their flanks, the rest of the battalion commenced their attack on the bridge. The lightly defended bridge, along with the ferry crossing point, would be overrun and captured by 2000hrs with Indian forces suffering no casualties. "D" Company now reinforced the positions at the bridge and 2 Para dug in to defend it.