| Battle of Hilli | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 | |||||||||
 Major Niazi of 31 Punjab regiment surrendering to Lt Col V.R. Swaminathan of 22 Maratha Light infantry after the battle of Hilli/Bogra on 16 December 1971 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Maj. Gen. Lachhman Singh Lehl Brigadier Farhad Batti Lt. Col. Shamsher Singh Major Kazi Nuruzzaman |
 Brig. Gen. Tajammul Hussain Malik (POW) Brig. Gen. Mumtaz Malik | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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First Battle, 23–24 November
Second Battle, 10–11 December
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First and Second Battles
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| Strength | |||||||||
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Total |
Total | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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First Battle 196 Killed/wounded Second Battle 20 killed/wounded |
First Battle ~80 killed/wounded Second Battle 20 killed 3 POW 2 M24 Chaffees destroyed 3 105mm howitzers destroyed | ||||||||
The Battle of Hilli were a series of two major battles fought during the Bangladesh Liberation War on 22–24 November and 10–11 December 1971. They are generally regarded as the bloodiest battles of the eastern front of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The first battle saw, according to veterans of the battle, the fiercest fighting of the war, but the second was much tamer.
The Indian objective was to capture a network of Pakistani fortifications centred around the village of Hilli to allow for an advance on the town of Bogra.[5][6]
- ^ "Battle of Hilli". Banglore International Centre. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ "Liberation Of Bangladesh: War in Northwestern Sector". Indian Defence Review. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ "Battle of Hilli". Global Security.
- ^ "1971: Making Bangladesh a reality - II". Indian Defence review. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ Cardozo, Ian, ed. (2016). In Quest of Freedom : the War of 1971 - Personal Accounts by Soldiers from India and Bangladesh. London: Bloomsbury India. ISBN 978-93-86141-66-8. OCLC 958464642.
- ^ SNS (20 December 2023). "Army commemorates victory in Battle of Hilli". The Statesman. Retrieved 17 April 2024.