Bangladesh Army
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Official flag of Bangladesh Army |
Bangladesh Army, or
Bānglādesh Shenā Bāhini (
Bānglā: বাংলাদেশ সেনা বাহিনী) in
Bangla, is a branch of
Bangladesh Armed Forces.
It's current strength is estimated to be more than 200,000 personnel[
1] including about 50,000 LPR (early retired) who report directly to Army Head-Quarters. This seven-division army is modeled and organized along
British lines, similar to other armies on the
Indian subcontinent. However, it has adopted
U.S. Army tactical planning procedures, training management techniques and
noncommissioned officer educational systems. It is supported by
artillery, armored, and combat units. In times of war and crisis the Bangladesh Army can also be reinforced by the Bangladesh Rifles, Ansar, VDP, Police and other land forces numbering to 10,00,000 of trained personnel.
It is also eager to improve its peacekeeping operations capabilities and is working with the
U.S. Military in that area.
Formation
Bangladesh Army was formed during the
Bangladesh Liberation War of
1971. Initially, it consisted of Bengali soldiers and officers from the
East Bengal Regiment and other groups of the
Pakistan Army who joined the independence war. The newly formed army was organized into several brigades.
Z force, under Major
Ziaur Rahman, consisted of 1, 3 and 8
East Bengal Regiment.
S Force, under Major shafiullah, was created in October 1971 and consisted of 2 and 11 East Bengal. The
K Force, commanded by
Khaled Mosharraf was created with 4, 9 and 10 East Bengal.
Structure
The army is divided into the following corps:
* Infantry
* Special operations forces
* Artillery
* Engineers
* Signals
* Aviation
* Armored
* Services (Army Service Corps, Army Medical Corps, Ordnance Corps, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Corps)
Ranks
The rank structure of Bangladesh Army is modeled after the
British Army. The ranks of commissioned officers are (in increasing order)
*Second Lieutenant
*Lieutenant
*Captain
*Major
*Lieutenant Colonel
*Colonel
*Brigadier General
*Major General
*Lieutenant General
*General
*Field Marshal
Wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier (APC)
*
BTR-80 A russian made Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) is the Bangladesh's primary APC.
*
Fahd 240 Built by Egypt, Specially using for UNIKOM PSO mission in Iraq-Kuwait border.
Tracked Armored Fighting Vehicles (APC/IFV)
*
BTR-T Conversion of T-54/55 MBT's into armored fighting vehicles (AFV) by Bangladeshi Engineers. The Army converted 100 or so obsolete MBT's into modern highly protected
Heavy APC's and Self-propelled howitzers. Parts for the APC were acquired from Russia and assembled locally.
*
M113 This USA-Pakistan made APC in Bangladesh using the M113 for UN missions only on lease basis.
*
MT-LB The MT-LB is lightly armored APC's manufactured by Russia. Bangladesh Army has 20 MT-LB APC's.
*
YW-531 (Type 85) This Chinese APC consists of a single 12.7-mm heavy machine gun with the capacity of 10 passengers. Bangladesh has 50 of this APC's.
Light Battle Tanks
*
Type 62 Type 62 Light Battle Tank made by China capable of manoeuvring through the riverine, forest, and mountainous terrains. Bangladesh have 142 in total of this tank (42 Type62 LBT and 80 Type 59 II MBT's). Type 62 LBT's were later upgraded with a laser rangefinder and capability of protection against high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) projectile
Main Battle Tanks (MBT)
*
Type 54/55 A Russian Main Battle Tank, Currently They have been converted and upgraded to APC's, IFV's and SPH to keep them in service for many years to come. A couple of this type of tank was the donated from Saudi Arabia as Bangladesh deployed its troops their in the Gulf War as part of a broad international coalition effort against Saddam Hussein and his military forces.
*
Type 59 II Chinese licensed version of Russian Type 54A Main Battle Tank. Bangladesh Army bought 120 tanks from China including the Type 59 II MBT's till 1990.
*
Type 79 Upgrade of the common Type 69 MBT, developed by the Chinese. Now Bangladesh Army operates hundreds of Type 79 MBT's.
Towed Artillery
*M-53/1
*M-53/2
*Type 55
*Type 56
*Type 58
*Type 59
*Type 59
*Type 90
*ZPU-1
*ZPU-23
*
Type 90 This is the Chinese made 122 mm multiple launch rocket system. Is to be acquired by Bangladesh Army.
Self-Propelled Howitzers
*
PLZ-45 Maximum range of 45 Km. Its 155 mm laser-guided projectile has 90% hit probability. In Production at China, as required by Bangladesh Army.
When the sub-continent gained independence, India and Pakistan formed different states. Pakistan was divided into two sections, East Pakistan and West Pakistan. There were many cultural differences between these two divisions. In 1951, a rally took place in East Pakistan, against the establishment of Urdu as the national language. All the students involved were shot by the Pakistani military. Later, in 1970, elections took place in both divisions as to decide the future of the country. Awami league, a party in East Pakistan, won the majority of the votes in the eastern section, but were not allowed to take power. This ultimately led to a civil war in which about 1-3 million Bangladeshis were killed. Finally, after 9 months of bloody war, East Pakistan formed an independent state, known as Bangladesh on 16th December 1971.
Chittagong hill tracts
Bangladesh Army has been actively involved in
United Nations United Nation Peace Support Operation (UNPSO). During the
1991 First
Gulf War, Bangladesh Army sent a 2,193 member team to monitor peace in
Saudi Arabia and
Kuwait. Following that, Bangladesh Army participated in peace keeping activities in
Namibia,
Cambodia,
Somalia,
Uganda/
Rwanda,
Mozambique, former
Yugoslavia,
Liberia,
Haiti,
Tajikistan,
Western Sahara,
Sierra Leone,
Kosovo,
Georgia,
East Timor,
Congo,
Côte d'Ivoire and
Ethiopia. As of April
2006, Bangladesh had a total of nearly 9,500 troops committed to UN Peacekeeping operations around the world, the maximum of any nation in the world. The army was also involved in a military coup in 1975, when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed and
Martial law was established in the country.
*
Bangladesh Air Force*
Bangladesh Navy*
Official Website of Bangladesh Army*
Bangladesh Military Forces Website
