used to suspect, played an important role in that operation by using 83 mm Blendicide against that en mil dodge and the buildings. We fell back quickly within 45 minutes. Immediately after that our Morter opened up and started firing from Kalurghat. We came to a safety distance and observed the shells bursting more or the Kalurghat Bridge on en position and recaptured it. L/Nk Naib Ali became first Shahid of 8 E Bengal in that operation at Chittagong.
En tried his best to capture both Kalurghat and Madanaghat on 9" and 10" April 71 with more than a bn str but failed. On 11". PNS JAHANGIR and a regiment of field artillery started tremendous pounding from morning simultaneously on both the bridge. A Coy of 31 Punjab was pushing me frontally from the main rd ChittagongKaptai axis. It become very difficult to hold them anymore. I had to bring a pl?rom the depth, other side of the bridge, and put in front. It cannot be expressed the amount of fear we had because of the en by shelling. En pressed harder on the Kalurghat bridge and captured it. Capt. (now Capt) Shamsher mobin Chowdhury fighting gallantly got hit and caught by the Pakistanis.
I was told to hold my position for sometime till the main bulk of our force could withdraw at a safer distance. I was now alone holding Madanaghat Bridge with 2 coy str. At 1400 hrs en started pounding again from JAHANGIR tremendously this time around the bridge and on my defence. More than a coy on the other side of the bridge and less than a coy was on the en's side of the bridge towards Chittagong city. I got another brave civilian of that area named abdas on the other side of the bridge and told him not to leave the place until I came back. Once IK crossed the bridge and came to my forward line, the en attacked the position and covered the bridge by fire.
If I had allowed the en to come a little more ahead, we would not have ever crossed the river then. En arty was shelling on our rear now to block the withdrawal. Many thanks to god, a furious storm started and I thought it an opportunity and let my forward troop fall back by country boats through river making a long detour. After two hrs we could come on the other side of the river and joined my main defence without any casualty. It was not possible to remain this side of the river bank also, as the bridge was intact and the en shelling was still continuing, so I decided to withdraw and take an alternate defence at a suitable place few miles in the rear. Suddenly, I remembered Abbas and thought, probably the area was shattered by the en shelling and he must have left long ago. But still I felt deeply to have a look to that area along with Ex-Corporal Karim and my batman Sep Manik Mia of 17 Wing EPR. It was beyond our imagination to see the brave man still standing like a solid rock by the side of main road with his vehicle and waiting for us. He was with me throughout the liberation war in many risky places. He accepted that as best award.
I took another temporary defence at Noapara College, few miles away from Madanaghat, by the 1” night same day. En did not cross the bridge at night Next
