Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw passes away

[DJ Sahastra]

One of the heroes of 1971 war, Former Army General of India and Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw passed away today.

May his soul rest in peace.

[Kabir]

Rip.

[Cash$$$]

RIP you brave soldier.

[Zobair]

Rip

[ialbd]

Rip

[MohammedC]

Rip

[Kana-Baba]

Rip

[thebest]

RIP and we should declare a day of mourning

[Rabz]

RIP.

Your contributions will always be remembered.

Dead or alive, you will always be a part of our history.

[oracle]

http://www.newagebd.com/front.html#7

RIP and thank you. Does Bangladesh have one? or was there ever any field marshalls in BD. I know Pakistan had.

[BANFAN]

RIP. We never had a FM. General was the Highest Rank. We needed more than one general/Army to have a FM. FM commands an Army group in the war.

In 71 we were not even a Army group in real sense. So, they couldn't take it above a Gen.

[Sohel]

RIP.

Also, all the Indian soldiers who gave their lives alongside our own will not be forgotten, no matter what the intentions of some within the Indian Government were at the time.

Now let's have equitable trade relations, fair news reporting on Bangladesh, and NONE of the patronizing attitude towards one of India's best customers in terms of exports ...

[Zunaid]

He was a brave man.

From wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Manekshaw

During World War II, Manekshaw saw action in the Burma campaign on Sittang River as a Captain with the 4/12 Frontier Force Regiment ^[1] and has the rare distinction of being honoured for his bravery on the battle front itself. During World War II, he was leading a counter-offensive against the invading Japanese Army in Burma. During the course of the offensive he was hit by a burst of LMG bullets and was severely wounded in the stomach.[[1]] Major General D.T. Cowan spotted Manekshaw holding on to life and was aware of his valour in face of stiff resistance from the Japanese. Fearing the worst, Major General Cowan quickly pinned his own Military Cross ribbon on to Manekshaw saying, "A dead person cannot be awarded a Military Cross."Compton McKenzie (1951), Eastern Epic, Chatto & Windus, London, pp440-1 }}

[Pundit]

Osmani was a 2 star General - essentially a Brigadier (General).

[Nocturnal]

Rip

[Banglatiger84]

RIP

Wasnt he Parsee ?

[Zunaid]

Originally Posted by Pundit
Osmani was a 2 star General - essentially a Brigadier (General).

Osmani retired from the Pak Army in '67. During the liberation war he was made C-in-C of the Bangladesh Arned Forces and after liberation he was elevated to the rank of General of the Bangladesh Armed Forces with effect from Dec 16, 1971.

He remained the only 4-star General in the Bangladesh Army until General Mustafizur Rahman in 2000 (later demoted). Mooen U Ahmed is also a 4-star General (new rank for the post of Chief of Army Staff).

[Sohel]

A Brigadier is a 1 star General, a Major General is a 2 star General. My late father went through those.

AFAIK General Osmani, BU (RIP) retired a Colonel from the Paki Army. That's really impressive given the traditional glass ceiling and generally systematic discrimination against Bengali Officers in that Army.

The Mutiny after March 25th was an EASY decision for our soldiers.

[Zunaid]

Originally Posted by Sohel NR
A Brigadier is a 1 star General, a Major General is a 2 star General. My late father went through those.

AFAIK General Osmani, BU (RIP) retired a Colonel from the Paki Army. That's really impressive given the traditional glass ceiling and generally systematic discrimination against Bengali Officers in that Army.

The Mutiny after March 25th was an EASY decision for our soldiers.

Osmani retired as Lt Col. As high as any Bangali had gotten in that Army.

[Sohel]

Originally Posted by Zunaid
Osmani retired as Lt Col. As high as any Bangali had gotten in that Army.

I stand corrected Dr. Z. I heard about my late father being demoted to Captain -- for hitting a superior officer for making anti-Bengali comments, thinking he was Punjabi -- after being quickly promoted to Major after the Kashmir War .

He was reinstated as a Major just months before March 25, 1971.

[Pundit]

Originally Posted by Zunaid
Osmani retired from the Pak Army in '67. During the liberation war he was made C-in-C of the Bangladesh Arned Forces and after liberation he was elevated to the rank of General of the Bangladesh Armed Forces with effect from Dec 16, 1971.

He remained the only 4-star General in the Bangladesh Army until General Mustafizur Rahman in 2000 (later demoted). Mooen U Ahmed is also a 4-star General (new rank for the post of Chief of Army Staff).

That's right.

I hear the Soviet Army had 1 star Colonel Generals.

[thebest]

Are we the worst ungrateful nation of the world? Not a single word from our government. He was not an ordinary C-in-C of Indian Army. He was the C-in-C who helped us to win the war in nine monthes not nine years. I am disgusted by the attitude shown by media and government.

[Sohel]

Originally Posted by thebest
Are we the worst ungrateful nation of the world? Not a single word from our government. He was not an ordinary C-in-C of Indian Army. He was the C-in-C who helped us to win the war in nine monthes not nine years. I am disgusted by the attitude shown by media and government.

Agreed.

But the "9 years" was more like 1 to 2 more years max once you take actual battle reports and the Indo-Soviet blockade into account.

The Pakistanis were demoralized and isolated in the urban areas after suffering continuous defeats in our mostly inaccessible rural areas. They got sick and tired of sitting on the highways and being shot at, or being ambushed once their platoons patrolled the interior. The rainy season just finished them off. Most of the rural interior was functionally liberated and under the de facto control of Muktibahini. Commanders Taher, Jalil, Manzur and Quader Siddiqui even established open air camps inside the liberated, vast areas they commanded. My uncle Shahidullah Khan Badal and his fellow urban guerillas Alam, Khoka, Maya and others became increasingly visible in old Dhaka as time went on.

Finally with no reinforcements coming their way, they and their Islamo-Fascist allies focused on daily war crimes and atrocities before retreating back into their urban fortifications with a hostile population outside the gates. The Pakistanis would have had to out-perform the Red Army in Stalingrad to hold the line for 2 to 3 years.

The Indians, whatever the intent of some within their government may or may not have been at the time, helped save the lives of perhaps millions of our people by risking their own, and THAT deserves eternal respect.

Maybe we have paid back that debt by letting them exploit us economically and culturally by way of our trade policies with that nation, but that takes nothing away from all those who risked everything to battle aggression while the world of political Islam supported the aggressors in the name of our Lord.

I blame our morally corrupt leadership since day 1 more than the Indian Political-Industrial elite trying to take advantage of that fundamental flaw.

Anyway, here's a vid: -

[Zunaid]

From a PTI release.

The top leaders of Bangladesh earlier paid glowing tributes to the iconic Field Marshal, recalling his "signal contribution" to the country.
"The people and the government of Bangladesh will always recall with warm gratitude his signal contribution to our War of Liberation and his association with a glorious epoch in the history of Bangladesh's evolution," Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury said. Army chief General Moeen U Ahmed said the "successful leadership" of Manekshaw had helped Bangladesh achieve a quick victory in 1971.

[Sohel]

Originally Posted by Zunaid
From a PTI release.

The top leaders of Bangladesh earlier paid glowing tributes to the iconic Field Marshal, recalling his "signal contribution" to the country.
"The people and the government of Bangladesh will always recall with warm gratitude his signal contribution to our War of Liberation and his association with a glorious epoch in the history of Bangladesh's evolution," Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury said. Army chief General Moeen U Ahmed said the "successful leadership" of Manekshaw had helped Bangladesh achieve a quick victory in 1971.

Thanks for the dig Dr. Z. I guess we shouldn't expect more from a ruling class that murders, ignores and exploits its own heroes.