Tankman (Hindi Translation of The Burning Chaffees) (Hindi Edition)

Declared non-combatants until 1947 and denied entry into the Indian Army as combatants, the Other Indian Classics (OIC) were part of C Squadron of the cavalry. Equipped with the ambitious PT-76 amphibious tanks, they were ordered to cross the Kabodak River near the crucial Boyra area to counter the threat from East Pakistan. On November 21, 1971, the Pakistani Armys elite, who boasted that one Pakistani soldier was equivalent to three Indian soldiers, faced a tank-versus-tank battle at Garibpur. In a single blow, three (separate) armored squadrons of fourteen American M-24 Chaffee tanks were completely destroyed, and two infantry battalions were badly mauled. For the loss of two PT-76 tanks, three Sabre F-86 jets were shot down. The biggest offensive planned by General AAK Niazi to teach the Indians and the Mukti Bahini a lesson was a failure. The 45th Cavalry had written a new chapter in Indian history.Fought over a 300- to 700-meter area, the battle set a remarkable example of the complete destruction of one squadron by another. This shattered the Pakistani illusion of invincibility and sent shockwaves through General Yahya Khan and his circle of generals. By the time the Seventh Fleet entered the Bay of Bengal, 93,000 Pakistani soldiers had surrendered to the Mitra Bahini (combined Indo-Bangladesh forces), and Bangladesh was liberated.