It was pitch dark and difficult to make out who the marching troops were. Kler however concluded that it could not be our troops marching in three columns. So he ordered the machine gun next to him to open up. At that signal the other gunners also let loose. The first confirmation that the troops in the open were enemy came when the let out a shout of “Hai Allah.” The battle was now on. Caught in the open, they tried to organise themselves into the semblance of a fighting unit and started assaulting what they thought were our position in the dark. They kept shouting “Pakistan Zindabad,” “Niazi tadbir, Allah ho Akbar.” The Marathas held their fire till the enemy came within 20 to 25 yards and then opened up. Similarly, the artillery observer directed fire towards the areas from where they heard the sound of warcries. This continued about four hours. As the early morning fog lifted around 0500 hours on 11 December, the battle ended.
The Pakistani JCOs told Kler next morning at Jamalpur that they had advised Mahmood to accept any terms for surrender and prevent useless bloodshed. The taste of bombing had unnerved them. But Mahmood told them that the note was only a hoax and that he was quite capable of breaking through the roadblock and taking the battalion to Dacca.
The Pakistani JCOs told Kler next morning at Jamalpur that they had advised Mahmood to accept any terms for surrender and prevent useless bloodshed.
Along with the 95 Mountain Brigade group’s main thrust on the Kamalpur-Bakhshiganj-Jamalpur axis it was planned to develop two subsidiary thrusts along the Haluaghat-Sarchapur-Mymensingh and Baghmara-Jaira Jhangail-Shyamganj-Mymensingh road axes to contain the Pakistani troops deployed in the area. 6 Bihar, supported by Mukti Bahini elements of some two to four company strength, was to advance along the Haluaghat-Sarchapur-Mymensingh axis, while two or three companies formed from the BSF battalion holding border outposts were to work their way along the Baghmara Jaria Jhangail-Shyamnagar-Mymensingh axis. Both subsidiary thrusts were placed under Brig Sant Singh and named FJ Sector.
Qadir was holding the sector with 33 Punjab Battalion suitably beefed up with paramilitary forces and Razakars. He had planned to give the main battle at Mymensingh while causing delay and attrition ahead of this position by occupying a series of delaying positions along the river obstacles. Qadir was expected to hold such delaying positions at Haluaghat, Sarchapur, Phulpur and Taka-Kando with approximately one company strength each along the Haluaghat-Sarchapur axis.
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