Cumilla Cantonment Explained

Cumilla Cantonment
Native Name:	কুমিল্লা সেনানিবাস
Location:	Cumilla, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Coordinates:	23.4675°N 91.1175°W
Type:	Cantonment
Controlledby:	Bangladesh Army

Cumilla Cantonment (Bengali: কুমিল্লা সেনানিবাস) is a military station located near Cumilla, Bangladesh.

History

During the Second World War, a jungle warfare school was set up at Comilla by the 14th Indian Infantry Division.^[1] after the mid-1942 Allied retreat from Burma. The school emphasized techniques in six areas key to successful fighting in jungle terrain: outflanking, being outflanked, ambushing and other minor tactics, the myth of the impenetrable jungle, health, and fitness.^[2] The school was transferred to Sevoke in 1943.^[3]

In 1943-1944, military contractors constructing what was then called Mainamati Cantonment disturbed and damaged unsurveyed archaeological remains at the site.^[4] Later, the base was renamed Comilla Cantonment.^[5]

During the Bangladesh Liberation War, an Indian news magazine described it as "one of the best natural fortifications" in East Bengal because "the greater part of this cantonment is tunnelled into the hill and is impervious to aerial bombing".^[6]

Bangladesh Military Academy (BMA) was initially established at Comilla Cantonment on 11 January 1974 and later relocated at Bhatiary in 1976.^[7]

Installations

• HQ 33rd Infantry Division
  • Area Headquarters, Cumilla
  • Station Headquarters, Cumilla
    • Combined Military Hospital
    • Static Signal Company, Cumilla
  • 6th Cavalry Regiment
  • 33rd Artillery Brigade
  • 44th Infantry Brigade
  • 101st Infantry Brigade
    • • 17th Bangladesh Infantry Regiment 2nd Engineers Battalion
  • 5th Signals Coy Battalion
  • 88th Central Ordnance Depot
  • 67th EME Workshop
  • 33rd Military Police Unit
• School of Military Intelligence

Infrastructure

Education

• Army Medical College Cumilla
• Bangladesh Army International University of Science & Technology (BAIUST)
• Cumilla Cadet College
• Ispahani Public School & College, Cumilla
• Cantonment College, Cumilla
• Cantonment Board Girl's High School, Cumilla
• Cumilla Cantonment High School
• Cantonment Board Madymik Bidyalaya
• Mainamati English School & College (MESC)

Hospitals

• Mainamati Cantonment General Hospital
• Combined Military Hospital, Cumilla

See also

• Mainamati War Cemetery
• Mainamati

Notes and References

1. Book: Marston . Daniel . Daniel Marston (historian) . Strachan . Hew . 2006 . Lost and Found in the Jungle: The Indian and British Army Jungle Warfare Doctrines for Burma, 1943-5, and the Malayan Emergency, 1948-60 . Big Wars and Small Wars: The British Army and the Lessons of War in the Twentieth Century . Routledge . 88 . 978-0415-36196-5 .
2. Book: Jeffreys . Alan . 2005 . The British Army in the Far East 1941-45 . Oxford . Osprey . 39 . 978-1-84176-790-1.
3. Book: Jeffreys . Alan . 2005 . The British Army in the Far East 1941-45 . Oxford . Osprey . 19 . 978-1-84176-790-1.
4. Book: Chakrabarti . Dilip K. . Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti . 1992 . Ancient Bangladesh, a Study of the Archaeologcial Sources . Oxford University Press . 27 . 978-0-19-562879-1.
5. Book: Khan . Rao Farman Ali . Rao Farman Ali . 2017 . First published 1992 . How Pakistan Got Divided . 2nd . Oxford University Press . 2 . 978-0-19-940698-2.
6. News: From Assam : Successful Air Strikes . Link . 14 . 18 . 12 December 1971 . 26 . 0459-469X.
7. Web site: Bangladesh Military Academy (BMA) . 2017-08-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170815175932/https://joinbangladesharmy.army.mil.bd/army-life/training/bangladesh-military-academy-bma/bangladesh-military-academy-bma/27 . 2017-08-15.