Operation Balavegaya - Operation Balavegaya I

Operation Balavegaya I

To break the siege and reinforce the Elephant Pass camp Maj General Kobbekaduwa the GOC the 2nd Division, along with Brigadier Vijaya Wimalaratne launched "Operation Balavegaya", an amphibious operation had to be launched as there was no cleared land route available to ensure speedy reinforcement. The army drew up this massive operation plan with a huge force of 10,000 soldiers, which consisted of several battle-hardened and experienced regiments which included battalions from the Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI), Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment(SLSR), Gemunu Watch (GW), the Gajaba Regiment (GR) supported by the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps(SLAC) and the Sri Lanka Artillery.

The troops of the 2 Division commanded by Maj.Gen. Denzil Kobbekaduwa were moved to Pullimodai from the Trincomalee Naval base, made up the amphibious Task Force, commanded by Brig Vijaya Wimalaratne, consisted of 1st brigade (Col. Anton Wijendra) and 3rd brigade (Col. Sarath Fonseka). A flotilla of ships made up of landing crafts, gunboats and fast attack crafts of the Sri Lanka Navy under the command of Rear-Admiral Quitus Wickramaratne transported the troops. Maj.Gen. Denzil Kobbekaduwa was present on broad the flag ship SLNS Wickrama with troops from the 3rd battalion, SLLI (Lt. Col. Gamini Jayasundera) and 3rd battalion, GR (Lt. Col. Seevali Wanigasekera) and Brig Vijaya Wimalaratne was on the SLNS Edithara with Captain H.R. Amaraweera who commanded the flotilla, and Group Captain Dick Sally who co-ordinated the air operations.

The first attempt at a sea borne landing at Vettilakerni, located 12 kilometers east of Elephant Pass, scheduled for 14:30 hours on July 15, 1991 met with stiff resistance. Brig Wimalaratne delayed the landing due to havy resistance. With Brigadier Wimalaratne's personal effort, the second attempt was made at 18:00 hours under cover of fire from Navy gunboats and close air support from air force Sia Marchetti SF-260 bombers directed by Wing Commander Sunil Cabral. The first wave landed led by Capt Dushan Rajaguru, Coy Comd 1 SLSR, and Capt Ralf Nugera, Coy Comd 3 SLLI,under heavy resistance that continued to be stiff, yet the 1st Battalion 1 SLSR and 3rd battalion SLLI secured a beachhead that night. Within 24 hours the remaining units of the 1st Brigade and the 3rd Brigade landed. Thereafter arrived a holding Brigade under the command of Col. Devinda Kalupahana. Once the beachhead was securely established, Gen. Kobbekaduwa authorized Brig. Wimalaratne to begin the operation to link up with garrison in Elephant Pass which was about 10 km away.

"Many terrorist were killed and large stocks of arms and ammunition captured from the terrorists. There was an intense fighting near the Mulliyan Kovil, northwest of Vettilaikerni. The reason was that the terrorists were determined to recover a stock of gold hidden near the Kovil (Temple). In fact, the terrorists managed to evict the troops from Kovil area for a short while by counter attacking. They managed to take the gold away." - A Soldier's Version by Major General Sarath Munasinghe - pages 115-116.

The terrain consisted of sand dunes, dotted with thorny scrub and Palmyra palms, an area that did not provide any natural cover against aerial, naval and artillery bombardment. Therefore, the confrontation assumed the character of a conventional warfare, with the combatants facing each other in open battle. It took nearly 18 days for Sri Lankan troops to fight their way on the 12 kilometer stretch to reach the Elephant Pass base, due to heavy resistance and mine fields.

On the third week of fighting a squadron of Alvis Saladin armoured cars of the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment, SLAC commanded by Major Shiran Jinasena broke through enemy lines despite two its vehicles being destroyed by mines. The breakthrough was followed up by Saladin and Saracen APCs of the 1st Recce Regiment and 3rd Recce Regiment of the Armoured Corps and Buffel APCs. The armored thrust on 2 August was led by Major Jinasena and was followed by Major Rohan De Silva of 4/GR who commanded a squadron of Buffel APCs. At this point the three infantry Brigades under Brigadier Wimalarathna, which included the newly arrived 7th Brigade under Colonel Gamini Angammana, went into action.

On the 4th of August forward elements of the Task Force reached the beleaguered garrison singing the battle song Hela Jathika Abhimane.

According to Adele Ann Balasingham, an LTTE operative, "It took exactly 18 days for the several battalions of Sri Lankan army troops, who landed along the Vadamaradchy eastern coast in a massive rescue operation, to reach the besieged Elephant Pass base". To advance the 12 kilometer distance, the Sinhala regiments, backed by heavy armour and air cover, had to engage in fierce clashes with the LTTE and fight for every inch of land. The fighting continued in that area until the August 9th, when the battered LTTE cadres made a tactical withdrawal.