Task Force 74

Last updated

Task Force 74 was a naval task force that has existed twice. The first Task Force 74 was a mixed Allied force of Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and United States Navy ships which operated against Japanese forces from 1943 to 1945 during the Pacific campaign. The second Task Force 74 was assembled from the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet that was deployed to the Bay of Bengal by the Nixon administration in December 1971 during the Indo-Pakistani War. The fleet was sent to intimidate Indian forces at the height of the conflict. [1] [2] The Soviet Union, which was actively backing Indian actions both politically and militarily during the war responded by deploying two groups of cruisers and destroyers as well as a submarine armed with nuclear warheads in response to the American military presence in the area. [3] From 18 December 1971 to 7 January 1972, the Soviet Navy trailed the American fleet throughout the Indian Ocean. The task force number is now used by the U.S. Seventh Fleet's submarine force.[ citation needed ]

Contents

World War II

On 15 March 1943, Task Force 44, an Australia–United States task force made up of cruisers and destroyers operating in the South West Pacific Area, was redesignated as Task Force 74. In the Battle of Hollandia between American and Japanese forces in April–June 1944, the task force was made up of HMAS Shropshire and up to four destroyers, including HMAS Arunta. [4]

Following a preliminary bombardment, the battle for Cebu City began on 26 March 1945, when the Allies launched Operation Victor II. [5] Staging out of Leyte, where they had conducted rehearsal landings two days earlier, a large flotilla of cruisers and destroyers from the United States Seventh Fleet's Task Force 74 escorted the Cebu Attack Group to the island. [6] Under the leadership of Major-General William H. Arnold, the forces assigned to the operation consisted of the Americal Division's 132nd and 182nd Infantry Regiments, totalling about 5,000 men, and were landed at Talisay Beach on Cebu Island, 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) southwest of Cebu City. The 182nd came ashore southwest of the city, while the 132nd landed at a wide gravel beach to the northeast opposite a palm grove. [7] While meeting no Japanese opposition, American forces nevertheless suffered heavy casualties from land mines and booby traps as they crossed the beach. [8] [9]

Cold War period

The Indian Ocean had, in the post-colonial cold-war situation in the 1960s, a strong British Royal Navy presence which projected Western interests in the region, and carried out security operations, as well as a deterrence against Soviet overtures in this area. The US navy's role at this time was confined to a limited presence in Bahrain. [10]

By the mid-1960s, with a failing economy, Britain began to roll back her role in the region. In a situation of political instability in the region, the Soviet Union also began a strong diplomatic initiative in the littoral states and initiated limited naval deployments, prompting fears that withdrawal of a western peacekeeping role would allow the Soviet Navy to fulfil its aspirations in the region, threatening western economic and military interests in the region and leading to loss of this area from the western sphere of influence. [11] This lent a strong voice to the proponents of a strong US naval presence in the Indian Ocean, among them Elmo Zumwalt, as a diplomatic as well military deterrence against Soviet moves. [11] US security interests in the Indian Ocean were, however, initially restricted to the countries of Ethiopia, Iran and Saudi Arabia. [12]

Superpowers in the Indian subcontinent

Both the United States and the Soviet Union had attempted to establish strong links with India following the Sino-Indian war of 1962, much to the disturbance of Pakistan especially since they were already in a military alliance with the United States. India had obtained substantial military and economic assistance from the United States towards the end of the conflict, but remained committed to the Non-Aligned Movement. Following the end of the conflict, Soviet offers of MiG fighter aircraft, as well as offers for transfer of technology and production facilities for military hardware confirmed India's preference for Moscow in terms of long-term security collaboration. In 1963, the US Navy deployed its first Carrier group in the Indian Ocean close to the Indian coast. However, since this was within a year of the end of the Sino-Indian conflict, where the US and Britain had offered substantial help to India, this was not interpreted as a diplomatic pressure or a show-of-force, and was in all probability training exercises to familiarise the navy with the Indian Ocean area. India had also at this time allowed the US to install intelligence gathering devices in the Himalayan peaks close to China, on the conditions of intelligence-sharing.

By the end of the 1960s, the Vietnam War became the focus for the United States, with the Indian Subcontinent receiving much less attention. Peace in the region was assumed by the US to be the responsibility of the regional powers of India and China. [12]

East Pakistan / Bangladesh crisis

The Bangladesh Liberation War brought the Indian subcontinent back into the focus of the cold-war confrontations. The crisis had its roots in the economic and social disparities between the Eastern and Western wings of Pakistan and a dominance of the Eastern wing by the west since the creation of the nascent state in 1947 that increasingly divided the two wings through the 1960s [13] During March 1971 Pakistan Army aided and advised by Bhutto and the army stopped political negotiation with East Pakistan's Sheikh Mujib, whose party Awami League won a landslide victory and majority seats in the Pakistan Parliament, and started a massive crackdown on the civilians and paramilitary police of the Eastern wing. By the last quarter of 1971, Pakistan was in a state of civil war, its Eastern wing locked in a ferocious battle for independence from the Western wing. The crisis precipitated in March 1971 when rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by Yahya Khan launching Operation Searchlight, [13] [14] [15] which resulted in the 1971 Bangladesh genocide. The majority of East Pakistan's political leadership, including Mujibur Rahman, were arrested and, following brief confrontations and bloody battles between Bengali nationalists and some 40,000 strong Pakistani military, political order was forcibly and temporarily reimposed by the end of April amidst strong protests from India, the Soviet Union and other countries against the atrocities against the Bengali civilian population. [14] The Pakistani army aided by paramilitaries from West Pakistan and local non-Bengali and some Islamic minded-Bengali political parties were killing large numbers of East Pakistanis. Depending on the source, the total death toll of the predominantly Bengali East Pakistanis during these events were either up to 500,000 people (according to independent researchers) or 3 million people (according to the government of Bangladesh). [16] The massive and disproportionate crackdown by Pakistan Army forces [17] engendered a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million, 13% of the entire East Pakistani population) [14] [18] [19] who came flooding to the eastern provinces of India. [14] [18] Facing a mounting humanitarian crisis, India started actively aiding and re-organising what was by this time already the nucleus of the Mukti Bahini. [14]

In the months before the war, both Pakistan and India attempted to shore up diplomatic support. On 9 August 1971, India signed a twenty-year co-operation treaty with the Soviet Union, [14] followed by a six-nation tour of Europe and USA by Indira Gandhi in October. This tour was intended to demonstrate India's professed neutrality despite the Indo-Soviet treaty, as well as to highlight the refugee problem faced by India. [20] Pakistan came under increasing criticism [21] from India, the Soviet Union, Japan, and Europe as the plight of the refugees and their impact on the Indian economy were highlighted by Indira Gandhi in the UN and on a number of global tours. [19] However, the United States and China showed little interest in the crisis and actively opposed aid, intervention or support to the Mukti Bahini. [22] [23] Zulfikar Ali Bhutto at this time led a high level delegation to Beijing to obtain commitment from China of support in case of Indian intervention while Pakistan pressed at the UN for an International Peacekeeping Force for the India-East Pakistan border. [20] The Pakistani efforts at the UN were however blocked by the Soviet Union in the Security council. [20] India's aid to the Mukti Bahini continued unabated, and fighting between the Mukti Bahini and the Pakistani Forces grew increasingly vicious. [24]

Third Indo−Pakistani War

The Indo-Soviet treaty had provided India with cover against any possible Chinese intervention in aid of Pakistan if and when the conflict precipitated. To the Pakistani leadership, it became clear that armed Indian intervention and secession of East Pakistan was becoming inevitable. [25]

On 3 December, Pakistan preemptively launched Operation Chengiz Khan against India, marking the official initiation of hostilities of the Indo-Pak war of 1971. The Indian response was a defensive military strategy in the western theatre while a massive, coordinated and decisive offensive thrust into East-Pakistan. On 5 December, United States began attempts for a UN-sponsored ceasefire, which were twice vetoed by the USSR in the security council. India extended her recognition of Bangladesh on 6 December. [20] On 8 December, Washington received intelligence reports that India was planning an offensive into West Pakistan. [26] It was in this situation that the United States dispatched a ten-ship naval task force, the US Task Force 74, from the Seventh Fleet off South Vietnam into the Bay of Bengal.

U.S. diplomatic initiatives

With intelligence reports indicating the Indian cabinet was discussing the scopes of offensive into West Pakistan, on 10 December, the decision was taken by US to assemble a task force at Malacca strait, spearheaded by USS Enterprise. The force was to be capable of overshadowing the four Soviet ships already in the Bay of Bengal. [26]

Deployment

The task force was headed by USS Enterprise, at the time and still the largest aircraft carrier in the world by length. She was flying the flag of Rear-Admiral Damon W. Cooper, Commander Carrier Division Five. [27] Escorts included three guided missile destroyers: USS King (DDG-41), USS Decatur (DDG-31), and USS Parsons (DDG-33); four gun destroyers USS Bausell (DD-845), USS Orleck (DD-886), USS McKean (DD-784) and USS Richard B. Anderson; and a nuclear attack submarine. In addition, it consisted of amphibious assault carrier USS Tripoli (LPH-10), carrying a 200 strong Marine battalion and twenty five assault helicopters; the ammunition ship USS Haleakala (AE-25); and USS White Plains (AFS-4), an auxiliary fleet supply ship from Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines, which loaded over 60 Tons of mail and Christmas packages for the Task Force before leaving Subic Bay to join Task Force 74 on 19 December. [26] Aboard Tripoli, according to her Command History for 1971, were Commander, Amphibious Squadron 5; 31st Marine Amphibious Unit; 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment; and Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165. [28]

Enterprise was at this time at the Tonkin Gulf area. Recovering her airborne aircraft and transferring personnel who were required to stay to the USS Constellation (CVA-64), she prepared to head off. The task force was delayed while the support ships refueled, it held off East of Singapore, and was ordered into the Indian Ocean on 14 December. [29] crossed Malacca straits on the nights of 13–14 December and entered the Bay of Bengal on the morning of 15 December. [26] The group was required to proceed slowly, averaging a speed of 15 knots, both to conserve fuel as well as to allow advance information on its heading.

Objectives

The US government stated at the time that the goal of the task force was to help evacuate Pakistani forces from East Pakistan following a ceasefire. [26]

Standoff with Soviet naval force and aftermath

The slow progress of Task Force 74 met an increased Soviet naval presence in the Indian Ocean. The smaller Soviet presence had in fact been already enhanced to match a British contingent in the area and consisted of both surface vessels and at least one nuclear submarine. [30] [31] Both forces maintained their presence in the theatre until January 1972, well after from the operations on the ground was clear that Pakistan was in no position to continue the war. [32]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Mahfuz, Asif (16 December 2013). "US Fleet in Bay of Bengal: A game of deception". The Daily Star. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  2. ↑ Josy Joseph (6 November 2011). "US forces had orders to target Indian Army in 1971". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  3. ↑ "'Surrender, or...': Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw's message to Pakistan - This and 10 other facts about 1971 war". The Free Press Journal. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  4. ↑ http://pacific.valka.cz/forces/tf74.htm#reckle; S.E. Morison, History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: New Guinea and the Marianas: March 1944 – August 1944, p. 47.
  5. ↑ Lofgren 1996 , p. 13 & 19
  6. ↑ Rottman 2002 , p. 310
  7. ↑ Rottman 2002 , p. 311
  8. ↑ "Cebu: Hostile Beach 1945". Company G, 182d Infantry Regiment: Fighting the War in the Pacific. Archived from the original on 25 December 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "The Liberation of Cebu: 68 years ago!". The Philippine Star (Opinion). 26 March 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  10. ↑ Rais 1987 , p. 40
  11. 1 2 Rais 1987 , p. 41
  12. 1 2 Rais 1987 , p. 44
  13. 1 2 Blechman & Kaplan 1978 , p. 176
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Blechman & Kaplan 1978 , p. 177
  15. ↑ Adam Jones. "in Bangladesh, 1971". Gendercide Watch. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  16. ↑ Dummett, Mark (16 December 2011). "Bangladesh war: The article that changed history". BBC News.
  17. ↑ Shanberg, S. (3 May 1994). "The Pakistani Slaughter That Nixon Ignored". The New York Times.
  18. 1 2 Crisis in South Asia – A report by Senator Edward Kennedy to the Subcommittee investigating the Problem of Refugees and Their Settlement, Submitted to U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, 1 November 1971, U.S. Govt. Press.pp6-7
  19. 1 2 "India and Pakistan: Over the Edge". Time. Vol. 98, no. 24. 13 December 1971. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Blechman & Kaplan 1978 , p. 178
  21. ↑ Donaldson, Robert H. (June 1972). "India: The Soviet Stake in Stability". Asian Survey. University of California Press. 12 (6): 475–492. doi:10.2307/2643045. JSTOR   2643045.
  22. ↑ Sheren, Syeda Momtaz (2012). "War of Liberation, The". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  23. ↑ Remarks of President Richard M Nixon on 10 April 1971 at State Department Signing of Biological Weapon's Convention.
    Every Great Power must follow the principle that it should not directly or indirectly allow any other nation to use force or armed aggression against one of its neighbours.
    . USIS Text, pp 1–2.
  24. ↑ Kapur, Ashok (June 1972). "Indo-Soviet Treaty and the Emerging Asian Balance". Asian Survey. University of California Press. 12 (6): 463–474. doi:10.2307/2643044. JSTOR   2643044.
  25. ↑ "Bangladesh: Out of War, a Nation Is Born". Time. Vol. 98, no. 25. 20 December 1971. Archived from the original on 12 January 2007.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 Blechman & Kaplan 1978 , p. 188
  27. ↑ "USS Enterprise Command History 1971" (PDF). www.history.navy.mil. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  28. ↑ See Command History accessible via https://www.history.navy.mil/research/archives/Collections/command-operations-reports/vietnam.html.
  29. ↑ Francis & Ives 2003 , p. 182
  30. ↑ Shrivastava, Sanskar (30 October 2011). "1971 India Pakistan War: Role of Russia, China, America and Britain". The World Reporter. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  31. ↑ "British aircraft carrier 'HMS Eagle' tried to intervene in 1971 India - Pakistan war". 10 January 2016. Archived from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  32. ↑ "How Pakistan surrendered in 1971". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 14 February 2023.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Seventh Fleet</span> Numbered fleet of the United States Navy

The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with 50 to 70 ships, 150 aircraft and 27,000 Sailors and Marines. Its principal responsibilities are to provide joint command in natural disaster or military operations and operational command of all U.S. naval forces in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indo-Pakistani war of 1971</span> Military confrontation between India and Pakistan alongside the Bangladesh Liberation War

The Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 December 1971. The war began with Pakistan's Operation Chengiz Khan, consisting of preemptive aerial strikes on eight Indian air stations. The strikes led to India declaring war on Pakistan, marking their entry into the war for East Pakistan's independence, on the side of Bengali nationalist forces. India's entry expanded the existing conflict with Indian and Pakistani forces engaging on both the eastern and western fronts. Thirteen days after the war started, India achieved a clear upper hand, and the Eastern Command of the Pakistan military signed the instrument of surrender on 16 December 1971 in Dhaka, marking the formation of East Pakistan as the new nation of Bangladesh. Approximately 93,000 Pakistani servicemen were taken prisoner by the Indian Army, which included 79,676 to 81,000 uniformed personnel of the Pakistan Armed Forces, including some Bengali soldiers who had remained loyal to Pakistan. The remaining 10,324 to 12,500 prisoners were civilians, either family members of the military personnel or collaborators (Razakars).

USS <i>Merrill</i> (DD-976) Spruance-class destroyer

USS Merrill (DD-976), named for Rear Admiral Aaron Stanton Merrill USN (1890–1961), was a Spruance-class destroyer that entered service with the United States Navy in 1978. Merrill served as the US Navy's test platform for the Tomahawk cruise missile. In the 1980s, the destroyer took part in Operation Earnest Will in the Persian Gulf during heightened tensions with Iran. The destroyer was decommissioned in 1998. The vessel was used as a target ship in 2003 and sunk off Hawaii in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangladesh Liberation War</span> 1971 Bangladesh–Pakistan armed conflict

The Bangladesh Liberation War was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which resulted in the independence of Bangladesh. The war began when the Pakistani military junta based in West Pakistan—under the orders of Yahya Khan—launched Operation Searchlight against the people of East Pakistan on the night of 25 March 1971, initiating the Bangladesh genocide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistan Navy</span> Maritime service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces

The Pakistan Navy (PN) is the uniform naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The President of Pakistan is the Supreme Commander of the Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral commands the navy. The Pakistan Navy operates on the coastline of Pakistan in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman. It was established in August 1947, following the independence of Pakistan from the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Trident (1971)</span> Offensive launched by Indian navy against Pakistan

Operation Trident was an offensive operation launched by the Indian Navy on Pakistan's port city of Karachi during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Operation Trident saw the first use of anti-ship missiles in combat in the region. The operation was conducted on the night of 4–5 December and inflicted heavy damage on Pakistani vessels and facilities. While India suffered no losses, Pakistan lost a minesweeper, a destroyer, a cargo vessel carrying ammunition, and fuel storage tanks in Karachi. Another destroyer was also badly damaged and eventually scrapped. India celebrates its Navy Day annually on 4 December to mark this operation. Trident was followed up by Operation Python three days later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval tactics</span> Methods of engaging and defeating an enemy ship or fleet during naval warfare

Naval tactics and doctrine is the collective name for methods of engaging and defeating an enemy ship or fleet in battle at sea during naval warfare, the naval equivalent of military tactics on land.

The Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March 1971 and ended on 16 December 1971. Some of the major events of the war are listed in the timeline below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Jackpot</span> Battle of the Bangladesh Liberation War

Operation Jackpot was a codename for three operations undertaken by Bengali Mukti Bahini in former East Pakistan against the Federation of Pakistan at the climax of the Bangladesh Liberation War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangladesh–Russia relations</span> Bilateral relations

Bangladesh–Russia relations are the foreign relations between Bangladesh and Russia. Russia has an embassy in Dhaka and a consulate-general in Chittagong, while Bangladesh has an embassy in Moscow. Diplomatic relations between the USSR and Bangladesh were established on January 25, 1972. These relations have continued with Russia being the successor state to the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of Bangladesh</span> Overview of the process of militarization in Bangladesh

Bangladesh's military history is intertwined with the history of a larger region, including present-day India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. The country was historically part of Bengal – a major power in South Asia and Southeast Asia.

The Indian Army had no standby force ready in 1971 with the specific task of attacking East Pakistan, one of the many reasons why India did not immediately intervene after Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight in March 1971. Indian Army's Eastern Command was tasked with defending the northern and eastern borders and fighting the insurgencies in Nagaland, Mizoram and Naxalites in West Bengal at that time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evolution of Pakistan Eastern Command plan</span> Pakistani military unit during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War

The Eastern Command of the Pakistan Army also known as III Corps was a corps-sized military formation headed by a lieutenant-general, who was designated the Commander 3 Corps. After the partition of India by United Kingdom, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was divided into two territories separated by 1,000 miles (1,600 km). Most of the assets of the Pakistan armed forces were stationed in West Pakistan; the role of the Pakistan armed forces in East Pakistan was to hold that part of the country until the Pakistani forces defeated India in the west. The Pakistan Army created the Eastern Command, with one commander in the rank of Lieutenant General responsible for the command. The armed forces, had drawn up a plan to defend Dhaka by concentrating all their forces along the Dhaka Bowl.

The Indo-Pakistani Naval War of 1971 refers to the maritime military engagements between the Indian Navy and the Pakistan Navy during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The series of naval operations began with the Indian Navy's exertion of pressure on Pakistan from the Indian Ocean, while the Indian Army and Indian Air Force moved in to choke Pakistani forces operating in East Pakistan on land. Indian naval operations comprised naval interdiction, air defence, ground support, and logistics missions.

PNS Muhafiz was an Adjutant-class minesweeper of the Pakistan Navy. It was built by the United States for transfer to Pakistan. PNS Muhafiz was sunk by a missile from INS Veer of the Indian Navy during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mukti Bahini</span> Bengali guerrilla resistance movement in former East Pakistan

The Mukti Bahini, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary and civilians during the Bangladesh Liberation War that transformed East Pakistan into Bangladesh in 1971. They were initially called the Mukti Fauj.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prisoners of war in the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971</span> Aspect of history

The Pakistani prisoners of war during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 were the servicemen deployed in the Eastern Command of the Pakistan armed forces who were held in by the Indian Army.

The Bangladesh Liberation War was a revolutionary independence war in South Asia during 1971 which established the republic of Bangladesh. The war pitted East Pakistan against West Pakistan, and lasted over a duration of nine months. It witnessed large-scale atrocities, the exodus of 10 million refugees and the indiscriminate killing of 3 million people.

Captain Mohan Narayan Rao Samant, MVC was an officer of the Indian Navy, who was awarded with the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second-highest war-time gallantry award. Samant played an important role in the covert operation called Naval Commando Operation X, which was instituted in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Samant had also served as the first commanding officer of the submarine INS Karanj after being appointed to that post in 1969. After the 1971 war ended, he became the first temporary Chief of Naval Staff of the newly-created Bangladesh Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mihir K. Roy</span> Indian Navy Admiral

Vice Admiral Mihir Kumar 'Micky' Roy, PVSM, AVSM was a flag officer in the Indian Navy. He last served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command.

References

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.