The corps handled the sensitive Indo-Tibetan border and was responsible for the defence of the
McMahon Line. The corps under
Lieutenant General Mohan L. Thapan controlled the 6th and 20th Mountain Divisions and the 71st Mountain
Brigade. While fighting the war in the south, however, the corps also had to look north and retained command of the 17th and 27th Mountain Divisions on the Tibetan frontier. Furthermore, Thapan could not commit the 6th Mountain Division without permission from
New Delhi, as it was to be held ready to move to the Bhutanese border in case
China intervened in the war. As elsewhere along the border, Indian forces in support of the
Mukti Bahini made significant inroads into
East Pakistan before 3 December. Most notable was
Brigadier Pran Nath Kathpalia’s 71st Mountain Brigade, which had pushed to the outskirts of
Thakurgaon by the eve of war. Efforts to capture the heavily fortified border village of
Hilli, however, failed repeatedly in a struggle that raged off and on from 24 November to 11 December. Resolutely defended by Pakistani
4 Frontier Force,
Hilli blocked the proposed advance of the 20th Division across the narrow "waist" of this sector. After heavy losses in front of
Hilli, the 20th Division solved this problem by swinging around to the north and unleashing the 340th Brigade under
Brigadier Joginder Singh Bakshi. Bakshi moved swiftly to control the main north-south road, unhinging the defence of
Hilli, splitting the Pakistani 16th Division, and opening the way to
Bogra, which town he effectively controlled by war’s end. The Pakistani division, despite continued resistance by isolated units, had ceased to exist as a coherent combat formation. Indicative of the chaotic situation,
General Shah and the commander of the 205th Brigade,
Brigadier Tajammul Hussain Malik, were almost captured when Indian forces ambushed their convoy on 7 December. On the other hand, a last-minute Indian move north by the 66th and 202nd Brigades to capture
Rangpur proved unsuccessful. In secondary actions, the 9th Mountain Brigade secured most of the area north of the
Tista River and an ad hoc command of
Indian BSF and
Mukti Bahini under
Brigadier Prem Singh pushed out of
Malda to capture
Nawabganj in the extreme southeastern corner of the sector. Despite Bakshi’s performance and the generally successful advance of 71st Brigade, much of XXXIII Corps’ offensive power was allowed to lie idle far too long and Pakistani troops still held the major towns of the sector (
Rangpur,
Saidpur,
Dinajpur, Nator,
Rajshahi) when the
cease-fire was announced. Likewise, the
cease-fire intervened before the Indians could implement a hastily conceived plan to transfer the 340th Brigade, a tank squadron, and an artillery battery across the
Jamuna via the Phulchari ferry to take part in the advance on
Dacca. Except for this squadron, all the armour was preparing to transfer to the west by the end of the war. ==General Officers Commanding==