Major General Kamal Gunaratne's very detailed and very descriptive war documentation is a hard read due to its length and war terminology.
But since Sri Lanka has been suffering from a 30-year-old war this is a must for every book worm and others alike.
This book which costs around Rs. 2000 have 741 pages. This book spans around 50 chapters.
Through this descriptive book, the reader can learn about the Sri Lankan army, war theories, war strategies, the political history of Sri Lanka, the 'Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam' (LTTE), and even about the cultural background of the Jaffna Peninsula and other eastern and northern provinces of Sri Lanka.
The book is dedicated to the writer's parents, wife, daughter, and to the people who served and are serving in the defense forces.
In the author's note, the writer gives thanks to the tri-forces of the defense services rendered to the nation and also discusses his struggles in publishing the book. He thanks everyone who helped him during the publication endeavor.
The foreward is written by Professor Rohan Gunaratne who is an expert in defense and security describes the value of this book.
He suggests that this book should be read by politicians and bureaucrats as a guide to understanding the psyche of Sri Lanka's defense services and also the military strategies of the Sri Lankan forces.
During the initial chapters, the writer discusses the sacrifices the Sri Lankan defense forces made to achieve this goal of national victory, the history, and the background of Prabhakaran.
In the chapter "A noble profession" the writer describes the honor of being a defense service provider of Sri Lanka and how he was inspired to be a soldier.
And in the next chapters, the writer describes the political background of the country and how the war started in Sri Lanka in a very descriptive manner.
The book is a biographical presentation of Sri Lanka's 30-year-old war with names of heroes and enemies of the nation.
The book explores insights about the suicide cadre of LTTE and their cyanide culture, the end of the Jaffna train route (Yaal Devi), attacks on Buddhist religious locations, Wadamarachchi operation, Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord, Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), and the battle of Jaffna fort.
In the middle chapters, the book reveals Mankulam betrayal and the Silawathura camp battle.
The chapter related to the 'Elephant pass' battle is a powerful chapter that reveals the national hero Corporal Gamini Kularatna also known as (AKA) "Hasalaka Gamini". And also some details about the amphibious operation to save the Elephant Pass camp which was called 'Balawegaya' are also discussed in this book.
"Rotten rations" chapter explains the two worlds of administrative functions related to the civil war and the world related to the battlefront in the north and east. A controversial court case related to a fraudulent tender process in importing rotten rations from an unqualified supplier was discussed where the author of the book also had to interfere in this matter is a very revealing chapter about the harsh realities of Sri Lanka.
The assassination of Denzel Kobbekaduwa and Vijaya Wimalaratna have discussed in the "day the nation wept" chapter in a descriptive manner.
Famous assassinations of leading political leaders in Sri Lanka by the LTTE are revealed in the chapter "Demise of Leaders".
The chapters "Pooneryn", "Missile Attacks", "Riviresa", and "Mullaitivu" descriptively analyzes the greatest battles that took place in the nineties of Sri Lanka in North and Eastern provinces.
Chapter 30 is "Jayasikuru" and Chapter 31 is "Shameful retreat" which discusses the losing battles of the Sri Lankan tri forces during the end of the nineties of the twentieth century.
With the new millennium dawning, the twenty-first century marks the beginning of the most controversial peace negotiations in Sri Lanka by the then government United National Front (UNF).
These aspects are discussed in Chapter 32 - A final chance for peace.
The unforgettable struggles the government and the tri-forces had to face are discussed in "chapter 33 - Insults and humiliation" and "chapter 34 - The departure of Karuna". Many assassinations conducted by the LTTE are elaborated in the chapters.
"Chapter 35 - Leadership" discusses the new president of that time Mahinda Rajapakse (2005) and his role in the coming Eelam war 4.
"Chapter 36 - Training for the final battle" is a study and an exploration of training related to war and the Sri Lankan army in the coming Ealam War 4.
"Chapter 37 - The rebirth of the army commander" is a revelation about the assassination attempt on General Sarath Fonseka.
"Chapter 38 - The bitter truth" reflects the sad reality of the struggles soldiers had to face from society during the 30-year-old war.
"Chapter 39 - Back to the battlefront" is the story of the beginning of the fourth Ealam war. The closing of the sluicegates of Mavil Aru is discussed in this chapter. And also the initiation of the battle of Muhumalai is also analyzed in this chapter.
"Chapter 40 - The decisive battle of Muhumalai" is the chapter where the Army commander provides leadership of 55 division commander position to the author due to the uncontrollable nature of the war. This battle was decisive and showed the success of the Sri Lankan Army which lead to the protection of Sri Lanka as a nation against ealam.
"Chapter 41 - The Burial Ground" is a chapter that elaborates the defeat of Muhumalai battle in the Ealam war 4.
"Chapter 42 - The battlefronts" is a strategic reflection of the three battlefronts that were existent during the final Eelam war which are Northern, Eastern, and Wanni battlefront.
"Chapter 43 - Greatest among the great" discusses the establishment of new divisions, brigades, battalions, and even task forces into fighting the 4th Ealam.
"Chapter 44 - Liberation of the east" discusses the battle to win over the east of Sri Lanka and also the air tiger attacks during the years of 2006 and 2007.
"Chapter 45 - Deadly Muhumalai" is the chapter that discusses the recapturing of elephant pass after a fierce battle.
"Chapter 46 - Retreat and advance" is the most fierce battle that occurred after the capture of the elephant pass to Pudukuduirippu.
"Chapter 47 - The fall of Pudukuduirippu" is the chapter that reveals the final battle at Pudukuduirippu.
"Chapter 48 - The No-Fire Zone" is the final moments of the 4th Ealam war and the rescue of hostages from the No-Fire Zone close to Pudukuduirippu.
"Chapter 49 - Finale of the Sea tigers" is the chapter that discusses the final moments of the Sea Tigers in the fourth Ealam war.
The final chapter of the book reveals the discovery of the dead body of Prabhakaran in the Nandikadal lagoon.
Though this book is a long and tiresome reading experience it is a must for every Sri Lankan to explore the struggles and sacrifices made by the soldiers of Tri-forces to achieve this national victory.
I read this book from 2019 January to 2020 December which was a very long read.
This book reflects the all-round knowledge the writer possessed about the war, his profession, and politics. His ability to structure all these facts in a readable manner is a historic achievement in non-fiction literature. His (Major General Kamal Gunaratne [KG]) memory is eidetic or photographic and this is memorabilia of the national victory.
The book though feels like a puff piece by the author himself but with a country filled with failure, this national victory is unattainable without such sacrifice and personality.
Written in both Sinhalese and English this is a great achievement in publishing history lead by 'Vijitha Yapa Bookshops' considering what is reflected and how it's reflected.
This story is written in a linear format that has a narrative writing style that reminds the reader of great auto-biographical books.
This book is a guiding light to the labyrinth of the Sri Lankan civil war that was gone for 30 years and a revealing to every Sri Lankan reader to understand what actually happened in the war.
The most highlighted negativity in the book is the writer's partiality to his political ideology where he emphasizes it highly through long descriptive incidents and actual characters or people.
The self-appraisal and by judging himself as a patriot by exposing some of his innermost human feelings and thoughts he had during the thirty-year-old civil war, he has created a bloated character which actually degrades his status as a real soldier.
