On 4 January 1992, the Sri Lanka Army raised its first dedicated main battle tank regiment - the 4th Armoured Regiment. Lt Col Sri Mudannayake became its first Commanding Officer, with Maj Rohan Jayasinghe as Second-in-Command. Maj Milinda Peiris, appointed the first Officer Commanding of Alpha Squadron, was among the pioneer officers charged with turning a new regiment into a fighting force.

Five Czechoslovakian tank experts arrived to train the new crews. For three intensive months, officers and men mastered the machines - from automotive systems, driving and maintenance to gunnery, communications and tactical employment. At the newly created ‘4 AR Tankodrome’, they learned to manoeuvre the tanks with hatches closed, preparing for the noise, fumes, heat, dust and disorientation of battlefield conditions.

At 0800 hours on 14 June 1992, SLNS Ranagaja approached the Vettilaikkerni beachhead carrying the first elements of Milinda’s Alpha Squadron. Landing main battle tanks directly onto an exposed beach was hazardous enough; the possibility of LTTE mortar fire made every second count. As the first T-55 came off the landing craft, it almost sank into the sea. A delay of only a few seconds, Milinda recalled, could have been disastrous. Over the next three days, the rest of the squadron came ashore safely.

Exactly two weeks later, training gave way to war. Operation Balavegaya II brought together three infantry brigades, two armoured squadrons, artillery, engineers, signals and supporting elements. Maj Milinda Peiris commanded Alpha Squadron.

Advancing with the 1 Gajaba Regiment Battle Group through thorny scrub, Alpha Squadron had already suffered one tragedy that day when a reversing tank accidentally killed a soldier. Soon afterwards, an RPG fired from a clump of palms struck the right side of a T-55AM2, apparently igniting ammunition inside the fighting compartment.

Three crewmen escaped, all badly burned. The loader, Tpr Bandula, did not. Milinda was close enough to see him repeatedly trying to force his way through the cupola as ammunition began exploding inside the tank. No one could approach through the heat and secondary detonations.

The following morning was supposed to begin with an aerial reconnaissance. The previous afternoon, while playing basketball at Palaly, Milinda saw Maj Gen Denzil Kobbekaduwa passing by and exchanged a wave with him. It was an ordinary gesture between soldiers. Neither could have known it was a farewell.

Hours later came the devastating news. The jeep carrying Kobbekaduwa and some of the country’s most experienced senior military commanders had struck a landmine at Araly Point. In a single explosion, the military campaign had lost an extraordinary concentration of leadership and experience.

Milinda later flew with the reconnaissance team to examine the scene. Below them lay a crater three to four feet deep and the shattered remains of the jeep - a stark measure of the force that had destroyed it.

Maj Milinda Peiris arrived in Russia and Ukraine as the Armour representative of a four-man Army delegation headed by Gen A. K. Jayawardane. After ten frustrating days in Moscow, the search shifted to Ukraine - and eventually to Zhytomyr, where rows of BMP infantry fighting vehicles awaited inspection.

The pressure was real: the Army needed the vehicles for operations at home. But Milinda would not compromise on their condition. He insisted on Class 1 standard, even when doing so threatened to delay delivery. Sixteen vehicles were prepared for the first consignments, while others had to wait until they met the required standard. The eventual procurement included additional spares and major components, with some vehicles almost new and others upgraded to the agreed Class 1 standard. The BMPs were flown to Sri Lanka aboard the giant Antonov An-124, eight at a time.

Operation Sathjaya III began with an elaborate deception. While the Army’s real objective was Kilinochchi, Milinda was ordered to lead a powerful armour and infantry column eastwards towards Mullaitivu. Intercepted transmissions showed LTTE cadres moving east to reinforce Mullaitivu, easing the Army’s advance towards its true objective.

Near Murasumoddai, however, the advance met heavy resistance. As Milinda and fellow officers planned the final assault, mortar fire crashed into their position. When he came round, blood was pouring from his neck, his left arm had gone numb, and breathing was becoming increasingly difficult.

What followed was no longer a battle for territory, but a battle for life - evacuation from the frontline, emergency treatment, surgery, uncertainty and a long recovery.