Battle of Pooneryn The Battle of Pooneryn was a battle fought on November 11 , 1993 for the town of Pooneryn . Background . The main target of the LTTE in the shorline offensive was the Sri Lankan government naval base at Pooneryn . The camp controlled the southern shore of the Jaffna lagoon and was being used as a command center for government forces preventing the Liberation Tigers from using the lagoon to supply the peninsula . Battle . On November 11 , around two in the morning , the LTTE launched a massive attack from land and the lagoon simultaneously engaging the Nagathevanthurai naval base and the army defence lines in Pooneryn . The SLA troops were taken by surprise because they didn ' t expect the Tigers to come over the lagoon . It is now believed that , prior to the attack , the LTTE had managed to infiltrate a commando group through the Forward Defence Lines , with the mission of overruning the gun armour positions . Heavy anti - aircraft fire was used by the Tigers to prevent any air support for the SLAF . The Sri Lankan soldiers were so surprised by the attack that no organised resistance really existed . Most of the troops fighting back formed independent groups that broke down into even smaller groups as the battle progressed and in the end it was every man for himself . The SLA soldiers were fighting for their own survival . However there were some instances of bravery on the SLA side . One example is Second Lieutenant K . W . T . Nissanka who was a platoon commander . He sacrificed his life so as to enable his troops to withdraw with their wounded . As his soldiers were withdrawing from their bunkers he removed the pins on two grenades and ran towards the enemy , the grenades exploded killing him and the attacking Tigers instantly . By dawn the next day large parts of the base were overrun . Some army units still managed to hold out in bunkers along the shore . As a result of the attack , the Nagathevanthurai naval base was overrun and all craft were destroyed or taken over by the LTTE . The Tigers captured several naval gunboats , heavy mortars and two tanks though one was later destroyed in an air attack . Also large quantities of other arms and ammunition were captured . The Sri Lankan military alleges that 200 soldiers were captured by the Tigers and then executed . Another 241 soldiers , including 8 officers , were killed in the fighting itself . 469 LTTE fighters were killed . Up to 200 soldiers remain missing . Aftermath . As a result of the attack , the Nagathevanthurai naval base was overrun and all craft were destroyed or taken over by the LTTE . The Tigers captured several naval gunboats , heavy mortar s and two tanks though one was later destroyed in an air attack . Also large quantities of other arms and ammunition . The Sri Lankan Military alleged that 200 soldiers were captured by the Tigers and then executed . Another 241 soldiers , including 8 officers were killed in the fighting itself . 469 LTTE fighters were killed . Up to 200 soldiers remained missing . In late 2008 , the Sri Lanka Army launched a fresh offensive in the north of the island . The units of the Task Force 1 ( aka 58 Division ) recaptured Pooneryn area on the 15 November 2008 .