First Battle of Elephant Pass The First Battle of Elephant Pass was a battle fought in July 1991 for the control of the Sri Lankan military base of Elephant Pass , which was of strategic importance as it linked the northern mainland known as Wanni with the Jaffna Peninsula . The battle was fought between troops of the Sri Lankan army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , commonly known as LTTE . Battle . On July 10 , 1991 , the LTTE launched a massive attack at Elephant Pass . The battle was up until that time , the most violent and bloody confrontation that ever took place between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Army . The LTTE had previously surrounded the base and blocked off routes north and south so no reinforcements could come in . Also at the beginning of July the LTTE moved anti - aircraft guns close to the base so no helicopters can bring in supplies . Thus the 800 troops of the 6th Battalion of the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment stationed in the base were trapped , yet led by Maj . ( later Maj . Gen . ) Sanath Karunaratne fought on . The assault came from the south . On the first day the LTTE captured a few bunkers held by Sri Lankan troops . During the attack the LTTE used steel - plated earthmoving vehicles and tractors . They fired hundreds of mortar rounds on the positions of the Sri Lankan forces . The next day the second - in - command of the base was killed in a mortar attack . Helicopters were not able to land at the base because of heavy enemy fire . Eventually the Rest House camp in the southern sector of the base fell into the hands of the LTTE . Sustaining heavy losses , the Sri Lankan troops fell back to the rearward positions . As dusk fell the LTTE forces launched several attacks with hundreds of troops , and surrounded the army ' s fortifications . The defending troops were shocked by the sight of a hitherto unknown bulldozer covered with armored plates that looked like a huge tank . It was equipped with a machine gun on top of it and contained a large supply of arms and ammunition inside it . Operation Balavegaya . Fierce fighting continued for four days before a rescue force was sent . A force of 10 , 000 soldiers was dispatched to reinforce the defenders . An amphibious landing was conducted at Vettilaikerni , which was just 12 kilometers east of the base . However , much resistance was encountered from the Tigers , and it took the relief force 18 days to reach the Elephant Pass base . With heavy losses in men and material , the troops finally reached the Elephant Pass base on the evening of August 3 . Fighting continued until August 9 , when the LTTE made a tactical withdrawal . The LTTE suffered 573 Tigers killed , according to Tamil sources , but according to the Sri Lankan army 1 , 000 of them were killed . The Army declared 202 of its soldiers dead , but LTTE sources claimed that over 400 were killed . Estimates in later years put the number of dead on both sides at about 2 , 000 . The president called the fight the " Mother of All Battles " . However , 8 - 1 / 2 years later the base was attacked again and that time the Tigers overran and took it . It was another 8 - 1 / 2 years before the Sri Lankan Army took the base back ( Third Battle of Elephant Pass ) in its " Northern Offensive " , which ended in May 2009 and resulted in the complete destruction of the LTTE .