Denzil Kobbekaduwa

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Lieutenant General Denzil Kobbekaduwa † RWP, RSP
Born	(1940-07-27)27 July 1940 Kandy, Ceylon
Died	8 August 1992(1992-08-08) (aged 52) (DOW) Colombo General Hospital, Sri Lanka
Allegiance	Sri Lanka
Service/branch	Sri Lanka Army
Years of service	1960–1992 (DOW)
Rank	Lieutenant general (posthumously awarded)
Unit	Sri Lanka Armoured Corps
Commands	Northern Sector, Eastern Sector, 2nd Division, 1st Division 3rd Brigade 1st Reconnaissance Regiment
Battles/wars	1971 Insurrection, Sri Lankan Civil War
Awards	Rana Wickrama Padakkama Rana Sura Padakkama Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya Uttama Seva Padakkama

Lieutenant General Denzil Lakshman Kobbekaduwa, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (Sinhala: ඩෙන්සිල් ලක්ෂ්මණ් කොබ්බෑකඩුව; 27 July 1940 – 8 August 1992) was a senior Sri Lankan Army officer who served in the 1971 Insurrection and the Sri Lankan Civil War.

Having trained with the British Army, Kobbekaduwa started his military career as an armoured corps officer. He was suspended following an alleged Ceylonese coup d'état attempt in 1966 and was reinstated in 1970, attached to internal security prior to and during the 1971 Insurrection. Following a brief stint as an officer instructor, he served as a staff officer attached to several commands before commanding the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment, Sri Lanka Armoured Corps. In the mid-1980s he served as district military coordinating officer before joining the general staff of the Joint Operations Command. At Joint Operations Command, he led the planning of the Vadamarachchi Operation, during which he commanded one of the three brigades. He served as the general officer commanding of the 1st Division and the 2nd Division; Overall Operations Commander, Eastern Sector, before taking up command as Overall Operations Commander, Northern Sector. During this time he held several major military operations such as Operation Gajasinghe and Operation Balavegaya. He was killed on the eve of launching Operation Final Count Down to recapture the Jaffna Peninsula, when he was mortally wounded and much of his senior staff in his command killed when the Land Rover they were travelling in hit a land mine in the island of Kayts.^[1]