The First Battle of Elephant Pass (Codenamed Operation Aakaya Kadal Veli, which means 'Air-Sea-Land' by LTTE) was 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.

Thus the 800 troops of the 6th Battalion of the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment stationed at the base were trapped, yet led by Maj. (later Maj. Gen.) Sanath Karunaratne they fought on.

The defending troops were shocked by the sight of a hitherto unknown bulldozer covered with armoured plates that looked like a huge tank.

[1] It was another 8+1⁄2 years before the Sri Lankan Army took the base back, in the (Third Battle of Elephant Pass) in its "Northern Offensive", which ended in May 2009 and resulted in the complete destruction of the LTTE.