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This article is about the Indian Army since 1947. For the earlier period, see Military History Of India
The
Indian Army is the
land based branch and the largest component of the
Indian Army Force. The
President Of India is the Commander-in-Chief of the Army. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), a General, is a four star commander and commands the army. There is typically never more than one serving general at any given time in the Army. Two officers have been conferred the rank of field marshal, a 5-star rank and the officer serves as the ceremonial chief.
Its primary mission is to ensure the national Security and
Defence of the
Republic Of India from external aggression and threats, and maintaining peace and security within its borders. It also conducts humanitarian rescue operations during natural calamities and other disturbances. As a major component of national power, alongside the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force, the roles of the Indian Army are as follows; Primary, preserve national interests and safeguard sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of India against any external threats by deterrence or by waging war. Secondary, assist Government agencies to cope with ‘proxy war’ and other internal threats and provide aid to civil authority when requisitioned for the purpose."
[2] The army has been involved in four wars with neighbouring Pakistan and one with China. Other major operations undertaken by the army include Operation Vijay,
Operation Meghdhoot and
Operation Cuctus. Apart from conflicts, the army has also been an active participant in United Nations peacekeeping missions.
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History
[edit]British Indian Army
Main article: British Indian Army
Further information: List of regiments of the Indian Army (1903)
No. 4 (Hazara) Mountain Battery with RML7 pounder "Steel Gun" Mountain Gun in Review Order. Left to right Naick, Havildar, Subadar (Sikhs) and Gunner (Punjabi Musalman) circa 1895.
A Military Department was created within the Supreme Government of the East India Company at Kolkata in the year 1776. Its main function was to sift and record orders relating to the Army that were issued by various Departments of the Government of the East India Company[3]
With the Charter Act of 1833, the Secretariat of the Government of the East India Company was reorganised into four Departments, including a Military Department. The army in the Presidencies of Bengal, Bombay & Madras functioned as respective Presidency Army until April 1895, when the Presidency Armies were unified into a single Indian Army. For administrative convenience, it was divided into four commands at that point of time, namely Punjab (including the North West Frontier), Bengal, Madras (including Burma) and Bombay (including Sind, Quetta and Aden).[4]
The British Indian Army was a critical force for the primacy of the British Empire both in India and across the world. Besides maintaining the internal security of the British Raj, the Army fought in many other theatres – Anglo-Burmese Wars,
First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars,
First, Second and ThirdAnglo-Afghan Wars, First and Second Opium Wars in China, Abyssinia, Boxer Rebellion in China.
World Wars
Main article: Indian Army during World War I
Main article: Indian Army during World War II
French postcard depicting the arrival of 15th Sikh Regiment in France during
World War I. The postcard reads,
"Gentlemen of India marching to chasten the German hooligans".
In the 20th century, the Indian Army was a crucial adjunct to the British forces in both the World Wars.
1.3 million Indian soldiers served in World War I (1914–1918) for the Allies, after the United Kingdom made vague promises of self-governance to the Indian National Congress in return for its support. Britain reneged on its promises after the war, following which the Indian Independence movement gained strength. 74,187 Indian troops were killed or missing in action in the war.
[5]
The "
Indianisation" of the British Indian Army began with the formation of the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College at Dehradun in March 1912 with the purpose of providing education to the scions of aristocratic and well to do Indian families and to prepare selected Indian boys for admission into the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Indian officers given a King's commission after passing out were posted to one of the
eight units selected for Indianisation. Political pressure due to the slow pace of Indianisation, just 69 officers being commissioned between 1918 and 1932, led to the formation of the
Indian Military Academy in 1932 and greater numbers of officers of Indian origin being commissioned.
[6]
In
World War II Indian soldiers fought for the
Allies. In 1939, British officials had no plan for expansion and training of Indian forces, which comprised about 130,000 men (in addition there were 44,000 men in British units in India in 1939.) Their mission was internal security and defence against a possible Russian threat through Afghanistan. As the war progressed, the size and role of the Indian Army expanded dramatically, and troops were sent to battle fronts as soon as possible. The most serious problem was lack of equipment.
[7]
With the fall of Singapore in 1942, about 40,000 Indian soldiers were captured. They were given a choice and 30,000 joined the
Indian National Army. Those who refused became POWs and were mostly shipped to New Guinea.
[8] Japan's
Indian National Army had little effect on the war.
[9]
In the African and Middle-Eastern Campaigns, captured Indian troops were given a choice to join the German Army to eventually "liberate" India from Great Britain instead of being sent to
POW camps. Those along with Indian students who were in Germany when the war broke out made what was called the
Free India Legion. They were originally intended as pathfinders for German forces in Asia but they soon were sent to help guard the
Atlantic Wall. Few who were part of the Free India Legion ever saw any combat and very few were ever stationed outside of Europe. At its height the Free India Legion had over 3,000 troops in its ranks.
[10]
Indian units served in Burma, where in 1944–45 five Indian divisions were engaged along with one British and three African divisions. Even larger numbers operated in the Middle East. Some 87,000 Indian soldiers died in the war.
[edit]Post independence
Conflicts and operations
[edit]First Kashmir War (1947)
Immediately after independence, tensions between India and Pakistan began to boil over, and the first of three full-scale wars between the two nations broke out over the then
princely state of
Kashmir. The Maharaja of Kashmir wanted to have stand still position. Since, Kashmir was Muslim majority state, Pakistan wanted to make Kashmir a Pakistani territory. In 1948, Pakistan invaded Kashmir, as a result, Maharaja Hari Singh appealed to India, and to
Lord Mountbatten of Burma, the Governor General, for help. He signed the Instrument of Accession to India. This Accession was warmly supported by local people. It took 2 weeks for Indian forces to reach war front. Indian troops were airlifted to Srinagar.
[12] This contingent included
General Thimayya who distinguished himself in the operation and in years that followed, became a Chief of the Indian Army. An intense war was waged across the state and former comrades found themselves fighting each other. Pakistan suffered significant losses. Its forces were stopped on the line formed which is now called LOC (Line of Control).
An uneasy UN sponsored peace returned by the end of 1948 with Indian and Pakistani soldiers facing each other directly on the
Line of Control, which has since divided Indian-held Kashmir from Pakistan-held Kashmir. A host of
UN Resolutions(38–47) were passed calling for a plebiscite to be held in Kashmir to determine accession to India or Pakistan. These
Resolutions however were never accepted by India. Tensions between India and Pakistan, largely over Kashmir, have never since been entirely eliminated.
[edit]Inclusion of Hyderabad (1948)
Main article:
Operation Polo
[edit]Medical Assistance during Korean War (1950–1953)
[edit]Liberation of Goa, Daman and Diu (1961)
The Indian Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Pran Thapar (far right) with deposed Governor General of Portuguese India Manuel António Vassalo e Silva (seated centre) at a POW facility in Vasco Da Gama, Goa
Even though the British and French vacated all their colonial possessions in the
Indian subcontinent, Portugal refused to relinquish control of its Indian colonies of
Goa, Daman and Diu. After repeated attempts by India to negotiate with
Portugal for the return of its territory were spurned by Portuguese prime minister and dictator,
Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, India launched
Operation Vijay on 12 December 1961 to evict the Portuguese. A small contingent of its troops entered Goa, Daman and Diu to liberate and secure the territory. After a brief conflict, in which 31 Portuguese soldiers were killed, the
Portuguese Navy frigate
NRP Afonso de Albuquerque destroyed, and over 3,000 Portuguese captured, Portuguese General
Manuel António Vassalo e Silva surrendered to Maj Gen KP Candeth (Kunhiraman Palat Kandoth) of the Indian Army, after twenty-six hours and Goa, Daman and Diu joined the Indian Union.
[edit]Sino-Indian War (1962)
The cause of the war was a dispute over the sovereignty of the widely separated Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh border regions. Aksai Chin, claimed by India to belong to Kashmir and by China to be part of Xinjiang, contains an important road link that connects the Chinese regions of Tibet and Xinjiang. China's construction of this road was one of the triggers of the conflict.
Small-scale clashes between the Indian and Chinese forces broke out as India insisted on the disputed
McMahon Line being regarded as the international border between the two countries. Chinese troops claim to have not retaliated to the cross-border firing by Indian troops, despite sustaining losses.
[13] China's suspicion of India's involvement in
Tibet created more rifts between the two countries.
[14]
In 1962, the Indian Army was ordered to move to the Thag La ridge located near the border between
Bhutan and
Arunachal Pradesh and about three miles (5 km) north of the disputed McMahon Line. Meanwhile, Chinese troops too had made incursions into Indian-held territory and tensions between the two reached a new high when Indian forces discovered a road constructed by China in
Aksai Chin. After a series of failed negotiations, the
People's Liberation Army attacked Indian Army positions at the Thag La ridge. This move by China caught India by surprise and by 12 October, Nehru gave orders for the Chinese to be expelled from Aksai Chin. However, poor coordination among various divisions of the Indian Army and the late decision to mobilise the Indian Air Force in vast numbers gave China a crucial tactical and strategic advantage over India. On 20 October, Chinese soldiers attacked India in both the North-West and North-Eastern parts of the border and captured vast portions of Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh.
As the fighting moved beyond disputed territories, China called on the Indian government to negotiate, however India remained determined to regain lost territory. With no peaceful agreement in sight, China unilaterally withdrew its forces from Arunachal Pradesh. The reasons for the withdrawal are disputed with India claiming various logistical problems for China and diplomatic support to it from the United States, while China stated that it still held territory that it had staked diplomatic claim upon. The dividing line between the Indian and Chinese forces was named the
Line of Actual Control.
The poor decisions made by India's military commanders, and, indeed, its political leadership, raised several questions. The
Henderson-Brooks & Bhagat committee was soon set up by the Government of India to determine the causes of the poor performance of the Indian Army. The report of China even after hostilities began and also criticised the decision to not allow the Indian Air Force to target Chinese transport lines out of fear of Chinese aerial counter-attack on Indian civilian areas. Much of the blame was also targeted at the incompetence of then Defence Minister,
Krishna Menon who resigned from his post soon after the war ended. Despite frequent calls for its release, the Henderson-Brooks report still remains classified.
[15] Neville Maxwell has written an account of the war.
[16]
[edit]Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Tanks of 18th Cavalry of the Indian Army take charge at Pakistani positions during the 1965 war.
A second confrontation with Pakistan took place in 1965, largely over
Kashmir. Pakistani President
Ayub Khan launched
Operation Gibraltar in August 1965, during which several Pakistani paramilitary troops infiltrated into Indian-administered Kashmir and attempt to ignite an anti-India agitation in
Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistani leaders believed that India, which was still recovering from the disastrous Sino-Indian War, would be unable to deal with a military thrust and a Kashmiri rebellion. India reacted swiftly and launched a counter offensive on Pakistan. Pakistan launched
Operation Grand Slamin reply on 1 September, invading India's Chamb-Jaurian sector. In retaliation, the India's Army launched a major offensive throughout its border with Pakistan, with Lahore as its prime target.
Initially, the Indian Army met with considerable success in the northern sector. After launching prolonged artillery barrages against Pakistan, India was able to capture three important mountain positions in Kashmir. By 9 September, the Indian Army had made considerable in-roads into Pakistan. India had its largest haul of Pakistani tanks when the offensive of Pakistan's 1st Armoured Division was blunted at the
Battle of Asal Uttar, which took place on 10 September near Khemkaran.
[17] The biggest tank battle of the war came in the form of the
Battle of Chawinda, the largest tank battle in history after
World War II. Pakistan's defeat at the
Battle of Asal Uttar hastened the end of the conflict.
[17]
At the time of ceasefire declaration, India reported casualties of about 3,000 killed. On the other hand, it was estimated that more than 4,000 Pakistani soldiers were killed in the battle.
[18][19][20] About 471 Pakistani tanks were either destroyed or captured by India. India lost a total of 128 tanks during the conflict .
[17][21] the decision to return back to pre-war positions, following the
Tashkent Declaration, caused an outcry among the polity
[who?] in New Delhi. It was widely believed that India's decision to accept the ceasefire was due to political factors, and not military, since it was facing considerable pressure from the United States and the UN to stop hostilities.
[22]
[edit]Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
An independence movement broke out in
East Pakistan which was
brutally crushed by Pakistani forces. Due to large-scale
atrocities against them, thousands of
Bengalis took refuge in neighbouring India causing a major refugee crisis there. In early 1971, India declared its full-support for the Bengali rebels, known as
Mukti Bahini, and Indian agents were extensively involved in covert operations to aid them.
On 20 November 1971, Indian Army moved the 14 Punjab Battalion
45 Cavalry into Garibpur, a strategically important town near India's border with East Pakistan, and successfully
captured it. The following day, more
clashes took place between Indian and Pakistani forces. Wary of India's growing involvement in the Bengali rebellion, the
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) launched a preemptive strike on 10 Indian air bases at Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Agra, Adampur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Uttarlai and Sirsa at 1745 hours on 3 December. This aerial offensive, however, failed to accomplish its stated objectives and gave India its excuse to declare a full-scale war against Pakistan the same day. By midnight, the Indian Army, accompanied by Indian Air Force, launched a major three-pronged assault into East Pakistan. The Indian Army won several battles on the eastern front including the decisive of
battle of Hilli, which was the only front where the Pakistani Army was able to build up considerable resistance. The operation also included a battalion-level airborne operation on Tangail which resulted in the capitulation of all resistance within five days.
[23]India's massive early gains was largely attributed to the speed and flexibility with which Indian armoured divisions moved across East Pakistan.
[24]
Indian Army personnel celebrate victory at the end
Battle of Basantar on top of a knocked out Pakistani Patton tank.
Pakistan launched a counter-attack against India on the western front. On 4 December 1971, the A company of the 23rd Battalion of India's
Punjab Regiment detected and intercepted the movement of the 51st Infantry Brigade of the Pakistani Army near Ramgarh, Rajasthan. The
battle of Longewalaensued during which the A company, though being outnumbered, thwarted the Pakistani advance until the Indian Air Force directed its fighters to engage the Pakistani tanks. By the time the battle had ended, 38 Pakistani tanks and 100 armoured vehicles were either destroyed or abandoned. About 200 Pakistani troops were killed in action during the battle while only 2 Indian soldiers lost their lives. Pakistan suffered another major defeat on the western front during the
battle of Basantar which was fought from 4 December to 16th. By the end of the battle, about 66 Pakistani tanks were destroyed and 40 more were captured. In return, Pakistani forces were able to destroy only 11 Indian tanks. None of the numerous Pakistani offensives on the Western front materialised.
[25] By 16 December, Pakistan had lost sizeable territory on both eastern and western fronts.
Under the command of
Lt. General J.S. Arora, the three corps of the Indian Army, which had invaded East Pakistan, entered
Dhaka and forced Pakistani forces to surrender on 16 December 1971, one day after the conclusion of the battle of Basantar. After Pakistan's Lt. General
A.A.K. Niazisigned the Instrument of Surrender, India took more than 90,000 Pakistani
prisoners of war. At the time of the signing of the Instrument of Surrender, 11,000 Pakistani soldiers were killed-in-action while India suffered only 3,500 battle-related deaths.
[19] In addition, Pakistan lost 220 tanks during the battle compared to India's 69.
[26]
In 1972, the
Simla Agreement was signed between the two countries and tensions simmered. However, there were occasional spurts in diplomatic tensions which culminated into increased military vigilance on both sides.
[edit]Siachen conflict (1984)
A memorial at the headquarters of the
Dogra Regiment of the Indian Army in remembrance of members of the regiment who died or served in the Siachen Conflict
The
Siachen Glacier, though a part of the Kashmir region, was not officially demarcated on maps prepared and exchanged between the two sides in 1947. As a consequence, prior to the 1980s, neither India nor Pakistan maintained any permanent military presence in the region. However, Pakistan began conducting and allowing a series of mountaineering expeditions to the glacier beginning in the 1950s. By early 1980s, the government of Pakistan was granting special expedition permits to mountaineers and United States Army maps deliberately showed Siachen as a part of Pakistan. This practice gave rise to the contemporary meaning of the term
oropolitics.
India, possibly irked by these developments, launched
Operation Meghdoot in April 1984. The entire Kumaon Regiment of the Indian Army was airlifted to the glacier. Pakistani forces responded quickly and clashes between the two followed. Indian Army secured the strategic
Sia La and
Bilafond Lamountain passes and by 1985, more than 1,000 square miles (2,600 km
2) of territory, 'claimed' by Pakistan, was under Indian control.
[27] The Indian Army continues to control all of the
Siachen Glacier and its tributary glaciers. Pakistan made several unsuccessful attempts to regain control over Siachen. In late 1987, Pakistan mobilised about 8,000 troops and garrisoned them near Khapalu, aiming to capture Bilafond La.
[28] However, they were repulsed by Indian Army personnel guarding Bilafond. During the battle, about 23 Indian soldiers lost their lives while more than 150 Pakistani troops perished.
[29] Further unsuccessful attempts to reclaim positions were launched by Pakistan in 1990, 1995, 1996 and 1999, most notably in Kargil that year.
India continues to maintain a strong military presence in the region despite extremely inhospitable conditions. The conflict over Siachen is regularly cited as an example of
mountain warfare.
[30] The highest peak in the Siachen glacier region,
Saltoro Kangri, could be viewed as strategically important for India because of its immense altitude which could enable the Indian forces to monitor some Pakistani or Chinese movements in the immediate area.
[31] Maintaining control over Siachen poses several logistical challenges for the Indian Army. Several infrastructure projects were constructed in the region, including a helipad 21,000 feet (6,400 m) above the sea level.
[32] In 2004, Indian Army was spending an estimated US$2 million a day to support its personnel stationed in the region.
[33]
[edit]Counter-insurgency activities
[edit]Kargil conflict (1999)
Map describing Kargil war.
In 1998, India carried out
nuclear tests and a few days later, Pakistan responded by more
nuclear tests giving both countries
nuclear deterrence[disambiguation needed] capability, although India had exploded three hydrogen bombs which Pakistan lacks. Diplomatic tensions eased after the
Lahore Summit was held in 1999. The sense of optimism was short-lived, however, since in mid-1999 Pakistani paramilitary forces and Kashmiri insurgents captured deserted, but strategic, Himalayan heights in the
Kargil district of India. These had been vacated by the Indian army during the onset of the inhospitable winter and were supposed to reoccupied in spring. The regular Pakistani troops who took control of these areas received important support, both in the form of arms and supplies, from Pakistan. Some of the heights under their control, which also included the
Tiger Hill, overlooked the vital
Srinagar-
Leh Highway (NH 1A),
Batalik and
Dras.
Once the scale of the Pakistani incursion was realised, the Indian Army quickly mobilised about 200,000 troops and
Operation Meghdoot was launched. However, since the heights were under Pakistani control, India was in a clear strategic disadvantage. From their
observation posts, the Pakistani forces had a clear line-of-sight to lay down
indirect artillery fire on NH 1A, inflicting heavy casualties on the Indians.
[34] This was a serious problem for the Indian Army as the highway was its main logistical and supply route.
[35] Thus, the Indian Army's first priority was to recapture peaks that were in the immediate vicinity of NH1a. This resulted in Indian troops first targeting the Tiger Hill and Tololing complex in Dras.
[36] This was soon followed by more attacks on the Batalik-Turtok sub-sector which provided access to Siachen Glacier. Point 4590, which had the nearest view of the NH1a, was successfully recaptured by Indian forces on 14 June.
[37]
Memorial of Operation Vijay.
Though most of the posts in the vicinity of the highway were cleared by mid-June, some parts of the highway near Drass witnessed sporadic shelling until the end of the war. Once NH1a area was cleared, the Indian Army turned to driving the invading force back across the Line of Control. The
Battle of Tololing, among other assaults, slowly tilted the combat in India's favour. Nevertheless, some of the posts put up a stiff resistance, including Tiger Hill (Point 5140) that fell only later in the war. As the operation was fully underway, about 250 artillery guns were brought in to clear the infiltrators in the posts that were in the
line-of-sight. In many vital points, neither artillery nor air power could dislodge the outposts manned by the Pakistan soldiers, who were out of visible range. The Indian Army mounted some direct frontal ground assaults which were slow and took a heavy toll given the steep ascent that had to be made on peaks as high as 18,000 feet (5,500 m). Two months into the conflict, Indian troops had slowly retaken most of the ridges they had lost;
[38][39] according to official count, an estimated 75%–80% of the intruded area and nearly all high ground was back under Indian control.
Following the Washington accord on 4 July, where Sharif agreed to withdraw Pakistani troops, most of the fighting came to a gradual halt, but some Pakistani forces remained in positions on the Indian side of the LOC. In addition, the
United Jihad Council (an umbrella for all extremist groups) rejected Pakistan's plan for a climb-down, instead deciding to fight on.
[40] The Indian Army launched its final attacks in the last week of July; as soon as the Drass subsector had been cleared of Pakistani forces, the fighting ceased on 26 July. The day has since been marked as
Kargil Vijay Diwas (Kargil Victory Day) in India. By the end of the war, India had resumed control of all territory south and east of the Line of Control, as was established in July 1972 per the Shimla Accord. By the time all hostilities had ended, the number of Indian soldiers killed during the conflict stood at 527.
[41] while more than 700 regular members of the Pakistani army were killed.
[42] The number of Islamist fighters, also known as
Mujahideen, killed by Indian Armed Forces during the conflict stood at about 3,000.
An exclusive look at Armoured Corps photographs from the Kashmir war era and later. Many of these could be related to the India-Pakistan War of 1948. Featuring Shermans, Stuarts and Armoured Carriers. Click on the photo to see the gallery.
