40 Field Regiment (India) Explained

Unit Name:40 Field Regiment (Asal Uttar)
Dates:1943 – present
Country:India
Allegiance:
India
Branch:
Indian Army
Type: Artillery
Role:Field Regiment
Equipment:Indian Field Gun
Identification Symbol:40 Fd Regt (Asal Uttar)
Identification Symbol Label:Abbreviation
Nickname:Roaring Forty
Motto:SARVATRA, IZZAT-O-IQBAL "Everywhere With Honour and Glory".
Colors:"Red & Navy Blue"
Anniversaries:Raising day - 1 February
Asal Uttar Day - 7 September[1]
Battle Honours:Asal Uttar

40 Field Regiment (Asal Uttar), nicknamed the Roaring Forty is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.

Formation

The Regiment was raised at Risalpur (presently in Pakistan) as 8 Indian Field Regiment on 1 February 1943 with the troop nucleus being of South Indian classes.[2] [3] The Batteries were designated as 19, 20 and 21 Field Batteries. The first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel WMC Wall and the regiment was then equipped with 25 Pounder guns.[4]

History

The Regiment became the first medium regiment of the Indian Army on 1 October 1944, when it was re-equipped with 5.5" guns.[5] It was later re-designated initially as the 1st Indian Medium Regiment and subsequently as 40 Medium Regiment in order to avoid duplication of numbers in the Regiment of Artillery.[6] One battery was disbanded and the other two batteries were redesignated as 1 Medium Battery and 2 Medium Battery respectively. In 1953, the batteries were also re-numbered as 28 and 29 Medium Batteries. In January 1966, a third battery was raised as 403 Battery.

The regiment was awarded with the prestigious Asal Uttar honour title for its exemplary display in the Battle of Asal Uttar in the 1965 Indo-Pak War.[7] [8] It acquired the status of a medium self propelled unit, when it was equipped with the M-46 Catapult, which had 130 mm guns mounted on a Vijayanta chassis. The regiment has subsequently converted to a field artillery regiment and is now equipped with Indian Field Guns.[4]

The Regiment also had the honour of carrying Mahatma Gandhi's ashes for immersion in the Damodar River in Ramgarh on one of its guns in 1948.

The regiment had the honour to participate in the Republic Day Parade in 1979 with their 130 mm towed guns and in 1987 and 1989 with their Catapults.[9] [10]

Operations

Some of the major operations undertaken by the Regiment include:

Hyderabad Police Action (1948): 2nd Medium battery moved to Hyderabad in May 1948 in support of Smash Force / 1 Armoured Division to quell an armed insurrection aimed against the formal union of this princely state with the Union of India.[11] Two guns recovered during the action, are exhibited at the unit's Quarter Guard.
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948
  • 1 Medium Battery participated in the J & K Operations to counter the armed incursion into the State. The 5.5" guns were dismantled and air-lifted in Dakotas to Kashmir. Exemplary courage and gallantry was displayed by Capt. Dara Dinshaw Mistri in the Naushera Sector on 15 December 1948. He was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) for display of bravery and gallant action.[12] [13] (This was the first MVC in the Regiment of Artillery).

    The official citation reads:

    Indo-Pak War (1965)
  • In September 1965, the Regiment was located in Meerut, when it received the mobilisation orders. The Regiment was part of Operation Riddle in the Khemkaran-Kasur Sector in which Pakistan's 1 Armoured Division advanced towards East of the Icchogil Canal. The Regiment with its 5.5" guns fired over 13,000 rounds at Kasur town, which halted the Pakistani advance for a day.[14] The regiment lost two officers (2nd Lieutenant IK Gupta and 2nd Lieutenant LS Modi) in this operation.[15] [16]
    Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
  • The Regiment's batteries were located at three different places when it received its mobilisation orders. One Battery (403 Medium Battery) stuck to their guns in Sikkim which could not be diverted to participate in the Operations. Without the 403 Medium Battery, 28 Medium Battery equipped with 5.5-inch medium guns headed towards Dacca from Agartala RHQ and 29 Medium Battery entered the then East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) from Bhajanpur.[17] [18] [19] The 28 Medium Battery of the regiment was one of the first artillery troops to reach Dacca.[20]
    1973 Provincial Armed Constabulary revolt
  • On 22 May 1973, the Regiment was deployed for internal security duties at Varanasi to aid the civil authorities to quell the armed insurrection by the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) at Ramnagar and Chunar. One officer (Major N. N. Jally) and 10 other ranks were killed, but the rebellion was successfully quelled. Four Sena Medals were awarded to the Regiment. 500 PAC personnel surrendered to the Commanding Officer during the operation.[4]
    Others: The Regiment has participated in[4] -

    Awards and citations

    The regiment has the following awards and citations -

    1. Maj Ramnath
    2. Naik A Poulose (posthumous)
    3. Lance Naik Sundram
    4. Lance Naik S Swamy Dam
    5. Gunner Seshathiri
    6. Captain Harish Raman

    Equipment

    The regiment has had the following guns in chronological order[4] -

    Sports

    The following personnel from the unit have participated at international and service levels -

    International

    1. Nk Nageshwar Rao- Paragliding

    Services

    1. Sub Nanjappa- Athletics
    2. Hav Jyoti Dev- Athletics
    3. Nb Sub PB Thimmaiah- Boxing
    4. Nk Sajeev P Basu- Volleyball
    5. Hav Y Papa Rao- Athletics

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Asal Uttar Day Celebrations at Ferozepur. 2022-09-12. 2023-09-10.
    2. Book: Palit, DK. History of the Regiment of Artillery – India. 1971. Palit & Dutt Publishers, Dehradun. 978-0850521184. 53.
    3. Web site: The Cholas Some Enduring Issues of Statecraft, Military Matters and International Relations, P.K. Gautam, page 55. 2020-09-06.
    4. Web site: Platinum Jubilee. 2018-09-07. 2023-06-20.
    5. Web site: Anjan Mukherjee in Evolution of Indian Artillery and its Impact on India's Comprehensive Military Power, chapter II. 2022-02-01.
    6. Book: Adams, EG Phythian. The Madras Soldier 1746-1946. 1948. The Superintendent Government Of Madras. 193.
    7. Book: Lehl, LS. Missed Opportunities : Indo-Pak War 1965. 1997. Natraj Publishers, New Delhi. 978-8181585004. 63–71.
    8. Book: Singh, Jagjit. Artillery: The Battle-Winning Arm. 2006. Lancer Publishers, New Delhi. 978-8176021807.
    9. Web site: Republic Day Parade 1987. 2021-05-16.
    10. Web site: Republic Day Parade 1989. 2021-06-12.
    11. Web site: Operation Polo: The Liberation Of Hyderabad at Bharat Rakshak Volume 2-3, November-December 1999. 2020-09-06.
    12. Web site: DD Mistri MVC at gallantryawards.gov.in. 2020-08-16.
    13. Web site: DD Mistri MVC at indianarmy.nic.in. 2020-08-16.
    14. Web site: The Tribune Article on 06-09-2015. 2020-09-06.
    15. Web site: Indo-Pak War (1965). 2020-09-06.
    16. Web site: 2nd Lt IK Gupta in Times of India article 'His heroic move kept enemy on toes' dated 09-09-2015. 2020-09-06.
    17. Web site: 28 Medium Battery in Dacca. 2020-09-06.
    18. Web site: No bed of roses in 'Salute' dated 07-06-2018. 2020-09-06.
    19. Web site: Battle of Pachagarh in IDR 16 Nov, 2018. 2020-09-06.
    20. Web site: Artillery and its creative thinking. 2014-01-18. 2023-03-25.

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