56 Field Regiment (India) Explained

Unit Name:56 Field Regiment
Dates:1964 – present
Country: India
Allegiance:India
Branch: Indian Army
Type: Artillery
Size:Regiment
Identification Symbol:56 Fd Regt
Identification Symbol Label:Abbreviation
Motto:Sarvatra, Izzat-O-Iqbal
(Everywhere with Honour and Glory).
Colors:Red & Navy Blue
Anniversaries:15 April – Raising Day
Battle Honours:Jitra

56 Field Regiment (Jitra) is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.

Formation

The regiment was raised on 15 April 1964 at Aurangabad as 56 Mountain Composite Regiment (Pack). Lieutenant Colonel Kailas Prasad (Tom) Pandey was first commanding officer. The unit is presently a field regiment.[1] [2]

Batteries

At the time of formation, the regiment had the following three batteries:[1]

4 (Hazara) Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) This battery joined the regiment from 22 Mountain Regiment. It is one of the oldest and most decorated mountain batteries.[3] It was formed at Haripur (presently in Hazara, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Pakistan) from a small body of Hazara gunners raised by Major James Abbott for local defence between 1848 and 1849. The troop nucleus of a native officer and twenty men was from the artillery of Shaikh Imam-ud-Din, who was the governor of the Sikh province of Kashmir. On 2 April 1851, Lieutenant G.G. Pearse, Madras Artillery was appointed in charge of the Hazara Mountain Train, in addition to his duties as the Assistant Commissioner.[4]

The battery has gone through many name changes:[5]

The battery has won the following battle honours:

145 Mountain Battery (Pack) This battery joined the regiment from 52 Mountain Regiment (Pack). It was incidentally raised in 1952 by Lieutenant Colonel KP Pande, the first commanding officer of the regiment.
  • 563 Mountain BatteryThis youngest battery was raised along with the regiment in 1964.

    • Operations

    The regiment has taken part in the following operations:[1]

    Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

    The regiment was part of 95 Mountain Brigade deployed in the northern sector for the liberation of Bangladesh. It was equipped with 76 mm guns. On 3 November 1971, the regiment provided artillery support to 13 Rajputana Rifles in the capture of Telikhali (east of Jamalpur-Tura-Sherpur road). The regiment lost one gunner (Gunner Raja Gopal Pandurang) and two officers wounded.[6]

    The regiment took part in the battles at Jamalpur and Kamalpur. At Kamalpur, it provided accurate artillery support to 1 Maratha Light Infantry and 13 Guards.[7] During the capture of Kamalpur on 4 December 1971, Captain Vijai Pratap Singh of 4 Hazara Battery was the Forward Observation Officer with 13 Guards. Once the company commander of 13 Guards got injured, he took charge. But soon after, he along with his radio operator Gunner Hans Raj were killed by enemy fire. Bahadur Singh, the technical assistant took over the role and directed fire on the enemy. The enemy surrendered on the evening of the same day.[8] [9] [10]

    The regiment won the following gallantry awards:

    Other operations:

    Honours and achievements

    Affiliation

    1st Battalion, 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force), popularly known as FASFIF is affiliated to 56 Field Regiment (Jitra).

    See also

    Further reading

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: 56 Field Regiment Golden Jubilee APO postal cover. 2014-04-15. 2022-01-06.
    2. Web site: Jitra celebrates raising day. 2000-04-16. 2022-01-06.
    3. Web site: From fame to notoriety. 2011-05-22. 2022-01-06.
    4. Book: The Historical Record of No. 4 (Hazara) Mountain Battery, Punjab Frontier Force. Punjab Government Press, Lahore. 1888.
    5. Book: The Quarterly Indian Army List for October 1933. Army Headquarters, India. 1933. 283.
    6. Web site: 1971 War History, Chapter 6. 2022-01-08.
    7. Web site: Battle of Jamalpur in ‘Bathcheet’, February 2020. 2020-02-01. 2022-01-07.
    8. Book: Khullar, Darshan . Themes of Glory: Indian Artillery in War. 2017. VIJ Books (India) Pty Ltd. 978-9385563973.
    9. Book: Katoch. Maj Gen Dhruv C. Zahir. Lt Col Quazi Sajjad Ali. Liberation: Bangladesh – 1971. Bloomsbury India. 2015. 978-9384898564.
    10. Web site: 1971 War History, Chapter 13. 2022-01-08.
    11. Web site: Gazette of India, No 25. 1972-06-17. 2023-06-20.
    12. Web site: Gazette of India, No 19. 1974-05-11. 2022-01-07.
    13. Book: Graham, Brigadier General C.A.L.. The history of the Indian Mountain Artillery. Gale and Polden Ltd. 1957.
    14. Web site: Brig Kailas Prasad Pande. 2022-01-08.

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