Western Command (India) Explained

Unit Name:Western Command
Country: (former)
India (after 1947)
Branch: (former)
(after 1947)
Type:Command
Dates:1904 - 1908
1920 - 1938
1948 - Present
Garrison:Chandimandir, Haryana
Motto:सर्वदा विजयी भव
(May you always win)
Notable Commanders:FM K. M. Cariappa
Gen S M Shrinagesh
Gen K. S. Thimayya
Gen P. N. Thapar
FM Sam Manekshaw
Lt Gen Harbaksh Singh
Lt Gen K. P. Candeth
Gen T. N. Raina
Gen K. V. Krishna Rao
Gen Krishnaswamy Sundarji
Gen S. F. Rodrigues
Gen B. C. Joshi
Gen J. J. Singh

Western Command is a Command-level formation of the Indian Army. It was formed in 1920. It was disbanded following its demotion to an independent district and eventual merge with Northern Command to form the North-western Army. It was re-raised in 1947 following the transfer of Northern Command HQ to Pakistan. Until 1972, it was responsible for India's border with Pakistan in the North and West and the Chinese border in the North. The Command HQ is located at Chandimandir, Haryana, about 5 km east of Chandigarh.

Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Katiyar is the GOC-in-C: he took over on 1 July 2023.[1]

History

Pre-Independence

The Presidency armies were abolished with effect from 1 April 1895 when the three Presidency armies of Bengal, Bombay, and Madras became the Indian Army.[2] The Indian Army was divided into four Commands: Bengal Command, Bombay Command, Madras Command and Punjab Command, each under a lieutenant general.

Between 1904 and 1908, the Bombay Command was renamed as the Western Command. In 1908, the four commands were merged into two Armies: Northern Army and Southern Army as recommended by then Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army Lord Kitchener. This system persisted until 1920 when the arrangement reverted to four commands again: Eastern Command, Northern Command, Southern Command and Western Command.[3]

In 1937, Western Command was downgraded to become the Western Independent District commanded by a major general. In April 1942, the Western Independent District was absorbed in the Northern Command which itself was re-designated as North Western Army.[4]

Re-raising

After the partition of India, the erstwhile command HQ, Northern Command, went to Pakistan and was renamed as GHQ, Pakistan. The communal violence of partition necessitated the raising of a new command headquarters to relieve Army Headquarters of the day to day overseeing of operations of the two independent areas in north India.[5]

This command, initially named Delhi and East Punjab Command was raised in Delhi on 14 September 1947 with Lt Gen Sir Dudley Russell as its commander. It was responsible to administer the Delhi Independent Area and the East Punjab Independent Area.

On 26 October 1947, following the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India, Western Command was put in charge of all Indian Army operations to secure the area for India.

Initially a division sized force Jammu and Kashmir Division was raised on 5 November 1947 under Maj Gen Kulwant Singh for overseeing operations in Jammu and Kashmir. This was later split into two parts Jammu Division (under Maj Gen Atma Singh) and Srinagar Division (under Maj Gen K.S. Thimayya) to oversee operations in Jammu and Kashmir respectively.[6]

The II Corps (Ambala), IX Corps (Yol), XI Corps (Jalandhar) and 40th Artillery Division (Ambala[7]) are control operational units in Western Command.[8]

Structure

Command's Area Of Responsibility (AOR) covers the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and parts of Jammu.[9]

The Western Command has been assigned operational units:- II Corps, IX Corps, XI Corps and 40th Artillery Division. The command in total has following units under its belt :- 6 infantry divisions, 1 armoured division, 1 artillery division, 1 Reorganised Army Plains Infantry Division (RAPID), 3 armoured brigades, 1 mechanized brigade, 1 Air-defence brigade, and 1 engineering brigade.

Structure of Western Command
CorpsCorps HQGOC of Corps(Corps Commander)Assigned UnitsUnit HQ
II Corps(Kharga Corps)Ambala, HaryanaLt Gen Rajesh Pushkar1 Armoured DivisionPatiala, Punjab
9 Infantry DivisionMeerut, Uttar Pradesh
22 Infantry DivisionMeerut, Uttar Pradesh
40 Artillery DivisionAmbala, Haryana
16 (Independent) Armoured BrigadeMamun, Punjab
612 Air-defence BrigadeN/A
474 Engineering BrigadeN/A
IX Corps(Rising Star Corps)Yol, Himachal PradeshLt Gen Rajan Sharawat26 Infantry DivisionJammu, Jammu & Kashmir
29 Infantry DivisionPathankot, Punjab
2 Armoured BrigadeMamun, Punjab
3 Armoured BrigadeRatnuchak, Jammu & Kashmir
XI Corps(Vajra Corps)Jalandhar, PunjabLt Gen Ajay Chandpuria7 Infantry DivisionFirozpur, Punjab
15 Infantry DivisionAmritsar, Punjab
23 (Independent) Armoured BrigadeKhasa, Punjab
55 (Independent) Mechanised BrigadeBeas, Punjab

Precursors (1855–1947)

Following is the list of precursors to the Western Command and their commanders:[10]

Bombay Army (1855–1895)

Commander-in-Chief Bombay Army
S.NoNameAssumed officeLeft officeUnit of CommissionReferences
1March 1855March 1860N/A
2March 1860May 186019th Regiment of Foot
3May 1860March 186553rd Regiment of Foot
4November 1865August 1869Bengal Engineers
5August 1869October 1874
6October 1874October 1878Royal Irish Fusiliers
7October 1878March 188154th Regiment of Foot
8March 1881February 188641st Regiment of Foot
9February 1886December 1886Royal Artillery
10Lieutenant General Duke of Connaught and StrathearnDecember 1886March 1890Royal Engineers
11March 1890April 1893N/A
12April 1893June 189364th Regiment of Foot
13September 1893April 1895

Bombay Command (1895–1904)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Bombay Command
S.NoNameAssumed officeLeft officeUnit of CommissionReferences
1April 1895October 1898Bengal Artillery
2October 1898October 1903Bengal Army
3October 1903October 19044th (King's Own Royal) Regiment

Western Command (1920–1938)

General Officer Commanding Western Command
S.NoNameAssumed officeLeft officeUnit of CommissionReferences
1Dec 1920Jun 1923Somerset Light Infantry
2Jun 1923Jun 1927Royal Engineers
3Jun 1927Jun 1931King's Regiment (Liverpool)
4Jun 1931Jun 1935Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
5Jun 1935Mar 1936Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
6Mar 1936Nov 1938Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own)

Western Independent District (1938–1942)

General Officer Commanding Western Independent District
S.NoNameAssumed officeLeft officeUnit of CommissionReferences
1Aug 1938 July 1940Royal Artillery
2July 1940Feb 1941Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
3Feb 1941Apr 1942Royal Artillery

North-Western Army (1942–1945)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief North-Western Army
S.NoNameAssumed officeLeft officeUnit of CommissionReferences
1Apr 1942May 1943Royal Scots Fusiliers
1May 1943Aug 1943Worcestershire Regiment
3Aug 1943May 1945Indian Staff Corps
ActingJun 1945Oct 1945Indian Staff Corps
4Oct 1945Nov 1945Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)

Delhi and East Punjab Command (1947–1948)

List of GOC-in-C of Western Command (1948–present)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command
S.NoNameAssumed officeLeft officeUnit of CommissionReferences
120 Jan 194814 Jan 1949Rajput Regiment
2Lieutenant General Satyawant Mallana Shrinagesh15 Jan 194914 Jan 1953
315 Jan 195331 Aug 1953
4Lieutenant General Kalwant Singh01 Sep 195324 Mar 19541st Punjab Regiment
525 Mar 195414 May 1955
6Lieutenant General Kalwant Singh15 May 195514 May 19591st Punjab Regiment
725 May 1959 7 May 19611st Punjab Regiment
8Lieutenant General Daulet Singh8 May 1961 22 Nov 1963Armoured Corps
904 Dec 196315 Nov 196412th Frontier Force Regiment
1016 Nov 196426 Sep 19695 Sikh Regiment[11]
1127 Sep 196921 Oct 1972Royal Indian Artillery
12Lieutenant General M. L. Thapan 23 Oct 197226 Oct 1973Jat Regiment
1327 Oct 197331 May 1975Kumaon Regiment
1410 Jun 197530 May 1979
1531 May 197931 May 1981Mahar Regiment
1601 Jun 198131 Dec 19825th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force)
1701 Jun 198313 Feb 1985Mahar Regiment[12]
18Lieutenant General Hriday Kaul 14 Feb 198530 Sep 19862nd Lancers[13]
19Lieutenant General P. N. Hoon 01 Oct 198631 Oct 1987Dogra Regiment
2001 Nov 198731 Oct 1989Parachute Regiment
211 November 1989 30 June 1990Regiment of Artillery[14]
22Lieutenant General G. S. Grewal 01 Jul 199031 Jul 1992 1st Horse
2314 Aug 199230 Jun 199364th Cavalry
24Lieutenant General R. K. Gulati 01 Jul 1993 15 Apr 19959th Deccan Horse
25Lieutenant General Arun Kumar Gautama 16 Apr 199531 Oct 1996 16th Light Cavalry[15]
26Lieutenant General H. B. Kala 01 Nov 199614 Oct 1999Jat Regiment
27Lieutenant General Vijay Oberoi 15 Oct 199929 Sep 2000Maratha Light Infantry
28Lieutenant General Surjit Singh Sangra 1 Oct 200031 Mar 2002Dogra Regiment[16]
29Lieutenant General Shamsher Singh Mehta 5 Apr 200231 Jan 200463rd Cavalry[17] [18]
301 Feb 200431 Jan 2005Maratha Light Infantry
31Lieutenant General S. Patabhiraman 1 Feb 200530 Sep 2005Bombay Sappers[19]
32Lieutenant General Daljeet Singh 1 Oct 200531 Oct 20078th Light Cavalary[20]
33Lieutenant General T. K. Sapru 1 Nov 200730 Nov 20091st Gorkha Rifles[21] [22]
34Lieutenant General S. R. Ghosh 3 Dec 200931 May 2012Brigade of The Guards[23] [24] [25] [26]
35Lieutenant General Sanjiv Chachra 1 Jun 201230 Jun 2013Rajput Regiment[27] [28]
361 Jul 201331 Jul 2014Mechanised Infantry Regiment[29]
371 Aug 201431 Jul 201663rd Cavalry[30]
3817 Sep 201631 Jul 2019Brigade of the Guards[31]
391 Aug 201931 Oct 2021Mechanised Infantry Regiment[32] [33]
401 Nov 202130 June 2023Army Air Defence Corps[34]
411 July 2023IncumbentRajput Regiment[35]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. News: Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar takes over as Western Command GOC-in-C. 2 July 2023. Hindustan Times. 25 April 2024.
  2. Web site: Northern Army. 4 January 2010.
  3. Web site: Commands of the Indian Army. Centre for Defence Careers. 21 April 2021.
  4. Web site: British Military History. 2013-06-01. British Military History.
  5. Book: Sinha, Lt. Gen. S.K. . Operation Rescue:Military Operations in Jammu & Kashmir 1947-49. 1977 . Vision Books . New Delhi . 81-7094-012-5 . 103–127 and 174 . 4 August 2010.
  6. Book: Khanduri, Chandra B. . Thimmayya:An Amazing Life . 1969 . Centre for Armed Historical Research, United Service Institution of India, New Delhi through Knowledge World . New Delhi . 81-87966-36-X . 137 . 6 August 2010.
  7. Web site: District Ambala,Government of Haryana The Historical Ambala India . 2024-04-28 . en-US.
  8. Web site: A Complete Guide To Indian Army. Defence Guru. 22 April 2021.
  9. Web site: Principal Controller of Defence Accounts Government of India - Principal Controller of Defence Accounts Government of India . pcdawc.gov.in.
  10. Web site: Army Commands.
  11. Web site: Rediff On The NeT:Lt General Harbaksh Singh: An officer and a gentleman. www.rediff.com. 2017-10-23.
  12. News: As Gen Arun Shridhar Vaidya retires, Indian Army reshuffles to appoint new army chief. 2017-10-23.
  13. News: Former Western Command GOC-in-C passes away at 85. 2013-12-03. Hindustan Times. 2017-10-23. en.
  14. Web site: NEW ARMY C0MMANDERS ANNOUNCED. 1989-10-29. 2023-03-04.
  15. Web site: Ex-Western Army Commander Lt Gen Gautama passes away. 2022-11-28. 2022-12-22.
  16. Web site: The Tribune - Windows - Feature. www.tribuneindia.com. 2017-10-23.
  17. News: Gen J J Singh new GOC-in-C of Western Command - Times of India. The Times of India. 2017-10-23.
  18. Web site: Commander-level reshuffle on the cards. The Hindu. 2002-04-06. 2017-10-23.
  19. Web site: Press Information Bureau. 2017-10-23.
  20. Web site: Press Information Bureau. 2017-10-23.
  21. Web site: Press Information Bureau. 2017-10-23.
  22. Web site: Press Information Bureau. 2017-10-23.
  23. Web site: Press Information Bureau. 2017-10-23.
  24. Web site: Press Information Bureau. 2017-10-23.
  25. Web site: Lt Gen Ghosh to take charge of Western Command today - Indian Express. archive.indianexpress.com. en-gb. 2017-10-23.
  26. News: Lt Gen Ghosh, last of the 1971 war veterans, retires. 2012-05-31. Hindustan Times. 2017-10-23. en.
  27. Web site: Press Information Bureau. 2017-10-23.
  28. Web site: Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra assumes charge of Western Command - Indian Express. archive.indianexpress.com. en-gb. 2017-10-23.
  29. News: Keralite is chief of Western Army Command. 2013-07-02. The Hindu. 2017-10-23. en-IN. 0971-751X.
  30. Web site: Lt Gen Kamal Jit Singh Promoted Western Army Commander. pib.nic.in. 2017-10-23.
  31. News: Lt Gen Surinder Singh takes over as GOC-in-C. 2016-09-18. The Indian Express. 2017-10-23. en-US.
  32. Web site: Lt Gen Ravindra Pal Singh is next GOC-in-C Western Command, to take over on Oct 1. 23 July 2019. The Indian Express. 23 December 2019.
  33. Web site: Major rejig in military's top hierarchy on the anvil. New Indian Express. 20 November 2021.
  34. News: Lt Gen Nav K Khanduri appointed as next chief of Army's Western Command. 25 September 2021. India Today. 31 October 2021.
  35. News: Lt Gen Manoj Katiyar assumes charge as Western Army Commander. The Tribune. 1 July 2023. 1 July 2023.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Western Command (India)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.