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 in Chandimandir, Haryana, about 5 km east of Chandigarh.
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.[2]
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 ArmyLord 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-raisingedit
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.[5]
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.[5]
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.[5] 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]
^"Commands of the Indian Army". Centre for Defence Careers. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
^"British Military History". British Military History. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
^ abcdSinha, Lt. Gen. S.K. (1977). Operation Rescue:Military Operations in Jammu & Kashmir 1947-49. New Delhi: Vision Books. pp. 103–127 and 174. ISBN81-7094-012-5. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
^Khanduri, Chandra B. (1969). Thimmayya:An Amazing Life. New Delhi: Centre for Armed Historical Research, United Service Institution of India, New Delhi through Knowledge World. p. 137. ISBN81-87966-36-X. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
^"A Complete Guide To Indian Army". Defence Guru. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
^"Principal Controller of Defence Accounts | Government of India - Principal Controller of Defence Accounts | Government of India". pcdawc.gov.in.
^"Rediff On The NeT:Lt General Harbaksh Singh: An officer and a gentleman". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^ ab"As Gen Arun Shridhar Vaidya retires, Indian Army reshuffles to appoint new army chief". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Former Western Command GOC-in-C passes away at 85". Hindustan Times. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"NEW ARMY C0MMANDERS ANNOUNCED" (PDF). 29 October 1989. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
^"Ex-Western Army Commander Lt Gen Gautama passes away". 28 November 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
^"The Tribune - Windows - Feature". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Gen J J Singh new GOC-in-C of Western Command - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Commander-level reshuffle on the cards". The Hindu. 6 April 2002. Retrieved 23 October 2017.[dead link]
^"Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Lt Gen Ghosh to take charge of Western Command today - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Lt Gen Ghosh, last of the 1971 war veterans, retires". Hindustan Times. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra assumes charge of Western Command - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Keralite is chief of Western Army Command". The Hindu. 2 July 2013. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Lt Gen Kamal Jit Singh Promoted Western Army Commander". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Lt Gen Surinder Singh takes over as GOC-in-C". The Indian Express. 18 September 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Lt Gen Ravindra Pal Singh is next GOC-in-C Western Command, to take over on Oct 1". The Indian Express. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
^"Major rejig in military's top hierarchy on the anvil". New Indian Express. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
^"Lt Gen Manoj Katiyar assumes charge as Western Army Commander". The Tribune. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
Further readingedit
Richard A. Renaldi and Ravi Rikhye, 'Indian Army Order of Battle,' Orbat.com for Tiger Lily Books: A division of General Data LLC, ISBN978-0-9820541-7-8, 2011.
January 01, 1970
western, command, india, western, command, command, level, formation, indian, army, formed, 1920, disbanded, following, demotion, independent, district, eventual, merge, with, northern, command, form, north, western, army, raised, 1947, following, transfer, no. 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 in Chandimandir Haryana about 5 km east of Chandigarh Western CommandWestern Command s insignia todayActive1904 19081920 19381948 PresentCountry British India former India after 1947 Branch British Indian Army former Indian Army after 1947 TypeCommandGarrison HQChandimandir HaryanaMotto s सर वद व जय भव May you always win CommandersCurrentcommanderLt Gen Manoj Kumar KatiyarNotablecommandersFM K M CariappaGen S M Shrinagesh Gen K S ThimayyaGen P N ThaparFM Sam ManekshawLt Gen Harbaksh SinghLt Gen K P CandethGen T N RainaGen K V Krishna RaoGen Krishnaswamy SundarjiGen S F Rodrigues Gen B C JoshiGen J J Singh Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Katiyar is the GOC in C he took over on 1 July 2023 1 Contents 1 History 1 1 Pre Independence 1 2 Re raising 2 Structure 3 Precursors 1855 1947 3 1 Bombay Army 1855 1895 3 2 Bombay Command 1895 1904 3 3 Western Command 1904 1908 3 4 Western Command 1920 1938 3 5 Western Independent District 1938 1942 3 6 North Western Army 1942 1945 3 7 Delhi and East Punjab Command 1947 1948 4 List of GOC in C of Western Command 1948 present 5 Notes 6 Further readingHistory editPre Independence edit 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 2 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 edit 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 5 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 5 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 5 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 are control operational units in Western Command 7 Structure editCommand s Area Of Responsibility AOR covers the states of Punjab Haryana Delhi and parts of Jammu 8 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 Corps Corps HQ GOC of Corps Corps Commander Assigned Units Unit HQ II Corps Kharga Corps Ambala Haryana Lt Gen Rahul R Singh 1 Armoured Division Patiala Punjab 9 Infantry Division Meerut Uttar Pradesh 22 Infantry Division Meerut Uttar Pradesh 40 Artillery Division Ambala Haryana 16 Independent Armoured Brigade Mamun Punjab 612 Air defence Brigade N A 474 Engineering Brigade N A IX Corps Rising Star Corps Yol Himachal Pradesh Lt Gen SP Singh 26 Infantry Division Jammu Jammu amp Kashmir 29 Infantry Division Pathankot Punjab 2 Armoured Brigade Mamun Punjab 3 Armoured Brigade Ratnuchak Jammu amp Kashmir XI Corps Vajra Corps Jalandhar Punjab Lt Gen Vijay B Nair 7 Infantry Division Firozpur Punjab 15 Infantry Division Amritsar Punjab 23 Independent Armoured Brigade Khasa Punjab 55 Independent Mechanised Brigade Beas PunjabPrecursors 1855 1947 editFollowing is the list of precursors to the Western Command and their commanders 9 Bombay Army 1855 1895 edit Commander in Chief Bombay Army Rank Name Appointment date Left office Unit of commission Lieutenant General Sir Henry Somerset March 1855 March 1860 N A Lieutenant General Sir Hugh H Rose March 1860 May 1860 19th Regiment of Foot Lieutenant General Sir William R Mansfield May 1860 March 1865 53rd Regiment of Foot Lieutenant General Lord Napier of Magdala November 1865 August 1869 Bengal Engineers Lieutenant General Sir Augustus A Spencer August 1869 October 1874 43rd Light Infantry General Sir Charles W D Staveley October 1874 October 1878 Royal Irish Fusiliers General Sir Henry J Warre October 1878 March 1881 54th Regiment of Foot General Arthur E Hardinge March 1881 February 1886 41st Regiment of Foot Lieutenant General Charles G Arbuthnot February 1886 December 1886 Royal Artillery Lieutenant General Duke of Connaught and Strathearn December 1886 March 1890 Royal Engineers Lieutenant General Sir George R Greaves March 1890 April 1893 N A Lieutenant General Sir John Hudson April 1893 June 1893 64th Regiment of Foot Lieutenant General Sir Charles E Nairne September 1893 April 1895 Bengal Artillery Bombay Command 1895 1904 edit General Officer Commanding in Chief Bombay Command Rank Name Appointment date Left office Unit of commission Lieutenant General Sir Charles E Nairne April 1895 October 1898 Bengal Artillery General Sir Robert C Low October 1898 October 1903 Bengal Army Lieutenant General Sir Archibald Hunter October 1903 October 1904 4th King s Own Royal Regiment Western Command 1904 1908 edit General Officer Commanding Western Command Rank Name Appointment date Left office Unit of commission Lieutenant General Sir Archibald Hunter Oct 1904 Jun 1907 4th King s Own Royal Regiment Western Command 1920 1938 edit General Officer Commanding Western Command Rank Name Appointment date Left office Unit of commission Lieutenant General Sir Walter P Braithwaite Dec 1920 Jun 1923 Somerset Light Infantry Lieutenant General Sir George M Kirkpatrick Jun 1923 Jun 1927 Royal Engineers Lieutenant General Sir Charles H Harington Jun 1927 Jun 1931 King s Regiment Liverpool Lieutenant General Sir Torquil G Matheson Jun 1931 Jun 1935 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment Lieutenant General Sir Ivo L B Vesey Jun 1935 Mar 1936 Queen s Royal Regiment West Surrey Lieutenant General Sir Walter W Pitt Taylor Mar 1936 Nov 1938 Rifle Brigade The Prince Consort s Own Western Independent District 1938 1942 edit General Officer Commanding Western Independent District Rank Name Appointment date Left office Unit of commission Major General Thomas J Hutton Aug 1938 July 1940 Royal Artillery Major General John F Evetts July 1940 Feb 1941 Cameronians Scottish Rifles Lieutenant General Edward F Norton Feb 1941 Apr 1942 Royal Artillery North Western Army 1942 1945 edit General Officer Commanding in Chief North Western Army Rank Name Appointment date Left office Unit of commission General Sir Cyril D Noyes Apr 1942 May 1943 Royal Scots Fusiliers General Sir Edward P Quinan May 1943 Aug 1943 Worcestershire Regiment General Sir Henry Finnis Aug 1943 May 1945 Indian Staff Corps Major General Cecil Toovey acting Jun 1945 Oct 1945 Indian Staff Corps General Sir Richard N O Connor Oct 1945 Nov 1945 Cameronians Scottish Rifles Delhi and East Punjab Command 1947 1948 edit General Officer Commanding in Chief Delhi and East Punjab Command Rank Name Appointment date Left office Unit of commission Lieutenant General Dudley Russell 15 August 1947 19 January 1948 97th Deccan InfantryList of GOC in C of Western Command 1948 present editGeneral Officer Commanding in Chief Western Command Rank Name Appointment date Left office Unit of commission References Lieutenant General Kodandera Madappa Cariappa 20 Jan 1948 14 Jan 1949 Rajput Regiment Lieutenant General Satyawant Mallana Shrinagesh 15 Jan 1949 14 Jan 1953 19th Hyderabad Regiment Lieutenant General Kodandera Subayya Thimayya 15 Jan 1953 31 Aug 1953 19th Hyderabad Regiment Lieutenant General Kalwant Singh 01 Sep 1953 24 Mar 1954 1st Punjab Regiment Lieutenant General Kodandera Subayya Thimayya 25 Mar 1954 14 May 1955 19th Hyderabad Regiment Lieutenant General Kalwant Singh 15 May 1955 14 May 1959 1st Punjab Regiment Lieutenant General Pran Nath Thapar 25 May 1959 7 May 1961 1st Punjab Regiment Lieutenant General Daulet Singh 8 May 1961 22 Nov 1963 Armoured Corps Lieutenant General Sam Manekshaw 04 Dec 1963 15 Nov 1964 12th Frontier Force Regiment Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh 16 Nov 1964 26 Sep 1969 5 Sikh Regiment 10 Lieutenant General Kunhiraman Palat Candeth 27 Sep 1969 21 Oct 1972 Royal Indian Artillery Lieutenant General M L Thapan 23 Oct 1972 26 Oct 1973 Jat Regiment Lieutenant General Tapishwar Narain Raina 27 Oct 1973 31 May 1975 Kumaon Regiment Lieutenant General Inderjit Singh Gill 10 Jun 1975 30 May 1979 Royal Engineers Lieutenant General Kotikalapudi Venkata Krishna Rao 31 May 1979 31 May 1981 Mahar Regiment Lieutenant General Srinivas Kumar Sinha 01 Jun 1981 31 Dec 1982 5th Gorkha Rifles Frontier Force Lieutenant General Krishnaswamy Sundarji 01 Jun 1983 13 Feb 1985 Mahar Regiment 11 Lieutenant General Hriday Kaul 14 Feb 1985 30 Sep 1986 2nd Lancers 11 12 Lieutenant General P N Hoon 01 Oct 1986 31 Oct 1987 Dogra Regiment Lieutenant General V K Nayar 01 Nov 1987 31 Oct 1989 Parachute Regiment Lieutenant General Sunith Francis Rodrigues 1 November 1989 30 June 1990 Regiment of Artillery 13 Lieutenant General G S Grewal 01 Jul 1990 31 Jul 1992 1st Horse Lieutenant General Bipin Chandra Joshi 14 Aug 1992 30 Jun 1993 64th Cavalry Lieutenant General R K Gulati 01 Jul 1993 15 Apr 1995 9th Deccan Horse Lieutenant General Arun Kumar Gautama 16 Apr 1995 31 Oct 1996 16th Light Cavalry 14 Lieutenant General H B Kala 01 Nov 1996 14 Oct 1999 Jat Regiment Lieutenant General Vijay Oberoi 15 Oct 1999 29 Sep 2000 Maratha Light Infantry Lieutenant General Surjit Singh Sangra 1 Oct 2000 31 Mar 2002 Dogra Regiment 15 Lieutenant General Shamsher Singh Mehta 5 Apr 2002 31 Jan 2004 63rd Cavalry 16 17 Lieutenant General Joginder Jaswant Singh 1 Feb 2004 31 Jan 2005 Maratha Light Infantry Lieutenant General S Patabhiraman 1 Feb 2005 30 Sep 2005 Bombay Sappers 18 Lieutenant General Daljeet Singh 1 Oct 2005 31 Oct 2007 8th Light Cavalary 19 Lieutenant General T K Sapru 1 Nov 2007 30 Nov 2009 1st Gorkha Rifles 20 21 Lieutenant General S R Ghosh 3 Dec 2009 31 May 2012 Brigade of The Guards 22 23 24 25 Lieutenant General Sanjiv Chachra 1 Jun 2012 30 Jun 2013 Rajput Regiment 26 27 Lieutenant General Philip Campose 1 Jul 2013 31 Jul 2014 Mechanised Infantry Regiment 28 Lieutenant General Kamaljit Singh 1 Aug 2014 31 Jul 2016 63rd Cavalry 29 Lieutenant General Surinder Singh 17 Sep 2016 31 Jul 2019 Brigade of the Guards 30 Lieutenant General Ravendra Pal Singh 1 Aug 2019 31 Oct 2021 Mechanised Infantry Regiment 31 32 Lieutenant General Nav Kumar Khanduri 1 Nov 2021 30 June 2023 Army Air Defence Corps 1 Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Katiyar 1 July 2023 Incumbent Rajput Regiment 33 Notes edit a b Lt Gen Nav K Khanduri appointed as next chief of Army s Western Command India Today 25 September 2021 Retrieved 31 October 2021 a b Northern Army Retrieved 4 January 2010 Commands of the Indian Army Centre for Defence Careers Retrieved 21 April 2021 British Military History British Military History Retrieved 1 June 2013 a b c d Sinha Lt Gen S K 1977 Operation Rescue Military Operations in Jammu amp Kashmir 1947 49 New Delhi Vision Books pp 103 127 and 174 ISBN 81 7094 012 5 Retrieved 4 August 2010 Khanduri Chandra B 1969 Thimmayya An Amazing Life New Delhi Centre for Armed Historical Research United Service Institution of India New Delhi through Knowledge World p 137 ISBN 81 87966 36 X Retrieved 6 August 2010 A Complete Guide To Indian Army Defence Guru Retrieved 22 April 2021 Principal Controller of Defence Accounts Government of India Principal Controller of Defence Accounts Government of India pcdawc gov in Army Commands PDF Rediff On The NeT Lt General Harbaksh Singh An officer and a gentleman www rediff com Retrieved 23 October 2017 a b As Gen Arun Shridhar Vaidya retires Indian Army reshuffles to appoint new army chief Retrieved 23 October 2017 Former Western Command GOC in C passes away at 85 Hindustan Times 3 December 2013 Retrieved 23 October 2017 NEW ARMY C0MMANDERS ANNOUNCED PDF 29 October 1989 Retrieved 4 March 2023 Ex Western Army Commander Lt Gen Gautama passes away 28 November 2022 Retrieved 22 December 2022 The Tribune Windows Feature www tribuneindia com Retrieved 23 October 2017 Gen J J Singh new GOC in C of Western Command Times of India The Times of India Retrieved 23 October 2017 Commander level reshuffle on the cards The Hindu 6 April 2002 Retrieved 23 October 2017 dead link Press Information Bureau Retrieved 23 October 2017 Press Information Bureau Retrieved 23 October 2017 Press Information Bureau Retrieved 23 October 2017 Press Information Bureau Retrieved 23 October 2017 Press Information Bureau Retrieved 23 October 2017 Press Information Bureau Retrieved 23 October 2017 Lt Gen Ghosh to take charge of Western Command today Indian Express archive indianexpress com Retrieved 23 October 2017 Lt Gen Ghosh last of the 1971 war veterans retires Hindustan Times 31 May 2012 Retrieved 23 October 2017 Press Information Bureau Retrieved 23 October 2017 Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra assumes charge of Western Command Indian Express archive indianexpress com Retrieved 23 October 2017 Keralite is chief of Western Army Command The Hindu 2 July 2013 ISSN 0971 751X Retrieved 23 October 2017 Lt Gen Kamal Jit Singh Promoted Western Army Commander pib nic in Retrieved 23 October 2017 Lt Gen Surinder Singh takes over as GOC in C The Indian Express 18 September 2016 Retrieved 23 October 2017 Lt Gen Ravindra Pal Singh is next GOC in C Western Command to take over on Oct 1 The Indian Express 23 July 2019 Retrieved 23 December 2019 Major rejig in military s top hierarchy on the anvil New Indian Express Retrieved 20 November 2021 Lt Gen Manoj Katiyar assumes charge as Western Army Commander The Tribune 1 July 2023 Retrieved 1 July 2023 Further reading editRichard A Renaldi and Ravi Rikhye Indian Army Order of Battle Orbat com for Tiger Lily Books A division of General Data LLC ISBN 978 0 9820541 7 8 2011 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Western Command India amp oldid 1191925034, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
