Indian army command
Military unit
TheEastern Command is one of the six operational commands of theIndian Army . It is headquartered in Vijay Durg (formerly known asFort William) in the city ofKolkata in the state ofWest Bengal . The Eastern Command was formed on 1 November 1920.[ 1] three-star rank officer with the titleGeneral Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C).
Lieutenant General Ram Chander Tiwari is the current GOC-in-C of Eastern Command.[ 2]
ThePresidency armies were abolished with effect from 1 April 1895 when the three Presidency armies ofBengal ,Bombay , andMadras became theIndian Army .[ 3] lieutenant general .[ 3]
Between 1904 and 1908, the Bengal Command became the Eastern Command. In 1908, the four commands were merged into two Armies – the Northern Army and Southern Army – as recommended by the thenCommander-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]
On 1 November 1920, the Eastern Command was formed, with its summer headquarters inNainital and winter headquarters inLucknow .General Sir Havelock Hudson , became its first Commander.[ 4]
In 1942, the command had the following formations under it:
On 21 April 1942, the command was re-designated as Eastern Army.[ 5] Barrackpore to fight theWorld War II . TheChindits were raised and launched into operations in 1943, by the77th Indian Infantry Brigade , a unit of the Eastern Command.[ 6]
In October 1943, theFourteenth Army was formed and was given responsibility for the area east of theMeghna River . With this, the Eastern Army retained responsibility for the area west of the river.[ 7]
After the war, on 23 March 1947, the Command HQ moved toRanchi . The HQ was later moved toLucknow in 1955. However, on 1 May 1963, post theSino-Indian War ; theCentral Command was re-raised andLucknow was made its HQ, whileKolkata was made HQ Eastern Command.[ 8]
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 [ edit ] Pakistan's Lt. Gen.A. A. K. Niazi signing theInstrument of Surrender under the gaze ofLt. Gen. J. S. Aurora , the head of the Indian Army's Eastern Command, on 16 December 1971, inDhaka . The Command had the overall responsibility of the eastern theatre of the 13-day war. The command had the two existing infantry corps –IV Corps andXXXIII Corps , and raised another –II Corps . Apart from this, the 101 Communication Zone was reorganised as aDivision -sized combat formation.Lieutenant General J S Arora , as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command, commanded all Indian and Bangladesh Forces in the eastern theatre. The Order of Battle of the Eastern Command during the war was:
II Corps (HQ - Krishnanagar) (GOC -Lieutenant General T N Raina )
50th Independent Parachute Brigade (less 2 Para Bn Gp) – Brigadier M Thomas 8th Mountain Artillery Brigade 58th, 68th and 263rd Engineering Regiments 9th Infantry Division (GOC -Major General Dalbir Singh)32 Infantry Brigade – Brigadier M Tewari 42 Infantry Brigade – Brigadier J. M. Jhoria 350 Infantry Brigade – Brigadier H. S. Sandhu 9th Artillery Brigade 4th Mountain Division (HQ - Krishnanagar) (GOC - Major General M S Barar)7th Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Zail Singh 41st Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Tony Michigan 62nd Mountain Brigade - Brigadier Rajinder Nath 4th Mountain Artillery Brigade IV Corps (HQ - Agartala) GOC -Lieutenant General Sagat Singh
Corps Artillery Brigade Three Independent Tank Squadrons 8th Mountain Division (GOC -Major General K. V. Krishna Rao )Echo Force Brigade – Brigadier Wadeker 59th Mountain Brigade – Brigadier C. A. Quinn 81st Mountain Brigade – Brigadier R. C. V. Apte 2nd Mountain Artillery Brigade 57th Mountain Division (GOC - Major General B.F. Gonsalves)311th Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Mishra 73rd Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Tuli 61st Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Tom Pande 57th Mountain Artillery Brigade 23rd Mountain Division (GOC - Major General R.D. Hira)301st Mountain Brigade – Brigadier H. S. Sodhi 181st Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Y. C. Bakshi 83rd Mountain Brigade – Brigadier B. S. Sandhu 23rd Mountain Artillery Brigade Kilo Force Brigade – Brigadier Ananda Swaroop[ 9] Mizo Range Hills Brigade[ 10] XXXIII Corps (HQ -Siliguri ) (GOC - Lieutenant General M L Thapan)
Corps Artillery Brigade 471st Engineering Brigade – Colonel Suri 235th Army Engineering Regiment 2 Para Bn Gp MF Brigade – Brigadier Prem Singh 71st Mountain Brigade – Brigadier P. N. Kathpalia 20th Mountain Division (HQ -Balurghat ) (GOC - Major General Lachhman Singh)66th Mountain Brigade – Brigadier G. S. Sharma 165th Mountain Brigade – Brigadier R. S. Pannu 202nd Mountain Brigade – Brigadier F. P. Bhatty 3rd Armoured Brigade – Brigadier G. Singh Sidhu 20th Mountain Artillery Brigade 340th Mountain Brigade Group – Brigadier Joginder Singh 6th Mountain Division ( HQ -Cooch Behar ) (Eastern Command HQ Reserve) (GOC - Major General P C Reddy)9th Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Tirit Varma 99th Mountain Brigade 6th Mountain Artillery Brigade 101st Communication Zone (HQ:Guwahati ) (GOC - Major General Gurbax Singh Gill)
312 Air Defence Brigade 342 Ind. Air Defence Brigade 95th Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Hardev Singh Kler FJ Sector Brigade – Brigadier Sant Singh[ 11] 167th Infantry Brigade – Brigadier Irani (allotted after 8 December 1971) 5th Mountain Brigade (allotted after 8 December 1971) On 16 December 1971, theEastern Command of thePakistan Armed Forces surrendered atDhaka .East Pakistan ceased to exist andBangladesh was born.Lt Gen J S Arora accepted thePakistani Instrument of Surrender , signed byLt Gen A. A. K. Niazi atDacca Racecourse . Approximately 93,000 Pakistani servicemen weretaken prisoner by theIndian Army , which included 79,676 to 81,000 uniformed personnel of the Pakistan Armed Forces, including some Bengali soldiers who had remained loyal to Pakistan.[ 12] [ 13]
The Command'sArea of responsibility coversWest Bengal ;Sikkim ;Assam ;Arunachal Pradesh ;Nagaland ;Manipur ;Mizoram ;Tripura ;Meghalaya , andJharkhand .[ 14]
The Eastern Command includesIII Corps ,IV Corps ,XVII Corps ,XXXIII Corps and the23rd Infantry Division .[ 15] [ 16] 101 Area , originally raised atShillong in 1963 as 101 Communications Zone.[ 17]
Structure of Eastern Command Insignia Corps Corps HQ GOC of Corps(Corps Commander)
Assigned Units Unit HQ III Corps (Spear Corps)
Rangapahar ,Nagaland Lt Gen Abhijit S Pendharkar[ 18] 2 Mountain Division Dinjan ,Assam 56 Mountain Division Likabali ,Arunachal Pradesh 57 Mountain Division Leimakhong ,Manipur IV Corps (Gajraj Corps)
Tezpur ,Assam Lt Gen Gambhir Singh[ 19] 5 Mountain Division Bomdila ,Arunachal Pradesh 21 Mountain Division Rangia ,Assam 71 Mountain Division Missa Mari, Assam XVII Corps (Brahmastra Corps)
Panagarh ,West Bengal Lt Gen Yash Singh Ahlawat[ 20] 59 Mountain Division Panagarh ,West Bengal 23 Infantry Division Ranchi ,Jharkhand 17 (Independent) Artillery Brigade Panagarh ,West Bengal XXXIII Corps (Trishakti Corps)
Siliguri ,West Bengal Lt Gen Zubin A Minwalla[ 21] 17 Mountain Division Gangtok ,Sikkim 20 Mountain Division Binnaguri ,West Bengal 27 Mountain Division Kalimpong ,West Bengal
[ edit ] Following is the list of precursors to the Eastern Command and their commanders:[ 22]
[ edit ] [ edit ] General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission References 1 General Sir Havelock Hudson KCB KCIE November 1920 February 1924 Northamptonshire Regiment 2 General Sir George de S. Barrow KCB KCMG February 1924 April 1928 Connaught Rangers 3 General Sir John S. M. Shea GCB KCMG DSO April 1928 April 1932 Royal Irish Regiment 4 General Sir C. Norman MacMullen KCB CMG CIE DSO April 1932 April 1936 Unattached 5 General Sir H. B. Douglas Baird KCB CMG CIE DSO April 1936 April 1940 Unattached 6 Lieutenant General Sir Charles N. F. Broad KCB DSO April 1940 July 1942 Royal Field Artillery
[ edit ] [ edit ] General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission References 1 General Sir A. G. O. Mosley Mayne KCB CBE DSO October 1943 December 1944 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers 2 General Sir Richard N. O'Connor KCB DSO* MC January 1945 October 1945 Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) 3 Lieutenant General Sir Arthur F. Smith KBE CB DSO October 1945 January 1946 Coldstream Guards 4 Lieutenant General Sir Francis I. S. Tuker KCIE CB DSO OBE January 1946 November 1947 Royal Sussex Regiment Acting Lieutenant General F. R. Roy Bucher CB OBE MC August 1946 August 1947 Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
[ edit ] General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission References 1 Lieutenant General Kodandera Madappa Cariappa OBE November 1947 January 1948 88th Carnatic Infantry [ 23] 2 Lieutenant General Maharaj Shri Rajendrasinhji Jadeja DSO January 1948 November 1948 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) [ 24] 3 Lieutenant General Thakur Nathu Singh November 1948 January 1953 Rajput Regiment [ 25] 4 Lieutenant General Sant SinghJanuary 1953 30 September 1956 1/14 Punjab [ 26] 5 Lieutenant General Kodandera Subayya Thimayya OBE 1 October 1956 March 1957 19th Hyderabad Regiment 6 Lieutenant General Shankarrao Pandurang Patil Thorat KC ,DSO May 1957 May 1961 1/14 Punjab [ 27] [ 28] 7 Lieutenant General Lionel Protip Sen DSO May 1961 30 April 1963 10th Baluch Regiment 8 Lieutenant General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam DSO MBE 1 May 1963 November 1963 Regiment of Artillery 9 Lieutenant General Thomas Bryan Henderson Brooks November 1963 31 March 1964 Maratha Light Infantry 10 Lieutenant General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam DSO MBE 1 April 1964 November 1964 Regiment of Artillery 11 Lieutenant General Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw MC 16 November 1964 8 June 1969 12th Frontier Force Regiment 12 Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora PVSM June 1969 February 1973 2nd Punjab Regiment 13 Lieutenant General Naveen Chand Rawlley PVSM ,AVSM ,MC February 1973 31 July 1974 Brigade of the Guards 14 Lieutenant General Jack Farj Rafael Jacob PVSM 1 August 1974 31 July 1978 Regiment of Artillery 15 Lieutenant General E. A. VasPVSM 1 August 1978 31 May 1981 9th Gorkha Rifles 16 Lieutenant General Arun Shridhar Vaidya PVSM MVC AVSM 1 June 1981 Aug 1983 9th Deccan Horse 17 Lieutenant General K. Chiman SinghPVSM August 1983 31 January 1986 Rajputana Rifles 18 Lieutenant General J. K. PuriPVSM AVSM 1 February 1986 31 May 1987 Regiment of Artillery 19 Lieutenant General Vishwa Nath Sharma PVSM AVSM 1 June 1987 30 April 1988 16th Light Cavalry [ 29] 20 Lieutenant General Raj Mohan Vohra PVSM MVC 1 May 1988 31 May 1990 4th Horse (Hodson's Horse) 21 Lieutenant General Kuldip Singh Brar PVSM AVSM VrC 1 June 1990 30 September 1992 Maratha Light Infantry [ 30] 22 Lieutenant General Jameel Mahmood UYSM 1 October 1992 31 May 1993 Regiment of Artillery 23 Lieutenant General R. N. BatraPVSM VSM 1 June 1993 29 February 1996 Regiment of Artillery 24 Lieutenant General Ravi EipePVSM AVSM 1 March 1996 28 February 1998 Rajput Regiment 25 Lieutenant General H. R. S. KalkatPVSM AVSM 1 April 1998 31 July 2002 Maratha Light Infantry [ 31] 26 Lieutenant General J. S. VermaPVSM AVSM 1 August 2002 31 December 2004 63rd Cavalry (India) 27 Lieutenant General Arvind SharmaPVSM AVSM VSM 1 January 2005 31 December 2006 4th Gorkha Rifles [ 32] [ 33] [ 34] 28 Lieutenant General K. S. JamwalPVSM AVSM VSM 1 January 2007 29 February 2008 Regiment of Artillery [ 35] [ 36] 29 Lieutenant General Vijay Kumar Singh PVSM AVSM YSM 1 March 2008 31 March 2010 Rajput Regiment [ 37] 30 Lieutenant General Bikram Singh PVSM UYSM AVSM SM VSM 1 April 2010 30 April 2012 Sikh Light Infantry [ 38] 31 Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh Suhag PVSM UYSM AVSM VSM 16 June 2012 31 December 2013 5th Gorkha Rifles 32 Lieutenant General Man Mohan Singh Rai PVSM AVSM VSM 1 January 2014 31 July 2015 Bombay Sappers 33 Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi PVSM AVSM VSM 1 August 2015 31 July 2017 Skinner's Horse 34 Lieutenant General Abhay Krishna PVSM UYSM AVSM SM VSM 1 August 2017 30 September 2018 Rajputana Rifles [ 39] 35 Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane PVSM AVSM SM VSM 1 October 2018 31 August 2019 Sikh Light Infantry [ 40] 36 Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan PVSM UYSM AVSM SM VSM 1 September 2019 31 May 2021 11th Gorkha Rifles [ 41] 37 Lieutenant General Manoj Pande PVSM AVSM VSM 1 June 2021 31 January 2022 Bombay Sappers [ 42] 38 Lieutenant General Rana Pratap Kalita PVSM UYSM AVSM SM VSM 1 February 2022 31 December 2023 Kumaon Regiment [ 43] 39 Lieutenant General Ram Chander Tiwari PVSM UYSM AVSM SM 1 January 2024 Incumbent Kumaon Regiment [ 2]
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