Themilitary history ofBhutan begins with theBattle of Five Lamas in 1634, marking Bhutan's emergence as a nation under thesecular and religious leadership ofZhabdrungNgawang Namgyal. BeforeBhutan emerged as a separate nation, it remained on the periphery ofTibetan military and political influence. The region that became Bhutan was host to several battles and waves of refugees from turmoil in Tibet. After its founding, Bhutan was invaded numerous times by outside forces, namelyTibetans,Mongols, and theBritish. Bhutan meanwhile invaded its traditional tributaries inSikkim,Cooch Behar, and theDuars.

Bhutan effectively ceased all international military hostilities in 1865 under theTreaty of Sinchula after its defeat by the British Empire. Under the terms of the subsequentTreaty of Punakha in 1910, Bhutan effectively became a Britishprotectorate. Bhutan has maintained this status withIndia underBhutan–India relations since 1949 and has engaged only in limited domestic operations againstIndian separatist groups in recent times.

The earliest military history of Bhutan generally related to that ofTibet. Between the 9th century and Bhutan's emergence as a nation in the early 17th century, Bhutanese territory hosted Tibetan military settlement, waves of refugees from religious and political strife in Tibet, and some conflict between Tibetan and Indian people.

In 824, Tibetan KingTritsun Desten (r. 816–836), also called Raelpachen and grandson ofTrisong Detsen, went to war with anIndian ruler in Bhutan, driving him out. Tibetan troops who remained in Bhutan were calledMilog, meaning "those that will not return." The region they settle were referred to asTshochhen Gyed. Its eight parts or divisions were Wang, Be, Med, Kawang, Chang, Thi, Thim, and Lar.^[1][2] In 836, Tritsun Desten was murdered by agents of his brotherLangdharma.Tibetans sought refuge in Bhutan from ensuing political and religious upheaval during the reign of Langdharma (836–842). After Langdharma's assassination in 842, Tibetans continued to flee to western Bhutan, theNgalop homeland. The centuries that followed, known as theEra of Fragmentation, were characterized by their lack of political cohesion. During much of this period, the dominant Bhutanese polity was theKingdom of Bumthang.^[3][4]

In the late 9th century, ethnicTibetan forces expelledIndian princes from parts of modern Bhutan. Tibetans in this period and location developed the roots ofNgalop culture.^[1][4][5]

By the 11th century, Tibetan-Mongol forces occupied the whole of Bhutan. More waves ofTibetans sought refuge in Bhutan from religious persecution. Charismatic lamas became thede facto leaders of regions in western Bhutan.^[3][4] In the 1360s, another waveTibetanGelugpa monks fled to Bhutan.^[6]

The military history of Bhutan as a nation begins with warfare between founderZhabdrungNgawang Namgyal, himself a Tibetan refugee, andrulers of Tibet. Between 1627 and 1634, a series of wars culminated in theBattle of Five Lamas, the Zhabdrung emerging victorious. Military incursions fromTibet and theMongol Empire continued through 1714. As Bhutan gained its own measure of regional power in the late 17th century, it invaded neighboring kingdoms inSikkim,Cooch Behar, and theDuars.

In 1616,Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, facing arrest and following visions in which it is said that the chief guardian deities of Bhutan offered him a home, leftTibet to establish a new base in western Bhutan, foundingCheri Monastery at the head ofThimphu valley. During the Bhutanese period oftheocratic rule (1616–1907), there was no regular standing army. Thebow and arrow were among the principal means of arming the population during frequent upheavals and invasions.^[7] During times of crisis, the government raised militias from among local lords' retinues, all commanded by onedapon^{[what language is this?]} ("arrow chief"),^[8][9] a title used through modern times.^[10]

Around 1627, the Zhabdrung builtSimtokha Dzong at the entrance to Thimphu valley. From this dzong he exerted control over traffic between the powerfulParo valley to the west andTrongsa valley to the east. In 1627, during the first war againstKarma Tenkyong ofTibet,PortugueseJesuitEstêvão Cacella and another priest were the first recorded Europeans to visit Bhutan on their way to Tibet. They met withNgawang Namgyal, presented him with firearms,gunpowder and atelescope, and offered him their services in the war against Tibet, but the Zhabdrung declined the offer. After a stay of nearly eight months, Cacella wrote a long letter from theChagri Monastery reporting the travel.^[4][11][12]

In 1629 and 1631, attempted Tibetan invasions underKarma Tenkyong failed.^[13] In 1634, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal prevailed in theBattle of Five Lamas over theTibetan and Bhutanese forces allied against him. The Zhabdrung was thus the first to unite Bhutan into a single country. The Zhabdrung established theDrukpa Lineage as the state religion under thedual system of government and codified the system of laws known as theTsa Yig, based on Buddhist religious law (dharma).^[12]

In 1639, another attempted invasion by Karma Tenkyong failed, followed by a joint Mongol-Tibetan force in 1643 underGüshi Khan that sought to destroyNyingmapa refugees who had fled to Bhutan,Sikkim, andNepal. The Mongols had seized control of religious and civil power in Tibet in the 1630s and establishedGelugpa as the state religion. Bhutanese rivals of Ngawang Namgyal encouraged the Mongol intrusion, but the Mongol force was easily defeated in the humid lowlands of southern Bhutan. In 1647, another attempted Tibetan invasion failed.^[13]

In 1680 and 1700, Bhutan invadedSikkim. In 1714,Tibetan forces, aided by theMongols, again invaded Bhutan but failed to gain control.^[14]

ManyBhutanese slaves during this period originated fromSikkim and theAssamDuars, objects of repeated raids by Bhutan over the centuries.^{[15][16][17][18][19]} A large number of these slaves were pressed into military service, and some went on to fill high posts in the Bhutanese armed forces.^[20][21][22]

In the 18th century, Bhutan established its control overCooch Behar and theDuars. As the presence of theBritish Empire grew in the region through the 19th century, these territories, as well as Bhutan's neighborSikkim, came under British control.

In 1730,Cooch Behar first requested Bhutanese assistance in repellingMughal Empire encroachments, establishing a dependent relationship with Bhutan. In 1770, Bhutan again invadedSikkim, supported by troops from Cooch Behar.^[4][23]

In 1772, during a succession dispute in Cooch Behar, theDruk Desi's nominee for the throne was opposed by a rival who invited British troops, who drove out Bhutanese garrison. The city, until that time a Bhutanese depedency, became a dependency of theBritish East India Company. TheDruk Desi petitionedLhasa unsuccessfully for assistance.^[7][23]

On 25 April 1774, theDruk Desi signed a Treaty of Peace with theBritish East India Company. Under the treaty, Bhutan returned to its pre-1730 boundaries and allowed the British to harvest timber in Bhutan. In 1784, British government turned over to Bhutan theBengalDuars territory, where boundaries had been poorly defined. As in its other foreign territories, Bhutan left administration of the Bengal Duars territory to local officials and collected its revenues.^[7]

In 1838, after a prior failed attempt, the British mission toThimphu offered Bhutan a treaty providing for the extradition of Bhutanese officials responsible for incursions intoAssam, free and unrestricted commerce between India and Bhutan, and settlement of Bhutan's debt to the British. In an attempt to protect its independence, Bhutan rejected the British offer. In 1841, the British annexed the Bhutanese-controlledAssamDuars, paying a compensation of 10,000 rupees a year to Bhutan. The following year, Bhutan ceded control of the troublesomeBengalDuars to Britain.^[7]

In 1862, Bhutanese forces raidedSikkim andCooch Behar. The British responded by withholding all compensation payments and demanding release of all captives and return of stolen property. These demands went unheeded by theDruk Desi, as he was alleged to be unaware of frontier officials' raids.^[7] In 1864, Britain sent a peace mission to Bhutan in the wake of a recent civil war, during a period when two rival claimants to the office of Druk Desi competed for power. Though the British attempted to deal with both Druk Desis, the peace mission was rejected by Bhutan.

In November 1864, Britain declared war on Bhutan over control of its traditional dependencies. TheBhutan War lasted five months, resulting in Bhutan's defeat and loss of Assam Duars and Bengal Duars, as well as the eighty-three-square-kilometer territory of Dewangiri in southeastern Bhutan, to the British. In return, Bhutan was awarded an annual subsidy of 50,000 rupees under theTreaty of Sinchula, signed 11 November 1865.^[7]

In the 1870s and 1880s, renewed conflict among regional rivals — primarily the pro-Britishpenlop of Trongsa and the anti-British, pro-Tibetanpenlop ofParo — resulted in the ascendancy of Trongsa PenlopUgyen Wangchuck. By 1885, he had put down unrest across Bhutan, consolidated power, and cultivated closer ties withBritish India.^[13][24] Between 1903–4, Ugyen Wangchuck volunteered to accompany a British mission to Lhasa as a mediator in theBritish expedition to Tibet and subsequent Anglo-Tibetan Convention. In return, he was knighted and thereafter continued to accrue greater power in Bhutan.^[6][7]

On 8 January 1910, theTreaty of Punakha amended two articles of the 1865Treaty of Sinchula: the British agreed to double the annual stipend to 100,000 rupees and "to exercise no interference in the internal administration of Bhutan." In turn, Bhutan agreed "to be guided by the advice of the British Government in regard to its external relations."^[25]

In 1943, the Kingdom of Bhutan began to raise its first organized an army atTrongsa, recruiting 30Kheng troops fromMongar. During the late 1940s, the second King of Bhutan,Jigme Wangchuck, began sending recruits for training by the Indian Army inShillong. The army recruited a further 240 men fromBumthang,Kurtoe,Mongar, andTrashigang. After basic training, the number of enlisted men came to 120 soldiers, including 20 instructors. From early on, the Bhutanese army operatedsecurity checkpoints in the southern region of the kingdom.^[26]

In 1947, asthe British Empire left India, direct ties to the British ended, and Bhutan remained relatively isolated from international affairs, until 1949. That year,India and Bhutan signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, providing that India would not interfere in Bhutan's internal affairs, but that Bhutan would be guided by India in its foreign policy. This was the first international agreement that unambiguously recognized Bhutan's independence and sovereignty. The same year, India ceded to Bhutan some territories lost to the British in the 1865Treaty of Sinchula.^{[7][13][24][27]}

The modernBhutanese armed forces comprise theRoyal Bhutan Army (RBA),Royal Bodyguards (RBG),militia, and theRoyal Bhutan Police. As Bhutan is alandlocked country, it has nonavy. Nor does Bhutan have anair force,^[28] although the Royal Bhutan Army maintains a very small air armament possessing no combat capabilities, used solely for transport. The Royal Bodyguards are a branch of the RBA^[29] responsible for the security of theKing of Bhutan, theRoyal Family, and otherVIPs.

Underdefense agreements in place since 1949,India is responsible for military training, arms supplies and the air defense ofBhutan.^{[30][31][32][33]} This agreement was affirmed and updated in February 2007 with a new treaty of friendship.^[34]

Bhutan's most recent military engagements targetedIndian separatist groups operating inside Bhutan. DuringOperation All Clear in December 2003, Bhutanese armed forces cooperated with the Indian military in flushing out Indian militants.

TheRoyal Bhutan Army was formed in the 1950s in response to theChinese takeover and subsequentPeople's Liberation Army actions inTibet and under intense pressure by India. In 1958, theroyal government introduced a conscription system and plans for a standing army of 2,500 soldiers.^[35] TheIndian government had also repeatedly urged and pressured Bhutan to end its neutrality or isolationist policy and accept Indian economic and military assistance. This was because India considered Bhutan its most vulnerable sector in its strategic defense system in regard to China.^[36] When Bhutan accepted the Indian offer, theIndian Army became responsible for the training and equipping of the RBA.^[35]

The RBA established its first domestic training center atBumthang. Around 1951, it was relocated to Lingkana andTashichho Dzong. In 1959, another training center was established at Tencholing, which also served as the RBA general headquarters. In 1963, the Army Headquarters was moved to Dradimakhang,Thimphu.^[26] During the 1960s, the RBA established four wings, numbered as Wing 1 (Gunitsawa), Wing 2 (Changju), Wing 3 (Laya &Lingzhi), and Wing 4 (Trashigang).

By 1968, the RBA consisted of 4,850 soldiers, with a recruiting goal of 600 additional soldiers a year. By 1990, the RBA was a force of 6,000 soldiers.^[26][35] In June 2007, the RBA stood at 9,021 active-duty personnel. By 2008, this number was reduced to 8,000 active-duty personnel, in line with an initiative introduced in 2005 by theRoyal Government of Bhutan to reduce the strength of the RBA while increasingmilitia training of the Bhutanese population.^[37] In 2021, the first cohort of women were admitted to the Army.^[38]

TheIndian Army maintains a training mission in Bhutan, known as theIndian Military Training Team (IMTRAT), responsible for the military training of RBA and RBG personnel.^[39] RBA and RBG officers are sent for training at theNational Defence Academy (NDA) inPune, andIndian Military Academy (IMA) inDehradun.^[40] Project DANTAK of theBorder Roads Organisation, a sub-division of theIndian Army Corps of Engineers, has been operating in Bhutan since May 1961. Since then, Project DANTAK has been responsible for the construction and maintenance of over 1,500 km of roads and bridges,Paro Airport and a disused airfield at Yangphula, heliports, and other infrastructure.^[41] While these serve India's strategic defence needs, it is also an obvious economic benefit for the people of Bhutan.

The Kingdom of Bhutan has engaged solely in domestic combat operations againstIndian separatist groups during the winter of 2003–2004. Secessionist militant groups active in India, having established bases in southern Bhutan, defied an ultimatum to leave the kingdom. With the support of theIndian Armed Forces, theRoyal Bhutan Army engaged militant camps and eliminated them all in Operation All Clear.

During the early 1990s,Indian separatist groups, namely theUnited Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA),National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), and Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO), had begun to clandestinely set up camps in Bhutan's dense southern jungles. These camps were used to traincadres, store equipment, and launch attacks on targets in India.^[42] The Bhutanese government became aware of their presence in 1996 and from 1997, the issue was regularly discussed in the National Assembly.^[42][43] TheGovernment of India began exerting diplomatic pressure on theRoyal Government to remove the militant presence and offered conducting joint military operations against the militants. TheRoyal Government preferring a peaceful solution, declined the offer and instead initiated dialogue with the militant groups in 1998.^[42]

By December 2003, negotiations failed to produce any agreement and the Royal Government unable to tolerate their presence any longer issued a 48-hour ultimatum on 13 December. On 15 December the RBA commenced military operations, dubbed Operation All Clear, against the militant groups.^[42] A combined RBA and RBG force of 6,000, operating out of 20 camps established during the six years of negotiations, attacked an estimated 3,000 militants spread across 30 militant camps.^[44][45] By 27 December 2003, all 30 militant camps had been captured. Additionally, the RBA seized "more than 500 AK 47/56 assault rifles and 328 other assorted weapons including rocket launchers and mortars, along with more than 100,000 rounds of ammunition. An anti-aircraft gun was also found at the site of the GHQ of the ULFA."^[46]

By 3 January 2004, all 30 militant camps (ULFA-14, NDFB-11, KLO-5) with an additional 35 observation posts, were destroyed and the militants dislodged.^[47] A total of 485 ULFA, NDFB, and KLO militants were killed, while those captured along with seized weapons and ammunition were handed over to theGovernment of India. Captured non-combatants were handed over toAssamese civil authorities. The RBA suffered 11 soldiersKIA, and 35WIA.^[33]

TheRoyal Bhutan Police is responsible for maintaininglaw and order and prevention of crime inBhutan.^[48] It was formed on 1 September 1965 with 555 personnel reassigned from theRoyal Bhutan Army. It was then called the "Bhutan Frontier Guards."^[49] Its independent statutory basis was first codified with the Royal Bhutan Police Act of 1980. This framework was repealed and replaced in its entirety by the Royal Bhutan Police Act of 2009. Since 2009, the mandate of the Royal Bhutan Police has grown to include managing prisons, facilitating youth development and rehabilitation, and disaster management.^[50]

• History of Bhutan
• Military of Bhutan
• Foreign relations of Bhutan

• Military history of Bhutan
• Military of Bhutan

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