Northern Command (India)

"North Western Army" redirects here. For the Chinese revolutionary army, see Guominjun.

Northern Command
Insignia of Northern Command
Active1908–1947
1972 – present
Country India
Branch Indian Army
TypeCommand
HQUdhampur
Motto(s)Forever in operations
Commanders
GOC-in-CLt Gen M. V. Suchindra Kumar
PVSM, AVSM, YSM**, VSM
Notable
commanders		Lt Gen P. S. Bhagat
Gen S. Padmanabhan
Gen Deepak Kapoor
Gen Upendra Dwivedi
Insignia
Flag

The Northern Command is a Command of the Indian Army. It was originally formed as the Northern Army of the British Indian Army in 1908. It was scrapped upon India's independence in 1947 and later re-raised in 1972. Currently, the XIV Corps (Leh), XV Corps (Srinagar), I Corps (Mathura) and XVI Corps (Nagrota) are under its control. Its present commander is Lieutenant General M. V. Suchindra Kumar.

History

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

In 1908, the four commands were merged into two Armies: Northern Army and Southern Army. This system persisted until 1920 when the arrangement reverted to four commands again :- Eastern Command, Northern Command, Southern Command and Western Command.[1]

In 1937, Western Command was downgraded to become the Western Independent District. In April 1942, the Western Independent District was absorbed into the Northern Command which itself was re-designated as North Western Army to guard the borders at North West Frontier during World War II. It controlled the Kohat, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Baluchistan and Waziristan Districts.[2][3]

The formation reverted to the title Northern Command in November 1945.[4] In 1947, India moved towards partition, with Northern Command HQ at Rawalpindi becoming the Army HQ of the newly formed Pakistan Army (as GHQ Pakistan), with the rest of commands passing to the Indian Army.[5]

In 1972, the Government of India decided to raise a separate command to oversee operations in the northern borders with Pakistan and China. Lt. Gen. P. S. Bhagat was appointed as its GOC-in-C in June 1972. Bhagat's main activities as Army Commander were the improvement of defence and the living and working condition of his troops.[6] Headquarters for the command was established at Udhampur, J&K.[7]

The XIV Corps (Leh), XV Corps (Srinagar) and XVI Corps (Nagrota) control the operational units in Northern Command. 71 Independent Sub Area is part of the Command. In 2001–02, during Operation Parakram the III Corps and its 57th Mountain Division were temporarily shifted into the command as a reserve.[7]

Dhruva War Memorial, Udhampur

Structure

Currently, the Northern Commands has been assigned operational units under four corps: XIV Corps, I Corps, XV Corps and XVI Corps.

In 2021, the Strike One Corps was re-organised to join the Northern Command to assist at the Ladakh border with China.[8][9]

Structure of Northern Command
Corps Corps HQ GOC of Corps

(Corps Commander)

Assigned Units Unit HQ
XIV Corps

(Fire and Fury Corps)

Leh, Ladakh Lt Gen Hitesh Bhalla 3 Infantry Division Karu, Ladakh
8 Mountain Division Dras, Ladakh
254 (Independent) Armoured Brigade Leh, Ladakh
102 (Independent) Infantry Brigade Partapur, Ladakh
118 (Independent) Infantry Brigade Nyoma, Ladakh
XV Corps

(Chinar Corps)

Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir Lt Gen Prashant Srivastava 19 Mountain Division Baramulla, Jammu & Kashmir
28 Infantry Division Gurez, Jammu & Kashmir
Rashtriya Rifles "Kilo Force" N/A
Rashtriya Rifles "Victor Force" N/A
XVI Corps

(White Knight Corps)

Nagarota, Jammu & Kashmir Lt Gen Navin Sachdeva 10 RAPID Division Akhnoor, Jammu & Kashmir
25 Armoured Division Rajauri, Jammu & Kashmir
39 Mountain Division Yol, Himachal Pradesh
Rashtriya Rifles "Delta Force" N/A
Rashtriya Rifles "Romeo Force" N/A
Rashtriya Rifles "Uniform Force" N/A
10 Artillery Brigade N/A
I Corps

(Strike One Corps)

Mathura, Uttar Pradesh Lt Gen Sanjay Mitra 4 RAPID Division Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh
6 Mountain Division Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh
42 Artillery Division Bassi, Rajasthan
14 (Independent) Armoured Brigade Bhatinda, Punjab

Precursors (1895–1947)

Following is the List of precursors to the Northern Command and their commanders:[10]

Punjab Command (1895–1907)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Punjab Command
S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission
1 General

Sir William S. A. Lockhart GCB, KCSI

April 1895 Nov 1898 44th Bengal Native Infantry
2 General

Sir Arthur Power Palmer KCB

Nov 1898 March 1900 5th Bengal Light Infantry
Acting Lieutenant General

Charles C. Egerton CB, DSO

March 1899 Oct 1901 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot
3 General

Sir Bindon Blood KCB

Oct 1901 Oct 1904 Royal Engineers

Northern Command (1904–1908)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command
S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission
1 General

Sir Bindon Blood KCB

Oct 1904 June 1907 Royal Engineers

Northern Army (1908–1920)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Army
S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission
1 General

Sir Alfred Gaselee GCIE, KCB

June 1907 Nov 1908 Sutherland Highlanders
2 Lieutenant General

Sir Josceline H. Wodehouse KCB, CMG

Nov 1908 Oct 1910 Royal Artillery
3 Lieutenant General

Sir James Willcocks KCB, KCSI, DSO

Oct 1910 Aug 1914 100th Regiment of Foot
4 Lieutenant General

Sir Robert I. Scallon KCB, KCIE, DSO

Aug 1914 Feb 1915 72nd Highlanders
5 General

Sir John E. Nixon KCB

Feb 1915 Apr 1915 75th Regiment of Foot
Vacant Apr 1915 May 1916 -
6 General

Sir Arthur A. Barrett GCB, GCSI, KCVO

May 1916 May 1920 44th Regiment of Foot

Northern Command (1920–1942)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command
S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission
1 General

Sir William R. Birdwood, Bt GCB, GCMG, KCSI, CIE, DSO

Nov 1920 Nov 1924 Royal Scots Fusiliers
2 General

Sir Claud W. Jacob KCB, KCSI, KCMG

Nov 1924 May 1926 Worcestershire Regiment
3 General

Sir Alexander S. Cobbe VC, GCB, KCSI, DSO

May 1926 May 1930 Indian Staff Corps
4 General

Sir Robert A. Cassels GCB, CSI, DSO

May 1930 May 1934 Indian Staff Corps
5 General

Sir Kenneth Wigram GCB, CSI, CBE, DSO

May 1934 May 1936 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles

(The Sirmoor Rifles)

6 General

Sir John F. S. D. Coleridge KCB, CMG, DSO

May 1936 Jun 1940 Indian Staff Corps
7 General

Sir Alan F. Hartley KCSI, CB, DSO

Jun 1940 Jan 1942 Durham Light Infantry
8 General

Sir Cyril D. Noyes KCSI, CB, CIE, MC

Jan 1942 Apr 1942 2nd Queen Victoria's Own Rajput Light Infantry

North-Western Army (1942–1945)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief North-Western Army
S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission
1 General

Sir Cyril D. Noyes KCSI, CB, CIE, MC

Apr 1942 May 1943 Royal Scots Fusiliers
2 General

Sir Edward P. Quinan KCIE, CB, DSO, OBE

May 1943 Aug 1943 Worcestershire Regiment
3 General

Sir Henry Finnis KCB, CSI, MC

Aug 1943 May 1945 Indian Staff Corps
Acting Major-general

Cecil Toovey CB, CBE, MC*

Jun 1945 Oct 1945 Indian Staff Corps
4 General

Sir Richard N. O'Connor KCB, DSO*, MC

Oct 1945 Nov 1945 Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)

Northern Command (1945–1947)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command
S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission Ref
1 General

Sir Richard N. O'Connor KCB, DSO*, MC

Nov 1945 May 1946 Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
Acting Lieutenant General

Douglas D. Gracey CB, CBE, MC*

May 1946 Oct 1946 Royal Munster Fusiliers
2 Lieutenant General

Frank W. Messervy KCSI, KBE, CB, DSO*

Oct 1946 Aug 1947 9th Hodson's Horse [11]

List of GOC-in-C of Northern Command (1972–present)

Following is the list of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command after its re-raising in 1972:

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command
S.No Rank Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission Ref
1 Lieutenant General Premindra Singh Bhagat PVSM VC June 1972 28 July 1974 Bombay Sappers [6]
2 H. C. Rai PVSM 28 July 1974 31 July 1978 Rajputana Rifles [12]
3 Gurbachan Singh PVSM 1 August 1978 31 December 1979 20 Lancers [13]
4 Suraj Prakash Malhotra PVSM 1 January 1980 30 September 1982 Brigade of The Guards [14]
5 Manohar Lal Chibber PVSM, AVSM 1 October 1982 31 August 1985 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) [15][16]
6 A. K. Handoo PVSM 1 September 1985 31 May 1987 Brigade of Guards [17]
7 Biddanda Chengappa Nanda PVSM, AVSM 1 June 1987 31 May 1989 Mahar Regiment [17]
8 Gurinder Singh PVSM, AVSM 1 June 1989 30 September 1991 4th Horse (Hodson's Horse) [18]
9 D. S. R. Sahni PVSM, SM 1 October 1991 31 August 1993 Madras Sappers [19][20]
10 Surrinder Singh PVSM, AVSM 1 September 1993 31 August 1996 17th Horse (Poona Horse) [21][22]
11 Sundararajan Padmanabhan PVSM, AVSM, VSM 1 September 1996 31 December 1998 Regiment of Artillery [23]
12 H. M. Khanna SYSM, PVSM, AVSM 1 January 1998 31 January 2001 Gorkha Rifles [24]
13 R. K. Nanavatty PVSM, UYSM, AVSM 1 February 2001 31 May 2003 8th Gorkha Rifles [25]
14 Hari Prasad PVSM, AVSM, VSM 1 June 2003 31 July 2005 Maratha Light Infantry [26]
15 Deepak Kapoor PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM 1 September 2005 30 December 2006 Regiment of Artillery [27][28]
16 Harcharanjit Singh Panag PVSM, AVSM 1 January 2006 29 February 2008 Sikh Regiment [29]
17 Prabodh Chandra Bhardwaj PVSM, AVSM, VrC, SC, VSM 1 March 2008 30 September 2009 Parachute Regiment [30]
18 B. S. Jaswal PVSM, AVSM*, VSM 1 October 2009 31 December 2010 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles [31][32]
19 K. T. Parnaik PVSM, UYSM, YSM 1 January 2011 30 June 2013 Rajputana Rifles [33]
20 Sanjiv Chachra PVSM, AVSM, VSM 1 July 2013 31 May 2014 Rajput Regiment [34]
21 Deependra Singh Hooda PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM* 1 June 2014 30 November 2016 4th Gorkha Rifles [35]
22 Devraj Anbu PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM 1 December 2016 31 May 2018 Sikh Light Infantry [36]
23 Ranbir Singh PVSM, UYSM, AVSM*, YSM, SM 1 June 2018 31 January 2020 Dogra Regiment [37]
24 Yogesh Kumar Joshi PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VrC, SM 1 February 2020 31 January 2022 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles [38]
25 Upendra Dwivedi PVSM, AVSM 1 February 2022 18 February 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles [39]
26 M. V. Suchindra Kumar PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM*, VSM 19 February 2024 Incumbent Assam Regiment [40]

References

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  9. ^ ConflictX [@ConflictX7] (1 June 2022). "Strike One Corps got re-organised. It saw addition of 6 Mountain Division which came from Central Command. 33 Armored Division which was part of 1 corps is retained by South Western Command. While 23 Division moved to 17 Strike Corps. https://t.co/fPiMUnbb0O" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Army Commands Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
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  • Chris KEMPTON, ‘Loyalty and Honour’ – The Indian Army September 1939 – August 1947 Part I Divisions; Part II Brigades; Part III (Milton Keynes: Military Press, 2003) [ISBN 0-85420-228-5].

Sources