Western Command (India)

Western Command
Insignia of the Western Command
Active1904 - 1908
1920 - 1938
1948 - Present
Country British India (former)
 India (after 1947)
Branch British Indian Army (former)
 Indian Army (after 1947)
TypeCommand
Garrison/HQChandimandir, Haryana
Motto(s)सर्वदा विजयी भव
(May you always win)
Commanders
Current
commander		Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar
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
Lt Gen Srinivas Kumar Sinha
Gen Krishnaswamy Sundarji
Gen S. F. Rodrigues
Gen B. C. Joshi
Gen J. J. Singh
Insignia
Flag

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][2]

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.[3] The Indian Army was divided into four Commands: Bengal Command, Bombay Command, Madras Command and Punjab Command, each under a lieutenant general.[3]

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.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[6]

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.[6]

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.[6] 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.[7]

The II Corps (Ambala), IX Corps (Yol), XI Corps (Jalandhar) and 40th Artillery Division (Ambala[8]) are control operational units in Western Command.[9]

Structure

Command's Area Of Responsibility (AOR) covers the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and parts of Jammu.[10]

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 Rajesh Pushkar 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 Rajan Sharawat 26 Infantry Division Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir
29 Infantry Division Pathankot, Punjab
2 Armoured Brigade Mamun, Punjab
3 Armoured Brigade Ratnuchak, Jammu & Kashmir
XI Corps

(Vajra Corps)

Jalandhar, Punjab Lt Gen Ajay Chandpuria 7 Infantry Division Firozpur, Punjab
15 Infantry Division Amritsar, Punjab
23 (Independent) Armoured Brigade Khasa, Punjab
55 (Independent) Mechanised Brigade Beas, Punjab

Precursors (1855–1947)

Following is the list of precursors to the Western Command and their commanders:[11]

Bombay Army (1855–1895)

Commander-in-Chief Bombay Army
S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission References
1 Lieutenant General Sir Henry Somerset KCB March 1855 March 1860 N/A
2 Lieutenant General Sir Hugh H. Rose GCB March 1860 May 1860 19th Regiment of Foot
3 Lieutenant General Sir William R. Mansfield KCB May 1860 March 1865 53rd Regiment of Foot
4 Lieutenant General Lord Napier of Magdala GCB, GCSI November 1865 August 1869 Bengal Engineers
5 Lieutenant General Sir Augustus A. Spencer KCB August 1869 October 1874 43rd Light Infantry
6 General Sir Charles W. D. Staveley KCB October 1874 October 1878 Royal Irish Fusiliers
7 General Sir Henry J. Warre KCB October 1878 March 1881 54th Regiment of Foot
8 General Arthur E. Hardinge KCB, CIE March 1881 February 1886 41st Regiment of Foot
9 Lieutenant General Charles G. Arbuthnot KCB February 1886 December 1886 Royal Artillery
10 Lieutenant General Duke of Connaught and Strathearn December 1886 March 1890 Royal Engineers
11 Lieutenant General Sir George R. Greaves KCB, KCMG March 1890 April 1893 N/A
12 Lieutenant General Sir John Hudson KCB April 1893 June 1893 64th Regiment of Foot
13 Lieutenant General Sir Charles E. Nairne KCB September 1893 April 1895 Bengal Artillery

Bombay Command (1895–1904)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Bombay Command
S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission References
1 Lieutenant General Sir Charles E. Nairne KCB April 1895 October 1898 Bengal Artillery
2 General Sir Robert C. Low GCB October 1898 October 1903 Bengal Army
3 Lieutenant General Sir Archibald Hunter KCB, DSO October 1903 October 1904 4th (King's Own Royal) Regiment

Western Command (1904–1908)

General Officer Commanding Western Command
S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission References
1 Lieutenant General Sir Archibald Hunter KCB, DSO Oct 1904 Jun 1907 4th (King's Own Royal) Regiment

Western Command (1920–1938)

General Officer Commanding Western Command
S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission References
1 Lieutenant General Sir Walter P. Braithwaite KCB Dec 1920 Jun 1923 Somerset Light Infantry
2 Lieutenant General Sir George M. Kirkpatrick KCB, KCSI Jun 1923 Jun 1927 Royal Engineers
3 Lieutenant General Sir Charles H. Harington GBE, KCB, DSO Jun 1927 Jun 1931 King's Regiment (Liverpool)
4 Lieutenant General Sir Torquil G. Matheson KCB, CMG Jun 1931 Jun 1935 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
5 Lieutenant General Sir Ivo L. B. Vesey KCB, KBE, CMG, DSO Jun 1935 Mar 1936 Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
6 Lieutenant General Sir Walter W. Pitt-Taylor KCB, CMG, DSO Mar 1936 Nov 1938 Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own)

Western Independent District (1938–1942)

General Officer Commanding Western Independent District
S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission References
1 Major General Thomas J. Hutton CB, MC* Aug 1938 July 1940 Royal Artillery
2 Major General John F. Evetts CB, CBE, MC July 1940 Feb 1941 Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
3 Lieutenant General Edward F. Norton DSO, MC Feb 1941 Apr 1942 Royal Artillery

North-Western Army (1942–1945)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief North-Western Army
S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission References
1 General Sir Cyril D. Noyes CB, CBE, MC* Apr 1942 May 1943 Royal Scots Fusiliers
1 General Sir Edward P. Quinan KCIE, CB, DSO, OBE May 1943 Aug 1943 Worcestershire Regiment
3 General Sir Henry Finnis KCB, CB, 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)

Delhi and East Punjab Command (1947–1948)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Delhi and East Punjab Command
S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission References
1 Lieutenant General Dudley Russell CBE, CB, DSO, MC 15 August 1947 19 January 1948 97th Deccan Infantry

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

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command
S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission References
1 Lieutenant General Kodandera Madappa Cariappa OBE 20 Jan 1948 14 Jan 1949 Rajput Regiment
2 Lieutenant General Satyawant Mallana Shrinagesh 15 Jan 1949 14 Jan 1953 19th Hyderabad Regiment
3 Lieutenant General Kodandera Subayya Thimayya DSO 15 Jan 1953 31 Aug 1953 19th Hyderabad Regiment
4 Lieutenant General Kalwant Singh 01 Sep 1953 24 Mar 1954 1st Punjab Regiment
5 Lieutenant General Kodandera Subayya Thimayya DSO 25 Mar 1954 14 May 1955 19th Hyderabad Regiment
6 Lieutenant General Kalwant Singh 15 May 1955 14 May 1959 1st Punjab Regiment
7 Lieutenant General Pran Nath Thapar PVSM 25 May 1959 7 May 1961 1st Punjab Regiment
8 Lieutenant General Daulet Singh 8 May 1961 22 Nov 1963 Armoured Corps
9 Lieutenant General Sam Manekshaw MC 04 Dec 1963 15 Nov 1964 12th Frontier Force Regiment
10 Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh VrC 16 Nov 1964 26 Sep 1969 5 Sikh Regiment [12]
11 Lieutenant General Kunhiraman Palat Candeth PVSM 27 Sep 1969 21 Oct 1972 Royal Indian Artillery
12 Lieutenant General M. L. Thapan PVSM 23 Oct 1972 26 Oct 1973 Jat Regiment
13 Lieutenant General Tapishwar Narain Raina MVC 27 Oct 1973 31 May 1975 Kumaon Regiment
14 Lieutenant General Inderjit Singh Gill PVSM, MC 10 Jun 1975 30 May 1979 Royal Engineers
15 Lieutenant General Kotikalapudi Venkata Krishna Rao PVSM 31 May 1979 31 May 1981 Mahar Regiment
16 Lieutenant General Srinivas Kumar Sinha PVSM 01 Jun 1981 31 Dec 1982 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force)
17 Lieutenant General Krishnaswamy Sundarji PVSM 01 Jun 1983 13 Feb 1985 Mahar Regiment [13]
18 Lieutenant General Hriday Kaul PVSM, AVSM 14 Feb 1985 30 Sep 1986 2nd Lancers [13][14]
19 Lieutenant General P. N. Hoon PVSM, AVSM, SM 01 Oct 1986 31 Oct 1987 Dogra Regiment
20 Lieutenant General V. K. Nayar PVSM, SM 01 Nov 1987 31 Oct 1989 Parachute Regiment
21 Lieutenant General Sunith Francis Rodrigues PVSM, VSM 1 November 1989 30 June 1990 Regiment of Artillery [15]
22 Lieutenant General G. S. Grewal PVSM 01 Jul 1990 31 Jul 1992 1st Horse
23 Lieutenant General Bipin Chandra Joshi PVSM, AVSM 14 Aug 1992 30 Jun 1993 64th Cavalry
24 Lieutenant General R. K. Gulati PVSM 01 Jul 1993 15 Apr 1995 9th Deccan Horse
25 Lieutenant General Arun Kumar Gautama PVSM 16 Apr 1995 31 Oct 1996 16th Light Cavalry [16]
26 Lieutenant General H. B. Kala PVSM, AVSM, SC 01 Nov 1996 14 Oct 1999 Jat Regiment
27 Lieutenant General Vijay Oberoi PVSM, AVSM, VSM 15 Oct 1999 29 Sep 2000 Maratha Light Infantry
28 Lieutenant General Surjit Singh Sangra PVSM, VSM 1 Oct 2000 31 Mar 2002 Dogra Regiment [17]
29 Lieutenant General Shamsher Singh Mehta PVSM, AVSM, VSM 5 Apr 2002 31 Jan 2004 63rd Cavalry [18][19]
30 Lieutenant General Joginder Jaswant Singh PVSM, AVSM, VSM 1 Feb 2004 31 Jan 2005 Maratha Light Infantry
31 Lieutenant General S. Pattabhiraman ,PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM 1 Feb 2005 30 Sep 2005 Bombay Sappers [20]
32 Lieutenant General Daljeet Singh PVSM, AVSM, VSM 1 Oct 2005 31 Oct 2007 8th Light Cavalary [21]
33 Lieutenant General T. K. Sapru PVSM, YSM 1 Nov 2007 30 Nov 2009 1st Gorkha Rifles [22][23]
34 Lieutenant General S. R. Ghosh PVSM, AVSM, SM 3 Dec 2009 31 May 2012 Brigade of The Guards [24][25][26][27]
35 Lieutenant General Sanjiv Chachra AVSM, VSM 1 Jun 2012 30 Jun 2013 Rajput Regiment [28][29]
36 Lieutenant General Philip Campose AVSM, VSM 1 Jul 2013 31 Jul 2014 Mechanised Infantry Regiment [30]
37 Lieutenant General Kamaljit Singh PVSM, AVSM 1 Aug 2014 31 Jul 2016 63rd Cavalry [31]
38 Lieutenant General Surinder Singh PVSM, AVSM, VSM 17 Sep 2016 31 Jul 2019 Brigade of the Guards [32]
39 Lieutenant General Ravendra Pal Singh PVSM, AVSM, VSM 1 Aug 2019 31 Oct 2021 Mechanised Infantry Regiment [33][34]
40 Lieutenant General Nav Kumar Khanduri PVSM, AVSM, VSM 1 Nov 2021 30 June 2023 Army Air Defence Corps [1]
41 Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Katiyar AVSM 1 July 2023 Incumbent Rajput Regiment [35]

Notes

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar takes over as Western Command GOC-in-C". Hindustan Times. 2 July 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Northern Army". Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  4. ^ "Commands of the Indian Army". Centre for Defence Careers. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  5. ^ "British Military History". British Military History. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d Sinha, Lt. Gen. S.K. (1977). Operation Rescue:Military Operations in Jammu & Kashmir 1947-49. New Delhi: Vision Books. pp. 103–127 and 174. ISBN 81-7094-012-5. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "District Ambala,Government of Haryana | The Historical Ambala | India". Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  9. ^ "A Complete Guide To Indian Army". Defence Guru. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Principal Controller of Defence Accounts | Government of India - Principal Controller of Defence Accounts | Government of India". pcdawc.gov.in.
  11. ^ "Army Commands" (PDF).
  12. ^ "Rediff On The NeT:Lt General Harbaksh Singh: An officer and a gentleman". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  13. ^ a b "As Gen Arun Shridhar Vaidya retires, Indian Army reshuffles to appoint new army chief". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Former Western Command GOC-in-C passes away at 85". Hindustan Times. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  15. ^ "NEW ARMY C0MMANDERS ANNOUNCED" (PDF). 29 October 1989. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Ex-Western Army Commander Lt Gen Gautama passes away". 28 November 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  17. ^ "The Tribune - Windows - Feature". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  18. ^ "Gen J J Singh new GOC-in-C of Western Command - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  19. ^ "Commander-level reshuffle on the cards". The Hindu. 6 April 2002. Retrieved 23 October 2017.[dead link‍]
  20. ^ "Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  21. ^ "Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  22. ^ "Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  23. ^ "Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  24. ^ "Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  25. ^ "Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  26. ^ "Lt Gen Ghosh to take charge of Western Command today - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  27. ^ "Lt Gen Ghosh, last of the 1971 war veterans, retires". Hindustan Times. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  28. ^ "Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  29. ^ "Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra assumes charge of Western Command - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  30. ^ "Keralite is chief of Western Army Command". The Hindu. 2 July 2013. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  31. ^ "Lt Gen Kamal Jit Singh Promoted Western Army Commander". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  32. ^ "Lt Gen Surinder Singh takes over as GOC-in-C". The Indian Express. 18 September 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  33. ^ "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.
  34. ^ "Major rejig in military's top hierarchy on the anvil". New Indian Express. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  35. ^ "Lt Gen Manoj Katiyar assumes charge as Western Army Commander". The Tribune. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.

Further reading

  • Richard 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.