India Northern Command
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.
| Northern Command | |
|---|---|
 Insignia of Northern Command | |
| Active | 1908–1947 1972 – present |
| Country |  India |
| Branch |  Indian Army |
| Type | Command |
| HQ | Udhampur |
| Motto(s) | Forever in operations |
| Commanders | |
| GOC-in-C | Lt Gen M. V. Suchindra Kumar PVSM, AVSM, YSM**, VSM |
| Notable commanders | Lt Gen P. S. Bhagat Gen S. Padmanabhan Gen Deepak Kapoor Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |  |
History
The Presidency armies were abolished with effect from 1 April 1895 when the three Presidency armies became the Indian Army. The Indian Army was divided into four Commands: Bengal Command, Bombay Command, Madras Command and Punjab Command, each under a lieutenant general.
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.
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.
The formation reverted to the title Northern Command in November 1945. 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.
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. Headquarters for the command was established at Udhampur, J&K.
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.
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.
| 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 Rashim Bali | 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 Rajiv Ghai | 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 Naveen 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:
Punjab Command (1895–1907)
| General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Punjab Command | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Assumed office | Left office | Unit of commission |
| General | Sir William S. A. Lockhart | April 1895 | Nov 1898 | 44th Bengal Native Infantry |
| General | Sir Arthur Power Palmer | Nov 1898 | March 1900 | 5th Bengal Light Infantry |
| Lieutenant General | Sir Charles C. Egerton (acting) | March 1899 | Oct 1901 | 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot |
| General | Sir Bindon Blood | Oct 1901 | Oct 1904 | Royal Engineers |
Northern Command (1904–1908)
| General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Assumed office | Left office | Unit of commission |
| General | Sir Bindon Blood | Oct 1904 | June 1907 | Royal Engineers |
Northern Army (1908–1920)
| General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Army | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Assumed office | Left office | Unit of commission |
| General | Sir Alfred Gaselee | June 1907 | Nov 1908 | Sutherland Highlanders |
| Lieutenant General | Sir Josceline H. Wodehouse | Nov 1908 | Oct 1910 | Royal Artillery |
| Lieutenant General | Sir James Willcocks | Oct 1910 | Aug 1914 | 100th Regiment of Foot |
| Lieutenant General | Sir Robert I. Scallon | Aug 1914 | Feb 1915 | 72nd Highlanders |
| General | Sir John E. Nixon | Feb 1915 | Apr 1915 | 75th Regiment of Foot |
| - | Vacant | Apr 1915 | May 1916 | - |
| General | Sir Arthur A. Barrett | May 1916 | May 1920 | 44th Regiment of Foot |
Northern Command (1920–1942)
| General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Assumed office | Left office | Unit of commission |
| General | Sir William R. Birdwood, Bt | Nov 1920 | Nov 1924 | Royal Scots Fusiliers |
| General | Sir Claud W. Jacob | Nov 1924 | May 1926 | Worcestershire Regiment |
| General | Sir Alexander S. Cobbe | May 1926 | May 1930 | Indian Staff Corps |
| General | Sir Robert A. Cassels | May 1930 | May 1934 | Indian Staff Corps |
| General | Sir Kenneth Wigram | May 1934 | May 1936 | 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles |
| General | Sir John F. S. D. Coleridge | May 1936 | Jun 1940 | Indian Staff Corps |
| General | Sir Alan F. Hartley | Jun 1940 | Jan 1942 | Durham Light Infantry |
| General | Sir Cyril D. Noyes | 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 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Assumed office | 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) |
Northern Command (1945–1947)
| General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Assumed office | Left office | Unit of commission | References |
| General | Sir Richard N. O'Connor | Nov 1945 | May 1946 | Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) | |
| Lieutenant General | Douglas D. Gracey (acting) | May 1946 | Oct 1946 | Royal Munster Fusiliers | |
| Lieutenant General | Frank W. Messervy | Oct 1946 | Aug 1947 | 9th Hodson's Horse | |
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:
References
- 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
- Rinaldi, Richard; Rikhye, Ravi (2011). Indian Army Order of Battle. General Data. ISBN 978-0982054178.
- http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/where-did-brigades-go-vanished-why-and-who-disbanded.70950/ - list of brigades on the frontier in 1939
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