Indian Cavalry
THE INDIAN CAVALRY : 1750-1921
The first Indian Cavalry Regiment was raised in Patna in 1760 under Sirdar's Mirza Shahbaz Khan and Khan Tar Beg. It later became the Governor General’s Bodyguard and is now the President’s Bodyguard.
Other senior regiments have their origins in the Army of the three Presidencies namely Bombay, Bengal and Madras. Four Cavalry Regiments of the Nawab of Arcot were attached to the East India Company’s Army. 3rd REGIMENT OF NATIVE CAVALRY, presently 16 LIGHT CAVALRY, is the senior most Regiment of the Armoured Corps. Eventually, the MADRAS LIGHT CAVALRY increased to eight Regiments. Of these, three remain today 7, 8 and 16 LIGHT CAVALRY.
A number of irregular Cavalry Regiments were raised in 1796 by Holkers and Scindias. In 1803, there were six Regiments of Bengal Light Cavalry. By 1857, there were ten regular and eighteen irregular Cavalry Regiments in the Bengal Army. Of these, four regiments remain today SKINNERS HORSE, 2L (GARDNER’S HORSE), SCINDE HORSE and 18 CAVALRY. In the Bombay Presidency, three Cavalry Regiments were formed in 1816. The 1 BOMBAY LIGHT CAVALRY, later the 13 DCO LANCERS, is today the senior most Cavalry Regiment of the Pakistan Army. POONA HORSE was raised in 1817 and the SCINDE (IRREGULAR) HORSE was raised in 1838. 7 IRREGULAR CAVALRY was raised in 1841 at Bareilly and 17 CAVALRY raised at Sultanpur in 1846 (later amalgamated to form present day 3 CAVALRY). The Hyderabad Cavalry contingent consisted of five Regiments. One remain today as DECCAN HORSE.
During the 1857 Mutiny, several adhoc Cavalry Regiments were raised with the help of prominent Sirdars of the Sikh, Punjabi, Muslim and Pathan communities and later embodied under British Officers. HODSON’S HORSE and CENTRAL INDIA HORSE were the first of such Regiments to be raised. Post 1857, the military was restructured on the principle of divide and rule. Hindu and Muslim troops were now inducted into separate squadrons. The establishment was fixed at ten British officers and 625 Indian ranks.
In 1895, the three Presidency Armies were amalgamated under a single command, the Indian Army. The order of precedence included units of the Bengal Army, followed by the Punjab Frontier Force, the Madras Army and the Hyderabad Contingent. Concession was also given to subsidiary titles based on historical events on names of officers responsible for raising the Regiments. From 1914 to 1921, there were thirty nine Regiments of Indian Cavalry excluding the Governor General’s Bodyguard. Of these, thirty six were organised on the Silladar system with four Squadrons each.
THE INDIAN CAVALRY: 1921-1947
In 1920, it was decided that only twenty one Regiments were to be retained. The existing thirty six Silladar Regiments in pairs, formed eighteen Regiments in addition to three non Silladar Regiments. These Regiments were formed into seven groups of three Regiments each. The organisation of Regiments changed to three Sabre Squadrons and a Headquarter Wing.
In 1937, the seven groups were reduced to three training Regiments. The groups had their training and Regimental Centres at Jhansi, Ferozepur and Lucknow. At Jhansi the training Regiment was 15 LANCERS. Affiliated Regiments were SKINNERS’S HORSE, 2 LANCERS, 3 CAVALRY, 16 LIGHT CAVALRY, POONA HORSE and 18 CAVALRY. The training Regiment at Ferozepur was SAM BROWNE’S CAVALRY (12 FF).
Affiliated regiments were HODSON’S HORSE, PROBYNS’S HORSE, GUIDES CAVALRY, PRINCE ALBERT VICTOR’S OWN CAVALRY (11 FF), 13 DCO and SCINDE HORSE. At Lucknow, the training Regiment was 20 LANCERS. Affiliated regiments were 6 DCO LANCERS, 7 LIGHT CAVALRY, 8 LIGHT CAVALRY, DECCAN HORSE (9 H), 19 KGO LANCERS and the CENTRAL INDIA HORSE.
MECHANISATION
In 1938, mechanisation of the Indian Cavalry Regiments commenced and the first two Regiments to convert to Armoured Cars and Vickers Light tanks were the 13 DCO LANCERS and the SCINDE HORSE. The last Regiment to be mechanised was the 19 KGO LANCERS in 1940. The last metamorphosis of Indian Cavalry to Indian Armour became official on 01 May 1941, which is now celebrated as Armoured Corps Day. During WW II, Indian armour consisted of eighteen pre-war raised Regiments equipped with Sherman and Stuart tanks.
POST INDEPENDENCE
On partition the eighteen Regiments were divided in the ratio of 2:1 between India and Pakistan. India was allotted 13 Armoured Regiments, including the President’s Body Guard and Pakistan six. In 1953, 61CAVALRY was raised with manpower from various units of the Princely State Forces, and remains the only horsed Cavalry Regiment in the world today. Presently Armoured Regiments other than 61 CAVALRY and PRESIDENT’S BODY GUARD, in the Indian Armoured Corps are equipped with night enabled T-72 tanks, T-90 tanks and the Main Battle Tank ARJUN.
INDO – PAK WAR: 1947-48
Indo-Pak war of 1947-48 was the first of four wars that was fought between two nations. On 22 Oct the Pashtun tribal attack was launched in the Muzaffarabad sector. After the accession, India airlifted troops and equipment to Srinagar. The successful defence included an outflanking manoeuvre by Indian Armoured Cars. In Operation Bison M5 Stuart light tanks were moved in dismantled conditions through Srinagar and winched across bridges. The Zoji La pass was taken by using tanks, which had not been thought possible at that altitude and Dras was recaptured.
STUART LIGHT TANKS BEING PREP FOR AIR LIFT
STUART LIGHT TANKS AT ZOJI LA PASS
INDO - PAK WAR: 1965
The genesis of 1965 war lay in the events of 1947-48 when Pakistan tried to annex the state of Jammu and Kashmir by force in the garb of tribal raiders and lashkars through operation Gibraltar in Aug 1965. However a quick and firm response by Indian Army took Pakistan by surprise and thwarted their well laid out plans.
After the failure of Operation Gibraltar, Pakistan played its final hand by launching Operation Grand Slam in Sep 1965. The operation was launched at the southernmost portion of CFL with an aim to capture Akhnoor and later to cut all the land communication to Jammu and Kashmir.
In a major offensive in the Chhamb Sector, on 01 Sep the Pakistani Armour launched a massive attack. What appeared to be an all-out “Do or Die” thrust with two Armoured Regiments. The head on thrust of the enemy was met by the devastating and resolute fire of the AMX-13 tanks which incidentally were considered no match for the modern and sophisticated Pattons. When the smoke cleared, there were six Pattons and three Recoilless Guns burning in the field.
Between 1000h & 1600h on that day a bloody tank battle was fought in the areas of Chhamb-Sakrana-Mandiala. The Armoured Squadron facing staggering odds of 6:1 fought with the light tanks with unparalleled fortitude and determination knocking out 17 enemy tanks on the first day alone. It was on that fateful day that the first phase of the Pakistani Offensive Operation Grand Slam received a severe setback.
Indian Armd Forces reacted to Operation Grand Slam by launching a Counter Offensive in J&K, Punjab and Rajasthan on 06 Sep 1965. In 1965, the Pattons being the pride of the Pakistan Army, were considered unmatched and unbeatable. They were used extensively during the war, especially in Khemkaran Sector and in the Battle of Asal Uttar which saw the biggest tank battle after the World War II.
From 08 to 12 Sep 1965, Indian armour blunted the Pakistan’s 1 Armoured Division around the village of Asal Uttar. A total of 97 Patton M-48 Tanks, eight Chaffee Tanks, four Sherman Tanks, two APC and eight 106 MM Recoilless Guns were destroyed, thus creating the graveyard of Pakistani tanks at Bhikiwind which was later popularly known as “Patton Nagar”.
INDIAN TANK PASSING THROUGH THANA PHILLORA
DESTROYED PATTON TANK
Indian 1 Corps was tasked to secure areas Bhagowal- Phillora- Chawinda- Cross Roads (Badiana) with a view to advanc towards the Marala Ravi Link (MRL) Canal and eventually to the line of Dhaliwali- Wuhilam- Daska- Mandhali. The Corps Offensive had achieved complete surprise. Indian 1 Armoured Division commenced a well-coordinated attack on Phillora at first light on 10 Sep from an unexpected direction. The Indian tanks manoeuvred classically in a text booked manner, thus drawing the enemy armour away. In the tank versus tank battle, Pakistan lost 67 Patton Tanks against six Centurion tanks by India. In addition, the Indians over ran one of the Pakistan Brigade Headquarters and the tactical Headquarters of their 6 Armoured Division. A large number of maps, wireless sets/ Radio Relay equipment, the complete order of battle of 6 Armoured Division along with the Divisional Commander’s helicopter and jeep were also captured. The battle, broke the back of the Pakistani 6 Armoured Division for the rest of the operation. The superiority and sophistication of the Patton became a myth. Approx 110 Square miles Pakistani territory was captured by the Indians till 11 Sep. The battle of Phillora will be remembered as one of the bloodiest and finest tank battle from the Indian view point in the annals of armoured warfare. In the whole war tanks performed commendably. Tank thrust in the Chawinda- Phillora sector forced Pakistan to recoil its offensive in the Chamb- Jaurian sector. Had the offensive continued, it would have cut off the lifeline to Jammu and Kashmir. The epic battle once again proved that it’s the men behind the machine which matters. It was sheer professionalism, training, motivation and astute leadership that the Pakistani’s 1 Armoured Division was annihilated and the sector was named as the “Patton Tank Graveyard”.
PATTON TANK GRAVEYARD
PM Lal Bahadur Shastri on Captured PAK Tank
CONTEMPORARY ROLE
The importance of the mechanized forces led to building up a sizeable force in both Northern and Eastern Sector. Tanks adapted both technologically and doctrinally are back in high altitude area, to be the spearheads of the combined arms team with an offensive intent. Tanks once again helped turn the tables and dominate the sector. Tanks will continue to play a critical role in the entire spectrum of borders and in safeguarding the sovereignty of our country. A tank man will always be ready to showcase his professional competence whenever so challenged by an adversary.
