🇵🇰-Land History of Pakistan Army (1 Viewer)

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The British Army in India

Another legacy of the Indian Mutiny was the deployment of a large number of British Army units (mainly infantry) in India. These units were not part of the Indian Army, but came under operational command of the Indian Army. With the partition of British India on 15 August 1947, the British maintained a military presence in the two new countries for a short period. The last British Army unit to leave independent India was the 1 Bn. The Somerset Light Infantry, which left Bombay on 28 February 1948, with the British Headquarters, The Army in India closing on the same date. The last unit to leave Pakistan was the 2 Bn The Black Watch, which sailed from Karachi on 26 February 1948.

Structure of the Army in India
Pre-war, India Command was divided into four commands, each headed by a General or Lieutenant General, namely:

• Northern Command;
• Southern Command;
• Eastern Command;
• Western Command.

In late 1938, Western Command was downgraded to become the Western Independent District. Each command had a number of Districts under command, each being a Major General’s command. In April 1942, with the threat of Japanese invasion, Eastern Command and Southern Command were given a more operational focus and were redesignated as Eastern Army and Southern Army respectively. Also in April 1942, the Western Independent District was absorbed by Northern Command, which itself was redesignated as the North Western Army. In May 1942, a new command was established to control the central part of India. This meant that the higher level formations from May 1942 until the end of the war were:

• North Western Army;
• Southern Army;
• Eastern Army;
• Central Command.

With the end of the war, in 1946 the Armies reverted to being Commands, and British India moved back onto a peacetime setting with Central Command being disbanded. However, India quickly moved towards partition, with Northern Command becoming the Army Headquarters of the new Pakistan Army, and the other commands passing to the new Indian Army.

Western Command was one of the four pre-war commands in the Army in India. In 1938, this command was downgraded to become an independent district.

This district had its headquarters based in Quetta. It had four brigades under command namely:

Quetta Brigade: HQ Quetta
Khojak Brigade: HQ Quetta
Zhob Brigade: HQ Loralai
Sind Brigade Area: HQ Karachi

In April 1942, it was redesignated as the Baluchistan District under command of the North Western Army.

 

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Headquarters, The Army in India

The Headquarters The Army in India (A.H.Q. India), was based at Delhi. During the summer months, some elements of the headquarters moved to Simla in Himachal Pradesh state in order to be alongside the government which moved there due to the stifling heat in Delhi. The name, ‘The Army in India’ was used as the headquarters had operational control over British Army and Indian Army units serving in the sub-continent.

Headquarters of the Army in India was a pre-war command covering the entire country of British India. The headquarters consisted of six branches:

Military Secretary’s Branch;
General Staff Branch;
Adjutant General’s Branch;
Quarter-Master-General’s Branch;
Master-General of the Ordnance Branch;
Engineer-in-Chief’s Branch.

The Commander-in-Chief was a General’s appointment. This was usually a four year posting. It usually alternated between an officer of the British Army and one of the British Indian Army.

At the beginning of the Second World War, the headquarters was redesignated as the General Headquarters (G.H.Q.), India Command. The initial focus was to raise divisions for deployment overseas, in particular in the Middle East. The entry of Japan into the war on 8 December 1941, and the subsequent capture of Burma, moved the focus of G.H.Q. India very firmly back to the defence of India. This was the period of most significant growth in G.H.Q. India, until by the end of the Second World War, just over two and a half thousand service personnel were based there.

Principal Administrative Officer’s Office

In October 1943, with the growth of the Indian Army and the growth of the G.H.Q. India, it was decided to appoint a Principal Administrative Officer whose main function was to coordinate and audit the administrative arrangements in G.H.Q. The post continued to exist until abolished in the run up to partition.

Post-war Contraction and Partition
In November 1945 the number of officers based at G.H.Q. India was:

Lieutenant Generals = 8
Major Generals = 30
Brigadiers = 83
Colonels = 102
Others = 2,375

With the end of hostilities, the political pressure increased to reduce the number of personnel at G.H.Q.. There were already some vacancies as with the introduction of ‘Python’ leave for British Army personnel, there was a shortage of suitably trained and experienced staff officers. In the period from August 1945 to November 1945, three Brigadier’s posts had already been abolished, and by the end of the year, further reductions planned were:

Major Generals = 2
Brigadiers = 15
Colonels = 20
Others = 729

G.H.Q. India remained in existence until 15 August 1947, when it was disbanded upon the partition of India and Pakistan. A new Headquarters, Pakistan Army was formed by Northern Command, and a new Headquarters of the Indian Army took over the headquarters in Delhi. Field Marshal AUCHINLECK was appointed the Supreme Commander of the Army in India and Pakistan to transfer responsibilities to the new armies, and to organise the withdrawal of British Army units and British former officers and men of the British Indian Army.

The office of Supreme Commander closed on 1 December 1947 upon the formal retirement of Field Marshal AUCHINLECK. Major General L. G. WHISTLER had been appointed the General Officer Commanding British Troops in India in 1947, and remained in command until the last British unit, the 1 Bn. The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert’s) left on 28 February 1948. The 2 Bn. The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) had been the last British Army unit to leave Pakistan on 26 February 1948. Some British officers remained in senior positions in both the Indian and Pakistani Armies until well into the 1950’s.

 

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Cherat, located in the Nowshera District, was a hill cantonment and sanatorium for British troops stationed in the hot and malaria-ridden Peshawar Valley. Many of the troops sent there carved and painted their regimental insignia on to nearby rock faces to mark their service on the frontier.
From an album of 116 photographs compiled by Lieutenant Hugh Stephenson Turnbull, 57th Wilde's Rifles (Frontier Force) in India and Egypt, 1903-1906.

 

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Thal in the Kurram, Showing The Road Bridge Over The Kurram River To Parachinar, 1920 (c).



The fort at Thal guarded the strategically vital Kurram valley. On the outbreak of the 3rd Afghan War (1919), it was garrisoned by four under-strength battalions of Sikhs and Gurkhas and a squadron of Indian cavalry under the command of Brigadier-General Alexander Eustace.

They were soon besieged by a large Afghan regular force under the command of General Nadir Khan. The Afghans were able to occupy a tower 500 yards (460 metres) from the fort and from there they were able to set fire to several food dumps.

Although under constant attack for a week the garrison held out until they were relieved on 2 June 1919 by a brigade from Peshawar led by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer.

 

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No.4 Company Bombay Sappers And Miners Workshop, Maidan, Tirah Valley, 1897-98 (c).

Many serious defects were exposed in the organisation, equipment and particularly the training of the Army in India throughout the 1897–98 frontier risings. During the most serious outbreak of resistance to British rule since the Mutiny, nearly the entire strength of the Field Army was mobilised, involving the deployment of over 59,000 regular troops, 4,000 Imperial Service Troops, and 118 guns in parts of the Pathan borderland that were still virtually terra incognita.

1) Imperial troops suffered 470 dead, 1,524 wounded and ten missing in action during the extended fighting, losses exceeding those suffered during the Second Afghan War.

2) Despite the benefits of Dum-Dum bullets, machine guns, search lights, a rocket battery, field and mountain artillery, the large Anglo-Indian force encountered serious, albeit uncoordinated, resistance from the trans-border Pathan tribes. The Tirah Campaign proved the most difficult and protracted military operation during the rising costing the Army in India 287 dead and 853 wounded. despite initial expectations in many quarters that British and Indian troops would only be opposed by lashkars still reliant on hand-to-hand combat supported by limited jezail or occasional rifle fire.

3) In his final report dated 24th February 1898 Major-General Sir William Lockhart summed up the difficulties encountered by imperial troops: "No campaign on the frontiers of India has been conducted under more trying and arduous circumstances than those encountered by the Tirah Expeditionary Force".

Article Reference - The Army In India And The Development Of Frontier Warfare, 1849–1947 By T. R. Moreman, Published 1998.

 

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Kakul Camp, Abbottabad,
Abbottabad was founded in 1853 by Major James Abbott, the first Deputy Commissioner of the Hazara District.

This district ran from the Himalayas in the north towards Rawalpindi in the south. Abbottabad was a cantonment, or permanent Army base, for the region; the garrison consisted of four Gurkha battalions and four mountain batteries.

General View Of Abbottabad, 1860's (c).

Photograph of Abbottabad, now in Pakistan, from the Macnabb Collection, taken by an unknown photographer in the 1860's.
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One Of The Earliest Cricket In British India.
19th Century Cricket at Kohat, a photograph by Major Charles Patton Keyes of the 1st Punjab Infantry, between 1862-1865 (c).
© Charles Patton Keyes

Many of the first cricket matches played in northern British India during the 19th Century were instigated by the British Army who were stationed there.

Kohat is described by Edward Emmerson in his book 'Across the Border' published in 1890, as a 'picturesque town'. He noted that Kohat boasted a church, an assembly room, a library, racket courts, a cricket ground, polo field and racecourse all within a ring fence "so that society can take its exercise, or afternoon tea, without going beyond the range of the mess; that Garrison mess whose doors are open to every one, whom duty or pleasure carries in its direction".

The British introduced cricket to India in the 18th century. Initially, Indians were only spectators to contests played between Army and Navy units, but by the late 19th century the game had acquired popular appeal. Both Hindu and Muslim native soldiers took up cricket with enthusiasum. For the British, cricket was part of their colonising mission.

The cricketing historian Cecil Headlam, travelling in India during the 1903 Delhi Durbar, reflected on its place in the imperial scheme: 'First the hunter, the missionary, and the merchant, next the soldier and the politician, and then the cricketer - that is the history of British colonisation. And of these civilizing influences the last may, perhaps, be said to do least harm. The hunter may exterminate deserving species, the missionary may cause quarrels, the soldier may hector, the politician blunder - but cricket unites, as in India, the rulers and the ruled. It also provides a moral training, an education in pluck, nerve and self-restraint valuable to the character of the ordinary native'.

Like their British counterparts, Indian Army regiments took part in competitions against both Indian and British units stationed on the sub-continent. Today, Pakistan and India are both cricket-mad nations.
© Charles Patton Keyes

 

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Fort Gulistan, Tirah Valley, North-West Frontier, 1897-98 (c).

The Battle of Saragarhi was fought before the Tirah Campaign on 12 September 1897 between Sikh soldiers of the British Indian Army and Pashtun Orakzai tribesmen. It occurred in the North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan).

The British Indian contingent comprised 21 Sikhs of the 36th Sikhs (now the 4th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment), who were stationed at an army post attacked by tribesmen. The Sikhs, led by Havildar Ishar Singh, chose to fight to the death, in what is considered by some military historians as one of history's greatest last-stands. The post was recaptured two days later by another British Indian contingent.

Sikh military personnel commemorate the battle every year on 12 September, as Saragarhi Day.

Note - The Tirah Campaign proved the most difficult and protracted military operation during the rising costing the Army in India 287 dead and 853 wounded, despite initial expectations in many quarters that British and Indian troops would only be opposed by lashkars still reliant on hand-to-hand combat supported by limited jezail or occasional rifle fire.

3 In his final report dated 24th February 1898 Major-General Sir William Lockhart summed up the difficulties encountered by imperial troops, "No campaign on the frontiers of India has been conducted under more trying and arduous circumstances than those encountered by the Tirah Expeditionary Force".

 

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Karachi Barracks, 1920

 

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Governor-General of Pakistan Khawaja Nazim Ud Din (c) with the Army Officer.
Year: 1950



Seated left to right: (2nd) Maj. Gen. Ishfakul Majid, GOC, 9 Infantry Division (NWFP); (3rd) Gen. Sir Douglas Gracey, C-in-C, Pakistan Army; (4th) Khawaja Nazimuddin, Governor-General of Pakistan and (5th) Lt. Gen. Sir Ross Cairns McCay, CGS, Pakistan Army and others, Peshawar, Pakistan,

 

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An Aerial Image of KARACHI, 1920,,
Napiar Barracks were clearly visible, Karachi Cantt area and present Sharah i Faisal..

 

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Pakistan Army.

Commandant HL Lloyd, MC, OEB, RE briefing Liaqat Ali Khan, Prime Minister during his visit to SME (School of Military Engineering) Sialkot.

After independence in April 1948, School of Military Engineering (SME) was established at Sialkot, Pakistan.

In 1952, SME was shifted from Sialkot to Risalpur and later developed and renamed as Military College of Engineering (MCE).

 

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Double Deckers Peshawar Cantt, 1935-40 (c).

 

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1938, A Convoy of Army Vehicles at Rest in Bannu, KPK

 

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Kohat Cantonment, North-West Frontier, 1930 (c).




Photograph taken by Ernest Schoedaack in 1930 of Hodson's Horse (Bengal Lancer regiment stationed at Kohat on the North-West West Frontier in India)

 

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Tented Ground In Kohat Cantonment, 1900 (c).





Note - The Famous Signature Peaks Of Kohat Are Visible In Background.

 

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One Of The Earliest Photographs Of Cricket In British India.




19th Century Cricket at Kohat, a photograph by Major Charles Patton Keyes of the 1st Punjab Infantry, between 1862-1865 (c).

Many of the first cricket matches played in northern British India during the 19th Century were instigated by the British Army who were stationed there.

Kohat is described by Edward Emmerson in his book 'Across the Border' published in 1890, as a 'picturesque town'. He noted that Kohat boasted a church, an assembly room, a library, racket courts, a cricket ground, polo field and racecourse all within a ring fence "so that society can take its exercise, or afternoon tea, without going beyond the range of the mess; that Garrison mess whose doors are open to every one, whom duty or pleasure carries in its direction".

The British introduced cricket to India in the 18th century. Initially, Indians were only spectators to contests played between Army and Navy units, but by the late 19th century the game had acquired popular appeal. Both Hindu and Muslim native soldiers took up cricket with enthusiasum. For the British, cricket was part of their colonising mission.

The cricketing historian Cecil Headlam, travelling in India during the 1903 Delhi Durbar, reflected on its place in the imperial scheme: 'First the hunter, the missionary, and the merchant, next the soldier and the politician, and then the cricketer - that is the history of British colonisation. And of these civilizing influences the last may, perhaps, be said to do least harm. The hunter may exterminate deserving species, the missionary may cause quarrels, the soldier may hector, the politician blunder - but cricket unites, as in India, the rulers and the ruled. It also provides a moral training, an education in pluck, nerve and self-restraint valuable to the character of the ordinary native'.

Like their British counterparts, Indian Army regiments took part in competitions against both Indian and British units stationed on the sub-continent. Today, Pakistan and India are both cricket-mad nations.

 

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RFC/RAF 31 Squadron Members Travels Across The Kohat Pass, North-West Frontier, 1916-23 (c).

 

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1920's
Kohat city

 

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In the east of Korakoram range of Himalaya, to the North East of NJ 9842, lies the coldest hell on earth. A 76 Kilometers long mass of rock solid snow, having the minimum altitude of 20,000 feet or 6,000 meters; this area has the coldest and most fearsome climate on earth. It is called the third pole on earth or in the words of native language of the area, it is referred as the Black Rose or Siachen.

Bordering the area of Pakistan and India in the sector, this is a bone of contention of between two countries. Unlike the beautiful landscape and winsome northern areas of the country, even the name of this sector gives chills in the spine; what to say of its horrific landscape.

This area has the most brutal and harsh weather of the region. In winter, the temperature drops up to -50 degrees.

The wind speed is around 160 KMPH, which creates wind chill factor, dropping temperature even lower. In the hottest months of June and July, the temperature is around -2 degrees. Crevices, steep slopes, and the cracks covered by a thin layer of snow which can not support the weight of an average person, collapse all of sudden, taking the person stepping to its depth. Not only causing mortality or severe injuries that is even worse than death in such a climate. The avalanche is the most horrific nightmare of the person present here. Verily major part of Siachen hasn't been treadled by any human, since the creation of the world.

Seeing through military point of view, this area is the toughest position ever for a soldier. Here the lowest post has to be established on the minimum altitude of 21,000 feet or 7,000 meters. The highest post in this sector is about 22,000 feet high. This difference of 1,000 feet has a saga of labour and bravery in it to cover. On such a height, a human requires surely to be a superhuman.

Although a soldier to be posted here must go through a training of a short period a Gilgit in order to be deployed here, but this sudden change of altitude has sudden impact of a human.

Acute depression, diminished appetite, sleep disorder, memory loss, hallucination, frost bite, hypoxia and white-out after seeing the white colour of snow for several days are enemies of a soldier. Above all this, high altitude sickness, pulmonary or cerebral edema are common as well.

Frost bite is the worst a soldier can expect. A little bit of sweetening or moisture can cause a frost bite. Any limb hit by frost bite has to be amputated on immediate basis, or it is the cause of death for the affected.

In such a thin air, the intensity of the most vital factor oxygen is decreased; handicapping a person to do even the most common chores of life. In a post established in a fiber glass igloo 6 to 7 Jawans are kept, including ORs and an officer. Here the tin food is the source of nutrition for the soldiers. Having a cook among is the biggest blessing for them.

However, cooking is also a challenging task here. Freezing cold in addition to the lack of oxygen makes cooking difficult. Eating the food is another difficulty here because not only the diminished appetite but also the deficiency of oxygen. It is difficult to walk a few paces in a cold atmosphere, as it is a laborious job to do in such a climate.

Even drinking water is not so easy here. A person has to constantly man the stove, where the snow is being melted, in order to make water. However, drinking water may shed body temperature, so the drinking amount is kept to minimum. It results in the thickening of blood. So, Dispirine is consumed like sweets here, just to keep the blood thin.

Otherwise, it may result into any severe medical condition. Ironically, the soldiers on the Siachen are sitting on one of the largest water reserves on earth.

In case of any casualty or injury, waiting for the helicopter is the most important activity to be done here. However it also depends on the situation and clarity of weather to make the trip, otherwise it is delayed for an undefined period. An officer serving in Siachen told that one of his Jawans passed away because of weather.

Due to the limited area available around the igloo he could not be buried nearby and it was not considered suitable to bury the body far away from the post as being spotted in the area could alert the Indians and locating the post would not have been difficult. Although the body could be shifted easily by the helicopter but the thick blanket of clouds on the sky was intimating that its impossible. Keeping the body outside the igloo was not only a disrespect for the martyred comrade but also being lost if there was any snow storm in the area. It was expected to have a storm in a couple of hours. So, the body was kept inside the igloo and the officer insisted the body to be kept alongside his bedding.

The storm broke out and kept the area surrounded for 2 weeks. All these days, the fallen comrade was kept inside the igloo with his fellows. However, the deficiency of oxygen which causes neural functions of the body to work inefficiently, made soldiers believe that their fellow is alive and present with them, having a chit chat as well. However, this ended when after a period of 2 weeks, the storm ended and the casualty was taken by the helicopter.

Sun which is a sign of life for earth isn’t very gentle here as well. Although the altitude brings the temperature to a minimum level but rays of sun directly hit the objects present here, including humans. Intensity of sun rays is very low here but even the minimum amount of sunshine is dangerous. Without the anti glare glasses, it is very difficult to see here even causing to damage the eye sight partially. If faced for a long time, it might be fully. Because when the sun rays hit the snow, the snow particles act as tiny mirrors, reflecting the sunlight to one another, increasing the sun light to a very high and unbearable level.

The effect can be seen by facing the sun burnt skin or the uniform of the soldiers. When posted to Siachen, the colour of uniform is as white as snow, but after spending time here is starts taking shades of grey every day. Darker the grey is, longer the stay of the soldier on Siachen is indicated.

The handling of weapon is a challenge for the soldier. Unlike the plains or lower mountains where one just grabs a firearm and starts shooting is not a luxury which can be enjoyed in siachen. If touched with the bare hand, even the slightest moisture in the air causes the hand to cling to the metal and cause the skin to peel off.

Supplies play a vital role to keep the soldiers alive an equipped. A place where Aspirine and kerosene oil are needed every minute and required to stay alive, supplies must reach timely, otherwise a delay of minutes can cost years.

The speediest way is to drop supplies by helicopter or the airdrop by C-130 to some specific drop zones, near the posts. From where it is carried by the soldiers to the relevant point. But this is not such a simple task to be done. Drop zones are mostly on the lower ground while the posts are on the higher level.

Carrying the weight in such a climatic condition even to a minimum level is such an uphill task. Most of the time when porters reach the post, their blood is also seen on the canvas belts carrying the burden. Moreover, if the drop zones are marked by the enemy OP, the artillery fire not only destroys the supplies but also causes casualties by the enemy fire. Finding a safe drop zone or the route is another challenging task.

Sicahen is verily the god forsaken place, where the well-equipped well prepared enemy looks like a midget who can miss its shot. While the gigantic enemy is nature which never misses its shot. Every day, every minute, even every new second is a new challenge.

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River Patrol Boat