Western Command (India)

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.

Western Command
Insignia of the Western Command
Active	1904 – 1908 1920 – 1938 1948 – present
Country	British India (former)  India (after 1947)
Branch	British Indian Army (former)  Indian Army (after 1947)
Type	Command
Garrison/HQ	Chandimandir, Haryana
Motto(s)	सर्वदा विजयी भव (Marathi for '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

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. "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. "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. 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. "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.