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Indian Army
The Indian Army is the the most important and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The Commander-in-chief of the Indian Army is the President of India while a Four-star General is the Army Commander.
Role
The first and foremost duty of the Indian Army is the protection and preservation of Indian national sovereignty and territorial integrity from any external threats.
Secondly the Indian Army must assist and support the civil law enforcement inside the borders to maintain peace and unity within the nation.
History
The Supreme Government of the East India Company created a Military Department at Kolkata in 1776 and by April 1895, the Presidency Armies were became one Indian Army.
During the 20th century, the Indian Army was an essential part of the British forces and took part in World War I with the Allies and again in World War II it fought on behalf of the Allies. Although 1939, British bureaucracy did not intend to strengthen the Indian armed forces, which had about 130,000 men but as the war progressed, the strength and role of the Indian Army improved drastically.
After the Independence and Partition of India, some of the Gurkha Regiments were given to the British Army and the rest of the Indian Army was distributed among the nations of India and Pakistan.
Major Conflicts and Events
- First Kashmir War - 1947
- Inclusion of Hyderabad - 1948
- Medical Assistance during Korean War – (1950–1953)
- Sino-Indian War - 1962
- Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
- Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
- Siachen conflict - 1984
- Kargil conflict - 1999
United Nations Peacekeeping Missions and Counter Insurgency Activities
Organization
The total strength of the Indian Army was around 2,089,900 as of 2010, making it one of the world’s largest armies. The Headquarters of the Indian Army is located in the capital of India – New Delhi and the executive commander of the Indian Army is the Chief of Army Staff or COAS. This position is held currently by General Bikram Singh, who is a highly decorated veteran of the Indian Army.
The Indian Army is made up of 37 Divisions, which in turn are organized as follows:
- A Division in made up of several Brigades and is lead by a General Officer Commanding (GOC). It usually amounts to 15,000 combat troops and 8,000 support elements.
- A Brigade has about 3,000 troops and supporting elements as some battalions along their support units. It is headed by a Brigadier. A Battalion is led by a Colonel and has more than 900 personnel as several Companies.
- A Company has 120 soldiers as Platoons, headed by the Major.
- A Platoon has around 32 troops as Sections, headed by the Lieutenant or a Junior Commissioned Officer.
- A Section is the primary military force with strength of 10 personnel, led by a Non-commissioned officer.
Commands
The Indian Army operates as 7 functional commands. A General Officer Commanding-in-Chief with the rank of Lieutenant General oversees a command and every command is directly and distinctly answers to the Headquarters in New Delhi. The Chief of Staff (COS) for each command is also an officer of the Lieutenant General Rank.
Corps
“A corps is an army field formation responsible for a zone within a command theatre” The Indian Army is made up three types of corps: Strike, Holding and Mixed. Usually two and more than two corps constitute a command and each corps controls several Army divisions. The Corps headquarter is the highest field formation in the Indian Army.