The Eastern Command is one of the six operational commands of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

. It is headquartered in Vijay Durg (formerly known as Fort William) in the city of

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

in the state of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. The Eastern Command was formed on 1 November 1920. The Command is commanded by a three-star rank officer with the title General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C).

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Ram Chander Tiwari is the current GOC-in-C of Eastern Command.

History

Early history

The

Presidency armies The presidency armies were the armies of the three Presidencies of British India, presidencies of the East India Company's Company rule in India, rule in India, later the forces of the the Crown, British Crown in British Raj, India, composed pr ...

were abolished with effect from 1 April 1895 when the three Presidency armies of

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, and

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

became the

. The Indian Army was divided into four Commands: Bengal Command, Bombay Command, Madras Command and Punjab Command, each under a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

. Between 1904 and 1908, the Bengal Command became the Eastern Command. In 1908, the four commands were merged into two Armies – the Northern Army and Southern Army – as recommended by the 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. On 1 November 1920, the Eastern Command was formed, with its summer headquarters in

Nainital Nainital (Kumaoni language, Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a town and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the Uttarakhand High Court, High Court of the state being ...

and winter headquarters in

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Havelock Hudson, became its first Commander.

Second World War

In 1942, the command had the following formations under it: * IV Corps (Headquarters at

Imphal Imphal (; , ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (officially known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the former Kingdom of Manipur, surrounded by a ...

) ** 17th Indian Infantry Division and

23rd Indian Infantry Division The 23rd Infantry Division is an infantry Division (military), division of the Indian Army. It was raised as a part of the Indian Army during World War II. It fought in the Burma Campaign. History The division was raised on 1 January 1942, at J ...

* XXXIII Corps (Headquarters at

Arakan Arakan ( or ; , ), formerly anglicised as Aracan, is the historical geographical name for the northeastern coastal region of the Bay of Bengal, covering present-day Bangladesh and Myanmar. The region was called "Arakan" for centuries. It is ...

) ** 14th Indian Infantry Division and

26th Indian Infantry Division The 26th Indian Infantry Division, was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. It fought in the Burma Campaign. History When the Japanese invaded Burma in 1942, the various units in training or stationed around Barrackpu ...

* 70th British Division and 50th Indian Tank Brigade in reserve. On 21 April 1942, the command was re-designated as Eastern Army. Its headquarters moved to

Barrackpore Barrackpore (), also known as Barrackpore,is a city and municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the India, Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Barrackpore subdivision. The city is a part of the area covered by Ko ...

to fight the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The Chindits were raised and launched into operations in 1943, by the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade, a unit of the Eastern Command. In October 1943, the Fourteenth Army was formed and was given responsibility for the area east of the

Meghna River The Meghna () is one of the major rivers in Bangladesh, one of the three that form the Ganges Delta, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the Bay of Bengal. A part of the Surma-Meghna River System, the Meghna is formed inside Banglade ...

. With this, the Eastern Army retained responsibility for the area west of the river. After the war, on 23 March 1947, the Command HQ moved to

Ranchi Ranchi (; ) is the capital city and also the largest district by population of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern ...

. The HQ was later moved to

in 1955. However, on 1 May 1963, post the

Sino-Indian War The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...

; the Central Command was re-raised and

was made its HQ, while

was made HQ Eastern Command.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

The Command had the overall responsibility of the eastern theatre of the 13-day war. The command had the two existing infantry corps – IV Corps and XXXIII Corps, and raised another – II Corps. Apart from this, the 101 Communication Zone was reorganised as a Division-sized combat formation.

J S Arora, as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command, commanded all Indian and Bangladesh Forces in the eastern theatre. The Order of Battle of the Eastern Command during the war was: II Corps (HQ - Krishnanagar) (GOC -

T N Raina) * 50th Independent Parachute Brigade (less 2 Para Bn Gp) – Brigadier M Thomas * 8th Mountain Artillery Brigade * 58th, 68th and 263rd Engineering Regiments * 9th Infantry Division (GOC - Major General Dalbir Singh) ** 32 Infantry Brigade – Brigadier M Tewari ** 42 Infantry Brigade – Brigadier J. M. Jhoria ** 350 Infantry Brigade – Brigadier H. S. Sandhu ** 9th Artillery Brigade * 4th Mountain Division (HQ - Krishnanagar) (GOC - Major General M S Barar) ** 7th Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Zail Singh ** 41st Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Tony Michigan ** 62nd Mountain Brigade - Brigadier Rajinder Nath ** 4th Mountain Artillery Brigade IV Corps (HQ - Agartala) GOC -

Sagat Singh * Corps Artillery Brigade * Three Independent Tank Squadrons * 8th Mountain Division (GOC - Major General K. V. Krishna Rao) ** Echo Force Brigade – Brigadier Wadeker ** 59th Mountain Brigade – Brigadier C. A. Quinn ** 81st Mountain Brigade – Brigadier R. C. V. Apte ** 2nd Mountain Artillery Brigade * 57th Mountain Division (GOC - Major General B.F. Gonsalves) ** 311th Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Mishra ** 73rd Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Tuli ** 61st Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Tom Pande ** 57th Mountain Artillery Brigade *23rd Mountain Division (GOC - Major General R.D. Hira) ** 301st Mountain Brigade – Brigadier H. S. Sodhi ** 181st Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Y. C. Bakshi ** 83rd Mountain Brigade – Brigadier B. S. Sandhu ** 23rd Mountain Artillery Brigade ** Kilo Force Brigade – Brigadier Ananda Swaroop containing: ** Mizo Range Hills Brigade XXXIII Corps (HQ -

Siliguri Siliguri (, ; ), also known as Shiliguri, is a major Tier ii cities in india, tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms the twin cities, Twin Cities with the neighbouring city of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeel ...

) (GOC - Lieutenant General M L Thapan) * Corps Artillery Brigade * 471st Engineering Brigade – Colonel Suri * 235th Army Engineering Regiment * 2 Para Bn Gp * MF Brigade – Brigadier Prem Singh * 71st Mountain Brigade – Brigadier P. N. Kathpalia * 20th Mountain Division (HQ -

Balurghat Balurghat is a city and municipality located in the Dakshin Dinajpur district of West Bengal, India, serving as the district headquarters. Strategically positioned on National Highway 512, it is well-connected by road and rail, facilitating trad ...

) (GOC - Major General Lachhman Singh) ** 66th Mountain Brigade – Brigadier G. S. Sharma ** 165th Mountain Brigade – Brigadier R. S. Pannu ** 202nd Mountain Brigade – Brigadier F. P. Bhatty ** 3rd Armoured Brigade – Brigadier G. Singh Sidhu ** 20th Mountain Artillery Brigade ** 340th Mountain Brigade Group – Brigadier Joginder Singh * 6th Mountain Division ( HQ - Cooch Behar) (Eastern Command HQ Reserve) (GOC - Major General P C Reddy) ** 9th Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Tirit Varma ** 99th Mountain Brigade ** 6th Mountain Artillery Brigade 101st Communication Zone (HQ:

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

) (GOC - Major General Gurbax Singh Gill) * 312 Air Defence Brigade * 342 Ind. Air Defence Brigade * 95th Mountain Brigade – Brigadier Hardev Singh Kler * FJ Sector Brigade – Brigadier Sant Singh * 167th Infantry Brigade – Brigadier Irani (allotted after 8 December 1971) * 5th Mountain Brigade (allotted after 8 December 1971) On 16 December 1971, the Eastern Command of the

Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consists of three uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are backe ...

surrendered at

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

ceased to exist and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

was born. Lt Gen J S Arora accepted the Pakistani Instrument of Surrender, signed by Lt Gen A. A. K. Niazi at Dacca Racecourse. Approximately 93,000 Pakistani servicemen were taken prisoner by the

, which included 79,676 to 81,000 uniformed personnel of the Pakistan Armed Forces, including some Bengali soldiers who had remained loyal to Pakistan.

Structure

The Command's Area Of Responsibility (AOR) covers the following states of India: *

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

The Eastern Command has been assigned operational units under: III Corps, IV Corps, XVII Corps, XXXIII Corps and the 23rd Infantry Division.

Precursors (1902–1947)

Following is the list of precursors to the Eastern Command and their commanders:Army Commands

History

Early history

Second World War

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

Structure

Precursors (1902–1947)

Eastern Command (1902–1907)

Eastern Command (1920–1940)

Eastern Army (1942–1943)

Eastern Command (1943–1947)

List of GOC-in-C of Eastern Command (1947–present)

Notes

Further reading