The 1st Armoured Division is an armoured division of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, headquartered at Patiala, Punjab. It is part of

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

of the Indian Army's Western Command.

Formation

The division was formed when the

31st Indian Armoured Division The 31st Indian Armoured Division was an armoured division of the Indian Army during World War II, formed in 1940, originally as the 1st Indian Armoured Division; it consisted of units of the British Army and the British Indian Army. When it was ...

was re-designated on September 1, 1945. The 1st Armoured Division was one of two divisional headquarters transferred from the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

to the

upon the partition of British India in August 1947. At the time, it had its divisional headquarters at

Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...

and the 43rd Lorried Infantry Brigade away with the

Punjab Boundary Force The Punjab Boundary Force was an ad hoc military force to restore law and order during the communal carnages of the partition of India in the Punjab. The force was based on the 4th Indian Division and commanded by Maj Gen T.W. Rees. The force wa ...

. In June 1946, the wartime

255th Indian Tank Brigade The 255th Indian Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade of the Indian Army during World War II. It was part of the Fourteenth Army and saw action in the Burma Campaign. The 255th Tank Brigade's tactical sign was a black bull, with yellow horns and ...

was redesignated as 1st Armoured Brigade and assigned to 1st Armoured Division.

Operation Polo

The division played a major role in Operation Polo, the integration of

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

into the Indian Union in 1948. During this time Major General

Joyanto Nath Chaudhuri General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri (Bengali: জয়ন্তনাথ চৌধুরী; 10 June 1908 – 6 April 1983) was a General Officer in the Indian Army. He served as the 6th Chief of Army Staff from 1962 to 1966 and the Military Gov ...

was serving as the division's commander, also serving as Military Governor of the state in the immediate aftermath of the invasion. For the Hyderabad operation, the division controlled the 1st Armoured Brigade and the 7th and 9th Infantry Brigades. The order of battle (ORBAT) for the division was as follows- Strike Force *9

Dogra The Dogras or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group in India and Pakistan consisting of the Dogri language speakers. They live predominantly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, and in adjoining areas of Punjab, Himachal ...

Skinner's Horse The 1st Horse (Skinner's Horse) is a regiment of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. It traces its origins as a cavalry regiment from the times of the East India Company, followed by its service in the British Indian Army and finally, afte ...

(minus one squadron) *1 troop Division HQ Squadron *Battery 1 Field Regiment (Self Propelled) *1 Forward Air Control team Smash Force - 1 Armoured Brigade (Brigadier S.D Verma) * 3 Cavalry (minus one squadron) * 17 Horse (minus one squadron) *One troop Skinner's Horse *1 Field Regiment (less one battery) (Self Propelled) *2nd Battery 40 Medium Regiment *One company 9 Dogra Kill Force - 7 Infantry Brigade (Brigadier Gurbachan Singh) *2

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

Grenadiers A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from ...

*14

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

* 9 Para Field Regiment Vir Force - 9 Infantry Brigade (Brigadier Apji Randhir Singh) *3

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

*2/

1 Gorkha Rifles 1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment), often referred to as the 1st Gorkha Rifles, or 1 GR in abbreviation, is the most senior Gorkha Infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally formed as part of the East India Company's Bengal Arm ...

* 34 Anti Tank Regiment

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

The 1st Armoured Division with Major General Rajinder Singh 'Sparrow' as the GOC played an important role in the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

. He was awarded the

Mahavir Chakra The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) () is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced the Br ...

for his role during the war. The division was part of the

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

on the western front. The order of battle was as follows- 1 Armoured Division (Major General Rajinder Singh) *1 Armoured Brigade (Brigadier

Khem Karan Singh Lieutenant General Khem Karan Singh MVC (March 5, 1921 – July 26, 2016) was a General Officer in the Indian Army. He was awarded Padma Bhushan for his services to the nation during the 1971 war. He also received Maha Vir Chakra for his servic ...

) ** 17 Horse ** 16 Light Cavalry ** 62 Cavalry (was also part of other formations) *43 Lorried Infantry Brigade (Brigadier HS Dhillon) ** 2 Lancers **8 Garhwal Rifles **5

Jat The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subse ...

**5/ 9 Gorkha Rifles *Divisional Reserves ** 4 Horse **9

*1 Artillery Brigade (Brigadier OP Malhotra) *Brigades under temporary operational command **35 Infantry Brigade (from 9 to 16 September 1965) **116 Infantry Brigade (from 9 to 12 September 1965) **58 Infantry Brigade (from 12 to 16 September 1965) The major battles fought by the division include the

Battle of Phillora The Battle of Phillora was a large tank battle fought during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. It commenced on 10 September when the Indian 1st Armoured Division, with four armoured regiments and supporting forces under command, attacked positio ...

and the

Battle of Chawinda {{Infobox military conflict , width = 380px , image = File:Sculpture showing Indo-Pak war.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = Sculpture showing the Indo-Pakistani War {{clear {{OSM Location map , co ...

. At the time of the cease-fire, 1 Corps held around 500 square kilometres of Pakistani territory and had caused substantial damage to the enemy armour. Lieutenant Colonel A B Tarapore, 17 Horse was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, Major General Rajinder Singh, GOC, 1 Armoured Division, Brig KK Singh, Commander 1 Armoured Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel MMS Bakshi, Commandant 4 Horse, and Major Bhupinder Singh, 4 Horse were awarded the Maha Vir Chakra.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

The division was under the

XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * XI ...

, but did not see action. The order of battle (ORBAT) for the division was as follows- 1 Armoured Division (Major General Gurbachan Singh) *93 Independent Reconnaissance Squadron (from 65 Armoured Regiment) *1 Armoured Brigade (Brigadier N.S. Cheema) ** 2 Lancers ** 65 Armoured Regiment ** 67 Armoured Regiment ** 68 Armoured Regiment (all equipped with Vijayanta tanks) *43 Lorried Infantry Brigade (Brigadier Ramesh Chandra) **1

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

**1

**1 Garhwal Rifles (all equipped with

TOPAS The OT-62 TOPAS is a series of amphibious tracked armoured personnel carriers developed jointly by Polish People's Republic and Czechoslovakia ( ČSSR). OT-62 stands for ''Obrněný Transportér vzor 62'' – "armoured personnel carrier model 62" ...

armoured personnel carriers) 1 Armd Division

The Present

Following the

1971 Indo-Pakistani war * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Jan ...

, the division was re-organised with the 1st and 43rd Armoured Brigades and relocated in 1972 to

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-area ...

. In 1984, it was reorganized with the 1st, 43rd and 98th Armoured Brigades. At present, the Divisional Headquarters is located at Patiala as are the 43 and 98 Armoured Brigades. 1 Armoured Brigade is located at Nabha and 1 Artillery Brigade at Ambala.

Footnotes

References

;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:1st Armoured Division (India) Divisions of the Indian Army Military units and formations established in 1945