Southern Command is a

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the 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 is the Chief of Arm ...

, active since 1895. It has seen action during the integration of several

Princely States A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

into modern India, during the 1961 Indian liberation of Goa, and during the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistani Wars. Lieutenant General

Jai Singh Nain Lieutenant General Jai Singh Nain PVSM, AVSM, SM, ADC was the former General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Southern Command of the Indian Army. He assumed the post from Lieutenant-General Chandi Prasad Mohanty. Career Nain was ...

is the current Southern Army Commander.

History

Early history

The

Presidency armies The presidency armies were the armies of the three presidencies of the East India Company's rule in India, later the forces of the British Crown in India, composed primarily of Indian sepoys. The presidency armies were named after the presiden ...

were abolished with effect from 1 April 1895 when the three Presidency armies became the Indian Army. The Indian Army was divided into four Commands (Bengal Command, Bombay Command, Madras Command and Punjab Command) each under a lieutenant general. In 1908, the four commands were merged into two Armies (Northern Army and Southern Army): this system persisted until 1920 when the arrangement reverted to four commands again (Eastern Command, Northern Command, Southern Command and Western Command). In 1914, the Southern Army consisted of the

4th (Quetta) Division The 4th (Quetta) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army. It was formed by Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, General Kitchener while he was Commander-in-chief of British Raj, India. During World War I the division rema ...

, the

5th (Mhow) Division The 5th (Mhow) Division was a regular division of the British Indian Army and part of the Southern Army which was formed in 1903 after Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India between 1902 and 1909. He instituted large-scale refo ...

, the

6th (Poona) Division The 6th (Poona) Division was a division of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1903, following the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army. World War I The 6th (Poona) Division served in the Mesopotamian campaign. Led by Major General Barr ...

, the

9th (Secunderabad) Division The 9th (Secunderabad) Division was an infantry division formation of the British Indian Army. It was part of the Southern Army and was formed in 1904 after Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India between 1902 and 1909. He ins ...

, and the

Aden Brigade The Aden Brigade was a formation of the British Indian Army formed after 1903 and the Kitchener Reforms. It was commanded by Major General Bell. In August 1914, Connelly writes that the British force in Aden Settlement consisted of only two battali ...

Second World War

During the Second World War, Southern Command was reformed as Southern Army (equivalent to a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

) in April 1942. The formation reverted to the title Southern Command in November 1945. Component divisions included: *

19th Indian Infantry Division The 19th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II, and played a prominent part in the final part of the Burma Campaign. History The 19th Indian Infantry Division was raised in Secunderabad, Indi ...

, April 1942 to July 1944 *

2nd British Infantry Division The 2nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was formed and disestablished numerous times between 1809 and 2012. It was raised by Lieutenant-General Arthur Wellesley for service in the Peninsular War (part of t ...

, June 1942 to April 1943, and then June 1945 to August 1945 *

70th British Infantry Division The 70th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. What would become the 70th Division originated with the 7th Infantry Division, which was formed in ...

, July 1943 to October 1943 *

81st (West Africa) Division The 81st (West African) Division was formed under British control during the Second World War. It took part in the Burma Campaign. History The inspiration for the division's formation came from General George Giffard, commander of the Britis ...

, March 1945 to August 1945 * 36th Infantry Division (

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

), June 1945 to August 1945 Component brigades included: *

7th Armoured Brigade 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

, June 1942 to September 1942 *British 6th Infantry Brigade, November 1942 to December 1942 *

150th Indian Infantry Brigade The 150th Indian Infantry Brigade was an Infantry formation of the Indian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in March 1944, at Secunderabad as a Jungle Training Brigade assigned to the Southern Army. In September 1945 the brigade w ...

March 1944 to August 1945 *

26th Indian Infantry Brigade The 26th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in March 1941, at Secunderabad, India and assigned to the 6th Indian Infantry Division. The brigade was part of the Line of C ...

July 1944 to December 1944

Post war

In August 1947, Southern Command had the Deccan, Madras and Bombay Areas (with HQs at Kamptee, Madras and Bombay). In 1947–48, Southern Command was largely responsible in getting

Junagadh Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. Literally ...

and

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, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

to sign the instrument of accession to India. 1st Armoured Division did the actual incursion into Hyderabad. In 1961, the Indian annexation of Goa was conducted by 17th Infantry Division and 50th Parachute Brigade, under the operational control of Southern Command. In 1965–66, two further divisions were raised within the command. After fighting broke out in the

Rann of Kutch The Rann of Kutch (alternately spelled as Kuchchh) is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan. It is located in Gujarat (primarily the Kutch district), India, and in Sindh, Pakistan. It is divided into ...

in April 1965, a hastily constituted force, named Kilo Force under Maj. Gen P. O. Dunn was formed to contain this attack. Kilo Force was later re-designated as 11 Infantry Division. In September 1965, the operational responsibility for the Barmer sector was given to Southern Command and entrusted to 11 Infantry Division. Delhi and Rajasthan Area, with its Advance Headquarters at Jodhpur, fought 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 ...

under Western Command. On 3 November 1966, this formation was re-designated 12th Infantry Division, under Major General

J.F.R. Jacob Lieutenant General Jack Farj Rafael Jacob, Param Vishisht Seva Medal, PVSM (2May 1921 – 13January 2016), was a general officer in the Indian Army. He was best known for the role he played in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. Jacob, then a ...

, and also placed under Southern Command.

Structure

The command headquarters is located in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, Maharashtra. It consists of two corps and two military areas. The two areas are:- Maharashtra Goa and Gujarat Area (MG&G Area) and the Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala Area (ATNK&K Area) In 2005, the changes to its jurisdiction area were made when a new South Western Command was established.

Precursors (1907-1948)

Following is the List of precursors to the Northern Command and their commanders:Army Commands

Southern Command (1907-1908)

Southern Army (1908-1920)

Southern Command (1920-1942)

Southern Army (1942-1945)

List of GOC-in-C of Southern Command (1945- present)

Notes

Sources

* {{Military of India Commands of the Indian Army Military units and formations established in 1895 Military units and formations of India in World War II 1895 establishments in India