Introduction
1. The Southern Command came into existence in 1895. However, the
saga began on 31 December 1600 when Queen Elizabeth I granted a
charter to “The Company of Merchants of London trading into the East
Indies”. They obtained a firman from Emperor Jahangir to
establish a factory at Surat in 1613. This Company came to be known
as the East India Company. Through trade, the fortunes of the
Company grew and their ambitions increased.
2. In 1661, the East India Company acquired the Island of Bombay for
the princely annual rental of £10. This Island, ceded by Portugal to
England as part of Catherine of Braganza’s dowry, became the
headquarters of the Bombay Presidency. Being firmly ensconced, the
East India Company slowly expanded its presence to the hinterland
through gradual conquests. The turning point was their victory over
Baji Rao II, the last of the Peshwas, in the Battle of Kirkee, on 5
November 1817. This allowed them a foothold in Poona.
Establishment of Poona & Kirkee
Cantonments
3. As British influence extended into the Deccan, there arose a need
for a greater military presence. The British already had a small
encampment west of the Mutha River, in an area called Garpir, in
Kirkee (now Khadki) where they had initially established themselves.
However this did not cover the approaches to Poona from the north or
east. As more troops were required to be billeted, a larger area was
occupied east of the Mutha River, leading to the establishment of
Poona Cantonment in 1819.
4. In 1835 Poona was declared the monsoon capital of the Bombay
government. Over time, it became one of the strongest military
stations of the British in the Peninsula. With the establishment of
a Cantonment alongside the City of Poona, a dual identity was forged
based on the moorings of tradition and modernity. Today, Pune and
Khadki Cantonments have imperceptibly merged into the greater
metropolis of Pune.
The Military Structure
5. With the British government assuming direct control after 1857, a
more formalized structure of the armies was put in place. In 1879,
the Presidency Army System was integrated into a Unified Army of
four commands under one C-in-C. The Presidency armies were abolished
with effect from 1 April 1895 by a notification of the Government of
India through Army Department Order Number 981 dated 26 October
1894, unifying the three Presidency armies into a single Indian
Army. This Order further divided the Army into four Commands, each
under a Lt Gen, as follows:-
(a) Bengal (Assam, Bengal, UP, and
parts of Central Provinces).
(b) Bombay (including Sind, Quetta and Aden) headquartered at Poona.
(c) Madras (including Burma).
(d) Punjab (including North West Frontier and Punjab Frontier
Force).
1st April 1895 is thus the formal
raising of Southern Command. Its HQ has remained unchanged at Pune
since then.
6. In 1908, the four Commands were done away with and replaced by
two Armies. The Northern Army with five Divs was located at
Rawalpindi; the Southern Army, with its five Divs and a Bde located
at Poona. The original system of four commands was once again
reverted to in 1922 as under:-
(a) Northern Command – Rawalpindi
(b) Eastern Command – Nainital
(c) Western Independent District – Quetta (with the status of a
Command)
(d) Southern Command – POONA
7. Period From 1920-1947.
The first major operational challenge arose during the Second World
War when it was apprehended that Japan or Germany could mount a
seaward assault on India. In April 1942, Southern Command was
designated as the Southern Army and first time, its HQ shifted to
Bangalore to accommodate the GHQ from Delhi at Poona if the need
arose. During the War the primary role of Southern Command was to
defend the ports and connected airfields of Madras, Vishakhapatnam,
Cochin and Bombay. Assigned the operational role of defending
Southern India from invasions and
Sea borne raids, it was in addition tasked with preparing certain
bases, ports and communications for launching an offensive when
required.
8. Southern Command did not actively engage in any operations during
the Second World War, it remained a major training and re-equipment
theatre for operations in Burma. The only operational force which
was formed in Southern Command was for Op BUTTON - the invasion of
Malaya (now Malaysia), Indonesia and other countries under Japanese
occupation. An Amphibious Operation Force set out for the invasion
from Bombay, Madras and Ceylon.
Post
Independence
9. Post-Independence, the Army was
divided into regional commands. Southern Command was the senior-most
and was charged with defence of the national territory in the
Southern theatre, as also providing aid to civil authority, whenever
requested. As brought out, at the time of Independence, Southern
Command had primarily a training, administrative and support role.
Geographically, it was the largest Command (covering most of
peninsular India). It was thus apt that the first Indian GOC-in-C to
be appointed was Lt Gen KS Rajendrasinhji, who was the senior-most
officer after Gen (later Field Marshal) KM Cariappa, the Chief of
the Army Staff and succeeded him as the second Chief.
Baptism by Fire
10. In the pre-independence era, Indian units and formations were
organized for operations against both irregular levies inland as
well as for actions overseas. The International Border was with
Afghanistan thus Southern Command was not actively involved with
defence of borders. Events that unfurled in the aftermath of the
Partition changed all that. Southern Command was now actively
engaged in safeguarding national territory and bringing recalcitrant
states to heel in the process of national consolidation. It was
largely responsible for Junagadh and Hyderabad signing the
Instrument of Accession to India. This ‘Nation Building’ process
carried on till 1961, when operations for the liberation of Goa were
conducted by Inf Div, under the operational control of Southern
Command.
11. The first serious blooding along the Western border came about
in the 1965 War with Pakistan in the Kutch Sector. In January 1965,
fighting broke out in the Rann of Kutch, a sparsely inhabited
region, when the Pakistani forces began using tracks inside Indian
Territory. An Inf Bde was moved in and kept in reserve. On 24 April
1965, Pakistani troops attacked Indian positions in the Rann of
Kutch. A hastily constituted force, named Kilo Force under Maj Gen
PO Dunn comprising two Inf Bdes was formed to contain this attack.
It was in the wake of these operations that the necessity of field
formations under Southern Command gained impetus.
12. The first formation to be raised was Kilo Force, which was later
re-designated as 11 Inf Div. In September 1965, the operational
responsibility for the Barmer sector was given to Southern Command
and entrusted to 11 Inf Div which is also known as the Golden Katar
Div based on its insignia.
13. Delhi and Rajasthan Area, with its Advance HQ at Jodhpur,
participated in the 1965 war under Western Command. On 3 November
1966, this Formation was designated as 12 Inf Div, under Maj Gen JFR
Jacob and also placed under Southern Command.
14. Indo–Pak War 1971: The Defining Moment. The
defining moment came in 1971 when Southern Command was deployed in
Jaisalmer, Barmer and Kutch with 12 Inf Div, 11 Inf Div and a Sector
respectively. Here, its formations together with the IAF were
engaged in a tenacious defence at Laungewala which thwarted the
Pakistan offensive in the 12 Div Sector. There was an equally
audacious offensive by 11 Inf Div to capture Khokhropar and Gadra
City. Southern Command, for the first time, executed large-scale
desert operations and captured over 9,000 square kilometres of enemy
territory in the Barmer Sector. This was the largest area captured
in the Western Theatre.
15. Formation of the Desert Corps. With two combat
Divs on the Order of Battle of Southern Command and the increasing
operational importance of the Desert Sector, a Corps HQ was
sanctioned in January 1987. HQ 12 Corps now known as the Desert
Corps was raised at Jodhpur under Lt Gen A K Chatterjee in February
1987, during the volatile days of Op TRIDENT.
16. Operations in the Emerald Island. With the signing of the
Indo-Sri Lanka Accord in 1987, the Command was tasked to ensure
implementation of the Accord. The Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF),
under Lt Gen A S Kalkat was raised and moved to Sri Lanka, to
participate in Op PAWAN. Over the next two years, the IPKF gradually
built up, and made tremendous sacrifices in their attempt to enforce
the mandate. The IPKF was eventually de-inducted in early 1990,
after the successful conduct of the Presidential and Parliamentary
elections in Sri Lanka.
17. The Strike Corps. In keeping with the planned
reorganization of the Indian Army, a ‘Strike Corps’ had to be raised
in the Southern Theatre. HQ IPKF was re-designated as HQ 21 Corps in
April 1990. This became the offensive Corps of Southern Command and
established itself at Bhopal in July 1990.
18. HQ Southern Command also controlled Op Cactus in the Maldives in
1988 to restore President Gayoom after a coup bid in that country.
It was also heavily committed during Operation Vijay in 1999. After
the infamous attack on the Indian Parliament in 2002, the Command
mobilised as part of the general mobilisation for Operation Parakram,
which continued for over ten months.
Southern Command Today
19. Today, the Southern Command comprises of its two Corps, 12 and
21 located at Jodhpur and Bhopal. The Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa
Area, with its HQ at Mumbai and the Andhra, Tamilnadu, Karnataka and
Kerala Area with its HQ at Chennai also come within its ambit.
Southern Command encompasses ten States and four Union Territories
covering nearly 40 percent of the Country. This includes an area of
about 2,407,315 square kilometers. Its formations, establishments
and units are spread over 19 cantonments and 35 military stations,
which are also home to 41 major training establishments.
20. The Tri- Services Nature of Southern Command.
Southern Command is the only tri-service theatre among all Army
Commands. It has within its geographical area the HQ of Western,
Southern and Eastern Naval Commands as also four Air Force Commands,
namely the South Western, Southern, Maintenance and Training
Commands.
Aid to Civil Authorities
21. The role of Southern Command has not been restricted to the
military sphere alone. In addition to training, administration and
support of the very large number of military formations, units and
establishments, the Command has been in the forefront when called to
aid civil authorities in internal security situations, civil
disturbances and natural or man-made disasters. These include those
ranging from floods, bomb blast and earthquakes to the tsunami.
Conclusion
22. In the post Independence era, Southern Command carved its own
identity and redefined its roles and aspirations. It is the only
Command to have been engaged in overseas operations, it has
participated extensively with other armies in exercises while also
performing yeoman service in disaster relief, both within its
confines and beyond the nation’s borders. With its strong foundation
of two centuries of growth, it has consolidated and built itself
into a formidable field army - one of the finest in the world.
Having proved itself repeatedly in battle, Southern Command stands
poised in the new millennia, geared up to undertake even more
diverse roles - both operational and humanitarian. |