On April 14, 1938, a Cavalry Regiment of the British Indian Army named the Scinde Horse, led by its Commandant, Colonel Malcomson, went on parade at Rawalpindi on their horses. This was the last mounted parade of the regiment as it had been selected to be the first cavalry unit to be “mechanised.” The regiment shed its horses and was equipped with armoured carriers and later on with tanks. The Armoured Corps Day is celebrated each year on May 1st, to mark this transition.
The Armoured Corp, as a part of the British Indian Army, came into existence on May 1, 1941 to administer the existing armoured units. Its headquarters were located at Ferozepur. With the outbreak of World War II and as a result of the mechanisation of all Indian cavalry regiments, an urgent necessity was felt for a training establishment for All Ranks of the Corps. Consequently, the Fighting Vehicles School was established in the historical town of Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, where it continues to function and thrive under the name of Armoured Corps Centre and School (ACCS).
Due to the Partition, the assets and personnel of the British Indian Armoured Corps were split between the Indian Army and the Pakistan Army, with two-thirds (including all the training establishments) becoming the Indian Army Armoured Corps and one third becoming the Pakistan Army Armoured Corps. Today, the Indian Armoured Corps boasts upwards of 60 Armoured Regiments, including the President’s Bodyguards.
After mechanisation, the Scinde Horse and subsequent regiments were equipped and galvanised with Vickers light tanks and Chevrolet armoured cars.
Lethal Tanks
The M-4 Sherman was a medium tank with a 75mm gun, a fully traversing central turret and a one-axis gyro-stabiliser. The tank could not fire accurately while on the move but its gun did stay stabilised in the given direction. This tank proved to be reliable and relatively cheap to produce and was as such available in great numbers. The Indian Armoured Corps Regiments were predominantly equipped with the Sherman tanks at the time of Independence and they gave an excellent display of their capabilities in the interregnum of the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 before being phased out.
During the Indo-Pakistan War 1947-48, the Indian Armoured Corps achieved a historical feat. Pakistan had managed to capture the crucial Zojila Pass. Then, the Army decided to transport tanks to Zojila to change the course of the battle
During the Indo-Pakistan War 1947-48, the Indian Armoured Corps achieved a historical feat. Pakistan had managed to capture the crucial Zojila Pass and Leh had been isolated from the Srinagar land route. The Army decided to transport tanks to Zojila Pass to change the course of the battle.
Catching Enemy Off Guard
The 7th Light Cavalry, equipped with Stuart Tanks, was ordered to move to Srinagar and onwards to Zojila Pass in utmost secrecy. As a result, the turret of the tanks was removed and carried in vehicles, while those tanks, hitherto considerably lighter, moved up by road but were heavily camouflaged under the cover of darkness.
After nearly a month, the tanks finally arrived at Zojila Pass and were re-assembled. Then began the assault with Gen Thimayya travelling in the leading tank and infantry following with bared bayonets. The appearance of tanks came as a bolt from the blue for the enemy. Surprised, highly demoralised and blinded by snow, the enemy ran for their lives. Thus, Zojila Pass, Kargil and Dras were saved from Pakistan and the road to Leh was opened. Pakistan again tried to infiltrate and dominate the same road at Kargil in 1999 which led to the Kargil War. By transporting Stuart tanks, with utmost secrecy, to Zojila Pass, the Armoured Corps changed the fortune of the war in India’s favour. Nowhere in the world had tanks operated at such heights ever before, as now, of course, they operate in Ladakh too.
In 1965, the Armoured Regiments of Pakistan had been equipped with the sophisticated US made Patton tanks while the Indian Armoured Corps had only 186 – Centurions; 346 – Shermans; 13 – 90 AMX; and 90 PT-76. These Tanks were technically quite inferior to the Pattons.
The Pakistani commanders were aware that India was in the process of acquiring the sophisticated T- 54/55 tanks from Russia and once those were inducted it would be impossible to engage the country in a conventional war. They, therefore, decided to launch a pre-emptive strike and wrest Kashmir and considerable territory on the Punjab border from India. It was for this reason that Pakistan launched Operation Gibraltar in Kashmir and followed it up by attacking India, leading to the Indo-Pakistan War, 1965.
The war witnessed a series of tank battles of a volume and intensity not witnessed since World War II. The Battle of Asal Uttar was fought in the Khem Karan area of Punjab. The Indian forces made a tactical and strategic retreat and took up a horse-shoe shaped defensive posture with Asal Uttar as its pivot. The area had a standing sugarcane crop and was inundated by Indian forces at night. The following morning, when the Pakistani Armoured columns resumed their advance, they got swamped. The full grown sugarcane inhibited and blocked their line of sight. They became sitting ducks and were destroyed by the Shermans.
In the beginning of the 1980’s the next phase of modernisation of the Armoured Corps began with the induction of T-72 tanks. The first three regiments equipped with this tank underwent conversion training in Babina and then became a part of 1 Armoured Division
The second big engagement was the Battle of Chawinda and the Battle of Phillora which were the Indian riposte to the Pakistani invasion. The battles were conducted by the newly formed 1 Corps of the Indian army under Lt. General Pat Dunn. He had under the command the Indian 1 Armoured Division; 6 Mountain Division; 14 Infantry Division and 26 Infantry Division. The I Corps was given the responsibility of capturing the Sialkot sector. The spearhead of the offensive was by I-Armoured Division. The high point was an extraordinary feat by an Armoured Regiment, the Poona Horse (17 Horse), equipped with Centurion tanks, under I Armoured Division and commanded by Lt. Colonel AB Tarapore.
Bharat Emerges A Winner
On being tasked to isolate Sialkot from Lahore, the Regiment, on September 11, 1965, launched an attack on Phillora from the rear. While advancing, it encountered a sudden Pakistani thrust and severe attack from a place called Wazirwali. Lt. Colonel AB Tarapore, at the head of his regiment, defied the enemy’s charge and continued with his attack on Phillora with one squadron supported by an infantry battalion. The ensuing tank battle witnessed the destruction of approximately 60 enemy tanks, with the Poona Horse losing nine tanks. Lt Colonel AB Tarapore made the supreme sacrifice while fighting fiercely despite being wounded multiple times. For this gallant action, Lt Colonel AB Tarapore was awarded the Param Vir Chakra (PVC). Pakistan suffered unsustainable attrition to its military might due to the serious reverses in the Battles of Asal Uttar, Chawinda and Phillora, that made way for its retreat and acceptance of the Tashkent talks. The Indian armoured forces conclusively defeated and trounced the better equipped Pakistan armoured forces, due to our better training and stewardship and leadership of the officers. The humiliating defeat confronted by Pakistan resulted in a military lesson that it was not the machine but the man behind the machine which helps win battles and feats.
During the Indo-Pakistan War-1971, the Indian Armoured Corps had many regiments equipped with the T-series tanks. However, the defining movement of the war, so far as the Armoured Corps was concerned, was the Battle of Basantar which was fought in the Shakargarh Bulge. In this battle once again the Poona Horse, equipped with Centurion tanks, excelled.
Tank Destroyer
On December 9, Pakistan launched a series of counter attacks which were repelled by the regiment with heavy losses to the enemy armour. In one of these counter attacks, the Tank Troop of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal got into a fire fight with the technologically superior enemy Patton tanks against his Centurion. The tank of Arun Kheterpal was hit but he continued fighting since his gun was in working condition and destroyed many enemy tanks. The last tank that he destroyed was barely 100 metres away from his position. His tank was then hit for the second time and the grievously injured officer succumbed to his injuries while denying to the enemy the desired breakthrough.
For his conspicuous bravery, Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, posthumously. Interestingly, both PVC’s for the Armoured Corps have been won while fighting on the sturdy Centurion tank.
Today, the Indian Army has Armoured Regiments and Mechanised Infantry units, which operate in Ladakh much to the consternation of the People’s Liberation Army of China. The armoured profile along the conventional border is dynamic and vibrant with use of the best and robust equipment. The Government of India is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that the cutting edge of the Indian Army is maintained at peak efficiency with the best equipment and trained manpower.
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