Indian ArmyClass 9 Defence Studies Chapter 4 Notes – Maharashtra Board

Summary: Indian Army

The Army is the oldest of India's three armed forces, with a heritage going back more than 2,000 years to Chandragupta Maurya's time. Today's Army grew out of the British Indian Army. During World War II Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose led the Indian National Army, which had a women's wing headed by Captain Lakshmi Swaminathan.

The Army protects national interests against outside aggression and internal subversion. Its tasks: fight and defeat aggression, strengthen internal security, project force where needed, support peacekeeping or help friendly countries, and give humanitarian help, disaster relief and aid to civil authorities.

The Army is divided into six operational commands based on geography and threats — Northern (Udhampur), Western (Chandigarh), South Western (Jaipur), Southern (Pune), Central (Lucknow) and Eastern (Kolkata) — plus an Army Training Command.

Commands are split into Corps, Corps into Divisions, Divisions into Brigades, Brigades into Battalions or Regiments, and Battalions into Companies, Platoons and Sections. A Section of 10 soldiers is the smallest unit. Each level is led by an officer of a fixed rank.

Army units fall under two heads: Combat Arms, which do the fighting (Armoured Corps, Artillery, Engineers, Infantry, Signals, Air Defence, Aviation, Intelligence), and Logistic Support Services, which supply, repair, heal, train and support them.

Key points to remember

• Oldest of the three services; heritage of over 2,000 years from Chandragupta Maurya
• Present Army inherited from the British Indian Army
• INA led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose; women's wing led by Captain Lakshmi Swaminathan
• Role: defend against external aggression and internal subversion
• Six operational commands + one Army Training Command
• Chain: Command → Corps → Division → Brigade → Battalion → Company → Platoon → Section
• Section = 10 soldiers, the smallest unit, led by a Havildar
• Chief of the Army Staff holds the rank of General
• Combat Arms: Armoured, Artillery, Engineers, Infantry, Signals, Air Defence, Aviation, Intelligence
• Logistic Support Services: ASC, EME, AOC, AMC, ADC, AEC, RVC, Military Police, JAG, Pioneers

Indian Army – Notes

1. Heritage of the Indian Army

• The Army is the oldest of the three services.
• Its tradition is more than 2,000 years old, going back to the age of Chandragupta Maurya.
• The base of today's Army came from the British Indian Army.
• During World War II, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose led the Indian National Army (INA, Azad Hind Fauj) to fight British rule for India's freedom.
• Women served in the INA too; its women's wing (the Rani of Jhansi Regiment) was headed by Captain Lakshmi Swaminathan, later known as Lakshmi Sahgal.

2. Role of the Army

• The overall aim is to protect national interests from attack from outside and from internal subversion (attempts to weaken the country from within).
• 1. Go to war and defeat any external aggression.
• 2. Strengthen internal security management to defeat threats inside the country.
• 3. Project force wherever and whenever needed to protect national interests.
• 4. Support peacekeeping operations and give military help to friendly foreign countries.
• 5. Provide humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and aid to civil authorities, for example during floods or earthquakes.

3. Command and control

• Army Headquarters is headed by the Chief of the Army Staff, who holds the rank of General.
• The Army has six operational commands, each under a GOC-in-C (Army Commander) of Lieutenant General rank, plus an Army Training Command also under a Lieutenant General.
• Each command has two to three Corps; each Corps (Lieutenant General) has two to four Divisions (the chart says 3–4).
• A Division (Major General) has three to four Brigades. A Brigade (Brigadier) has three to four Battalions or Regiments with support elements.
• A Battalion (Colonel) has four Rifle Companies; a Company (Lieutenant Colonel or Major) has three Platoons; a Platoon (JCO) has three Sections.
• A Section, led by a Havildar, has 10 soldiers and is the smallest unit.
• There are also static formations for administration: Areas under a Lieutenant General and Sub Areas under a Major General, and training establishments.

4. The six commands and their areas

• Northern Command — HQ Udhampur: operations in Jammu and Kashmir (including Ladakh), facing China in the east and Pakistan in the west.
• Western Command — HQ Chandigarh (at Chandimandir): Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
• South Western Command — HQ Jaipur: north and central Rajasthan and Haryana.
• Southern Command — HQ Pune: south Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh — the largest area.
• Central Command — HQ Lucknow: Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh; guards Uttarakhand against China in the north and the Indo-Nepal border with UP and Bihar.
• Eastern Command — HQ Kolkata: Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram (the book also lists Bhutan); faces China and secures the Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh borders.
• Army Training Command — oversees training of the whole Army.
• Today: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh became two Union Territories in 2019; both are still in Northern Command's area.

5. Combat Arms and Logistic Support Services

• Combat Arms (the fighting units): Armoured Corps (tanks), Artillery (big guns and rockets), Corps of Engineers (bridges, mines, roads), Infantry (foot soldiers), Corps of Signals (communication), Army Air Defence (protection from enemy aircraft), Army Aviation (helicopters) and Army Intelligence Corps.
• Army Service Corps (ASC): rations, transport and petrol and other fuels.
• Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME): repairing and recovering weapons and equipment.
• Army Ordnance Corps (AOC): weapons, ammunition, vehicles, equipment and clothing.
• Army Medical Corps (AMC): medical care; Army Dental Corps (ADC): dental care.
• Army Education Corps (AEC): developing human resources through education.
• Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC): care of Army dogs, horses and mules.
• Military Police (MP): traffic control and discipline. Judge Advocate General's Branch (JAG): legal support. Pioneers: military labour in forward war areas.

Army formations from top to bottom

Key terms

Indian Army – Flashcards

Read the question, answer it in your head, then tap the card to check. 20 cards.

Indian Army – MCQ Quiz

15 questions. Tap an option — you will see at once if it is right and why.

How to study Indian Army

⏱ About 35 minutes

1. Understand (10 min)
   Read the Army's heritage and its five tasks, then follow the chain from Army HQ to a Section using the table.
2. Remember (15 min)
   Learn the six commands with headquarters (trick: U-C-J-P-L-K = Udhampur, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Pune, Lucknow, Kolkata) and sort units into Combat Arms and Logistic Support Services.
3. Practise (10 min)
   Answer the 'Try it yourself' questions, take the quiz and play 🎮 Play.