INDIAN ARTILLERY: A BRIEF HISTORY
January 15, 1935, ‘A’ Field Brigade, comprising four ba eries of horsedrawn guns, was raised at Bangalore. ‘A’ Field Brigade was the first Artillery unit to be officered by Indians.
2 Lt (later Lt General) P.S. Gyani was the first Indian officer to be commissioned into an Artillery unit. The East India Company raised the first regular company of Artillery in 1748, with a small percentage of Indian Gunners called Gun Lashkars, Tindals and Serangs. Bombay Artillery was raised on September 28, 1827 and was later on renamed 5 Bombay Mountain Ba ery. Thus September 28 is celebrated as the ‘Gunners Day’. In 1937 the mountain ba eries were transferred to the Indian Artillery, which later became 1st Indian Field Regiment. The generic title the Regiment of Indian Artillery was conferred upon the new Arm. World War II saw Indian Gunners in action in East and North Africa, Middle East and displayed valour and dedication. By the end of World War II, Indian gunners had won one Victoria Cross, One George Medal, 15 Military Crosses, two IOMs, 22 IDSMs, 18 Military Medals, five OBEs, among others. During 1947 Indian Artillery was allo ed eighteen and half of all types of artillery regiments while Pakistan was allo ed the remaining nine and half units. During the J&K operations of 194748, in the first week of November 1947 when four 3.7 inch howitzer reached the area. The artillery units helped in driving out the infiltrators, successfully defended Srinagar airfield and subsequent route of Pakistani tribesmen in Jammu region and Kashmir Valley. Against China in 1962.
The Artillery broke the a ack of the Chinese who came through Bum La Pass by engaging the Chinese by 7 (Bengal) Mountain Ba ery. They also provided the covering fire to extricate 4 Mountain Division. In the Ladakh sector 13 Field Regiment and 38 Field Ba ery played a significant role to defend Chushul heights. Major restructuring of Artillery took place a er 1962. Before the 1965 war artillery was called upon to counter Pakistani evil designs in the Rann of Kutch in which 11 Field Regiment, 17 Para Field Regiment and Air Observation Post made the Regiment proud. 1971 War with Pakistan.
In the Western sector artillery played major role in capture of important Pakistani piquets in Ladakh, Kashmir, Rajauri, Jammu, Punjab and Rajasthan. In the Kargil operations during 1999, Regiment of Artillery unleashed a blizzard of fire power which overwhelmed the Pakistan Forces by systematically destroying the enemy’s defenses. The brave gunners contributed immensely in hoisting the Tricolor hoisted on Tiger Hill and multiple peaks of the high Himalayas in Kargil district, will be always remembered for ever.