20th Lancers is an armoured regiment in the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army.[2] The regiment distinguished itself in operations with its defence of Chhamb in Jammu and Kashmir during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War and won one Maha Vir Chakra.[3] It has provided one Chief of Army Staff and two Army Commanders.[4][5]
| 20th Lancers | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1857–1937, 1956–present |
| Country |  British India India |
| Branch |  British Indian Army Indian Army |
| Type | Armour |
| Size | Regiment |
| Equipment | T-72 |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel of the Regiment | Lt Gen AS Kler[1] |
| Notable commanders | General Shankar Roy Chowdhury, PVSM, ADC Lt Gen Gurbachan Singh (Buch) PVSM Lt Gen Pradeep Khanna, PVSM, AVSM, ADC |
| Insignia | |
| Abbreviation | 20 L |
History edit
The 20th Lancers regiment of the British Indian Army was formed in 1921 by 14th Murray's Jat Lancers (raised 1857) with 15th Lancers (Cureton's Multanis) (raised 1858). This regiment was de-activated in 1937 and converted into a training regiment of the 3rd Indian Cavalry group with a permanent station in Lucknow which would eventually evolve into the Indian Armoured Corps Training Centre.[6]
Following the Partition of India in 1947, the training regiment was allotted to India. The Lucknow training centre moved in 1948 to Ahmednagar and merged with other establishments to become the Armoured Corps Centre and School.[2]
On 20 June 1956, the Pakistan Army raised its own 20th Lancers regiment as a successor unit to the 20th Lancers of the British Indian Army.[7] On 10 July 1956, the Indian Army also re-raised the 20th Lancers at Jodhpur in Rajasthan.[2] The unit's first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Umrao Singh.[2] and was equipped with AMX-13 tanks.[2] When the regiment was re-raised, the Officer's Mess Silver of the old 20th Lancers was handed over to it.
The troops on raising were from the Sikhs of the 6th DCO Lancers which were transferred to 8th Light Cavalry and half of the squadron of the Jodhpur Lancers which were transferred to the 7th Light Cavalry.[2] The present class composition is Jats and Rajputs.[8]
Regimental Insignia edit
The Regimental insignia consists of crossed lances with pennons in red and white, overlaid with the Ashoka Lion Capital above and the Roman numeral "XX" below and a scroll at the base with the words ‘Lancers’.[citation needed]
Operations edit
Sino-Indian War edit
To counter the Chinese offensive against Indian forces in the western sector, the Indian Army sent six AMX-13 tanks (two troops) of the 20 Lancers to Chushul in south-eastern Ladakh using Antonov An-12 transport aircraft. The first batch of tanks were loaded on to An-12 aircraft in Chandigarh on the intervening night of 24 and 25 October 1962 and landed in Chushul — 15,000 feet above the sea level — on the morning of 25 October 1962. The second batch was loaded the following night and airlifted to Chushul on 26 October. The troops were part of the 114 Infantry Brigade.
The army deployed tanks at the base of Gurung Hill, a towering feature on one side of the Spanggur Gap to deny the approach of the advancing Chinese Army and secure the crucial approaches leading to Chushul and Leh. The effectiveness of the Indian tanks prevented the Chinese advance towards the Chushul airfield, located between Chushul village and Gurung Hill.[9][10]
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 edit
The regiment saw action in Chhamb-Jourian in Jammu & Kashmir. 20 Lancers was under command of the 10th Infantry Division during the 1965 operations. Pakistan's surprise attack on 1 September, 1965 fell on 191 Infantry Brigade, which was supported by 'C' Squadron of the regiment under Maj Bhaskar Roy.[11] The armoured attack comprised two regiments of medium tanks, M-48 Pattons and M-36 Sherman B-2 tank destroyers.[12] The attack began at 0805 hours and was strongly resisted. During the initial phases of the attack, Roy destroyed 6 Pattons, 3 recoil-less guns and captured a jeep. A second attack was launched by Pakistani armour at 1100 hours and contested by the AMX-13s of 20 Lancers, which despite being outgunned and outnumbered, destroyed a total 13 tanks that day and prevented the encirclement of 191 Infantry Brigade.[3] The regiment later fought in the defence of Jaurian under 41 Infantry Brigade.[13][14] For the defense of Chhamb-Jaurian, the regiment was awarded a theatre honour and Maj Bhaskar Roy was awarded Maha Vir Chakra for his leadership in this action.[3][15]
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 edit
The regiment had moved from Akhnoor to Jaisalmer in 1967. It was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Bawa Guruvachan Singh and was under 12 Infantry Division of Southern Command and equipped with AMX -13 tanks.[16] The regiment took part in the Battle of Longewala, which began on night of 4th December 1971, halting the Pakistani attack and then advanced into Pakistani territory.
Battle honours edit
The battle honours of the regiment are:[17]
- Pre-World War I[nb 1]
Charasiah — Kabul 1879 — Afghanistan 1878-80
Neuve Chapelle — France and Flanders 1914-15 — Kut al Amara 1917 — Sharqat - Mesopotamia 1916-18 - Persia 1916-19 - NW Frontier India - 1915
Jammu and Kashmir 1965
Other awards and honours edit
The regiment was presented the President's Standards on at Sangrur, Punjab 1978 by the then President of India, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy.[18]
- Maha Vir Chakra
- Major Bhaskar Roy[19]
- Vir Chakra
- Captain Ashwani Kumar Dewan,[20] Daffedar Harbir Singh[nb 4][21]
- Sena Medal
- Acting Lance Daffadar Pritam Singh,[22] Naib Risaldar Richhapal Singh
- Mentioned in dispatches
- Lieutenant Kuldeep Singh, Lance Daffadar Bhanwar Singh, Sowar Kushal Singh, Sowar Mohan Singh[23]
- Republic Day parade
- The regiment with its T-72 tanks took part in the parade in 1990.[24]
Notable personnel edit
- Lieutenant General Gurbachan Singh, PVSM – Commanding Officer during the 1962 war, GOC-in-C Northern Command between 1 August 1978 and 31 December 1979.[25][26]
- Major General A K Dewan, AVSM, VrC
- General Shankar Roychowdhury, PVSM, ADC - Commanding Officer of the Regiment between 1974-1976, GOC-in-C, Army Training Command, Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, and a former member of the Indian Parliament.[4]
- Lieutenant General Pradeep Khanna PVSM, AVSM, ADC - GOC-in-C Southern Command[27]
- Swr Laxman Singh 1043550M, 20 Lancer, 1971 Indo - pak war
External links edit
- Evolution and timeline of the 20 Lancers
- Battle of Chushul : 20 Lancers
- 1965 : 20 Lancers Battle of Chhamb
- 20 Lancers Battle of Laungewala 1971
- Notes
- ^ Pre-World War I and World War I battle honours awarded to the 14th Murray's Jat Lancers and 15th Lancers (Cureton's Multanis) and inherited by the unit.
- ^ Awarded to the regiment after re-raising.
- ^ Theatre honours are shown in italics.
- ^ Troop Daffedar of 20 Lancers AMX troop of 80 Armoured Delivery Regiment.
References edit
- ^ "Gazette of India, No 11" (PDF). 12 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Nath, Ashok (2009). Izzat: historical records and iconography of Indian cavalry regiments, 1750-2007. Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, United Service Institution of India. pp. 581–583. ISBN 978-81-902097-7-9.
- ^ a b c Chakravorty, B. (1995). Stories of Heroism: PVC & MVC Winners. Allied Publishers. p. 114. ISBN 978-81-7023-516-3.
- ^ a b Abidi, S. Sartaj Alam; Sharma, Satinder (1 January 2007). Services Chiefs of India. Northern Book Centre. p. 83. ISBN 978-81-7211-162-5.
- ^ "Lt Gen Khanna to relinquish command today". The Indian Express. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
- ^ Jackson, Donovan (1940). India's Army. Sampson Low, Marston & Co Ltd. p. 164-169.
- ^ Nath (2009), pp. 731–732.
- ^ Guatam, PK (2016). Indigenous Historical Knowledge: Kautilya and His Vocabulary, Volume III. IDSA/Pentagon Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-81-8274-909-2.
- ^ "Battle Of Chushul: Reminiscences Of 20 Lancers". 3 December 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ "Battle of Eastern Ladakh : 1962 Sino-Indian Conflict". 1 April 2005. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ Singh, Harbaksh (2012). War Despatches: Indo-Pak Conflict 1965. Lancer Publishers LLC. ISBN 978-8170621171.
- ^ Singh, Jogindar (1993). Behind the Scene: An Analysis of India's Military Operations, 1947-1971. Lancer Publishers. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-897829-20-2.
- ^ Bajwa, Kuldip Singh (2008). India's National Security: Military Challenges and Responses. Har-Anand Publications. pp. 225–235. ISBN 978-81-241-1389-9.
- ^ "Revisiting the 1965 War" (PDF). 1 April 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ "Cross Swords Division pays tribute to Param Vir Chakra Major Roy". 1 September 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ Gill, JH (2003). An Atlas Of 1971 India Pakistan War - Creation of Bangladesh. National Defense University, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies. p. 88.
- ^ Singh, Sarbans (1993). Battle Honours of the Indian Army 1757 - 1971. New Delhi: Vision Books. pp. 261, 262, 309. ISBN 8170941156.
- ^ "President N.S. Reddy presenting colours to 20 Lancers, Sangrur, Punjab". Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ "Bhaskar Roy, MVC". Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ "AK Dewan, VrC". Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ "Harbir Singh, VrC". Archived from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ "Gazette of India, No 7" (PDF). 16 February 1963. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ "Gazette of India, No 45" (PDF). 5 November 1966. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ Sainik Samachar The Pictorial Weekly of the Armed Forces. Volume 37. 1990.
- ^ "New Appointments in Army" (PDF). 19 May 1978. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ "How 20th Lancers flew tanks into battle". 4 May 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ "Appointments". 9 February 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2021.