On 18 April, Lieutenant General Manoj Pande was appointed as the 29th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) after incumbent General MM Naravane's tenure ends on 30 April.
With his appointment, Lt Gen Pande has made history by becoming the first officer from the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers) to be named as the COAS and become the chief of the 1.3-million-strong force.
General MM Naravane #COAS & All Ranks of #IndianArmy congratulate Lieutenant General Manoj Pande #VCOAS on being appointed as the 29th Chief of the Army Staff #COAS of the #IndianArmy. Lt Gen Manoj Pande will assume the appointment of #COAS on 01 May 2022.#InStrideWithTheFuture pic.twitter.com/fiUpc29U2A
— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) April 18, 2022
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, he was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers (the Bombay Sappers) in December 1982.
In his distinguished career, he has held several prestigious command and staff assignments in conventional as well as counter-insurgency operations in all types of terrain. Currently, Lt Gen Pande serves as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff.
As the Indian Army gears up to have a new chief, let’s take a look at the history of the Corps of Engineers and what role it serves in the Indian Army.
About the Corps of Engineers
The Corps of Engineers is one of the oldest arms of the Indian Army.
The origin of the Corps dates back to 1780 when the two regular pioneer companies of the Madras Sappers were raised. Subsequently, the Group of Madras, Bengal and Bombay Sappers were formed and later merged on 18 November 1932 to form the Corps of Engineers in its present form.
The Corps of Engineers consists of four major constituents namely Combat Engineers, MES, Border Roads and Military Survey.
It is important to note that the post of COAS has always been held by officers from the fighting arms — the Infantry, the Artillery, the Armoured Corps, the Mechanised Infantry, the Engineers and the Signals.
Lt Gen Pande is the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to be holding this position. The closest was General PS Bhagat, VC, who had commanded both the Western and Northern Command, who was however, overlooked and General Gopal Gurunath Bewoor was made the Army chief in 1973.
Notably, General PS Bhagat of the Corps remains the first Indian Officer and only serving general to have won the Victoria Cross in World War II, which he got for clearing minefields.
The Corps of Engineers and the Sikh Light Infantry have a shared history owing to their association with the Pioneers and have also had common Colonels of the Regiment. General PS Bhagat was the first Colonel of the Regiment of the Sikh Light Infantry and the Corps of Engineers and this tradition has continued.
Role of the Corps of Engineers
The Corps of Engineers plays a very significant role in the Indian Army and is pivotal for the troops. In wars, the Engineers are tasked with providing mobility to the forces by building bridges, tracks and helipads. They are also tasked with ensuring that the enemy’s movement is blocked by creating hurdles such as laying minefields and destroying bridges.
Engineer units have also been deployed abroad as part of United Nation Missions. They have brought laurels to our country by constructing bridges, opening lines of communication arid executing numerous humanitarian tasks.
The Corps of the Engineers is replete with acts of bravery and valour.
Major R R Rane was awarded the Param Vir Chakra for making a passage through enemy mine fields while crawling in front of a tank during the Indo-Pak war of 1947-48.
In the Battle of Basantar in 1971, the 9 Engineer Regiment received laurels for their valour — one Mahavir Chakra, three Vir Chakras, four Sena Medals and three Mention in Dispatch.
History of past COAS’
Lt Gen Manoj Pande will become the 29th Army Chief on 1 May. With this, the Corps of Engineers will get its first Chief of Army Staff too. In the past, the chiefs have only come from the fighting forces, comprising of the Infantry, Artillery, the Armoured Corps, the Mechanised Infantry, the Signals and the Engineers.
The Regiment of Artillery is made up of Field Gunners, the Mountain Gunners, the Rocket-propelled Batteries, the Medium Regiments and the Heavy Artillery. The Armoured Corps has the Cavalry regiments, the Armoured Regiments and the Old Horse Regiments.
The Infantry comprises of either caste-based or region-based regiments. Amongst the chiefs from the Infantry, the Sikh Light Infantry has produced three chiefs — General Ved Prakash Malik (1997-2000), General Bikram Singh (2012-2014) and General MM Naravane.
Of the previous 28 Army chiefs, the Infantry has given 17 COAS, the Armoured Corps has given six while the Artillery has given five.
Of late, there have been some chiefs who have risen to the position of COAS after having commanded the Eastern Command — located in Kolkata. For instance, General VK Singh was appointed chief after he was General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Eastern Army. Similarly, Gen Dalbir S Suhag, Gen Bikram Singh and General Bipin Rawat in their long and meritorious careers had also been GOC-in-C Eastern Army.
With inputs from agencies
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