| 56 Field Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1964 – present |
| Country |  India |
| Allegiance | India |
| Branch |  Indian Army |
| Type |  Artillery |
| Size | Regiment |
| Motto(s) | Sarvatra, Izzat-O-Iqbal (Everywhere with Honour and Glory). |
| Colors | Red & Navy Blue |
| Anniversaries | 15 April – Raising Day |
| Battle honours | Jitra |
| Insignia | |
| Abbreviation | 56 Fd Regt |
56 Field Regiment (Jitra) is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.
The regiment was raised on 15 April 1964 at Aurangabad as 56 Mountain Composite Regiment (Pack). Lieutenant Colonel Kailas Prasad (Tom) Pandey was first commanding officer. The unit is presently a field regiment. [1] [2]
At the time of formation, the regiment had the following three batteries: [1]
This battery joined the regiment from 22 Mountain Regiment. It is one of the oldest and most decorated mountain batteries. [3] It was formed at Haripur (presently in Hazara, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Pakistan) from a small body of Hazara gunners raised by Major James Abbott for local defence between 1848 and 1849. The troop nucleus of a native officer and twenty men was from the artillery of Shaikh Imam-ud-din, who was the governor of the Sikh province of Kashmir. On 2 April 1851, Lieutenant G.G. Pearse, Madras Artillery was appointed in charge of the Hazara Mountain Train, in addition to his duties as the Assistant Commissioner. [4]
The battery has gone through many name changes: [5]
The battery has won the following battle honours:
This battery joined the regiment from 52 Mountain Regiment (Pack). It was incidentally raised in 1952 by Lieutenant Colonel KP Pande, the first commanding officer of the regiment.
This youngest battery was raised along with the regiment in 1964.
The regiment has taken part in the following operations: [1]
The regiment was part of 95 Mountain Brigade deployed in the northern sector for the liberation of Bangladesh. It was equipped with 76 mm guns. On 3 November 1971, the regiment provided artillery support to 13 Rajputana Rifles in the capture of Telikhali (east of Jamalpur-Tura-Sherpur road). The regiment lost one gunner (Gunner Raja Gopal Pandurang) and two officers wounded. [6]
The regiment took part in the battles at Jamalpur and Kamalpur. At Kamalpur, it provided accurate artillery support to 1 Maratha Light Infantry and 13 Guards. [7] During the capture of Kamalpur on 4 December 1971, Captain Vijai Pratap Singh of 4 Hazara Battery was the Forward Observation Officer with 13 Guards. Once the company commander of 13 Guards got injured, he took charge. But soon after, he along with his radio operator Gunner Hans Raj were killed by enemy fire. Bahadur Singh, the technical assistant took over the role and directed fire on the enemy. The enemy surrendered on the evening of the same day. [8] [9] [10]
The regiment won the following gallantry awards:
1st Battalion, 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force), popularly known as FASFIF is affiliated to 56 Field Regiment (Jitra).
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5th Gorkha Rifles, also abbreviated as 5 GR(FF) is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Nepalese origin. It was formed in 1858 as part of the British Indian Army. The regiment's battalions served in the First World War (Mesopotamia) and Second World War.
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The Regiment of Artillery is a combat/fighting arm of the Indian Army, which provides massive firepower during all ground operations of the Indian Army. It is a successor to the Royal Indian Artillery (RIA) of British Indian Army, which itself traces its origins to the formation of Bombay Artillery in 1827.
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The 23rd Peshawar Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) was an artillery unit of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1853 as the Peshawar Mountain Train. It became the 23rd Peshawar Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) in 1903. In 1947, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army, where it exists as the 3rd Peshawar Battery (Frontier Force) of The First (SP) Medium Regiment Artillery (Frontier Force).
The 24th Hazara Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) was an artillery battery of the British Indian Army.
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22 Medium Regiment (Sittang and Yenangyaung) is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army. It was raised in 1920 as 8 Pack Artillery Brigade.
23 Field Regiment is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.
1851 Light Regiment is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.
15 Medium Regiment is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.
52 Medium Regiment (Sanjoi Mirpur) is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.
97 Field Regiment is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.
90 Field Regiment is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.
175 Medium Regiment is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.
81 Medium Regiment is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.
51 Medium Regiment is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.