Lt Gen Arvind Walia, AVSM Engineer - in - Chief[2]
Notable commanders
Lt Gen J. S. Dhillon, Padma Bhushan, Lt Gen K. N. Dubey PVSM,Lt Gen B N Das,PVSM , Lt Gen J S Bawa,PVSM,AVSM, Lt Gen T B Nanda, Lt Gen P C Joseph,AVSM, Lt Gen S Mazumder , Lt Gen Vimal Shinghal,PVSM, Lt Gen D Ajwani, PVSM,VSM ,Lt Gen R M Chadha, PVSM , AVSM ,Lt Gen Hari Uniyal,PVSM, Lt Gen Rana S K Kapur,PVSM,AVSM,SM,VSM ,Lt Gen Yuvraj Mehta,PVSM,AVSM,Lt Gen M K Chari,AVSM ,Lt Gen Rakesh Puri, Lt Gen U Bhattacharya, AVSM, PVSM, Lt Gen B S Dhaliwal, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, Lt Gen Gautam Dutt,VSM, Lt Gen R K Raichand,AVSM, Lt Gen Gautam Banerjee,AVSM,YSM,Lt Gen A K Nanda,AVSM, Lt Gen M C Badhani,PVSM,VSM, Lt Gen Vijay Sharma,PVSM,VSM, Lt Gen Jatinder Sikand,AVSM,VSM, Lt Gen A T Parnaik, AVSM,SM,VSM, Lt Gen Suresh Sharma,PVSM,AVSM, Lt Gen S K Shrivastava,PVSM,AVSM, Lt Gen D S Ahuja,AVSM, Lt Gen Harpal Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, Lt Gen K K Repswal,SM,VSM, Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary, VSM,Lt Gen S S Dahiya,SM,VSM
The Bengal Sappers are one of the few remaining regiments of the erstwhile Bengal Presidency Army and survived the Rebellion of 1857 due to their "sterling work" in the recapture by the East India Company of Delhi and other operations in 1857–58. The troops of the Bengal Sappers have been a familiar sight for over 200 years in the battlefields of British India with their never-say-die attitude of Chak De and brandishing their favourite tool the hamber.[3][4][5]
The Bengal Sappers and Miners was originally the Corps of Bengal Pioneers, which was raised from two pioneer companies in 1803, part of Bengal Army of the Presidency of Bengal; one raised by Capt T. Wood at Kanpur as Bengal Pioneers in November 1803,[4] also known as "Roorkee Safar Maina".[13] In 1819, at the conclusion of Third Maratha War, a part of Bengal Pioneers merged with the Company of Miners (raised in 1808) to become the Bengal Sappers and Miners, and raised at Allahabad, with Captain Thomas Anburey as the Commandant. The remaining part of the Corps of Bengal Pioneers was absorbed in 1833.[4] In 1843 'Broadfoot's Sappers', which had been raised in 1840, merged into the Bengal Sappers and Miners.
In 1847 the Bengal Sappers and Miners was renamed Bengal Sappers and Pioneers, and in 1851 it became the Corps of Bengal Sappers and Miners. On 7November 1853, the regiment moved to Roorkee, where it has maintained its regimental centre ever since.[14]Lord Kitchener of Khartoum's 1903 Kitchener Reforms saw it re-designated as the 1st Sappers and Miners, which was again altered in 1906 to the 1st Prince of Wales's Own Sappers and Miners.
On the accession of George V to the throne in 1910 it was renamed 1st King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners,[15] with the '1st' being dropped in 1923, to make it King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners. In 1937 it was renamed King George V's Bengal Sappers and Miners, and in 1941 they became the 'King George V's Bengal Sappers and Miners Group of the Indian Engineers'. In 1946 it became the 'King George V's Group' of the Royal Indian Engineers. On Indian independence and partition in 1947, about half of the serving personnel were allocated to the Pakistan Royal Engineers. Corps of Engineers, after which they became the Bengal Engineer Group and Centre.The first Indian to be awarded the Indian Order of Merit gallantry award, Sub Devee Singh was a Bengal Sapper.The first World War saw the Bengal Sappers in action in Aden, Egypt, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Persia and France. The second World War saw them excel in North Africa, Italy, Malaya and Burma. For their courage and acts of valour, soldiers personnel of the Group were awarded a total of 39 Military Cross, 7 Indian Order of Merit, 22 Indian Distinguished Service Medal, and 42 Military Medal and the units of the Group won a host of battle honours. In 1950 the Bengal Centre Corps of Engineers participated in Jammu and Kashmir operations of 1948, Goa operations of 1961, Chinese war of 1962 and the Indo-Pak War of 1965 saw the Bengal Sappers Regiment at their very best with improvisation and innovation and these proved invaluable in the achievement of ultimate victory. Units of the Bengal Sappers rose magnificently to the demands made of them during the 1971 operations leading to the liberation of Bangladesh and the dismemberment of Pakistan. In many literatures, the operations in Bangladesh are best described as an "Engineers War", since ultimate victory depended to a large extent on the timely and skillfully executed passages of our forces across the innumerable obstacles in the riverine terrain of what was East Pakistan. The group units has also participated in major operations like "Operation Pawan, Operation Meghdoot, Operation Rakshak, Operation Parakram and Operation Snow Leopard.
The creation of India and Pakistan in 1947 was one of the most trying periods in the history of the Group. When existing assets of the Army were ordered to be shared on a two third-one third basis between India and Pakistan, the assets of Bengal Engineer Group were allotted to the Royal Pakistan Engineers. The greater part of the British Officers and units of the group, regimental funds and equipment thus went to Pakistan. The responsibility of the group fell to Col JS Dhillon, the first Indian Commandant who during the 1965 operations against Pakistan distinguished himself and moulded the Corps back into a supremely fit Sapper Group. When Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited Roorkee in November 1949, he was so impressed by the achievements of the Bengal Sappers Centre that he chose Brig JS Dhillon to lead the first Republic Day parade in 1950.
In present day, Sappers are required in Indian Army operations to assist the infantryman to victory by using technical skills and resources to overcome an enemy entrenched behind seemingly impregnable and impassable obstacles or fortifications. They assist and maintain the tactical mobility of our own forces during war by quickly making bridges, roads, airfields and railways, often in the face of the enemy. They impede the enemy's mobility by laying minefields, demolishing bridges, cratering roads and blowing up logistic installations. The Sappers carry out a host of associated functions like provision of accommodation for troops and equipment upto the remotest areas, water supply and sanitation to ensure the Army's well-being. It is but natural that Sappers with such capabilities also provide aid to Civilian authorities during natural calamities like floods, earthquakes and maintenance of essential services. The troops of the Bengal Sappers have been a familiar sight for over 200 years in the battlefields of British India and post-Independence operations with their never-say-die attitude and living up to their motto of Sarvatra. [16]
The Indian Sappers and Miners,By Lieut.-Colonel E.W.C. Sandes D.S.O., M.C., R.E. (Ret.), Published by The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, 1948. Extracts
K.S. Calendar of battles, honours and awards: King George V's Own Bengal Sappers & Miners from 1803 to 1939, by Rhamat Ullan Khan, ca. 1944.
History and digest of service of the 1st King George's Own Sappers & Miners. Roorkee: 1st King's Own Press, (ca. 1911)
Regimental history of the King George's Own Bengal Sappers & Miners. Roorkee: KGO Sappers & Miners Press, 1937.
Corps reunion and the unveiling of the war memorial. (Roorkee: King George V's own Bengal sappers and miners group, R.I.E),1927.
History of the Corps of Royal Engineers, by Great Britain Army. Royal Engineers, Whitworth Porter. Published by Longmans, Green, 1952.
The Bengal Sappers 1803–2003, by General Sir George Cooper GCB MC and Major David Alexander. ISBN0-903530-24-4.
The Military Engineer in India, by Lt. Col. E.W.C Sandes. Reprint 2001, Original 1933. ISBN9781843420422.
First World War:
Cunningham, A.H., A Short history of the Corps of King George's Own Bengal Sappers & Miners during the War, 1914-1918. (1930)
Second World War:
Pearson, G., Brief history of the K.G.V's own Bengal Sappers and Miners Group, R.I.E., August 1939-July 1946. Roorkee: Pearson, 1947.
A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses, and road and airfield construction and repair.
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Lieutenant General Joginder Singh Dhillon was an Indian military officer and the first recipient from the military to be awarded India's third highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, for his role in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, where he was the general officer commanding the XI corps.
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The Bombay Engineer Group, or the Bombay Sappers as they are informally known, are a regiment of the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. The Bombay Sappers draw their origin from the erstwhile Bombay Presidency army of the British Raj. The group has its centre in Khadki, Pune in Maharashtra state. The Bombay Sappers have gone on to win many honours and awards, both in battle and in peacetime, throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, both before and after Independence. The gallantry awards won include the British Victoria Cross and the French Legion of Honour before independence, as well as the Param Vir Chakra and Ashok Chakra as part of Independent India. The Group has also made its mark in peacetime activities such as sport, adventure, disaster relief, aid to civil authority and prestigious construction projects.
Madras Engineer Group (MEG), informally known as the Madras Sappers, is an engineer group of the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. The Madras Sappers draw their origin from the erstwhile Madras Presidency army of the British Raj. This regiment has its HQ in Bengaluru. The Madras Sappers are the oldest of the three groups of the Corps of Engineers.
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Raja Muhammad Anwar KhanHJ was the first Pakistan Army Engineer Officer and the first Muslim Engineer In Chief of the Pakistan Army. He was the first Muslim to be a Sapper officer in the British Indian Army and its pre-partition Indian Corps of Engineers. His Pakistan Army number was 48 (PA-48).
The Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers is a military administrative and the engineering staff branch of the Pakistan Army. The Corps of Engineers is generally associated with the civil engineering works, dams, canals, and flood protection, it performs and leads variety of public works in the country as part of its nation-building mission.
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