Pakistan Armoured Corps | |
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Active | 1947 |
Country | Pakistan |
Branch | Pakistan Army |
Role | Combat and combined arms administrative and staffing oversight. |
Size | 52 regiments [1] |
HQ/Garrison | Nowshera Cantonment, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. [2] [3] |
Nickname(s) | AC Men of Steel [4] |
Color identification | Red and Yellow |
Anniversaries | 1947 |
Engagements | Military history of Pakistan |
Commanders | |
Director-General | Maj-Gen. Zafar Iqbal Marwat |
Notable commanders | Lt. Gen. Shah Rafi Alam General Jehangir Karamat General Shamim Alam Khan Lt-Gen Nadeem Zaki Manj Lt-Gen Hameed Gul Lt-Gen Gul Hassan Khan Maj-Gen. Bilal Omer Khan |
Insignia | |
War flag |
Administrative Corps of the Pakistan Army | ||||
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The Pakistan Army Armoured Corps is a military administrative and combined arms service branch of the Pakistan Army. [3]
Headquartered in Nowshera, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, the corps is commanded by its director-general, Major-General Zafar Marwat as of 2023. [2]
The Pakistan Army's armored corps was commissioned as an administrative corps from the partition of the former British Indian Army's Armoured Corps– there were six regiments that formed the basis of the Armoured Corps.: 156 [5] [6]
During the early years, the British Army officers played a crucial role in running the military operations from the Nowshera Cantonment which remains till this day Armoured Corps' headquarter.: 83 [7] Until 1956, the training and field manuals were based on British Army but later adopted U.S. Army's field manual and training, which is continue to be practiced by armoured corps' training school. [8] The School of Armor and Mechanized Warfare trains cadets and officers to be a part of the Armored Corps at the Nowshera Cantonment. [9] The Armored Corps is commanded by the director-general who is usually at two-star active duty rank, Major-General, working directly under the Chief of the General Staff at the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi. [8]
The Armoured Corps only has an administrative control over its combat strike brigades and such brigade teams are employed in numbers of strike maneuver corps to defend the national borders of Pakistan from the foreign threats. [10] [11] [12] [13]
Until 2001, the armoured corps was focused towards opposing Indian advances in the east but later stationed its interests in western border to prevent foreign threats coming from Afghanistanr. [14]
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Armoured Corps regiments are equipped with the following:
The 1st Armoured Division is an armoured division of the Indian Army, headquartered at Patiala, Punjab. It is part of II Corps of the Indian Army's Western Command.
The Poona Horse is an armoured regiment in the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. The regiment, known before independence as The Poona Horse, was raised as a regular cavalry regiment in the Bombay Presidency army of the East India Company. It was formed from the 3rd Regiment of Bombay Light Cavalry, raised in 1820, and the Poona Auxiliary Horse, raised about 1817–18. The latter unit was absorbed into the regular forces about 1860 and the two regiments later became the 33rd Queen Victoria's Own Light Cavalry and the 34th Prince Albert Victor's Own Poona Horse.
4th Horse (Hodson's Horse) is a part of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army, which had its beginnings as an irregular cavalry regiment during the time of the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
The 1st Horse (Skinner's Horse) is a regiment of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. It traces its origins as a cavalry regiment from the times of the East India Company, followed by its service in the British Indian Army and finally, after independence as the fourth oldest and one of the senior cavalry regiments of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army.
The 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) is one of the oldest and a highly decorated armoured regiment of the Indian Army. The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of two of the oldest regiments of the Bengal Army – the 2nd Royal Lancers (Gardner's Horse) and the 4th Cavalry.
The Frontier Force Regiment of the Pakistan Army consists of battalions with their own history. Most were formed after independence, but some are much older.
The 5th Horse is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was previously known as the 5th King Edward's Own Probyn's Horse, which was a regular cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by the amalgamation of the 11th King Edward's Own Lancers (Probyn's Horse) and the 12th Cavalry.
The 6th Lancers is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. Previously, it was known as the 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse), and was a regular cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by amalgamation of the 13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers (Watson's Horse) and the 16th Cavalry. The regiment and its predecessors have seen active service on the North West Frontier, in Egypt during 1882, in China during the Boxer Rebellion, the two World Wars and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. On the Partition of India in 1947, the regiment was allotted to the Pakistan Army, where it remains in service today.
The 3rd Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the Indian Army formed from the 5th and 8th Cavalry regiments in 1922.
The Deccan Horse or 9 Horse is one of the oldest and most decorated armoured regiments of the Indian Army. The Royal Deccan Horse , which was a regular cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army was formed from the amalgamation of two regiments after World War I. They saw service from the Mutiny of 1857 up to and including World War II.
The 12th Cavalry Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) is an armoured regiment of Pakistan Army. It was formed in the British Indian army in 1922 by the amalgamation of 22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) and 25th Cavalry (Frontier Force).
The Central India Horse was a regular cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army and is presently part of the Indian Army Armoured Corps.
The 19th Lancers is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. Before 1956, it was known as 19th King George V's Own Lancers, which was a regular cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, by the amalgamation of 18th King George's Own Lancers and 19th Lancers (Fane's Horse). On Partition of India in 1947, the regiment was allotted to Pakistan.
The 20th Lancers is an armoured regiment in the Armoured Corps of the Pakistan Army. It is considered to be the successor of the old 20th Lancers of the British Indian Army. As part of a reorganization of the British Indian Army, the original 20th Lancers was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 14th Murray's Jat Lancers and the 15th Lancers.
The 18th Cavalry is an armoured regiment of the armoured corps of the Indian Army. The regiment was created in 1921 through the amalgamation of the 7th Hariana Lancers and 6th King Edward's Own Cavalry.
The structure of the Pakistan Army is based on two distinct themes: operational and administrative. Operationally the Pakistan Army is divided into nine corps and three corps-level formations with areas of responsibility (AOR) ranging from the mountainous regions of the north to the desert and coastal regions of the south. Administratively it is divided in several regiments. The General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Army is located in Rawalpindi in Punjab province. It is planned to be moved to the capital city of Islamabad nearby.
The 1st (Risalpur) Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Indian Army formed in 1906 as a result of the Kitchener Reforms. It remained in India during the First World War but took an active part in the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919.
20th Lancers is an armoured regiment in the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. 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. It has provided one Chief of Army Staff and two Army Commanders.
The 6th Lancers is an armoured regiment of the Indian Army.