41 Field Regiment is part of the

Regiment of Artillery Regiment of Artillery may refer to: * Regiment of Artillery (Pakistan) * Regiment of Artillery (India) The Regiment of Artillery is a combat support arm of the Indian Army, which provides massive firepower during all ground operations of t ...

of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

Formation and history

The regiment was initially raised in 1940 as part of the

Royal Indian Artillery The Royal Regiment of Indian Artillery, generally known as the Royal Indian Artillery (RIA), was an operational corps of the British Indian Army. The East India Company raised the first regular company of Artillery in 1748, with a small percentage ...

(RIA) as 14th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment. It was subsequently designated 3rd Indian Medium Regiment and finally as 41 Medium Regiment. It was later re-raised on 15 July 1948 by Lieutenant Colonel Kalyan Singh (of 2nd Indian Field Regiment, RIA) at

Jhansi Jhansi ( ) is a historic city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. (Toshan) Balwant Nagar was the old name of Jhansi. It lies in the region of Bundelkhand, on the banks of the Pahuj River, in the extreme ...

comprising a newly raised Regimental Headquarters and three artillery batteries from the princely states of

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the States and territories of India, state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. It is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Fo ...

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

and

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubar ...

. The three batteries are –

83 (Bikaner) Field Battery

The Bikaner artillery traces its origins to 1670. During its early years, under Maharaja Anup Singh, it participated in several Mughal campaigns in the

Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...

region, including the

Siege of Golconda The siege of Golconda (1687 CE) was an eight-month military siege of the Golconda Fort (in present-day Telangana, India). This siege was personally directed by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb against the Golconda Sultanate, ruled by king Abul Ha ...

in 1687. It took part in the First Sikh War (1845–46);

Second Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company which took place from 1848 to 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab region, Punjab and what sub ...

(1848–49) and the

Mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

(1857–58) in support of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

. Bikaner Bijey Battery was formed from select pieces of Bikaner artillery in 1906. The name comes from Prince Bijey Singh, the son of General Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh. It was organised as a camel pack battery in 1924 and equipped with breech-loading guns. It was later equipped with BL 2.75-inch mountain guns. The unit was re-organised as a mountain battery in 1941 and equipped with 3.7-inch howitzers and trained at

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the battery under command of Major Kishen Singh was moved from

Kohat Kohat (; ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century. With a population o ...

in 1943 to join 25th Mountain Regiment. It proceeded to

Arakan Arakan ( or ; , ), formerly anglicised as Aracan, is the historical geographical name for the northeastern coastal region of the Bay of Bengal, covering present-day Bangladesh and Myanmar. The region was called "Arakan" for centuries. It is ...

to join

7th Indian Infantry Division The 7th Infantry Division is a war-formed infantry Division (military), division, part of the British Indian Army that saw service in the Burma Campaign. History The division was created on 1 October 1940 at Attock, under the command of Major-ge ...

in the Burma theatre. It saw extensive action in Assam and Burma in 1944 and 1945, and returned to the State in 1946.

84 (Scindia) Field Battery

This Battery was raised as 3rd Company Artillery in 1861. It was converted into the 3rd Horse Artillery in 1853 and later in the same year as the 2nd Horse Artillery. In 1898, it was renamed as 'B' Battery Gwalior Horse. The unit was equipped with 15-pounders and re-organised as ‘B’ Battery, Gwalior Horse Artillery. In 1934, it was re-equipped with

QF 18-pounder gun The Ordnance QF 18-pounder,British military traditionally denoted smaller ordnance by the weight of its standard projectile, in this case approximately or simply 18-pounder gun, was the standard British Empire field gun of the World War I, Fi ...

s. From 1942, it was known as Scindia's Field Battery. Prior to independence, the battery saw action in World War II in the

Burma campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

. It was attached to the 1st Indian Field Regiment and fought in the

Battle of Meiktila A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

in 1945. The battery saw action in the Kashmir Operations during Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948.

85 (Patiala) Field Battery

Raised from Faridkot Sappers in 1948, which itself was raised in 1900 in the erstwhile

Faridkot State Faridkot State was a self-governing princely state of Punjab ruled by Brar Jats outside British India during the British Raj period in the Indian sub-continent until Indian independence. The state was located in the south of the erstwhile Firoz ...

. The sappers saw action in the East African campaign of World War I,

Third Anglo-Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War was a short war which began on 3 May and ended on 8 August 1919. The new Amir of the Emirate of Afghanistan Amanullah Khan declared a Jihad against the British in the hope to proclaim full independence, as well as ...

and in World War II in the

. The guns of the battery were one of the first to see action during the Kashmir Operations in October 1947. Four 3.7-inch howitzers belonging to the Patiala State Forces were flown and deployed near Pattan along the Srinagar – Baramulla road. The guns were taken over by the artillery men attached with 1 Sikh battalion and fired, causing the Pakistani raiders to flee.

Operations

The regiment has taken part in the following operations following its raising– * Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 – During Operation Riddle, the regiment was part of the 7 Infantry Division sector and took part in the

Battle of Burki The Battle of Barki (also known as Battle of Lahore (1965)) was a battle during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 between Indian infantry and Pakistani armour units. Burki (also spelled Barki, Burkee and Barkee) is a village, that lies south-ea ...

. The regiment lost one officer and six men during the war. * Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 –Operation Cactus Lily. * Operation Bajrang and Operation Rhino – Between 1988 and 1992, the regiment took part in counter terrorism operations in

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

. * Operation Vijay – The unit was de-inducted from the Kashmir valley along with 8 Mountain Artillery Brigade for Operation Vijay in 1999. It was commanded by Colonel GS Mann and equipped with 105 mm

Indian Field Gun The Indian Field Gun is a towed field gun developed in India and extensively used in the Indian Army. Development The Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) began the design and development of the gun in 1972 to replace the older O ...

s. The regiment provided close range, accurate and timely fire support in the

Battle of Tololing The Battle of Tololing was a pivotal battle in the Kargil War between India and troops from one full battalion of Pakistan’s Northern Light Infantry who were aided by Pakistani irregulars in 1999. Background The Tololing peak dominates ove ...

, Point 5140 from Thasgam, Battle of Point 4700 ( Mushkoh), Battle of Point 4875 (now named as Gun Hill), Battle of Zulu Top and gave a decisive blow in the

Battle of Tiger Hill The Battle of Tiger Hill encompasses the battles fought in and around the peak of Tiger Hill between the Indian Army and Pakistani Army from the final week of May till second week of June 1999, during the Kargil War. The battle, with the conc ...

from

Drass Drass may refer to Places * Drass, Ladakh; a town in India * Drass river, Drass valley; a river in India * Drass Field at Scott D. Miller Stadium, Wesley College, Delaware, USA Other uses *Drass (company) Drass, or DRASS, is an Italian manufac ...

. *

Operation Parakram Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

– 2001 *Operation Snow Leopard

Gallantry awards

The regiment has won the following gallantry awards– *The regiment was awarded the honour title ''Kargil'' for its valour during Operation Vijay. *

Vir Chakra The Vir Chakra (pronunciation: ʋ iː ɾ a tʃ a kɾa, ) is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of gallantry on the battlefield, on land or in the air or at sea. It is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards and ...

– Major Amrinder Singh Kasana *

Mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

– Major RS Chaudhary, Havildar Ram Lakhan Singh

Notable Officers

*Lieutenant General K Ravi Prasad – Colonel Commandant of the Regiment of Artillery. Retired as the Director General Artillery in 2021.

References

{{reflist Artillery units and formations of British India Indian World War II regiments Artillery regiments of the Indian Army after 1947 Military units and formations established in 1948