The 7th Infantry Division, also known as the
Golden Arrow
An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...
(after its formation sign) and
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
Division, (after its
garrison
A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters.
A garrison is usually in a city ...
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
) is one of the
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...
's oldest and most battle-hardened division. The
officers and men of the Golden Arrow Division have fought in all of Pakistan's Wars and have an unmatched
combat
Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...
service record.
Second World War origins
The division was raised on 1 October 1940 at
Okara, in present-day
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
as the
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 ...
, part of the
British Indian Army
The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...
. Its formation sign was an arrow, pointing bottom left to top right, in yellow on a black background. The division was known as the "Golden Arrow" division from this sign.
After initially training for operations in the deserts in the Middle East, in early 1943 it was reassigned to 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 ...
. After extensive training and preparation, it fought in the
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 ...
from December 1943. After the divisional HQ was overrun by a Japanese attack, units of the division took part in the
Battle of the Admin Box. The division later moved to
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 ...
and fought in the
Battle of Kohima. In 1945 it played a prominent part in the
Battle of Central Burma and the subsequent advance down the
Irrawaddy River
The Irrawaddy River (, , Ayeyarwady) is the principal river of Myanmar, running through the centre of the country. Myanmar’s most important commercial waterway, it is about 1,350 miles (2,170 km) long. Originating from the confluence of the ...
.
After the war ended, the division moved to
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, where it disarmed the Japanese occupying army, and liberated and repatriated Allied prisoners of war.
From 1947 with Pakistan
After the
independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
of
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
in 1947, the division under the command of Major General
Frederick Loftus-Tottenham, was one of two allocated to the new Pakistan army.
The 7th Infantry Division is currently being commanded by Major General Shakir, AC.
The Division first saw action during the
Indo-Pakistan War of 1948, where it fought and captured some territory in the
Poonch sector.
In the intervening years, the formation became part of the Pakistan Army's strategic
reserve. At the outbreak of the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
Division was commanded by a native Peshawarite; Major General
Yahya Khan
Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (4 February 191710 August 1980) was a Pakistani army officer who served as the third president of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971. He also served as the fifth Commander-in-Chief, Pakistan, commander-in-chief of the Pakistan ...
. In it, the Golden Arrow's were the lead division of the
Operation Grand Slam, where they and two divisions which had been placed under the division's command managed to achieve the most dramatic breakthrough of the war when they defeated the Indian formations in front of them, capturing the
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
of
Chamb
The Chamb () is a river in Germany and the Czech Republic, a right tributary of the Regen (river), Regen River. It flows through Bavaria and Plzeň Region. It is long.
Etymology
The name is derived from the Celtic word ''kambos'', which transla ...
, and pushed up to a position 6 km beyond
Jammu
Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...
City, by the end of hostilities. Its commander, General Yahya Khan would be awarded the
Hilal-e-Jurat for this achievement.
During
Black September
Black September (), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was an armed conflict between Jordan, led by Hussein of Jordan, King Hussein, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by chairman Yasser Arafat. The main phase of the fight ...
in 1970 the Jordanian Government asked the Pakistan Government to assist in putting down the Palestinian uprising. The Peshawar Division was dispatched to Jordan where it would be placed under the command of the Pakistani attaché;
Muhammad Zia ul-Haq (later
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces. , and would restore order and government control in Jordan.
6 years later, during the
Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 the Peshawar Division would once again be called into action. Once again Pakistan's strategic reserve, along with 1st Armoured Division, would not see action as a unit but many of its sub-units would enter combat in various sectors.
The formation would go overseas for the third time in its history (and for the second time as a Pakistani division) when it deployed with two brigades to Saudi Arabia for the 1991 Gulf War.
It would be the better part of a decade, before the formation would get the call to arms again, but when it came it was at the highest battlefield of the world, and several units would serve in that area. In 1999 during the
Kargil War, the division was sent as a reinforcement to the Gultari area.
After
9/11, and the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
led invasion of
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
, the Golden Arrows would be called into a period of almost continuous action in difficult and mountainous terrain, carrying out operations in
Waziristan
Waziristan (Persian language, Persian, Pashto, Ormuri, , ) is a mountainous region of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Waziristan region administratively splits among three districts: North Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan Dis ...
and the North West Frontier Province (now called: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa), against
Al-Qaeda
, image = Flag of Jihad.svg
, caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions
, founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden
, leaders = {{Plainlist,
* Osama bin Lad ...
and
Taliban
, leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders
, leader1_name = {{indented plainlist,
* Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013)
* Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016)
* Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
escaping from Afghanistan. Most of the Al-Qaeda operatives have been captured by elements of this formation.
Under its corps headquarters, XI Corps, the Division took part in the
2009 South Waziristan offensive.
Order of battle
It is unsure what the exact composition of the formation is, since the Peshawar Division has received several additional troops during the ongoing war on terror, but the peacetime order of battle is:
* HQ 7th Infantry Division;
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
** 6 Infantry Brigade;
Kanju, Swat
** 10 Infantry Brigade;
Datta Khel
** 27 Infantry Brigade;
Landi Kotal
** 102 Infantry Brigade;
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
** Division Troops; under HQ command, but usually parcelled out to the Brigades.
Locations and designations of brigades are not confirmed. Though, the Division Headquarter is based in Miran shah, NWA.
At an unspecified point in time, the 6th Infantry Brigade was relocated to its new headquarters at the newly built Swat Cantonment. The brigade was recently deployed to assist in disaster relief efforts during the
2022 Pakistan floods.
References
External links
* Globalsecurity.org, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/india/7-div.htm
* www.Orbat.com - Contains information on Pakistan Army Divisions including the Golden Arrows
* Pakistan Army; A History, by Brian Cloughly.
7th Infantry Division Soldiers advance in Kashmir, 1965 war
{{Pakistan Army template
Divisions of the Pakistan Army
Military units and formations established in 1940
Peshawar