The I Corps is a military field formation 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 ...

. The Corps is headquartered at

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. It was raised on 1 April 1965. It was still being raised when it was despatched to the front in 1965. Raised as the First Strike Corps of the Indian Army, it was launched into operations in the

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

sector. The Corps conducted a counteroffensive during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. In the 1971 war against Pakistan, it took part in the Battle of Basantar. The corps conducts

Exercise Exercise or workout is physical activity that enhances or maintains fitness and overall health. It is performed for various reasons, including weight loss or maintenance, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardio ...

Parvat Prahaar (Mountain Strike) to maintain combat readiness in the northern sector along Line of Actual Control. The exercise which is conducted in high-altitude, rugged terrain conditions, includes tanks, artillery (including K-9 Vajra T), air-defence systems and other assets. The editions of the exercise are 2022 and 2024.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

During 1971, the composition of the

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

was: * X Sector * 36th Infantry Division (8, 115 Brigades initially) * 39th Infantry Division * 54th Infantry Division

Present Day

In 2021, the ''Strike One Corps'' was shifted to Northern Command from the South Western Command to focus on Sino-Indian border in

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...

. According to reports, around 500 main battle tanks and 50,000 troops are deployed in Eastern

region. The I Corps created in 1965 and headquartered at

, consists of the following formations: * 4 RAPID Division (

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

), also called ''Red Eagle Division''. ** 7 Infantry Brigade (

Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...

) ** 41 Infantry Brigade (

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

) ** 62 Infantry Brigade (Kanpur) ** 4 Artillery Brigade (Allahabad) * 6 Mountain Division ( Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh) also called ''Garud Division'' * 14 (Independent) Armoured Brigade, also called ''Black Chargers Brigade'' The following were moved to direct command of South Western Command * 33 Armoured Division ( Hisar Military Station,

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

), also called ''Dot On Target (DOT) Division'', consisting of – ** 33 Artillery Brigade *** 1 × Towed artillery Regiment (e.g.

Howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

), *** 1 × Self propelled artillery Regiment *** 1 × LT AD ( Light Air Defence) artillery and was located at Faridkot & Ferozpur ** 39 Armoured Brigade (formerly 39th Mechanised Brigade) ** 57 Armoured Brigade (formerly 57th Mechanised Brigade) ** 88 Armoured Brigade (formerly 88th Mechanised Brigade). ** 627th (Independent) Armoured Air Defence Brigade (formerly '627th (Independent) Mechanised Air Defence Brigade') * 42 Artillery Division (Bassi,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

), also called ''Strategic Striker Division.''

List of General Officers Commanding

Notes

References

*Richard A. Renaldi and Ravi Rikhe, 'Indian Army Order of Battle,' Orbat.com for Tiger Lily Books: A division of General Data LLC, , 2011.
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{{Active corps of the Indian Army Military units and formations established in 1965 001