Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Inderjit Singh Gill,

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

, MC (16 January 1922 – 30 May 2001) was a

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in 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 ...

. He was the officiating Director of Military Operations (DMO) of the

during the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

. He retired in 1979 after serving as the Western Army Commander.

Early life

Gill was born in 1922 in a Jat Sikh family of Lieutenant Colonel Gurdial Singh Gill of the

Indian Medical Service The Indian Medical Service (IMS) was a military medical service in British India, which also had some civilian functions. It served during the two World Wars, and remained in existence until the independence of India in 1947. Many of its officer ...

and his Scottish wife, Rena Lister. Having done his schooling in India, he was studying engineering at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

when the

second world war 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 ...

broke out, and in 1941 he dropped out to enlist in the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

Military career

World War II

He was commissioned into the Corps of Royal Engineers as a Second Lieutenant on 5 April 1942. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 5 October 1942. The British

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

planned Operation Animals to deceive the Axis Powers into believing that Greece was the target of an Allied amphibious landing, instead of Sicily. Gill served in this operation, for which he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in the

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

on 3 February 1944 as a Lieutenant (acting Captain). His citation (which was not made public) read: He was also

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 ...

in the London Gazette of 6 April 1944 for services in the Middle East.

Post-Independence

Just prior to

India's independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic movement t ...

, Gill relinquished his British commission and joined the Indian Army.London Gazette 21/11/1989, page 13429 - Corps of Royal Engineers - Emergency Commn - Lt. I. S. GILL, M.C. (229329) relinquishes his commn., 6 May 1947 on appt. to Indian Army (Substituted for the notifn. in Gazette (Supplement) dated 27 January 1950). On 7 May 1947, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the British Indian Army (seniority from 5 July 1944) and with seniority in his former rank of second lieutenant from 5 January 1943. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the newly re-designated Indian Army on 5 January 1949. Gill attended the

Defence Services Staff College The Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) is a defence service training institution of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. It trains officers of all three services of the Indian Armed Forces – (Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air ...

in 1954. In 1955, he took over command of the 1st battalion The Parachute regiment (1 Para), and was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 5 January 1956. After Brigade and Division level commands, he was appointed the Director Military Training (DMT). He was the officiating Director Military Operations (DMO) during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Gill was awarded the

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

as a Major General in 1967 and was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

in 1972 for his role as the officiating Director of Military Operations in the 1971 Indo-Pak War. After the war, Gill was promoted to lieutenant-general on 1 April 1974. He commanded a Corps in the eastern theater. Upon promotion to Army Commander, he served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command, and retired on 1 June 1979.

Post-retirement

Upon retirement, Gill chose to reside in Chennai, where he was a trustee of various institutions set up by his father. He died on 30 May 2001.

Dates of rank

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Inderjit Singh British Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in civil service Indian generals Indian people of Scottish descent Generals of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Royal Engineers officers Indian recipients of the Military Cross 1922 births 2001 deaths British emigrants to India Defence Services Staff College alumni