Western Command Armoured Corps Day Celebrations

Jammu,  May (Punjab Post Bureau) – Dignity and Reminiscences marked the celebrations of the Armoured Corps Day at Headquarters Western Command. In the morning on 1^st May 2016, a solemn wreath laying ceremony was held at the “Veer Smriti” wherein Major General AK Sanyal, on the behalf of GOC-in-C Western Command, laid the wreath to pay homage to the gallant martyrs who laid down their lives defending the Nation. This event was also attended by the select veterans from the Armoured Corps. Major General KMKS Baraich, laid the wreath to pay homage to the gallant martyrs on behalf of veterans.  The Armoured Corps Day is being celebrated by Western Command with zeal from 1^st to 4^th May 2016 to commemorate 78 years of the mechanization of Indian Cavalry Regiments. It was on 1^st May 1938 that the Scinde Horse became the first Regiment to shed its horses and was equipped with Vickers Light Tanks and Chevrolet Armoured Cars. This was the beginning of a new era of valour and sacrifice by the tankmen.  The Armoured Corps has acquitted itself with distinction in all wars. The deployment of armour on the Zojila Pass in the 1947 Indo Pakistan War proved to be decisive and the turning point of the conflict. The Indian Armoured Corps gave a sterling performance in the 1965 Indo Pak War, wherein the sophisticated and advanced Patton tanks of Pakistan Army were decimated to form the famous graveyard, “Patton Nagar” near Khemkaran in Punjab. It was also in the 1965 war that Lieutenant Colonel  A B Tarapore was posthumously honoured with the Nation’s highest gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra for his gallant action in the Shakargarh Bulge. 2^nd Lieutenant Arun Khetrapal led by example to stall the Pakistan counter attack in the battle of Basantar and was posthumously honoured with Param Vir Chakra.The Corps proved its mettle yet again gloriously in the 1971 war wherein tanks were at the forefront of action on the both Western and Eastern front and infact spearheaded the offensive of ground forces into Dhaka. Apart from proving its mettle in the domain of conventional operations, the Armoured Corps has contributed substantially and significantly to the Counter Insurgency Operations in Jammu & Kashmir and in the North East. The Corps is also contributing a contingent at United Nation’s mission in Lebanon, apart from individual representations.