The Indian Army

Indian Army

The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...

has a distinguished history in which they won many battle and theatre honours

Battle honour

A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....

. The practice of giving battle honours began with the East India Company

East India Company

The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

 who awarded these to the units of the native Indian corps in their presidency armies. The practice continued after the advent of the British Crown post-1857 when the armies of the East India Company became part of the British Indian Army

British Indian Army

The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...

 and after India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

's independence in 1947. The earliest conflict for which a battle honour was awarded was "Plassey

Battle of Plassey

The Battle of Plassey , 23 June 1757, was a decisive British East India Company victory over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, establishing Company rule in South Asia which expanded over much of the Indies for the next hundred years...

" which was awarded in 1829 to the 1st Regiment, Bengal Native Infantry

Bengal Native Infantry

The Bengal Native Infantry was part of the organisation of the East India Company's Bengal Army before the Indian rebellion of 1857.The infantry regiments underwent frequent changes of numbering during their period of existence...

 which served the East India Company in Bengal while the latest is "Kargil" in 1999 awarded to units of independent India's army for feats during the Kargil War

Kargil War

The Kargil War ,, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control...

.

Pre-1914 battle honours

• Plassey.
• Buxar.
• Amboor.
• Korah.
• Guzerat.
• Carnatic.
• Sholinghur.
• Mangalore.
• Mysore.
• Sedaseer.
• Seringapatam.
• Egypt.
• Allyghur.
• Delhi.
• Assaye.
• Leswarree.
• Deig.
• Cochin.
• Bourbon
• Java.
• Kirkee.
• Seetabuldee.
• Nagpore.
• Maheidpoor.
• Corygaum.
• Nowah.
• Persian Gulf.
• Beni Boo Alli.
• Assam.
• Ava.
• Kemmendine.
• Arracan.

• Burmah.
• Bhurtpore.
• Aden.
• Affghanistan.
• Ghuznee 1839.
• Khelat.
• Kahun.
• Jellalabad.
• Kelat-i-Ghilzie.
• Candahar 1842.
• Ghuznee 1842.
• Cabool 1842.
• Cutchee.
• China.
• Meeanee.
• Hyderabad.
• Maharajpoor.
• Punniar.
• Moodkee.
• Ferozeshah.
• Aliwal.
• Sobraon.
• Punjaub.
• Chillianwalah.
• Mooltan.
• Goojerat.
• Pegu.
• Persia.
• Reshire.
• Bushire.
• Koosh-ab.
• Delhi 1857.

• Lucknow.
• Defence of Arrah.
• Behar.
• Central India.
• China 1858-59.
• Taku Forts.
• Pekin 1860.
• China 1860-62.
• Abyssinia.
• Afghanistan 1878-80.
• Ali Masjid.
• Peiwar Kotal.
• Charasiah.
• Kabul 1879.
• Ahmed Khel.
• Kandahar 1880.
• Egypt 1882,
• Tel-el-kebir.
• Suakin.
• Tofrek.
• Burma 1885-1887.
• Defence of Chitral
• Chitral.
• Punjab Frontier.
• Malakand.
• Samana.
• Tirah.
• British East Africa.
• Pekin 1900.
• China 1900.
• Somaliland 1901-04.

Europe & Gallipolli

Europe

• France and Flanders 1914-1918 .
• La Bassee, 1914.
• Armentieres 1914.
• Messines 1914.
• Ypres 1914-15.
• Gheluvelt.
• Festubert, 1914 (also 1914-15).

• Givenchy 1914.
• Neuve Chappelle.
• Ypres 1915.
• St Julien.
• Aubers.
• Festubert, 1915.
• Loos.

• Somme, 1916.
• Bazentin.
• Delville Wood.
• Flers-Courcelette.
• Morval.
• Cambrai 1917.

Gallipolli

• Gallipolli 1915
• Helles
• Krithia
• Anzac

• Landing at Anzac
• Defence of Anzac
• Suvla
• Sari Bair

• Landing at Suvla
• Scimitar Hill
• Macedonia 1916-18

Egypt, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Arabia

Egypt & Palestine

• Damascus
• Egypt 1915-17
• El Mughar
• Gaza

• Jerusalem
• Megiddo
• Nablus
• Nebi Samwil

• Palestine 1917-18
• Sharon
• Suez Canal
• Tell' Asur

Mesopotamia

• Baghdad
• Basra
• Ctesiphon
• Defence of Kut al Amara

• Khan Baghdadi
• Kut al Amara 1915
• Kut al Amara 1917
• Mesopotamia 1914-18

• Shaiba
• Sharqat
• Tigris 1916

Arabia

• Aden

Central Asia, Persia, Afghanistan, India, China

Central Asia

• Merv

Persia

• Persia 1915-19

Afghanistan

• Afghanistan

India

• NW Frontier, India 1914-17

• Baluchistan 1915-16, 1918

China

• Tsingtao

East Africa

• East Africa 1914-18
• Kilimanjaro

• Beho Beho
• Narungombe

• Nyangao

North East Africa, Middle East

North East Africa

• Abyssinia 1940-41
• Ad Teclesan
• Agordat
• Amba Alagi

• Barentu
• Berbera
• British Somaliland
• Gallabat

• Keren
• Keren-Asmara Road
• Massawa

Middle East

• Iraq 1941

Indo-Pakistani War of 1947

Indo-Pakistani War of 1947

The India-Pakistan War of 1947-48, sometimes known as the First Kashmir War, was fought between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of four wars fought between the two newly independent nations...

The battle and theatre honours of the 1947 War are:

• Jammu and Kashmir 1947-48 (theatre honour)
• Gurais
• Jhangar
• Kargil

• Naoshera
• Punch
• Rajouri
• Skardu

• Srinagar
• Tithwal
• Uri
• Zoji La

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...

The battle and theatre honours of the 1965 War are:

Jammu and Kashmir sector

• Jammu and Kashmir 1965 (theatre honour)
• Hajipir
• Jaurian Kalit

• Kalidhar
• OP Hill

• Raja Picquet-Chand Tekri
• Sanjoi Mirpur

Punjab sector

• Punjab 1965 (theatre honour)
• Assal Uttar
• Burki
• Buttur Dograndi

• Charwa
• Dograi
• Hussainiwala Bridge

• Maharajke
• Phillora
• Tilakpur-Muhadipur

Rajasthan sector

• Rajasthan 1965 (theatre honour)

• Gadra Road

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...

East Pakistan Sector

• East Pakistan 1971 (theatre honour)
• Akhaura
• Belonia
• Bhaduria
• Bogra
• Chauddagram
• Darsana

• Ganga Sagar
• Hilli
• Jamalpur
• Khansama
• Kumarkhali
• Madhumati River
• Mian Bazaar

• Mynamati
• Poongli Bridge
• Shamsher Nagar
• Siramani
• Suadih
• Syamganj
• Sylhet

Jammu and Kashmir sector

• Jammu and Kashmir 1971 (theatre honour)
• Banwat
• Brachil Pass and Wali Malik
• Chhamb

• Defence of Punch
• Gutrian
• Laleali-Picquet 707
• Nangi Tekri

• Shingo River Valley
• Thanpir
• Turtok

Punjab theatre

• Punjab 1971 (theatre honour)
• Amritsar Airfeld
• Basantar River
• Burj

• Chakri
• Dera Baba Nanak
• Fatehpur
• Harar Kalan

• Jarpal
• Malakpur
• Samba (VA/VP)
• Shehjra

Sindh theatre

• Sindh 1971 (theatre honour)
• Chachro

• Gadra City
• Khinsar

• Longanewala
• Parbat Ali