The Regiment of Artillery is a combat/fighting arm of the Indian Army, which provides massive firepower during all ground operations of the Indian Army. It is a successor to the Royal Indian Artillery (RIA) of British Indian Army, which itself traces its origins to the formation of Bombay Artillery in 1827.
Today, it is the second-largest arm of the Indian Army, and with its guns, mortars, rocket launchers, unmanned aerial vehicles, surveillance systems, missiles and artillery firepower. It constitutes almost one-sixth of its total strength.
The Mughal Emperor Babur is popularly credited with introducing artillery to India, in the Battle of Panipat in 1526, where he decisively used gunpowder firearms and field artillery to defeat the much larger army of Ibrahim Lodhi, the ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, thus not just laying the foundation of the Mughal Empire but also setting a precedent for all future battles in the subcontinent. However, evidence of earlier use of guns by Bahmani kings in the battle of Adoni in 1368 and King Mohammed Shah of Gujarat in the fifteenth century have been recorded.[3] Then came the Portuguese, who for the first time introduced the man-o-war (ships) armed with cannons and introduced the concept of command of the seas in the Indian Ocean region. However, it was documented by Portuguese travellers that artillery guns were widely in use in the Indian subcontinent.[4] By the early 16th century, Zamorin, the ruler of Calicut, had begun to emulate the Portuguese and began to arm his ships with naval gun pieces.[5]
The Mughals further expanded and improved their artillery arm and used it successfully to expand their empire. Though the artillery arm of the Marathas was weaker than many of their contemporaries, Balaji Baji Rao organised the arm in professional lines and Madhavji Sindhia established a fairly efficient gun manufacturing foundry under the supervision of European gun makers. During the 18th century, Tipu Sultan was notable for using guns, mortars, rockets and howitzers to effective use; the Nizam of Hyderabad manufactured his own guns with the help of his French officers and the Sikhs under Maharaja Ranjit Singh pioneered the development of horse-artillery on the same lines as that of the East India Company.[3][5]
The English, who were regular users of cannons in their ships, initially used guns landed from their fleet and manned by naval ratings detached for the purpose.[6] They first placed 12 guns near the village of Armegaon along the Coromandel coast. The gunners were called Topasses from the Portuguese word Tope. In 1668, two companies of East India Company's artillery were formed at Bombay. The other presidencies followed suit. In 1748, the Court of Directors of the East India Company ordered regular companies of artillery to be formed, one at each for the Presidencies of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay. The power of artillery in defining the military power at that time was so pervasive that initially the British did not permit the natives to join the artillery arm. As the artillery was expanded, sufficient European recruits could not be mustered, the company gradually permitted the natives to join the artillery in a small percentage. These Indian gunners recruited as support staff were called as Golandaz, Gun Lashkars, Tindals and Serangs. A few Indian mountain artillery batteries, officered by the British, were raised in the 19th century and formed part of the Royal Artillery.[5][7]
The Royal Indian Artillery (RIA) of the British Indian Army was raised on 28 September 1827, as a part of the Bombay Army, a presidency army of the Bombay Presidency. It was later renamed as 5 Bombay Mountain Battery. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 sparked off in Meerut on 10 May 1857. Many of the Indian personnel of the Bengal Artillery were involved in the mutiny and the three battalions of foot artillery then in existence were all disbanded in 1862.[8] Subsequently, all Indian artillery units were disbanded except for a few.[9] The whole of the variously European artillery and the corps of engineers were transferred to the Royal corps under special conditions. The mutiny of all the native Bengal artillery, and other weighty considerations, had decided the Government to have no native field artillery in future. All the native artillery was therefore gradually disbanded. The only exceptions to this rule were the four mountain batteries in the Punjab Irregular Force (later the Punjab Frontier Force), and two native batteries in Bombay. These Nos. 1 and 2 companies Golandaz, originally used to garrison Aden and man the Jacobabad mountain train in turn, eventually became Nos. 1 and 2 Bombay Mountain Batteries, and later 5 and 6 (Bombay) Mountain Batteries. Another exception were the four field batteries of the Hyderabad Contingent. The whole of this contingent had done excellent service in 1857, and was retained intact. In future, with these exceptions, the artillery service in India was to be found by batteries and companies of the Royal Artillery.[10] Many of the mountain batteries had soldiers from the disbanded horse artillery regiments of the Sikhs. They saw extensive action in the North West Frontier and the Afghan wars.[6]
With nearly all of the field artillery being manned by the Royal Artillery, Indian soldiers were restricted to few native drivers of the horse, field and heavy batteries. These men are enlisted from the usual fighting classes of the Punjab. The main Indian representation was in the 'Mountain Artillery'. The guns of the mountain artillery were light in calibre and were designed to be disassembled and transported by pack mule in up to eight loads for use in terrain that would otherwise be impossible to traverse with larger and more conventional artillery. The earliest guns were the tiny 3 Pounder SBML (Smooth Bore Muzzle Loading) and 4 2/5 Inch SBML howitzer of 1850s.
These were replaced in 1865 by the 7-pounder RML (rifled muzzle loading) gun and this in turn was replaced in 1879 by the significantly improved and significantly heavier RML 2.5-inch mountain gun, also known as Kipling's Screw Gun – which had barrels that split in two for transport.[5]
For the Great War, the 10 Pounder BL (Breech Loading) and 2.75 Inch guns equipped the Indian Mountain Artillery. Only in the last year of the war was the next model, the QF 3.7-inch mountain howitzer introduced in East Africa. Upon entering service, it immediately became clear that this piece was vastly superior to all previous models, and it would soldier on as the standard mountain gun during the inter-war years and throughout World War II.[5]
Other than the batteries which were not disbanded after the mutiny, throughout the remainder of the 19th Century, and during the years leading up to and including the Great War, a total of twenty-five more Batteries were raised. All the Indian mountain batteries consisted of Punjabis, half Muhammadan and half Hindu, the latter being almost entirely Sikhs. The gunners were specially selected for their height and strength, with a view to the rapid assembling and dismantling of the guns from off and on to the backs of the powerful mules that carry them.[11] In addition to service on the 'Frontier', Indian Mountain Batteries served in North-East India, Burma, Afghanistan, Tibet, the Middle East, Africa, and during the Great War; Mesopotamia, Gallipoli, East Africa, Persia, Palestine and of course the North-West Frontier again.[7] Throughout their history, the reputation of Indian Mountain Batteries was enhanced by the fact that they were officered by the very best the Royal Artillery had to offer. Such talented men competed to join because a tour in an Indian Mountain Battery, unlike other branches of artillery, virtually guaranteed seeing active service. Indian officers (VCO's) and other ranks were also the best available, as the relatively small number of batteries and their role as the only Indian artillery meant that there was always a surplus of volunteers, and this in turn meant that only the highest quality of recruit was accepted.[6] During the Great War, Indian gunners won 12 Order of British India, 22 Indian Order of Merit, 150 Indian Distinguished Service Medals, 232 Indian Meritorious Service Medals, 2 Médaille militaire, 3 Crucea Servicul Credincois (Romanian), 5 Serbian Gold Medals, 4 Cross of St. George, 4th Class and 1 Cross of St George, 3rd Class.[12]
After the decision to Indianise the artillery arm in India, it was decided to raise three field artillery brigades and one horse artillery battery for the infantry divisions and the cavalry brigade respectively. On 15 January 1935, 'A' Field Brigade was formed to take the place of an outgoing British Field Brigade. It consisted of four batteries – the 1st of Madrasis, originally formed from the disbanded Madras Pioneers, the 2nd, Punjabi Mussalmans, the 3rd, Rajputana Rajputs and the 4th Ranghars.[6] In the following year, an Indian Artillery Training Battery was added to the establishment of the Field Artillery Training Centre at Mathura. In March 1938, a decision to enhance the number of Indian Artillery units was taken by the Commander-in-Chief, India. Indian officers were inducted in the No. 1 Indian Mountain Artillery Brigade, followed by the replacement of a second British Field Brigade by an Indian Field Brigade. Thereafter, replacement of a British Heavy Battery (Coast Artillery) and one British Anti-aircraft Battery by an Indian Heavy Anti-aircraft Battery were to be undertaken followed by the replacement of a second British Heavy Anti-aircraft Battery by an Indian Heavy Anti-aircraft Battery.[5][13]
Branches other than the field artillery were also introduced.
During the Second World War, Indian artillery units saw action in Malaya, Burma, East and North Africa, the Middle East and Italy. The following units saw action[5] –
By the end of Second World War, Indian gunners had won one Victoria Cross, One George Medal, 15 Military Crosses, two IOMs, 22 IDSMs, 18 Military Medals, five OBEs, One MBE, three BEMs, 13 Burma Gallantry Medals and 467 Jangi Inams.[15][16][17] In acknowledgement of their contribution, Indian Artillery earned the coveted title of `Royal' in 1945. Though originally called the 'Indian Regiment of Artillery', it later became 'The Regiment of Indian Artillery' on 1 November 1940 and 'Royal Regiment of Indian Artillery' in October 1945, after its success in World War II.[9] The title 'Royal' was dropped when India became a Republic on 26 January 1950.
At the time of independence, Indian Artillery consisted of Field, Medium, Air Defence, Counter Bombardment, Coastal, Air Observation Post and Survey branches. After the