69 Medium Regiment
Active1963 – present
CountryIndia India
AllegianceIndia
Branch Indian Army
Type Artillery
SizeRegiment
Nickname(s)69 Very Fine
Motto(s)Sarvatra, Izzat-O-Iqbal
(Everywhere with Honour and Glory).
ColorsRed & Navy Blue
Anniversaries1 February – Raising Day
Insignia
Abbreviation69 Med Regt

The 69 Medium Regiment is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.

Formation

The regiment was raised on 1 February 1963 at Jalandhar Cantonment as the 69 Field Regiment. The first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel P K H Chand. The regiment was subsequently converted to a medium regiment in April 2010.[1]

Operations

The regiment has taken part in several following operations.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

The regiment took part in Operation Ablaze and Operation Riddle in Punjab, as part of the 14th Infantry Division, during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.[2]

Nathu La clashes

The regiment provided effective artillery fire during the Nathu La and Cho La clashes with the People's Liberation Army in 1967. The gun area of the unit was visited by then-prime minister Indira Gandhi in May 1968.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

The regiment was part of 54 Artillery Brigade of the 54 Infantry Division. It was deployed in the western sector around Samba during Operation Cactus Lily.[3][4] The Regiment won won two awards for its service in the war:

  • Sena Medal – Captain Madan Mohan Sharmrao Gadagkar, and Captain Asit Chaudhuri.[5][6]
  • Mentioned in dispatches – Major Gopal Kartic, Captain Mela Ram Sharma, Subedar Ramchand Shinde, Lance Naik Kalla Venkata Ratnam, Lance Naik Ram Bapu Pawar, and Naik Sitaram Deshmukh.[7][8][9][10]

Operation Blue Star

The regiment provided aid to the civil administration in Punjab during Operation Blue Star in 1984.

Operation Brasstacks

The regiment deployed in Rajasthan for Operation Brasstacks in 1987.

Operation Falcon

In Operation Falcon during the Sumdorong Chu standoff, the regiment was deployed between 1987 and 1990 in the Eastern sector.

During this tenure, Captain (later Major General) Virender Kumar Yadav of the regiment was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for an act of bravery. On 11 November 1989, while traveling by train, he displayed conspicuous courage under grave threat to his own life and rescued many people when a large mob set fire to the North East Express at Phaphund.[11][12]

Operation Rakshak and Operation Vijay

During and after the incident in Lachimpora, the regiment has taken part in counter insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and has successfully completed three tenures in the state (1994, 1999 and 2007). It was also mobilized in the Kargil War.

Operation Parakram

The regiment was deployed in the Northern Command area during the 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff in 2001. It lost a young officer, Lieutenant Abhay Pareek on 10 June 2002.[13] On 31 July 2002, the regiment also lost Captain Rapolu Veera Raja Reddy at Rajouri in anti-militancy operations.[14]

Honors and achievements

The regiment has been awarded the following awards[1] –

  • Shaurya Chakra – 1
  • Sena Medal – 3
  • Mentioned in dispatches – 6
  • COAS Commendation Cards – 3[15]
  • GOC-in-C Commendation Cards – 5

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "69 Medium Regiment Golden Jubilee APO postal cover". 1 February 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  2. ↑ Singh, Harbaksh (2012). War Despatches: Indo-Pak Conflict 1965. Lancer Publishers LLC. ISBN 978-8170621171.
  3. ↑ Singh, Jagjit (1994). Indian Gunners at War: The Western Front 1971. Spantech & Lancer. p. 131. ISBN 978-1897829554.
  4. ↑ Praval, K. C. (1976). Valour triumphs: a history of the Kumaon Regiment. Thomson Press. p. 343.
  5. ↑ "Gazette of India, No 10, page 286" (PDF). 9 March 1974. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  6. ↑ Singh, Jodh; Khera, P.N. (1972). Indira's India. Indian School Supply Depot, Delhi. p. 457.
  7. ↑ "Gazette of India, No19, page 534" (PDF). 11 May 1974. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  8. ↑ "Gazette of India, No19, page 536" (PDF). 11 May 1974. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  9. ↑ "Gazette of India, No 36" (PDF). 2 September 1972. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  10. ↑ Singh, Jagjit (1994). Indian Gunners at War: The Western Front 1971. Spantech & Lancer. p. 134. ISBN 978-1897829554.
  11. ↑ "Captain Virender Kumar Yadav". Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  12. ↑ "Gazette of India, No 17, page 379" (PDF). 27 April 1991. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  13. ↑ "Lieutenant Abhay Pareek". 10 June 2002. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  14. ↑ "Army captain's death in Rajouri leaves family shattered". 2 August 2002. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  15. ↑ "COAS Commendation Card" (PDF). 15 January 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
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