#Indian Military

[greatworldwar2]

• Battle of Damascus

The Battle of Damascus was a battle between Allied Forced and Vichy French forced and was the final action of the Allied advance on Damascus in Syria during the Syria–Lebanon campaign in World War II.

On June 8th, 1941, troops of the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade Group had crossed the Syrian border from the British Mandate of Palestine to take Quneitra and Deraa with the objective of opening the way for the forces of the 1st Free French Division to advance along the roads from these towns to Damascus. This was one of four attacks planned for the campaign by the Allied commander, General Sir Henry Wilson. Gentforce had been under the temporary command of the commander of the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade, Brigadier Wilfrid Lloyd, since 12 June when Legentilhomme had been wounded. The plan called for the troops of 5th Indian Brigade to advance northwards from their positions at Artouz on the Quneitra–Damascus road across country west of the road towards Mezzeh. Mezzeh was a large village on a junction with the Beirut to Damascus road, some three miles west of Damascus itself. The brigade's supplies, ammunition and the anti-tank element would follow closely behind on the road proper. Meanwhile, the Free French forces would advance along the Kissoué – Damascus road to capture Qadim as a preliminary to entering the Syrian capital, some four miles further north. On June 18th, the Indian troops set out and skirmished their way north. They reached Mezzeh at 04:15. By 05:30, after an hour of fierce hand-to-hand fighting, Mezzeh was captured. However, there was a major problem: the equipment and anti-tank guns travelling up the main road had earlier got ahead of the infantry and run into a Vichy roadblock where most of the vehicles were knocked out. Furthermore, the planned advance by the Free French to Qadim had been delayed, allowing the Vichy defenders to concentrate on the Mezzeh action, putting intense pressure on the Allied position whilst thwarting any attempt to relieve them and bring in vitally needed anti-tank weapons.

On June 19th, Major General John Evetts, commander of the British 6th Infantry Division, arrived to relieve Lloyd and take control of the Allied forces east of Merdjayoun. With the losses suffered by the Indian brigade, he requested that the British 16th Infantry Brigade be detached from the 7th Australian Division and sent to his sector. Three Australian battalions were also detached to Evetts' command: the 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion and the 2/3rd and 2/5th Infantry Battalions. By nightfall on 19 June, the Allied position at Mezzeh was desperate. Ammunition was running low, no food had been eaten for 24 hours, casualties were severe, and medical supplies were exhausted. During the night (when Vichy attacks were suspended), three men managed to reach Gentforce headquarters with the news of the position in Mezzeh. Early on June 20th, Brigadier Lloyd, having handed over to Evetts, resumed command of the 5th Indian Brigade and sent a force comprising two companies from the 3/1st Punjab Regiment, two companies of French Marines and a battery of artillery to fight its way through to Mezzeh. But they could not blast a way through and they progressed only slowly against determined opposition from French tanks. A Free French attack on Qadim the previous night had failed expensively, so that they were unable to exert pressure on Qadim that morning to draw Vichy forces away from Mezzeh. That night, however, the Free French with support from British anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns and an Australian machine-gun battalion, advanced against light Vichy defences and captured Qadim by the morning of the 21st.

Throughout the evening of June 20-21st, the Australians fought several actions, attacking a series of stone forts overlooking the Mezzeh and the Quneitra road. Elsewhere, a company of Australians attempted to move around the left flank of the Vichy defenders to cut the road running north-west to Beirut and establish a road block in the Barada Gorge. A see-sawing action took place amongst the forts, during which a force of 59 Australians was briefly captured, before a counter-attack early on June 21st freed them and retook the forts. Meanwhile, a 12-hour defensive action held the Barada Gorge to the west, turning back several French attacks that included tanks and armoured cars. During the morning of June 21st, the Australians consolidated their positions around the forts, and in the Barada Gorge and around 11:00, the Vichy French garrison in Damascus surrendered. By noon, the Allied forces were in Damascus and the Vichy forces were retreating west along the Beirut road. With the fall of Damascus, Gentforce accomplished its primary goal. Elsewhere, fighting around Merdjayoun continued until June 24th, when Allied forces eventually captured the town. The fighting between the Vichy forces and the Allies continued throughout the month. Further actions included fighting around Damour and the capture of Beirut.

[thebaffledcaptain]

Kanhoji Angre: the 18th-Century Maratha Admiral, Pseudo-Pirate, and All-Around Badass

So this post got more notes than I expected it to, so I figure I may as well follow through on my promise to make a post about him! You want to know about the aforementioned badass 18th-century Maratha navy admiral and pseudo-pirate who repeatedly fended off Western invasion in India? Then you shall. I wrote a paper about this guy, so here we go.

Let me introduce you to Kanhoji Angre. Information is scant on his early life and career—sources tend to disagree about his true origins and we don’t know a lot about his family status, but modern historians tend to trace his lineage to Tukoji Angre, his father, who distinguished himself in the early Maratha navy. We know Kanhoji was descended from a long line of Maratha mariners, which meant he fought in a number of naval raids and became acquainted with naval tactics as he grew up. As an adult, he began hiring out his own fleet to the Maratha navy itself, which, at the time, consisted only of numerous small ships and sought Angre’s heavier armament, which would become essentially the centerpiece of the naval force. In a sense he single-handedly built the Maratha navy into quite a formidable force, becoming Sarkhel, or admiral in 1698, and establishing numerous insurmountable forts along the coast.

Of course, the turn of the 18th century also coincided with growing European colonial intentions in India, and Angre’s presence is well-documented in East India Company records as a nuisance, a pirate, and a warlord in different capacities. To the English, he was a formidable pirate, a scourge to European ships on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent, and a menace to the Company, who suffered significant losses at his hand. Their interactions would eventually escalate into full-on military altercations, and the Company would go as far as to seek allyship with the Portuguese and the Viceroy of Goa, but Angre would remain undefeated throughout his lifetime, which consisted of many other interactions with various Western powers. He was arguably the most powerful maritime figure on the Indian coast by the time he died, but the European primary sources tend to play that down as far as they can for obvious reasons.

But I know you’re wondering—was he, then, a pirate? Well, it depends on who you ask. While Kanhoji Angre did, in certain ways, engage in actions that could be considered piracy from an English perspective, he still operated by a clear code of conduct. One account from 1716 tells of an interaction during which Angre detained an East India Company ship to determine whether they had a pass from the governor of Bombay, with whom he was bound to a nonaggression agreement, but otherwise did them no harm when he discovered they did. On the other hand, that same account quickly makes sure to mention how Angre would pursue vessels from Madras and Calcutta, the governments of which he had no agreements with. In the words of Patricia Risso in her excellent article about the topic, Angre “did not share the English legal definition of maritime violence,” which led to the inevitable branding of him as a pirate by the British, despite the fact that he did operate legally in accordance with those with whom he had such legal agreements. Whether this makes him a pirate or not is ultimately a matter of perspective, but in my humble opinion it certainly does not make him less cool.

Regardless of his status as a pirate or a military leader, Kanhoji Angre is a fascinating, highly overlooked, and pretty damn awesome figure in maritime history, and it’s a shame we don’t have more information on him. If you’re interested in more of the primary source material, I’d recommend checking out Clement Downing’s A Compendious History of the Indian Wars: With an Account of the Rise, Progress, Strength, and Forces of Angria the Pyrate, published in 1737 (free on Google Books!), for one such English perspective, which is the source I based my initial paper on. This is mostly my excuse to infodump about a guy I think history Tumblr would love, and who stands to be appreciated more for being an interesting dude and an all-around badass.

[masonjarhead]

[manasastuff-blog]

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[defencestar]

Theatre Commands: India Parliament's lower house clears Inter-Services Organisation Bill

Theatre Commands: India Parliament's lower house clears Inter-Services Organisation Bill #India #defence #defense #military #army #navy #airforce #defencenews #news #defenceblog #ISOBill2023 #LokSabha #RajyaSabha #Law

ISO Bill 2023 for Theatre Commands: The lower house of Indian Parliament, the Lok Sabha, Friday cleared the Inter-Services Organisation (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023 that seeks to empower the Commander-in-Chief and Officer-in Command of Inter-Services Organisations with all disciplinary and administrative powers with respect to personnel serving in or attached to such…

[theworldofwars]

Officers of the 2nd Kings Shropshire Light Infantry with skulls excavated during the construction of trenches and dugouts at the ancient Greek site of Amphipolis, 1916.

[bantarleton]

The Battle of Bushy Run by Robert Griffing.

On August 5 1763, near the Bushy Run Way Station, Henry Bouquet and his 400 men, many of them Scottish highlanders, were ambushed in the wilderness by various Native American tribes including the Delaware, Shawnee, Mingo, Wyandot, Miami, Ottawa, and Mohicans. The first day of the battle ended in a decisive victory for the Native American tribes, but on August 6, Bouquet devised a strategic plan that led to a British victory. Following the Battle of Bushy Run, Bouquet went on to provide successful assistance to the besieged Fort Pitt. From the Bushy Run Battlefield Museum.

[nocternalrandomness]

IAF arriving at RAF Waddington in an IL-78 for Cobra Warrior '23

[mapsontheweb]

Power balance in the Indian Ocean

[nando161mando]

This is about 0.2% of the military aid given to Israel in the last 1 week.

[science70]

Indian Navy aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, 1971.

[manasastuff-blog]

"Kargil Vijay Diwas" #trending#viral

Kargil Vijay Diwas Importance: Uncover the Heroic History! On this special day, we commemorate the bravery and sacrifice of our soldiers who fought valiantly in the Kargil War. dive deep into the significance of Kargil Vijay Diwas, shedding light on the strategic victories and the heroic tales that continue to inspire generations. Join us as we explore the pivotal moments of the war, the soldiers' stories, and the lasting impact on our nation's history and pride. you will gain a comprehensive understanding of why Kargil Vijay Diwas holds a special place in every Indian's heart.

Call: 7799799221

Website: www.manasadefenceacademy.com

#KargilVijayDiwas#HeroicHistory#IndianArmy#Patriotism#BraveSoldiers#KargilWar#NationalPride#TributeToHeroes#IndianHeroes#VictoryDay#trending#viral#manasadefenceacademy

[indian-kahani]

Desi LGBT+ Fest 2023

@desi-lgbt-fest

Day 2: Legacy

All her life, Durga had been told that she was a good daughter.

All through school, she had been called a ‘pleasure to teach’. Students regarded her with wary awe: she was the good girl, who did her homework and listened to the teacher and never, ever stepped a foot out of line.

All my life, her father had told her, “Beti, you have to be a good girl. Strike that – you have to be the best. There are many eyes watching us.”

He was right, of course. He was a major army lieutenant – Arjit Sindh, a household name for his medals and bravery. Ever since Durga was a child, she had watched him salute the tricolour every morning, watched his juniors (and god, there were lots of them) salute to him.

While others dreamed of being artists and musicians, she dreamed of her first day holding a rifle.

While others looked up to Abdul Kalam or Lata Mangeshkar, her walls were covered in photos of Gunjan Saxena, Vikram Batra, everyone who had ever won the Param Vir chakra.

She had a legacy to inherit, a place to fill.  

Her dreams may have been out of place, but they were in vivid technicolour none the less. She faced up to her dream with a steady heart.

Her father approved, and watched from a distance as the Indian Army became entrenched deep inside her heart.

She had always followed in his footsteps. The golden girl she might have been, but she was a golden girl you shouldn’t mess with. She had always been raised to be a loyal servant of the army, the loyal servant of her country.

As her father's daughter, she was proud to uphold his legacy.

Karate, Jiu Jitsu, yoga, junior boot camp. Durga was signed up for all of it, and every summer she trained without fail.

On her eighteenth birthday, she joined the army. What else could she do? I mean, it had been her dream for as long as she could remember. She hit it out of the park. She had been training to assemble a gun since she was sixteen. The other recruits were no match for her.

They were playing for glory (or so she thought).

She was playing for honour.

Or was she?

Durga saw her first at her graduation ceremony.

Her name was before Durga’s.

“Sharma, Saranika!”

Saranika. Such a beautiful name.

All of a sudden, she was reminded of her childhood when her mother sang beautiful Hindustani music. That was what Saranika Sharma's name reminded Durga of.

“Sindh, Durga!”

She snapped out of she reverie, and walked onto the stage, determined to forget the girl with the beautiful name.

-

Months passed. Promotion after promotion came her way. Talent, or nepotism? Who knew? Slowly but surely, she was becoming jaded. Life seemed grey and joyless, and even at the young age of twenty-one, the lines under her eyes were becoming more and more pronounced.

The day was an ordinary one – so mundane that Durga didn’t even read over the details, instead preferring to wing the training exercise. She was assigned two officers to help out. Major Raj Kuldeep and Major Saranika Sharma.

…wait, what?

She re-read the document again, eyes alight. Major Saranika Sharma.

Almost unbidden, her mind flashed back to that day, when she had heard her name but didn’t see her face. Durga’s heart stumbled at just the thought, secretive smile stretching her lips open. It hurt – maybe the first time she had smiled in days, weeks even.

She arrived at the training exercise fifteen minutes early, pretending to be absorbed in the details of the exercise.

An officer arrived, and saluted in front of her. “Ma’am!”

From the evidently male voice, her hopes were dashed already. She looked up. “Major Kuldeep.” She inclined her head in recognition, and the man smiled at her tightly. It was a regulation army smile – deferent and not too intimate.

“I believe Officer Sharma will be arriving in a few minutes, ma’am.” He informed, and she nodded, returning to her papers to hide the thumping of her heart.

Why was I feeling this way? The thought hit her all of a sudden, but she didn’t have time to process it.

She had arrived.

“Ma’am, it’s good to finally meet you.” she deferred from the standard greeting, and she looked up.

She was beautiful. My God, she was beautiful. Her cinnamon skin looked so soft, and Durga fought to tear her eyes off of her prominent collarbones-

Durga’s eyes widened as she hastily raised her eyes to meet her face.

She instantly regretted it. Wide, honest eyes, full lips, and a gorgeously sharp jawline.

Before she could say something she would regret, she greeted her. “Major Sharma, may I ask why?” Hints of curiosity pricked at her. She wanted to unravel every secret of this Saranika’s, big and small.

Saranika met her gaze with the barest hint of a challenge in the way she raised her chin. “Who wouldn’t want to meet the prodigy of the army?” she smiled with a small shrug. Major Kuldeep was watching, slack-jawed, at the casual way Major Sharma was addressing Durga, but the women had only eyes for each other.

“I hardly believe I’m a prodigy.” The words slipped out before Durga could change them, and she disguised the raw honesty in them with a short laugh. “Hard work gets you far, Major Sharma.”

Suddenly, she wanted to get as far away from this enchanting woman as possible. She could feel her back prickle with sweat and she could swear her face was heating up.

“I don’t doubt it, ma’am.” Saranika – no, she was Major Sharma, when had Durga started addressing her so casually? – replied promptly. “Talent can only get you so for before you need more to take you further.”

Durga ended the conversation with a clipped nod, checking the watch on her wrist. “We had best be going.” She turned to Kuldeep, who snapped to attention. “At ease.”

She finished the training in a daze, dismissing the recruits five minutes early with an uneasy frown on her face. Rumours were flying around that the infamous Durga Sindh had something on her mind. She heeded none of it as she headed to the mess hall to eat lunch.

Almost out of instinct, she scanned the hall for Saranika, finally noticing her tucked away in the back of the hall.

She sent her a note to come and eat with her in her office. Saranika arrived five minutes later.

Durga gestured for her to sit down. “I was impressed with your performance in the training exercise today, Major Sharma.” Bullshit. She hadn’t paid attention to even a single second of that training exercise.

Saranika ducked her head shyly, a strand of hair falling forward, and Durga resisted the urge to lean forward and tuck it behind her ear. “Thankyou, ma’am. I appreciate it.”

“Call me Durga. No need for formalities in my office.” She blurted out, cursing herself immediately as the words slipped out. That seemed to happen a lot around her.

Saranika looked up suddenly, startled. “I couldn’t possibly be so… informal, ma’am.” She hesitated.

“I insist.” Durga said.

“Very well, then… Durga-ji.”

-

From then on, it only got better. Lunch turned into days off, days off turned into weekends until finally, Durga worked up the courage.

“I- I wanted- what I meant to say was- the thing is- will you be my girlfriend?”

The sight of her then, with her hair loose and framing her face, was enough for Durga to plant a chaste kiss on the cheek of her girlfriend.

Only one thing was left.

Durga had to tell her father, a strict adherent to tradition and principles, that she was a lesbian.

-

“Papa… I met someone.”

She had phrased it carefully enough, hesitating over each and every word. Her father, aged but no less sharp, looked at her (or through her, it seemed sometimes).

“That’s lovely, beti.” His old face creased in a smile. “Bring him home this weekend, hm?”

There it was. Durga opened her mouth and closed it again, pressing her lips together in shame of her own cowardice. Her father was watching.

“He’s a Hindu, right? Not a Muslim? It’s okay if he is, as long as he’s respectful to you.” Her father tried to reassure her seeing her distress, and tears fell down Durga’s cheeks.

“She’s not a boy!” she burst out all of a sudden, hiding her face in her hands as she heard her father’s small intake of breath. Water dripped from her eyes, wetting her hands and falling in droplets onto the cold marble times.

“Accha, I see.” Her father leaned forward in his chair, wiping Durga’s tears away. “Bring her home this weekend, hm? I hope she’s pretty.”

Durga couldn’t do anything much more than stare. “You’re- you’re okay with this? But people will-”

He let out a deep chuckle. “The world has changed since I was young, Durga.” He smiled down on her fondly. “You young people are teaching us that it is okay to love whoever you love. There are people out there like you and your girlfriend, right?”

Durga nodded, open-mouthed. “But- papa- you- I’m a lesbian.”

He waved her away, a mock frown on his face. “Of course I know that now. I’m not stupid. Bring that girl home on Saturday, and I will see what food we can get for her. Leave it to me.”

Yes, her father followed tradition. Yes, he had his legacy to uphold, and his honour. But he was a man of good sense, and the world was changing after all. Why not see what good it could bring?

---------

Okay so I know nothing about the military, literally nothing so the ranks/greetings/whatever might be off, please suspend disbelief while reading :D and tell me what you think in reblogs/comments!

[barbucomedie]

Jungle Uniform of the 16th Punjab Regiment from the British Empire dated to 1941 on display at the Imperial War Museums North in Manchester, England

This jacket was worn by a Major Adams serving with the 6th Battalion, 16th Punjab Regiment. Raised in 1941, the 6th Battalion later served as a demonstration battalion at the Tactical School at Dehra Dun, but in April 1945 was assigned to the 14th Air Landing Brigade, of the 44th Indian Airborne Division, itself created in April the previous year.

The division never saw action in the way it was purposely created although a composite battalion did parachute into action during Operation Dracula, the capture of Rangoon. Braced for the recapture of Singapore and invasion of Malaya the war abruptly ended but small airborne detachments were later deployed in Japanese-held territories ahead of the main Allied forces, locating and liberating prisoners of war and interned civilians, and providing emergency relief.

Photographs taken by myself 2024

[usa-town-talks]

Britain and Mauritius Reach Sovereignty Agreement on Chagos Islands

Britain announced on Thursday a significant agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. This deal will enable individuals displaced decades ago to return home while allowing London to maintain operational control of the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.

British Foreign Minister David Lammy stated that the agreement ensures the continued operation of Diego Garcia, a strategically important military base jointly managed with the United States. The deal also paves the way for Mauritius to resettle its population on the islands, which were evacuated years ago.

“This government inherited a situation where the long-term, secure operation of the Diego Garcia military base was under threat due to contested sovereignty and ongoing legal challenges,” Lammy said. “Today’s agreement secures this vital military base for the future and strengthens our role in safeguarding global security, while also shutting down any potential use of the Indian Ocean as a dangerous illegal migration route to the UK.”

Britain has maintained control over the region since 1814, having detached the Chagos Islands from Mauritius in 1965. This move was made to establish the British Indian Ocean Territory, and in the early 1970s, nearly 2,000 residents were forcibly relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles to facilitate the construction of the airbase.

In 2019, the World Court ruled that Britain should relinquish control of the islands, condemning the forced removal of the population in the 1970s to accommodate the US airbase.

The recent political agreement between Britain and Mauritius has garnered support from both the United States and India.