166 Medium Regiment (India)

166 Medium Regiment
Active1963 – present
CountryIndia India
AllegianceIndia
Branch Indian Army
Type Artillery
SizeRegiment
Nickname(s)One Double Six
Motto(s)SARVATRA, IZZAT-O-IQBAL “Everywhere With Honour and Glory”.
Colors"Red & Navy Blue"
DecorationsAti Vishisht Seva Medal 1
Vir Chakra 2
Shaurya Chakra 1
Vishisht Seva Medal 1
Mention in Despatches 7
COAS Commendation Card 7
GOC-in-C Commendation Card 21
Arjuna Award 1.[1]
Insignia
Abbreviation166 Med Regt

166 Medium Regiment is an artillery regiment which is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.

Formation

The regiment was raised as a 166 Field Regiment on November 1, 1963 at Jalandhar Cantonment. The first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel (later Major General) Rajeshwar Singh.[2]

Class composition

The unit is a single class composition regiment composed entirely of Sikh gunners.

History

The regiment was the first unit to be equipped with the Indian Field Gun. It saw action in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. It participated in Operation Parakram (2002) and Operation Meghdoot in 2007.[1]

Nagrota Attack
On 29th November 2016, two officers and five soldiers were killed and half a dozen others wounded in a fierce gun battle with a group of heavily armed militants which stormed the Army camp housing the regiment at Nagrota.[3] Among the martyred was Major Gosavi Kunal Mannadir, who was subsequently awarded the Shaurya Chakra.[4]

Operations

Some of the major operations undertaken by the regiment include:[1]

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
As 166 Field Regiment, the regiment provided fire power as part of the XI Corps in the Battle of Chawinda and the Battle of Alhar.[5][6][7] Lt Col (later Maj Gen) Rajeshwar Singh was awarded the 'COAS Commendation Card’ and 5 gunners were Mentioned in Despatches.
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The 166 Field Regiment under “F” Sector took part in the defense of Fazilka.[8][9] Lt Col Narinder Singh Rawat[10] and Gnr Ajit Singh[11] were awarded the Vir Chakra.[12] Capt RS Sodhi and LNk Prakash Singh were Mentioned in Despatches.

Achievements

Subedar Hardeep Singh was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1992 for Kabbadi,[13] he represented India in the International Kabaddi Tournament in 1984 and 1990, 3rd SAF Games in 1997 and the Asian Games in 1990. His team won Gold in all these events.

Motto

The motto of the regiment is हर मैदान फतेह (Har Maidan Fateh), which translates to Victory in every field.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "166 Medium Regiment-Indian Army Postal Cover (APO)". Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  2. ^ "Sainik Samachar Dec 2010". Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  3. ^ "First post article 'Nagrota attack: Hostage-like situation averted but Army loses 7 soldiers, including two officers'". 2016-11-29. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  4. ^ "GK Mannadir SC at gallantryawards.gov.in". Archived from the original on 2019-07-13. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  5. ^ Deva, Yashwant (2015). The saga of grit and cold courage : tribute to the fighters of 35 Infantry Brigade in 1965 War : first hand account. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, India. p. 2, 14, 25, 26, 36, 39, 40.
  6. ^ Singh, Harbaksh (2012). War Despatches: Indo-Pak Conflict 1965. Lancer Publishers LLC. ISBN 978-8170621171.
  7. ^ "166 Medium in the battle of Alhar". Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  8. ^ Singh, Jagjit (1994). Indian Gunners at War: The Western Front 1971. Spantech & Lancer. ISBN 978-1897829554.
  9. ^ Praval, KC (2009). Indian Army After Independence. Lancer Publishers. ISBN 978-1935501107.
  10. ^ "NS Rawat VrC at gallantryawards.gov.in". Archived from the original on 2019-07-20. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  11. ^ "Ajit Singh VrC at gallantryawards.gov.in". Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  12. ^ "NS Rawat VrC and Ajit Singh VrC Gazette notification" (PDF). 1972-08-19. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  13. ^ "Arjuna Awardees from Kabaddi". Archived from the original on 2020-07-01. Retrieved 2020-09-13.