[28][29] In the African and Middle East campaigns, captured Indian troops were given a choice to join the German Army, to eventually "liberate" India from Britain, instead of being sent to POW camps.

With effect from 26 January 1950, the date India became a republic, all active-duty Indian Army officers formerly holding the King's Commission were recommissioned and confirmed in their substantive ranks.

As a result, Pakistan invaded Kashmir on 22 October 1947, causing Maharaja Hari Singh to look to India, specifically to Lord Mountbatten of Burma, the governor-general, for help.

[citation needed] An uneasy peace, sponsored by the UN, returned by the end of 1948, with Indian and Pakistani soldiers facing each other across the Line of Control, which has since divided Indian-held Kashmir from that part held by Pakistan.

Major General Joyanto Nath Chaudhuri, who led the operation, and accepted the surrender of the Nizam's forces on 18 September 1948, was appointed the military governor of Hyderabad, to restore law and order, and served until 1949.

Small-scale clashes between Indian and Chinese forces broke out as India insisted on the disputed McMahon Line being regarded as the international border between the two countries.

[43] In 1962, the Indian Army was ordered to move to the Thag La ridge, located near the border between Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh and about 5 kilometres (3 miles) north of the disputed McMahon Line.

Meanwhile, Chinese troops had also made incursions into Indian-held territory, and tensions between the two reached a new high when Indian forces discovered the road constructed by China in Aksai Chin.

This move by China caught India by surprise, and on 12 October Nehru gave orders for the Chinese to be expelled from Aksai Chin.

On 20 October, Chinese soldiers attacked India from both the northwest and northeast; and captured large portions of Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh.

India had its largest haul of Pakistani tanks when an offensive by Pakistan's 1st Armoured Division was blunted at the Battle of Asal Uttar, which took place on 10 September near Khemkaran.

[54] The 1967 Sino-Indian skirmish, also known as the Cho La incident, was a military conflict between Indian troops and members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army who, on 1 October 1967, invaded Sikkim, which was then a protectorate of India.

Defence minister Sardar Swaran Singh assured the Indian people that the government was taking care of developments along the border.

In early 1971, India declared its full support for the Bengali freedom fighters, known as Mukti Bahini, and Indian agents were extensively involved in covert operations to aid them.

[citation needed] On 20 November 1971, the Indian Army moved 14 Punjab Battalion of the 45th Cavalry regiment, into Garibpur, a strategically important town in East Pakistan, near India's border, and successfully captured it.

[61] India's massive early gains were attributed largely to the speed and flexibility with which Indian armoured divisions moved across East Pakistan.

[64] In 1972, the Simla Agreement was signed between the two countries, although subsequent incidences of heightened tensions have resulted in continued military vigilance on both sides.

[69][70] The highest peak in the Siachen Glacier region, Saltoro Kangri, could be viewed as strategically important for India because of its height, which would enable Indian forces to monitor Pakistani or Chinese movements in the area.

The army, along with some paramilitary forces, has the prime responsibility of maintaining law and order in the troubled Jammu and Kashmir region, under Northern Command.

From their observation posts, the Pakistani forces had a clear line-of-sight to lay down indirect artillery fire on NH 1A, inflicting heavy casualties on the Indians.

The Indian Army mounted some direct frontal ground assaults, which were slow and took a heavy toll, given the steep ascents that had to be made on peaks as high as 5,500 m (18,000 ft).

[87] On 29 September 2016, the India Army announced that it conducted "surgical strikes" against militant launch pads across the Line of Control, in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, and inflicted "significant casualties".

The theme of the exercise is to conduct joint platoon-level counter-insurgency operations in high-altitude mountainous terrain under the UN Charter, thus emphasising the shared concerns of both countries regarding global terrorism.

An added aim of the exercise is to qualitatively enhance knowledge of each other's military procedures, thus increasing the scope for interoperability and the ability to respond to a common threat.

The twelve-day exercise with the French Army is scheduled to be conducted in multiple modules in order to achieve complete integration between the two contingents at every stage.

As an integral part of nearly all combat operations conducted by the Indian Army, the Regiment of Artillery has a history of being a major contributor to its military success.

[176][177] The new camouflage pattern retains the mix of colours including olive green and earthen, and has been designed keeping in mind aspects like areas of deployment of the troops and climatic conditions they operate in.

The modern Indian Army wears distinctive parade uniforms characterised by variegated turbans and waist-sashes in regimental colours.

The Indian army had projected a requirement for a helicopter that can carry loads of up to 750 kilograms (1,650 lb) to heights of 7,000 m (23,000 ft) on the Siachen Glacier in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indian Army will induct the HAL Light Utility Helicopter to replace its ageing fleet of Chetaks and Cheetahs, some of which were deployed more than three decades ago.