Mountain Strike Corps

[LETHALFORCE]

India Boosts Its Border Military Forces

New Delhi approved the creation of a Mountain Strike Corps, which will strengthen India's strategic military position along its contentious border with China.

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India Boosts Its Border Military Forces​

The Indian Cabinet Committee on Security on July 17 approved the creation of a Mountain Strike Corps, which will strengthen India's strategic military position along the Line of Actual Control, its effective border with China. The corps will consist of more than 40,000 troops and will be focused on the Indian northeast, where Arunachal Pradesh — most of which the Chinese claim as part of Tibet — is located. Furthermore, India plans to continue augmenting its forces along the length of the Line of Actual Control with a number of other smaller formations.

In addition to the strike corps, India also plans to raise two new armored brigades for the Line of Actual Control. The independent armored brigades will play a critical role in enabling India, for the first time, to maintain considerable offensive capabilities in the border region. One armored brigade is to be deployed with the Ladakh-based 14th Corps to cover the flat approaches from Tibet toward Chushul, while the other will enhance the strike corps' offensive punch in northeastern India, where it will be based in the Siliguri corridor in Bengal. Still, absent significant infrastructure that will allow for logistical support of the heavy brigades, the new forces will ultimately be more of a burden than an asset.

The creation of the Mountain Strike Corps will bring the number of strike corps in the Indian army order of battle to four. The three other strike corps already in service are oriented toward Pakistan. However, considering the increasingly favorable conventional balance of power with Pakistan, alleged Chinese provocations along the border and an ever more worrisome Chinese military buildup in the Tibet Autonomous Region, India is steadily shifting more of its focus toward the contentious border.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Amid China stand-off, Mountain Strike Corps to get its own artillery brigade

Work has already begun on raising the new artillery brigade, which will see larger deployment of the Ultra Light Howitzers besides other guns.

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Amid China stand-off, Mountain Strike Corps to get its own artillery brigade

 

[sidmoh]

72nd Division part of Mountain Strike Corps is going to be raised in Ladakh.

Cleared in 2017 for Mountain Strike Corps, 72 Division now being raised in Ladakh. Here’s why​

The Indian Army is rejigging its formations internally and raising a new 72 Infantry Division, which will operate under the Leh-based 14 Corps, reinforcing security in Eastern Ladakh.
Originally approved in 2017 for the 17 Mountain Strike Corps (MSC), the division was initially planned to be based in Pathankot, focusing on operations in Eastern Ladakh.

However, following the 2020 standoff with China, the Indian Army made significant changes to its operational strategies, leading to the new positioning of the division.
Sources within India’s defence establishment told ThePrint that the Army had initially received clearance to raise the 72 Division for the 17 MSC, which at the time only had the 59 Division.
“The 72 Division was originally meant to be under the Mountain Strike Corps but based in Pathankot for operations in Eastern Ladakh while 59 Division would have taken care of the areas under Eastern Command, one source told ThePrint.”

However, in response to the growing tensions with China, operational plans were modified, including shifting focus towards strengthening forces in the northern borders. As a result, the 72nd Infantry Division has been placed under the Northern Command.

Sources said the headquarters is being raised first, which will have 25 officers, 30 Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and 112 jawans. They clarified that this is not a new raising in terms of increasing manpower.

The changes began after the clash with China in the Galwan Valley in 2020, when the Army took several key steps to enhance its defense capabilities along the China border.

A significant decision during this period involved reorienting the Mathura-based 1 Strike Corps, originally designated for Pakistan-centric operations, to focus on China. This move, first reported by ThePrint in 2021, reflected the heightened security concerns in the region.

In line with these adjustments, the Uniform Force (Division level), initially stationed in Reasi in the Jammu Sector, was moved to Eastern Ladakh to take charge of the critical areas in and around the Galwan Valley.

While this redeployment strengthened India’s position in Ladakh, it also led to a weakening of security in Jammu, leaving the region vulnerable to increased terrorist activity from Pakistan-based groups.

This rise in terrorism prompted the Army to redeploy forces from other regions to Jammu to counter these security threats.
This is when a decision was taken to actually shift the 72 Division from the MSC to the 14 Corps for which fresh permissions were sought and given.
These were all part of the changes made to the Order of the Battle, known as ORBAT, under which an existing Division was attached to the Mountain Strike Corps.
"The 72 Division will continue to be northern border focused but will now operate under Northern Command,” the source quoted above further said, adding that the ORBAT changes include the transfer of a Division to the 17 MSC.
Once the 72 Division is fully raised and operational, the process which is on, the Uniform Force will be redeployed back to Jammu and Kashmir to bolster security there.

Cleared in 2017 for Mountain Strike Corps, 72 Division now being raised in Ladakh. Here's why

Army initially got clearance for raising the division in 2017 for 17 Mountain Strike Corps, which then only had the 51 Division. But plans were tweaked post-2020 stand-off with China.

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