44 Field Regiment
Active	1948 – present
Allegiance	India
Branch	Indian Army
Type	Artillery
Size	Regiment
Motto(s)	Sarvatra, Izzat-O-Iqbal (Everywhere with Honour and Glory)
Colors	Red & Navy Blue
Anniversaries	-
Insignia
Abbreviation	44 Fd Regt

44 Field Regiment is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.

Formation and history

The regiment was raised as 44 Anti-Tank Regiment in 1948 with a class composition of South Indian Classes. At raising, the unit was equipped with 6-pounder anti-tank guns.^[1] The regiment has since been converted to a heavy mortar regiment, a light regiment, a medium regiment and is presently a field regiment. The unit consists of 69, 70 and 71 field batteries.^[2]

Operations

The regiment has taken part in the following operations^[2]–

Map of North East Frontier Agency by Verrier Elwin, 1959

• Sino-Indian War of 1962 – The regiment was deployed in North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), (presently Arunachal Pradesh) during the war. The Lohit, Siang and Subansiri Frontier Divisions of NEFA were the responsibility of 5 Infantry Brigade (which was under 4 Infantry Division of IV Corps, located at Tezpur). 44 Heavy Mortar Regiment was deployed in this large area, with their regiment headquarters at Tezpur in support of 5 Infantry Brigade. 69 Heavy Mortar Battery was deployed in Subansiri frontier division at Daporijo and then in Taliha in support of 2 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles. 70 Heavy Mortar Battery was in Siang frontier division at Tuting and Menchuka in support of 2 Madras. 71 Heavy Mortar Battery was in Lohit Frontier Division at Walong in support of 6 Kumaon and later with 4 Sikh. In spite of firing all their mortars, they were overrun by the vastly superior Chinese numbers, ammunition and equipment.^[3][4][5] The regiment lost one officer and four men during the operations.^[6][7]
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 – 44 Light Regiment took part in Operation Ablaze and Operation Riddle. It lost four men during the operations in the Jammu and Kashmir sector.^[8]
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 – During Operation Cactus Lily, 44 Light Regiment was part of 54 Artillery Brigade under 54 Infantry Division in the western sector.^[9] The regiment lost officer and one Junior commissioned officer during the war.^[10]
• Operation Sunflower – 1972
• Operation Blue Star – 1984
• Operation Trident – 1986-1987
• Operation Rakshak – 1995
• Operation Meghdoot – 1995-1997
• Operation Vijay – 1999
• Operation Parakram – 2001-2002
• Operation Falcon and Operation Rhino – 2006-2009 – The regiment was actively involved in counter-terrorism operations in Assam.^{[11][12][13][14]}
• Flood relief operations (2018 Kerala floods) – Columns from the regiment weren't actively involved in rescue efforts during the devastating floods affecting the state of Kerala in 2018.^[15][16]

Equipment

The regiment has used the following weapon systems over the years^[2]–

• 1948 – 6-pounder anti-tank guns
• 1956 – 4.2-inch mortar
• 1963 – 120 mm E1 Mortar
• 1972 – Mortar (type ?)
• 1981 – M-46 130 mm guns
• 2006 – 105 mm light field guns

Gallantry awards

The regiment has won the following gallantry awards–

• Vir Chakra
  • Second Lieutenant (later Brigadier) Pradeep Singh Bhandari^[17]
• Shaurya Chakra
  • Major (now Brigadier) Sukhmeet Singh, while serving with Assam Rifles^[18][19]
• Sena Medal
  • Colonel Zohair Ibn Salma Yazdani^[20][21]

See also

• List of artillery regiments of Indian Army

References