history of pak army

Corps[edit]

A corps is an Army field formation responsible for a zone within a command theatre. There are three types of corps in the Pakistani Army: Strike, Holding and Mixed. A command generally consists of two or more corps. A corps has Army divisions under its command. The Corps HQ is the highest field formation in the army.

There are 13 Corps in Pakistan Army, split between Combat and Services Arms. The Combat Arms are composed of a mix of Infantry, Mechanized, Armored and Artillery Divisions, while the Air Defense, Aviation and Strategic Forces Commands are organized as separate corps. The Strategic Forces Command is responsible for training, deployment and activation of Pakistan's nuclear missiles. The last Corps is called the Force Command Northern Area (FCNA) which is Headquartered at Gilgit and is reported to have 5 Infantry Brigades.^{[50][51][52][53][54][55]}

Forces in action or poised for action include XI Corps, which has been heavily engaged in fighting the Taliban and other extremists along Pakistan's north-western border, and the 323rd Infantry Brigade, part of Forces Command Northern Areas, on the Siachen Glacier.

The peace time commands are given below in their correct order of raising, and location (city).

Headquarters, Pakistani Army, Rawalpindi, Punjab  I Corps – headquartered at Mangla Cantonment  6th Armoured Division headquartered at Gujranwala 17th Infantry Division headquartered at Kharian 37th Infantry Division headquartered at Kharian 11th Independent Armoured Brigade Independent Air Defence Brigade Independent Artillery Brigade Independent Infantry Brigade  II Corps – headquartered at Multan 1st Armoured Division headquartered at Multan 14th Infantry Division headquartered at Okara 40th Infantry Division headquartered at Okara Independent Armoured Brigade Independent Air Defence Brigade Independent Artillery Brigade Independent Infantry Brigade IV Corps – headquartered at Lahore 2nd Artillery Division headquartered at Gujranwala 10th Infantry Division headquartered at Lahore 11th Infantry Division headquartered at Lahore 3rd Independent Armoured Brigade 212th Infantry Brigade Independent Artillery Brigade  XXX Corps – headquartered at Gujranwala 8th Infantry Division headquartered at Sialkot 15th Infantry Division headquartered at Sialkot 2nd Independent Armoured Brigade Independent Anti-Tank Brigade Independent Artillery Brigade XXXI Corps – headquartered at Bahawalpur 26th Mechanized Division headquartered at Bahawalpur[56] 35th Infantry Division headquartered at Bahawalpur 13th Independent Armoured Brigade 101st Independent Infantry Brigade

V Corps – headquartered at Karachi 16th Infantry Division headquartered at Pano Aqil 18th Infantry Division headquartered at Hyderabad 25th Mechanized Division headquartered at Malir[56] 31st Mechanized Brigade headquartered at Malir 2nd Armoured Brigade headquartered at Malir Independent Armoured Brigade Independent Artillery Brigade  X Corps – headquartered at Rawalpindi 12th Infantry Division headquartered at Murree 19th Infantry Division headquartered at Mangla 23rd Infantry Division headquartered at Jhelum Force Command Northern Areas – headquartered at Gilgit 111th Infantry Brigade headquartered at Rawalpindi 8th Armoured Brigade headquartered at Kharian Independent Artillery Brigade  XI Corps – headquartered at Peshawar 7th Infantry Division headquartered at Peshawar 9th Infantry Division headquartered at Kohat Independent Armoured Brigade headquartered at Nowshera XII Corps – headquartered at Quetta 33rd Infantry Division headquartered at Quetta 41st Infantry Division headquartered at Quetta Independent Infantry Brigade headquartered at Turbat Independent Armoured Brigade headquartered at Khuzdar Artillery Division headquarters at Pano Aqil Army Air Defence Command – headquartered at Rawalpindi 3rd Air Defence Division headquartered at Sargodha 4th Air Defence Division headquartered at Malir Army Strategic Forces Command – headquartered at Rawalpindi 21st Division headquartered at Pano Aqil 22nd Division headquartered at Sargodha

Pakistan Army Structure 2013

Other field formations[edit]

• Division: An Army Division is an intermediate between a Corps and a Brigade. It is the largest striking force in the army. Each Division is headed by General Officer Commanding (GOC) in the rank of Major General. It usually consists of 15,000 combat troops and 8,000 support elements. Currently, the Pakistani Army has 29 Divisions including 20 Infantry Divisions, 2 Armoured Divisions, 2 Mechanized Divisions, 2 Air Defence Divisions, 2 Strategic Divisions and 1 Artillery Division. Each Division composes of several Brigades.
• Brigade: A Brigade generally consists of around 3,000 combat troops with supporting elements. An Infantry Brigade usually has 3 Infantry Battalions along with various Support Arms & Services. It is headed by a Brigadier, equivalent to a Brigadier General in some armies. In addition to the Brigades in various Army Divisions, the Pakistani Army also has 7 Independent Armoured Brigades, 5 Independent Artillery Brigades, 3 Independent Infantry Brigades, and 3 Anti-Tank Brigades. These Independent Brigades operate directly under the Corps Commander (GOC Corps).
• Regiment: A regiment is commanded by a Colonel.
• Battalion: A Battalion is commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel and is the Infantry's main fighting unit. It consists of more than 900 combat personnel.
• Company: Headed by the Major/Captain, a Company comprises about 120–150 soldiers.
• Platoon: An intermediate between a Company and Section, a Platoon is headed by a Lieutenant or depending on the availability of Commissioned Officers, a Junior Commissioned Officer, with the rank of Subedar or Naib-Subedar. It has a total strength of about 30–36 troops.
• Section: Smallest military outfit with a strength of about 9–13 personnel. Commanded by a Non-commissioned officer of the rank of Havildar Major or Sergeant Major.