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Indian Army Knowledge: What is the difference between section, platoon, company, battalion and brigade in the army. How is its structure compared to the Indian Army? Who leads it and who has what responsibilities? Read further to know the answers to all these questions…
Indian Army: Sunny Deol’s superhit film ‘Border’, released in 1997, still thrills people. There are two scenes in this film. In the first scene, Major Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri Sunny Deol tells his soldiers, soldiers… the enemy is standing in front… we are 120 and he has an entire tank regiment! After a few moments, the second scene comes. In this scene, the Pakistan Army officer says with surprise – It seems that our intelligence was wrong… Here there is not a company of 120 men, but an entire battalion of 600 men.
| number of soldiers | who leads | officer rank |
| 30-35 | platoon commander | Subedar or Naib Subedar |
The company is an important combat unit of the Indian Army, which is formed by combining three platoons and their support staff. There are approximately 120–150 soldiers in it. It is headed by a Major or sometimes a Captain, who is called the Company Commander. Company level operations involve capturing or defending a village, outpost, post, or any strategic location. The company has its own communication system, weapons, medic and support teams. In war, it is a strong tactical unit, which can accomplish bigger missions than a platoon.
| number of soldiers | who leads | officer rank |
| 120–150 | company commander | Major or Captain |
The battalion is the most important tactical unit of the infantry, consisting of about 800–900 soldiers. It is commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel rank officer, who is called Commanding Officer (CO). There are many companies under the battalion. Apart from these, the battalion also has support units like signals, medical, logistics, mortar platoons and administrative teams. The battalion is considered a complete combat unit, which can independently handle the security of a sector. The battalion plays a major role in border deployment, anti-terrorism operations, war and relief work in natural disasters.
| number of soldiers | who leads | officer rank |
| 800–900 | Commanding Officer (CO) | lieutenant colonel |
A brigade is a group of three battalions, comprising approximately 3,000–3,500 soldiers. It is headed by a Brigadier. Brigades control large areas of land and coordinate army operations in an area. It has its own artillery, engineer, signal and logistics support units. In war, brigades play both offensive or defensive roles and have the ability to act in multiple directions simultaneously. The brigade also handles the operations of border posts, forward posts and high-risk areas.
| number of soldiers | who leads | officer rank |
| 3,000–3,500 | Brigadier | Brigadier |
A division is a large formation of the army, consisting of approximately 15,000–18,000 soldiers. It is headed by a Major General. It includes several brigades, artillery brigades, engineer units, signal units, medical services and other support formations. The objective of the division is to conduct large-scale military operations, such as control over large areas, simultaneous attacks from multiple directions, comprehensive defense arrangements, etc. Strategic war planning is done at the division level. It has complete control over the security and war management of a large sector.
| number of soldiers | who leads | officer rank |
| 15,000–18,000 | General Officer Commanding | Major General |
The Corps is the largest battle formation of the Indian Army, consisting of approximately 40,000–45,000 soldiers. It is headed by a Lieutenant General, who is called the General Officer Commanding (GCO). The corps consists of several divisions, which include infantry, armoured, artillery, engineering formations. The Corps is responsible for strategic military operations in large areas, in-depth attacks, border security and achieving decisive gains.
| number of soldiers | who leads | officer rank |
| 40,000–45,000 | corps commander | Lieutenant General |
There are six operational commands in the Indian Army, which include Northern, Western, Eastern, Southern, South Western, and Central Command. Each command is headed by a Lieutenant General, who is called the Army Commander. The command controls large areas, several corps and their divisions. It directs strategic war planning, deployment, training, logistics and all military operations.
Army Headquarters is the highest headquarters of the Indian Army located in New Delhi. It is headed by the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), who is a four-star general. Vice Chief, many Deputy Chiefs and various military branches work under him. These include operations, intelligence, training, modernization, logistics, personal management branches. Here the direction of the country’s military policy, war plans, arms purchase, modernization and border security is decided. Army Headquarters is the highest operations center of the entire Indian Army.
