Premindra Singh Bhagat

On 23 September 1940, Bhagat's company was sent to East Africa, as part of the 10th Indian Infantry Brigade, 5th Indian Division, Sudan Defence Force under the overall command of Lieutenant General William Platt. The 10th Infantry Brigade was commanded by Brigadier William Slim, MC (later Field Marshal the Viscount Slim). On 6 November, Slim launched an attack on the fort of Gallabat, with the assault spearheaded by the 3rd Royal Garhwal Rifles, under Lieutenant-Colonel S.E. Taylor. Gallabat was captured, but an enemy counterattack forced the brigade to withdraw. The Sappers were tasked with obstructing the enemy to prevent them from following too closely. At one stage, two broken-down tanks were filled with explosives and placed on a culvert to collapse it and halt the enemy. The charges were detonated, but one tank failed to explode, and the culvert did not collapse. With the enemy closing in, Bhagat dashed out from under cover and, with bullets flying all around him, detonated the remaining explosives and collapsed the culvert.[1]^: 268 For his heroism, he was recommended for a Military Cross, but it was downgraded to a mentioned in dispatches.[3] After the brigade was relieved by 9th Indian Infantry Brigade in mid-November, it readied for the Battle of Keren.

On 31 January 1941, a mobile column of 3/12 Royal Frontier Force Rifles, including a detachment of 21 Field Company under Second Lieutenant Bhagat, was sent on a reconnaissance mission towards Metemma. Bhagat's Bren carrier passed through a heavily-mined stretch of road and detonated two mines, the second of which destroyed the carrier and killed the driver and a sapper. Bhagat then continued in another carrier and defused mines by hand as the column moved down the road. Under close enemy fire and without food or rest, he worked for four days, clearing a total of 15 minefields over a distance of 55 miles.[1]^: 286 After having another Bren carrier blown up under him on 2 February, which resulted in punctured eardrums, he was relieved of further duties and evacuated to Khartoum for treatment. He was decorated with the Victoria Cross later that month and presented with the ribbon by General Wavell (later Field Marshal the Earl Wavell), the Commander-in-Chief, India in June at Asmara and formally invested with the decoration by the Governor-General of India, Lord Linlithgow, at Viceroy's House in Delhi on 10 November.[1]

At 22, the Second Lieutenant (King's Commissioned Indian Officer) in the Corps of Indian Engineers, Indian Army, attd. Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross:

War Office, 10th June, 1941

His Majesty The KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned officer: —

Second-Lieutenant Premindra Singh Bhagat, Corps of Indian Engineers (serving with Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners).

For most conspicuous gallantry on active service in the Middle East. During the pursuit of the enemy following the capture of Metemma on the night 31 January – 1 February 1941, Second-Lieutenant Bhagat was in command of a section of a Field Company, Sappers and Miners, detailed to accompany the leading mobile troops (Bren Carriers) to clear the road and adjacent areas of mines. For a period of four days and over a distance of 55 miles this officer in the leading carrier led the Column. During this period, he himself detected and personally supervised the clearing of no less than 15 minefields of varying dimensions. Speed being essential, he worked at high pressure from dawn to dusk each day. On two occasions when his carrier was blown up with casualties to others, and on a third occasion when ambushed and under close enemy fire he himself carried straight on with his task. He refused relief when worn out with strain and fatigue and with one eardrum punctured by an explosion, on the grounds that he was now better qualified to continue his task to the end.

His coolness, persistence over a period of 96 hours, and gallantry, not only in battle, but throughout the long period when the safety of the Column and the speed at which it could advance were dependent on his personal efforts, were of the highest order. — London Gazette: 10 June 1941[4][5]

On 24 February 1942 in Pune, Bhagat married Mohini Bhandari (b. 1923), the daughter of a colonel in the Indian Army Medical Corps. He spent the remainder of the war away from the front, first as a successful recruiting officer for the Bombay Sappers and then as the commanding officer of 484 Field Company. In mid-1943, the unit was posted to Chhindwara in the Central Provinces for training in jungle warfare for the war in Burma. In January 1945, Bhagat was nominated to attend a course at Camberley Staff College and became one of the first two Indian officers to attend Staff College in the United Kingdom. At the end of the war in August 1945, Bhagat returned to India and attended a course at the School of Military Engineering at Roorkee. He then returned to England in June 1946 to complete a further engineering course and was promoted to substantive captain on 1 July 1946,[6] returning to India in June 1947.[1] Bhagat was the highest decorated officer in the Indian Army at Indian independence.[7]

Promoted acting major-general on 14 May 1963, he was appointed Chief of Staff (COS) for Eastern Command.[14] He was appointed GOC of a mountain division on 18 September 1964,[15] and promoted to major-general in 1965. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general op on 19 May 1967,[16] and subsequently took over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Central Command on 4 August 1970.[17] In June 1972, he became the first GOC-in-C of the re-established Northern Command, in Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir.[1]^: 286 He was also awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM).

In January 1973, the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw was to relinquish office. Although Manekshaw's choice of successor was Lieutenant General Bhagat, however, Lt General Bewoor was senior to Bhagat, but Bhagat could still conceivably become army chief when Bewoor was to retire on his 58th birthday. But, the Government extended Bewoor's tenure by nine months to give him a full two years on the job. By many that was construed as a deliberate manipulation to deny Bhagat the position of COAS. That decision resulted effectively to end Bhagat's army career, as he retired naturally a few months later. Bhagat was a strong General who was also very popular in the army.[18]