9. The Officer Corps and the Training of the Indian Army with Special Reference to Lieutenant-General Francis Tuker

Abstract

This chapter looks at the restructuring of officer training during the Second World War through the experience of both Indian and British officers and the contribution of the officer corps towards the evolution of operational doctrine and training in the Indian Army during the war. It demonstrates how the army learnt operational lessons and turned them into effective training across the different theatres. The Indian Army in the interwar period had two main roles of internal security and policing the frontiers known as 'Watch and Ward'. The chapter discusses a case study of Lieutenant-General Sir Francis 'Gertie' Tuker's contribution to training the Indian Army from 1939 until 1945. The Indian Army was now a well-trained army capable of dealing with almost any tactical situation officered by a large number of Indian officers that went on to form the foundations of the modern Indian Army. Keywords:Indian Army; Lieutenant-General Francis Tuker; officer corps; officer training; Second world war