Indian Army chief visits Napoleon’s alma mater in France, renews historical military bond

Paris: In the midst of the beautiful layout of Paris sits a grand military institution that produced one of the greatest generals in history, a man who had changed the course of Europe’s history and established France – albeit briefly – as the strongest nation on the continent.

As the War of Austrian Succession drew to a close in 1748, France, which had emerged victorious at a great cost of men and materials, found that the conflict had revealed huge gaps in its military preparedness. Several of the important battles had revealed a severe lack of preparation within the royal regiments.

In order to combat this deficiency, King Louis XV of France established a military school, the construction of which started in September 1751. The institution started operations in 1756 with the first batch of 200 cadets.

A young Napoleon Bonaparte completed his military training within the hallowed precincts of the Paris Ecole Militaire from October 22, 1784, to October 28, 1785. He graduated as a second class lieutenant in the artillery and was commissioned into the La Fère regiment in Valence.

In 1787, just seven years after its completion, the École Militaire was closed as the French government battled a financial crisis brought about by a series of wars waged by Louis XV.

Napoleon Bonaparte returned to his military alma mater in 1795 to establish his command headquarters there. From 1799 onwards the Paris Ecole Militaire was used as a barracks for the Consular Guard and subsequently the Imperial Guard.

In subsequent years, the Paris Ecole Militaire will play an important role between India and France as trainees from the institution including Napoleon himself, will go on to build alliances with various Indian kingdoms, the most famous being Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Tipu Sultan.

Both Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Tipu Sultan used French assistance to mould their armies along European lines. Both these Indian armies used their European training to devastating effect during wars against the British East India Company.

The mighty Sikh Empire used the European tactics taught by France to extend its ruled to Kabul, Kashmir and had even annexed parts of Tibet, defeating the army of the emperor of China along the way.

The Dogra army led by the legendary General Zorawar Singh had vanquished the Chinese Imperial Army to capture a large part of Tibet. Several batalions of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles of the modern Indian Army trace their origins to that legendary fighting force.

In 1841, a section of the Dogra army – subsequently the present day battalion of the 4th Jammu and Kashmir Rifles – had captured the Mantalai Standard, the flag of the Chinese Imperial Army during a battle in Tibet under the leadership of General Zorawar Singh. It is still in possession of the JAK Rifles.

The Carnatic Wars between France and Britain in southern India, in which Indian kings fought on both sides, also contributed greatly towards increasing the French military footprint in India.

Although the regimental traditions of the modern Indian Army and the Pakistan Army were established by the British, France – and the military traditions of the Paris Ecole Militaire – can also claim a significant contribution towards bringing modern concepts of warfare to India.

As Indian Army chief General Manoj Pande visits the historic military school, he will renew the martial bond between India and France, a bond forged by wars and bloodshed.

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