The British
IV Corps, under the command of Lieutenant-General
Noel Irwin, was deployed from the
Middle East in January 1942, for the defense of
Assam from the advancing
Japanese during the
Second World War. Following the end of the war, the corps was demobilised in November 1945. The corps was re-raised by Lieutenant General
Brij Mohan Kaul at
Tezpur, Assam on 4 October 1962, close to the
Sino-Indian War. Over the years, it has played a role in both conventional and counter-insurgency operations in the eastern theatre, especially during the 1971 war in Bangladesh. During the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the Gajraj Corps made the famous advance to
Dhaka during the liberation of Bangladesh and also participated in the
Meghna Heli Bridge Operations. Lieutenant General
Sagat Singh, PVSM had innovatively employed
Mi-4 helicopters to cross Meghna River, which was considered impassable and his Corps relentlessly attacked and defeated the Pakistani forces. The innovative use of helicopters has remained unparalleled. The Corps had proved its mettle and very proficiently carried out its task in the most complex sector in terms of distances from the logistic bases. The corps has been active in counter-insurgency roles as part of Operation Bajrang (from November 1990), Operation Rhino I (from September 1991) and Operation Rhino II (from April 1992). ==Composition==