. General JN Chaudhuri, was born on 10th Jun 1908 and received his early education in Calcutta and the High Gate School, London. He obtained a nomination to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and was commissioned in February 1928 into the 7 Light Cavalry.
During World War II he went overseas with the famous 5 Indian Division and saw active service in Sudan, Eritrea, Abyssinia and the Western Desert and was awarded the OBE and Mentioned in Dispatches thrice. In August 1944, he took over command of the 16 Light Cavalry, to become the first Indian Commanding Officer to lead an armoured Regiment into battle and won great renown for fighting in Central Burma. At the end of the Burma campaign, he saw service in French Indo-China with his regiment in Java.In January 1946 he was appointed as Brigadier-in-Charge, Administration, Malaya Command, and was the third Indian to become a Brigadier in the Indian Army. A year later, he went to England to attend a course at the Imperial Defence College and on his return to India he became Brigadier (Plans) and later Director of Military Operations and Intelligence at Army HQ. In February 1948, he was promoted Major General and became officiating Chief of the General Staff. In May 1948, Gen Chaudhuri took over command of the 1 Armoured Division which played a major role in the Hyderabad Operations, and then was appointed Military Governor of the Hyderabad State for over a year. In January 1952, he became Adjutant General, Army HQ and in January 1953, he again took over as Chief of the General Staff.Gen Chaudhuri served as the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 20th Nov 1962 to 7th Jun 1966 with great distinction. He passed away on 6th Apr 1983.
