General Kodendera Thimayya

General Kodendera Subayya Thimayya(DSO) was born on 31 March 1906 in Madikeri, Kodagu. He was a distinguished Indian Army officer who served as Chief of Army Staff from 1957 to 1961. He was the most talked about and admired military leader. The first Indian to command a brigade in battle during World War II. Timmy, as he was popularly known, had become a legend in his life-time. General Thimayya was the only Indian to command an Infantry brigade in battle during the Second World War and is regarded as the most distinguished combat officer the Indian Army has produced

Family

Father

Kodendera Thimmmaiah

Mother

Kodendera (Chepudira) Seethavva/Cheetavva

Wife

Kodendera Nina Thimayya

Children

Mireille

Siblings

• Ponnappa
• Somayya(Freddy)
• Ammava(Amy) Crishnan
• Dechu(Machaiah)
• Gangu

Family Tree

www.kodavaclan.com

Education

At the age of eight years he was sent to St Joseph’s College in Coonoor a convent run by Irish brothers. He was later sent to Bishop Cotton Boys’ School in Bangalore and after completing school, he was sent to the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College, a necessary stepping stone for a commission in the Indian Army.

Career

• He was commissioned into the Indian Army on 4 February 1926 as a Second Lieutenant.
• Thimayya as Chief of Army Staff was subsequently attached to the Highland Light Infantry, as was the norm then, prior to a permanent posting with a regiment of the British Indian Army.
• He was soon posted to the 4th Battalion of the 19th Hyderabad Regiment (now Kumaon Regiment), from 28 May 1927
• He was promoted to Lieutenant on 4 May 1928.
• He was appointed as the regimental adjutant in September 1930.
• In January 1935,Thimayya got married and was promoted to Captain on 4 February.
• On 20 March 1936, he was blessed with a daughter, Mireille. The same April, He was posted as an Adjutant at the University Training Corps in Madras.

Achievements

• In 1941, he was promoted to the acting rank of Major and at his request, was transferred to India in October.
• Thimayya was posted as the Second-in-Command of a new rising at the Hyderabad Regimental Centre in Agra.
•  He was then detailed to attend the Staff College at Quetta where he and his wife had earlier made a name for themselves by selfless service during the 1935 Quetta earthquake.
• On 1 April 1942 he was promoted to the temporary rank of Majorand to the substantive rank of Major on 4 February 1943.
• He then served as GSO2 (Ops) (a Grade II Staff Officer) of 25th Indian Division, the first Indian officer to get this coveted staff appointment.
• His infantry division was conduced the jungle warfare training and went to Burma to face the Japanese Army during the Second World War,
• on 19 May 1944 Serving in the Second Arakan campaign. He was promoted to acting Lieutenant-Colonel  and to temporary Lieutenant-Colonel on 19 August 1944.
• He was posted to his old regiment as Commanding Officer of 8/19th Hyderabad, which he led with outstanding success in the battle in Burma.
• For a short while the battalion was under the command of the 3rd Commando Brigade, with Brigadier C. R. Hardy at the helm, who during the height of a battle presented a trophy to the battalion.
• On 1 April 1945 he was promoted to the acting rank of Brigadier .For his outstanding service in the battle and was awarded the much coveted Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O) and also a Mention-in-Dispatches.
• He represented the country during the surrender of the Japanese in Singapore, followed by the surrender of the Japanese in the Philippines.
• At the ceremony of Japanese surrender in Singapore, he signed on behalf of India. He was awarded the ‘Keys to Manila’ when he was sent to the Philippines.
• On 1 October 1945 he was promoted to Brigadier, with the war-substantive rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
• His innate talents of professional soldiering and leadership were soon recognized by Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army. He was specially selected to lead the 268th Indian Infantry Brigade as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan after World War II.
• He was assigned the task due to his outstanding battle experience as a Brigadier and being the only Indian to command a battle formation in the field. As a matter of policy, the British avoided giving operational command to Indians. Thimmayya was the only exception.
• As an independent brigade, the 268th had done excellent work in the Burma Campaign and was detailed as part of BRINDIV led by Maj Gen D. T. “Punch” Cowan. Brig.Thimayya proved to be an outstanding commander and his diplomatic skills emerged as he had to deal with General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Southwest Pacific Theatre,
• Thimayya’s personality, charm of manners and unassailable reputation, impressed the Japanese of the calibre of Indian commanders. Thimayya was called on to defuse the sit-down strike by the 2nd Battalion, 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles at the palace of the Emperor of Japan in Tokyo when the battalion refused to obey its British officers. He was recalled to India by then Commander-in-chief of British India, Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck.
• In 1947, he returned to India during the Partition, as member of the committee to agree to the allotment of weapons, equipment and regiments that were to remain in India, or to be allotted to Pakistan.
• In September 1947, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General  and was then assigned the command of the 4th Infantry Division and also to take over the Punjab Boundary Force.
• In 1948 he was one of the active officers in the actions against the forces of Pakistan in the conflict over Kashmir.
• His appointments command of the 19th Infantry Division in Jammu & Kashmir where he succeeded in driving the raiders and the Pakistan Army out of the Kashmir Valley.
• He succeeded in driving out the entrenched raiders and Pakistan Army regulars and the eventual capture of Dras, Kargil and Leh.
• He established the best of relations with Sheikh Abdullah and Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and even Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Thimayya served as the Commandant of the prestigious Indian Military Academy, DehraDun.
• The experience gained by him in Japan stood him in good stead when he was specially selected by the United Nations to head the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission in Korea.
• In January 1953 he returned to India and was promoted to General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, with the rank of Lieutenant-General.
• In 1954, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan for Civil Service. He took over the reins of the Indian Army on 7 May 1957 as the 6th Chief of the Army Staff.
• In June 1964, the UN Secretary General, had invited him to become Commander of the UN Forces in Cyprus. He was one of the most experienced commanders available and was familiar with the United Nations, and was not only well known around the World, but widely respected. He decided to accept the appointment, and left for New York, enroute to Cyprus, on 30 June 1964.

Awards

• He was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his civil service in 1954.
• He was awarded with General Service Medal in 1947 at the time of Role in independent India.
• At the time of Indian Independence he was awarded with Indian Independence Medal.
• During the time of Second World War for his outstanding service in battle, he was awarded the much coveted Distinguished Service Order(D S O).

Thimayya died On 18 December, 1965 of a heart attack in Nicosia. Thimayya was one of the best known of India’s military leaders.His sense of humour and moral courage had earned him the love and respect of the Indian Jawan.  He always set a very high example of courage and steadfastness under the most dangerous conditions in the battlefield and that is why he was so loved and respected by all ranks under his command.

Archives

• No Kashmir crisis today if gen Timmys Advice was taken Coffeeland 16- sept- 2002