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	==Early life==		==Early life==
	Thorat was born on 12 August 1906, in Vadgaon village, [[Kolhapur State]], [[British Raj\|British India]]. <ref>{{cite web \|title=veekay's history book: Biography - Lt. Gen S.P.P. Thorat, KC, DSO \|url=http://veekay-militaryhistory.blogspot.com/2012/10/biography-lt-gen-spp-thorat-kc-dso.html \|website=veekay's history book \|date=3 October ~~2022~~}}</ref> He studied at [[S P College, Pune]] and then at the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]], from where he commissioned into the [[British Indian Army]].		Thorat was born on 12 August 1906, in Vadgaon village, [[Kolhapur State]], [[British Raj\|British India]]. <ref>{{cite web \|title=veekay's history book: Biography - Lt. Gen S.P.P. Thorat, KC, DSO \|url=http://veekay-militaryhistory.blogspot.com/2012/10/biography-lt-gen-spp-thorat-kc-dso.html \|website=veekay's history book \|date=3 October 2012}}</ref> He studied at [[S P College, Pune]] and then at the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]], from where he commissioned into the [[British Indian Army]].

	==Military career==		==Military career==

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{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [[Lieutenant General]]
| name = S P P Thorat
| honorific_suffix = [[Kirti Chakra|KC]], [[Distinguished Service Order|DSO]]
| image =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1906|8|12}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1992|8|10|1906|8|12}}
| birth_place = Vadgaon, [[Kolhapur State]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_place =
| allegiance = {{Flag|British India}} {{Flag|India}}
| branch = {{Army|British India}} {{Army|India}}
| serviceyears =
| rank = [[File:Lieutenant General of the Indian Army.svg|20px]] [[Lieutenant General]]
| servicenumber =
| commands = [[File:IA Eastern Command.jpg|20px]] [[Eastern Command (India)|Eastern Command]]
| unit =
| battles = [[Burma Campaign]], [[World War II]] [[Sino-Indian War]]
| awards = [[File:Kirti Chakra ribbon.svg|30px]] [[Kirti Chakra]] [[File:Padma Shri Ribbon.svg|30px]] [[Padma Shri]] [[File:Dso-ribbon.svg|30px]] [[Distinguished Service Order]]
}}

[[Lieutenant General]] '''Shankarrao Pandurang Patil (SPP) Thorat''', [[Kirti Chakra|KC]], [[Distinguished Service Order|DSO]] (12 August 1906 - 10 August 1992) was a [[General Officer]] in the [[Indian Army]]. He was the [[General_officer_commanding#Usage_in_the_Indian_Army|General Officer Commanding-in-Chief]] [[Eastern Command (India)|Eastern Command]] in the lead up to the 1962 [[Sino-Indian War]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Praval|first=Major K. C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DdxDcxj_wn4C&q=Thorat+Officer+Commanding-in-Chief,+Eastern+Command&pg=RA1-PT202|title=Indian Army After Independence|publisher=Lancer Publishers LLC|year=2013|isbn=978-1-935501-61-9|location=Atlanta, GA|pages=|language=en}}</ref>

==Early life==
Thorat was born on 12 August 1906, in Vadgaon village, [[Kolhapur State]], [[British Raj|British India]]. <ref>{{cite web |title=veekay's history book: Biography - Lt. Gen S.P.P. Thorat, KC, DSO |url=http://veekay-militaryhistory.blogspot.com/2012/10/biography-lt-gen-spp-thorat-kc-dso.html |website=veekay's history book |date=3 October 2022}}</ref> He studied at [[S P College, Pune]] and then at the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]], from where he commissioned into the [[British Indian Army]].

==Military career==
===World War II===
By [[World War II]], Thorat was a lieutenant colonel and commanded battalions during the [[Burma campaign]] against [[Empire of Japan|Japan]].<ref name="Barua">{{Cite book |last=Barua |first=Pradeep |title=Gentlemen of the Raj: The Indian Army Officer Corps |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |date=2003 |page=117 |isbn=978-0-27597-999-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-U8IUoC_tP0C&q=S+P+P+Thorat&pg=PA117}}</ref> He attended Staff College, Quetta in 1941 and after a brief posting to the army HQ, Thorat joined the 4th battalion, [[14th Punjab Regiment]], which, as part of the [[14th Indian Infantry Brigade|114th Indian Infantry Brigade]] under the [[7th Indian Infantry Division]], played a role in clearing Japanese forces from the [[Naga Hills]].<ref name="Barua" /> He participated in small actions with 4/14th Punjab and after a short stay, transferred to the 9th battalion, 14th Punjab Regiment under the [[20th Indian Infantry Division]], which was engaged in fighting on the [[Imphal]] plains.<ref name="Barua" /> The commanding officer of 9/14th Punjab went down with dysentery and Thorat temporarily took command of the battalion.<ref name="Barua" /> Since it was his first time commanding a battalion, he accompanied his troops on a long reconnaissance patrol, which his brigade commander didn't approve of.<ref name="Barua" /> In November 1944 Thorat received his first official battalion command, and took command of the 2nd battalion, [[2nd Punjab Regiment]] under the [[51st Indian Infantry Brigade]].<ref name="Barua" /> This brigade became known as the "Indian Brigade" because unlike other British Indian Army brigades which were composed of 2 Indian battalions and 1 British battalion, the 51st Brigade had 3 Indian battalions.<ref name="Barua" /> Additionally, all 3 battalions in the brigade had Indian commanding officers - [[K.S. Thimayya]], L.P. Sen, and Thorat.<ref name="Barua" /> These 3 were among the few Indian officers above the rank of major who saw intense action during the war.

====Battle of Kangaw====
In January 1945 2/2nd Punjab participated in the battle of Kangaw.<ref name="Barua" /> The 51st Brigade had been assigned the task of clearing strongly fortified Japanese rearguard positions, and Thorat coordinated his battalion's attack with artillery and air support.<ref name="Barua" /> However, the battalion still took heavy casualties as they advanced through rice paddies to close with the Japanese.<ref name="Barua" /> At one point Thorat engaged in hand-to-hand combat, during which he killed a young Japanese officer and seized his sword.<ref name="Barua" /> After his initial attack had succeeded, Thorat limited his battalion's advance and consolidated their position of half of the hill feature.<ref name="Barua" /> He was fully aware of the Japanese tactic of evacuating a position under attack and then swiftly counterattacking to retake it, thus inflicting maximum casualties on their enemy.<ref name="Barua" /> When the counterattack came, it was repelled by prepared battalion defences and air strikes.<ref name="Barua" />

=== GOC-in-C Eastern Command ===
Thorat took over the eastern command in 1957. At the time the headquarters of the eastern command was based in Lucknow. It was only in 1959, following incidents such as the [[Longju]] incident, when border defence was shifted to the military. Accordingly, Thorat made an assessment of the requirements needed to plug vulnerabilities and repel a Chinese invasion. In October 1959, Thorat's plan was sent to General Thimayya who in turn showed it to the Defence Minister VK Krishna Menon. Menon dismissed the report.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Phadke|first=Ramesh|date=2012-10-31|title=The Two Myths of 1962 {{!}} Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses|url=https://idsa.in/idsacomments/TheTwoMythsof1962_RameshPhadke_301012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200831054223/https://idsa.in/idsacomments/TheTwoMythsof1962_RameshPhadke_301012|archive-date=2020-08-31|access-date=2021-01-25|website=idsa.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=V. K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yoFjDwAAQBAJ&q=exercise+lal+qila+thorat&pg=PA142|title=Leadership in the Indian Army: Biographies of Twelve Soldiers|date=2005-03-04|publisher=SAGE Publishing India|isbn=978-93-5280-566-2|location=|pages=142|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Mahalingam|first=V|date=2016-04-13|title=Book review: 1962 The War That Wasn't|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/In-search-of-propriety/book-review-1962-the-war-that-wasnt/|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-24|website=Times of India|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Verma|first=Shiv Kunal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NDejwEACAAJ|title=1962: The War that Wasn't|date=2016|publisher=Aleph Book Company|isbn=978-93-82277-97-2|language=en}}</ref> [[Exercise Lal Qila]] was conducted on 17 March 1960 at the Eastern Command Headquarters under Lieutenant General Thorat. It was another attempt to show the serious vulnerabilities in the eastern sector. It detailed the threat from China and what India needed to do to plug vulnerabilities.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Verma|first=Shiv Kunal|date=25 January 2016|others=The Citizen brings you extracts|title=1962:The War That Wasn't|url=https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/9/6617/1962The-War-That-Wasnt|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-24|website=The Citizen|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Dates of rank==
{|class="wikitable" style="background:white"
! Insignia !! Rank !! Component !! Date of rank
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_OF-1a.svg|35px]] || [[Second lieutenant#United Kingdom & other Commonwealth countries|Second Lieutenant]] || [[British Indian Army]] || 30 August 1926<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=33198 |date=3 September 1926 |page=5766 |supp= |nolink=y}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_OF-1b.svg|35px]] || [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|Lieutenant]] || British Indian Army || 30 November 1928<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=33458 |date=18 January 1929 |page=467 |supp= |nolink=y}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_OF-2.svg|35px]] || [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captain]] || British Indian Army || 30 August 1935<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=34204 |date=4 October 1935 |page=6219 |supp= |nolink=y}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-3.svg|35px]] || [[Major (United Kingdom)|Major]] ||British Indian Army || 1940 (acting)<ref name="Indian_Army_Special_List_45">{{cite book|pages=149|title=Indian Army List for October 1945 (Part I)|publisher=Government of India Press|year=1945}}</ref> 18 November 1940 (temporary)<ref name="Indian_Army_Special_List_45"/> 30 August 1943 (substantive)<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=36290 |date=17 December 1943 |page=5497 |supp= |nolink=y}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-4.svg|35px]] || [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-Colonel]] || British Indian Army || 1 April 1946 (war-substantive)<ref name="Quarterly_Army_List">{{cite book|pages=220v–x|title=The Quarterly Army List: December 1946 (Part I)|publisher=HM Stationery Office|year=1946}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-5.svg|35px]] || [[Colonel (United Kingdom)|Colonel]] || British Indian Army || 1 April 1946 (acting)<ref name="Quarterly_Army_List"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British Army (1928-1953) OF-6.svg|35px]] || [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]] || British Indian Army || 13 June 1946 (acting)<ref name="Quarterly_Army_List"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-3.svg|35px]] || [[Major-General]] ||[[Indian Army]] || 15 August 1947<ref name="insignia" group="note">Upon independence in 1947, India became a [[Dominion of India|Dominion]] within the British [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. As a result, the rank insignia of the [[British Army]], incorporating the [[Tudor Crown]] and four-pointed [[Order of the Bath|Bath Star]] ("pip"), was retained, as [[George VI of the United Kingdom|George VI]] remained Commander-in-Chief of the [[Indian Armed Forces]]. After 26 January 1950, when India became a [[Republic of India|republic]], the [[President of India]] became Commander-in-Chief, and the [[Lion Capital of Asoka|Ashoka Lion]] replaced the crown, with a five-pointed star being substituted for the "pip."</ref><ref name="insignia_designs"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_OF-7.svg|35px]] || [[Major general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] || Indian Army || 30 August 1949 (acting) 1 January 1950 (substantive, with seniority from 30 August 1949)<ref name="maj_gen_subs">{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=70 |date=24 June 1950 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Major_General_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|35px]] || [[Major-General]] || Indian Army || 26 January 1950 (recommissioning and change in insignia)<ref name="insignia_designs">{{cite web|title=New Designs of Crests and Badges in the Services|url=http://pib.nic.in/archive/docs/DVD_38/ACC%20NO%20807-BR/HOM-1950-01-06_484.pdf|website=Press Information Bureau of India - Archive|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808193914/http://pib.nic.in/archive/docs/DVD_38/ACC%20NO%20807-BR/HOM-1950-01-06_484.pdf|archive-date=8 August 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=227 |date=11 February 1950 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Lieutenant_General_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|35px]] || [[Lieutenant-General]] || Indian Army || 1 June 1955 (local)<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=130 |date=2 July 1955 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> 1 February 1957 (substantive)<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=59 |date=9 March 1957 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
|-
|}

==Works==
*''From Reveille to Retreat'' (1986). Allied Publishers. {{ISBN|978-8-17023-077-9}}.

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*"[http://www.idsa.in/idsacomments/TheTwoMythsof1962_RameshPhadke_301012 The Two Myths of 1962]". Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. 31 October 2012.

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{Succession box
| title = [[General_officer_commanding#Usage_in_the_Indian_Army|General Officer Commanding-in-Chief]] [[Eastern Command (India)|Eastern Command]]
| years = 1957 - 1961
| before = [[Kodandera Subayya Thimayya|K S Thimayya]]
| after = [[Lionel Protip Sen|L P Sen]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Civil Service}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorat, S. P. P.}}
[[Category:1906 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Indian generals]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in civil service]]
[[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Staff College, Quetta]]
[[Category:Indian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Kirti Chakra]]

S. P. P. Thorat - Revision history

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