Kodendera Subayya Thimayya - Chief of Army Staff

Chief of Army Staff

General Kodandera Subayya Thimmaiah assumed charge of the Indian Army, as the 6th Chief of Army Staff, on 7 May 1957. He briefly resigned his post in 1959 over a dispute with V. K. Krishna Menon, then minister for defence, He retired from the army in 1961, almost 15 months before the Chinese invasion of India in November 1962.

In 1959, he handed his resignation in protest to Prime Minister Nehru due to Defence Minister V.K. Krishna Menon's refusal to consider his plans for preparing the Army for the forthcoming Sino-Indian conflict of 1962. Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru refused to accept it and persuaded him in withdrawing his resignation. However, little action was taken on Thimmayya's recommendations and he continued as the Army Chief till his retirement on 7 May 1961, completing 35 years of distinguished military service.

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