The word cantonment, derived from the
French word canton, meaning corner or district,[2] refers to a temporary military or winter encampment. For example, at the start of the
Waterloo campaign in 1815, while the
Duke of Wellington's headquarters were in Brussels, most of his Anglo–allied army of 93,000 soldiers were cantoned, or stationed, to the south of Brussels.[3]
In Bangladesh, cantonments are residential quarters for many military personnel as well as headquarters for different army units. A wide variety of military training is provided in Bangladesh cantonments:
Several cities in the
Indian subcontinent, including
Ahmedabad,
Ambala,
Bellary,
Belgaum,
Bangalore,
Danapur,
Jabalpur,
Kanpur,
Bathinda,
Delhi,
Meerut,
Pune,
Ramgarh,
Secunderabad, and
Trichy, contained large cantonments of the former
British Indian Army, with Meerut and Ramgarh being two of the most important cantonments in
Northern India, second only to the headquarters at Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan). Meerut was established in 1803, and for 150 years was the largest cantonment in the region. Although cantonments in India were considered to be semi-permanent in the 18th and 19th centuries, by the turn of the 20th century they had transitioned to being permanent garrisons. They were further entrenched as such, via the military reforms of
Lord Kitchener in 1903, and the Cantonments Act of 1924.[4][5]
There are sixty-one "notified cantonments" in India, occupying an area of 157,000 acres:[6] twenty-five in
Central Command, nineteen in Southern Command, thirteen in Western Command, four in Eastern Command, and one in Northern Command.[7] Major cantonments and garrisons include the following:[8]
The United States military commonly uses the term "cantonment" to describe the permanent facilities at U.S. Army training bases as opposed to the field training areas. Cantonment areas often include housing (such as barracks and maid-service quarters), dining facilities, training classrooms, exchanges, and paved air fields.[12]
^"Annual Report 2018-19: Ministry of Defence"(PDF). mod.gov.in. Ministry of Defence. p. 131. Retrieved 4 May 2022. The Ministry of Defence owns approximately 17.57 lakh acres of land throughout the country managed by the three Services and other Organizations like DGDE, Ordnance Factory Board, DRDO, DGQA, CGDA etc. The Army has the maximum of the land i.e. 14.147 lakh acres followed by Air Force 1.40 lakh acres and Navy 0.44 lakh acres. The defence land inside the notified Cantonments is approximately 1.57 lakh acres and the remaining around 16.00 lakh lies outside the Cantonments