Mohammad Abbas Baig
Brigadier Mohammad Abbas Baig was a Pakistan Army one-star officer. He was one of the pioneering military officers of the Pakistan Army who was dubbed "Baba-e-Artillery" for his role in establishing this core section of Pakistani army. Abbas Baig's father, Mirza Azam Baig, was a prominent soldier who had fought in the European theatre for the British Army during the Great War (1914–1918). He survived a German gas attack and went on to serve in the personal bodyguard regiment of the emperor of Persia.
British Army career
Abbas Baig joined the British Army in 1933 and earned commission to the rank of second lieutenant in 1938. When the Second World War broke out, Abbas Baig was sent to Burma to fight the Japanese. He was an outstanding officer who proved his prowess in that conflict.Pakistan Army
Soon after the end of the war, the Islamic state of Pakistan was created and, he was one of handful of commissioned officers that formed the lower/middle ranks of the army. No senior officers existed and these ranks were filled by the "loaned" British commanders. The newly established Pakistan Army rapidly developed into an efficient force and it was primarily due to the dedication and hard work of officers such as Abbas Baig.He became the first Muslim commander of number three self-propelled medium regiment and the first commandant of the Artillery centre in Attock in 1952. Amongst his early achievements were the raising of first artillery division and number one Artillery Corps and played a central role in establishing artillery corps to form the backbone of the army.