was appointed the commander of 167 Infantry Brigade, headquartered at Firozpur. On 9 April 1954, he was appointed the Director of Military Training at Army Headquarters. As an acting brigadier (substantive colonel), he was posted as commandant of the Infantry School at Mhow on 14 January 1955, and also became the colonel of both the 8th Gorkha Rifles and the 61st Cavalry. During his tenure as the commandant of the Infantry School, he discovered that the training manuals were outdated, and was instrumental in revamping them to be consistent with the tactics employed by the Indian Army. He was promoted to the substantive rank of brigadier on 4 February 1957. General officer In 1957, he was sent to the Imperial Defence College, London, to attend a higher command course for one year. On his return, he was appointed the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 26th Infantry Division on 20 December 1957, with the acting rank of major general. While he commanded the division, Gen. K. S. Thimayya was the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), and Krishna Menon the defence minister. During a visit to Manekshaw's division, Menon asked him what he thought of Thimayya. Manekshaw replied that it was not appropriate for him to think of his chief in that way, as he considered it improper to evaluate his superior, and told Menon not to ask anybody again. This annoyed Menon, and he told Manekshaw that if he wanted to, he could sack Thimayya, to which Manekshaw replied, "You can get rid of him. But then I will get another." Manekshaw was promoted to substantive major general on 1 March 1959. On 1 October, he was appointed the Commandant of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, where he was caught up in a controversy that almost ended his career. In May 1961, Thimayya resigned as the COAS, and was succeeded by Gen. Pran Nath Thapar. Earlier in the year, Maj. Gen. Brij Mohan Kaul had been promoted to lieutenant general and appointed the Quarter Master General (QMG) by Menon. The appointment was made against the recommendation of Thimayya, who resigned as a result. Kaul was made the Chief of General Staff (CGS), the second highest appointment at Army Headquarters after the COAS. Kaul cultivated a close relationship with Nehru and Menon and became even more powerful than the COAS. This was met with disapproval by senior army officials, including Manekshaw,