Indian Army | |
---|---|
Active | 1857–1947 |
Country | India |
Allegiance | British Crown |
Type | Army |
Size | 2.5 million men 1945 |
Engagements | Second Afghan War Third Afghan War Second Burmese War Third Burmese War Second Opium War 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia First Mohmand Campaign Boxer Rebellion Tirah Campaign British expedition to Tibet Sudan Campaign World War I Waziristan campaign 1919–1920 Waziristan campaign 1936–1939 World War II North West Frontier |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell Claude Auchinleck |
This is a list of regiments of the Indian Army as it was following the reorganisation of the Indian Armed Forces in 1922.
Following the absorption of the Presidency armies into the Royal Artillery and Royal Horse Artillery, there was no 'field' units of the Indian artillery. The Indian artillery only maintained mountain artillery units, while the Royal Artillery provided the other arms. The units below have their titles in 1922 or those used before if they were changed later; [1]
Brigades (till 1938)/Regiments
Batteries (Separate)
The Third Anglo-Afghan War began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan invaded British India and ended with an armistice on 8 August 1919. The Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 resulted in the Afghans gaining control of foreign affairs from Britain and the British recognizing the Durand Line as the border between Afghanistan and British India. According to British author Michael Barthorp, it was a strategic victory for the British because the Durand Line was reaffirmed as the border between Afghanistan and the British Raj, and the Afghans agreed not to foment trouble on the British side. However, Afghans who were on the British side of the border did cause concerns due to revolts.
The Second Anglo-Afghan War was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty, the son of former Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. The war was part of the Great Game between the British and Russian empires.
Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War.
The North-West Frontier was a region of the British Indian Empire. It remains the western frontier of present-day Pakistan, extending from the Pamir Knot in the north to the Koh-i-Malik Siah in the west, and separating the modern Pakistani frontier regions of North-West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan from neighbouring Afghanistan in the west. The borderline between is officially known as the Durand Line and divides Pashtun inhabitants of these provinces from Pashtuns in eastern Afghanistan.
The 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army following India's independence. Originally raised in 1817 as part of the army of the British East India Company, the regiment has been known by a number of names throughout its history. Initially the unit did not recruit from the Gurkhas, although after being transferred to the British Indian Army following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, it became a purely Gurkha regiment, in due course with its regimental headquarters at Abbottabad in the North West Frontier Province of British India. After 1947 the regiment was one of only four Gurkha regiments to be transferred to the British Army and this continued up until 1994, when it was amalgamated with other Gurkha regiments to form the Royal Gurkha Rifles. Over the course of its 177-year history, the regiment was awarded 25 battle honours, although prior to World War I it had only been awarded one and no battle honours were awarded to it after World War II.
The British Army is listed according to an order of precedence for the purposes of parading. This is the order in which the various corps of the army parade, from right to left, with the unit at the extreme right being highest. Under ordinary circumstances, the Household Cavalry parades at the extreme right of the line. Militia and Army Reserve units take precedence after Regular units with the exception of The Honourable Artillery Company and The Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers.
The Indian Army during World War I was involved World War I. Over one million Indian troops served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another 67,000 were wounded. In total at least 74,187 Indian soldiers died during the war.
The Baloch Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army. The modern regiment was formed in May 1956 by the merger of 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments with the Baluch Regiment. Since then, further raisings have brought the strength of the Regiment to 27 battalions. The Baloch Regiment is descended from the infantry of the old British Indian Army and is named after Balochistan. Before 1991, it was called the Baluch Regiment but the spelling was changed to 'Baloch' to better reflect the correct pronunciation.
The 4th (Quetta) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army. It was formed by General Kitchener while he was Commander-in-chief of India. During World War I the division remained in India. Its composition was:
The 7th (Meerut) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service during World War I.
The 3rd (Lahore) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army, first organised in 1852. It saw service during World War I as part of the Indian Corps in France before being moved to the Middle East where it fought against troops of the Ottoman Empire.
The 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division was a regular army division of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1903 after the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army. During World War I it remained in India for local defence but it was mobilised for action on the North West Frontier on several occasions during the period. The Division was mobilised in 1919 for service during the Third Afghan War.
The 31st Indian Armoured Division was an armoured division of the Indian Army during World War II, formed in 1940, originally as the 1st Indian Armoured Division; it consisted of units of the British Army and the British Indian Army. When it was raised, it consisted of two Armoured Brigades and one Motor Brigade.
The 16th Indian Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during the First World War. It was formed in December 1916, during the First World War. It was the only war formed division of the British Indian Army that was not sent overseas, instead it was sent to guard the North West Frontier. The division took over the responsibilities of the 3rd Lahore Divisional Area when it was disbanded in May 1917.
The Rawalpindi Parade 1905 was a parade by the British Indian Army held in Rawalpindi, India on 8 December 1905 to honour the Prince and Princess of Wales. The troops were under the Command of Horatio Herbert, Viscount Kitchener of Khartoum, G.C.B., O.M., G.C.M.G., Commander-in-Chief India. The Royal party arrived at the parade ground escorted by a Field Officer's escort of 1st Skinner's Horse. They then received a Royal salute and inspected the troops, accompanied by the Commander-in-chief. On conclusion of the inspection, the troops on parade marched past in the following order.
The 1st (Risalpur) Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Indian Army formed in 1906 as a result of the Kitchener Reforms. It remained in India during the First World War but took an active part in the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919.
The 2nd Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in Rawalpindi in September 1939. In October 1940, it was renamed 16th (Independent) Indian Infantry Brigade in November 1941, and left India for Burma. The brigade was caught in the Battle of Sittang Bridge where it suffered heavy losses. Instead of being reformed in September 1942, it was renamed yet again, this time to 116th Indian Infantry Brigade. Attached to the 39th Indian Infantry Division it now provided specialised jungle conversion training. An infantry battalion would spend from four to six months with the brigade, before being sent to the front to replace a tired battalion in one of the fighting divisions.
The 11th Gurkha Rifles was a Gurkha regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in Mesopotamia and Palestine in May 1918, saw active service in the First World War and the Third Anglo-Afghan War, and was disbanded in April 1922.
The 151st Sikh Infantry – also designated 151st Punjabi Rifles, see nomenclature (below) – was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in Mesopotamia and Palestine in May 1918, saw active service in the First World War and the Third Anglo-Afghan War, and was disbanded in May 1921.