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 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 12th Frontier Force Regiment was formed in 1922 as part of the British Indian Army. It consisted of five regular battalions; numbered 1 to 5 and the 10th (Training) Battalion. During the Second World War a further ten battalions were raised. In 1945, the prenominal "12th" was dropped when the British Indian Army dispensed with prenominal numbering of its regiments. After the independence in 1947, it was formed into the Frontier Force Regiment, part of the army of Pakistan.
The 1st Punjab Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. Upon the Partition of India, it was transferred to the newly-raised Pakistan Army. It ceased to exist in this form in 1956, when it was amalgamated with the 14th, 15th and 16th Punjab regiments to form the Punjab Regiment, an existing infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army.
The 13th Frontier Force Rifles was part of the British Indian Army, and after 1947, Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by amalgamation of five existing regiments and consisted of five regular battalions. In 1947, it was allocated to the Pakistan Army.
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 Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire.
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 Indian Army and before 1895, the Bengal Army, that saw active service during World War I.
The 3rd (Lahore) Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army and before 1895, the Bengal 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 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 56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force) was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1849 as the 2nd Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force) in 1906 and became 2nd Battalion 13th Frontier Force Rifles in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to the Pakistan Army, where it continues to exist as 8th Battalion The Frontier Force Regiment.
The Rawalpindi Parade 1905 was a parade by the British Indian Army held in Rawalpindi 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 44th Indian Armoured Division was an armoured division of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in Burma, in February 1943, from the 32nd and 43rd Armoured divisions. It was reformed as the 21st Infantry Division in April 1944.
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 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 10th Indian Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Indian Army that formed part of the Indian Army during the First World War. It remained in India throughout the war.
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.
The Structure of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force over the course of the First World War is shown below.