The oldest grenadier regiment of the armies in the Commonwealth belongs to the Indian Army. The concept of 'Grenadiers' evolved from the practice of selecting the bravest and strongest men for the most dangerous tasks in combat. The Grenadiers have the longest unbroken record of existence in the Indian Army.[3]
The history of the Indian Grenadiers is linked to the troops recruited for the army of the Bombay Presidency. The first mention of a grenadier company hails back to 1684, when a little army of English troops, which had taken possession of the island of Bombay and comprising three companies of Europeans and local Christians, had a grenadier company, but nothing was heard about this unit subsequently. In 1710, the Bombay Army consisted of five companies of "Europeans, topasses (Indian Christians), and coffrees (Kaffirs)" of which the first company was a European grenadier company. This company was merged into the Bombay European Regiment, which was later disbanded. In 1757, Robert Clive had raised the 1st Regiment of the Bengal Native Infantry of which two companies were grenadier companies, however, no regiments of grenadiers were formed from the Bengal Army until a battalion was formed in 1779.[4]
In 1759, as a response to French maneuvering in South India, the strength of the Bombay Army was enhanced, and the first company of sepoy grenadiers was raised with the best of Bombay sepoys "paying a regard to those having families on the island". It had only native officers and all sepoys wore red coats faced with blue. Later on, an adjutant was appointed to the corps.
Later the Bombay Army comprised a number of sepoy battalions, each having one or two grenadier companies. These were clubbed together as a composite battalion comprising the grenadier companies of the Bombay sepoy battalions, and they won the famous battle of Talegaon in 1778. So impressive was the performance of this composite battalion that the Bombay Presidency ordered the permanent raising of a grenadier battalion which duly took place on 12 March 1779, thirty-six years before the first time that a British battalion was given the honour of calling itself "grenadiers". The Governor General of Bombay made an Order dated 12 November 1779, according to which the grenadier companies of the following regiments combined to form the first Grenadier Regiment in the world, namely "The Grenadier Battalion, First Regiment of Infantry":
The 4th Bombay Grenadiers were an infantry regiment of the pre-independence Indian Army, formed on 1 March 1922 as part of the reforms of the Indian Army that took place after the end of the First World War.[3] Following this, the Regiment spent the next fifteen years serving in the British Somaliland protectorate in present-day Somaliland, as well as in China and on the North-West Frontier. The 3rd, 4th and 5th Battalions were all disbanded and the 10th Battalion amalgamated with the 10th Battalion, Jat Regiment to form a Combined Training Centre at Bareilly.[3] Following the Second World War they were one of the regiments allocated to the new Indian Army and renamed The Grenadiers
The regiment consisted of six battalions, all former regiments themselves. These were:
Grenadiers in a Sherman III tank in the Middle East, March 1944.
At the beginning of the Second World War there were only two battalions of the Regiment, the 1st and 2nd. This was soon changed, though, as a number of battalions were raised for wartime service, including: 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 14th, 25th, 26th and 27th Battalions.[3] The 10th (Training Battalion) was also de-linked from the Jat Regiment. Some of these battalions were to be garrison or rear area troops only, while others went on to serve with distinction in a number of theatres during the war including the Middle East and Burma, notably during the Arakan campaigns and at Kohima.
The 4th Grenadiers formed the motorised infantry element of the Indian Armoured and Tank brigades, distinguishing themselves as 'tank escort' infantry protecting tanks against sniper attack in jungle conditions:
In October 1945, the Indian infantry regiments lost their numerical designation and the regiment was re-designated as the Indian Grenadiers, thus severing its last link with the erstwhile Bombay Army (Special Indian Army Order 132/S/45). Following the partition of India, the regiment was allotted to India. The active units at that time were the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 25th. The Muslim troops in the regiment were allotted to Pakistan. Dogras from 5 Baluch joined the 1st battalion, The Frontier Force Rifles to 2nd battalion, and from 1/16 Punjab to the 4th battalion.[5]
Regimental battalions
Postal stamp - Bicentenary of 2nd Grenadiers, 1996
Attestation Parade at Grenadiers Regimental Centre, Jabalpur, September 2021.
Raised as 8th Regiment of Bombay Sepoys. Underwent many name changes, was designated 101st Grenadiers, prior to present designation. Battle honours - Mangalore, Mysore, Hyderabad, Kandahar 1880, Afghanistan 1878–80, Burma 1885–87, Somaliland 1901–04, East Africa 1914–16, Egypt, Gaza, Megiddo, Nablus, Palestine 1917–18. Post independence – Gurais. Became 2nd Battalion, Brigade of the Guards in 1950.
Raised in Calicut by Captain David Cameron as 13th Battalion, Bombay Native Infantry. Underwent many name changes, was designated 102nd King Edward's Own Grenadiers, before present designation. Battle honours – Egypt (1801), Kirkee (1817), Koregaon (1817), Persia (1857), Abyssinia (1868), Kut-Al-Amara (1917), Naga Village (1944). Nicknamed Second to None.
Raised as 1st Battalion, Bombay Sepoys. Underwent many name changes, was designated 108th Infantry, before present designation. Nicknamed Param Vir Chakra Paltan. Battle honours (pre-independence) – Mangalore 1783, Mysore 1793, Hyderabad (Sind) 1843, Afghanistan 1879, Aden 1916, Mesopotamia 1917, Kalewa 1944 and Fort Dufferin, Mandalay 1945; post-independence – theatre honour - Rajasthan (Sadhewala) in 1965 and battle honour – Jarpal in 1971. Major Hoshiar Singh was awarded the PVC.
Raised as 5th Battalion, Bombay Sepoys. Underwent many name changes, was designated 109th Infantry, before present designation. Battle honours: pre-independence – Mysore, Central India, Aden, Punjab, Multan, Burma, Afghanistan, Taungtha, Meiktila, Pwabwe, Sharqat, Pegu; post-independence – Asal Uttar (1965). CQMH Abdul Hamid was awarded the PVC. Nicknamed Param Vir Chakra Paltan and The Fighting Fourth.
Raised as 2nd Battalion, 6th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry. Underwent many name changes, was designated 112th Infantry, before present designation. Nicknamed Finest Fifth.
6th Battalion
1962
Raised as 6/4 Grenadiers (Motorised) by Lieutenant Colonel D Greigson at Nasirabad in 1942. Disbanded 1943. Re-raised in 1962 by Lieutenant Colonel AB Jhadav at Jaipur. Nicknamed Joshila Sixth.
Raised from Kutch and Saurashtra State Forces in camel mounted role, became regular infantry in 1957. Became 9th Battalion, Mechanised Infantry Regiment in 1979. Battle honour Chhadbet
Raised 1949 in Ahmedabad from state forces of Lunavada, Rajpipla, Baria and Idar, disbanded 1949, re-raised 1963 in Jaipur under Major BS Brah. Battle honour – Chakra (1971). Nicknamed Chakra Battalion and Gallant Eighth.
Raised 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry. Underwent many name changes, was designated 113th Infantry, before present designation. Training Battalion.
11th Battalion
1963
Raised at Ajmer as a Territorial battalion in 1922 (1st battalion, Ajmer Regiment), disbanded in 1948, re-raised in 1963 in Jaipur by Lieutenant Colonel Racchpal Singh.
Raised as a camel battalion in Bikaner under Lieutenant Colonel KS Harihar Singh. Nicknamed The Desert Hawks. Motorized Infantry Regiment. Became 24th Battalion, Brigade of the Guards in 2023.
INS Beas(F37) has also been affiliated with The Grenadiers.
Class composition
1923 - Rajputana Mussalmans, Rajputana Jats, Mahrattas, Mers and Merats
1946 - Jats from the Punjab, United Provinces, Rajputana and Central India states, Hindustani Mussalmans from Ambala Civil Division, Rajputana, United Provinces, Central India states and the Deccan.[34]
The Grenadiers have the unique and distinct honour of having the most number of Param Vir Chakras, India's highest medal for gallantry, among all the Indian Army's Infantry Regiments.[37] Of note also, is the fact that prior to independence, British officers serving with The Grenadiers won four Victoria Crosses.[38] Members of the Regiment have also received a number of other decorations prior to independence.
A native non-commissioned officer (NCO) of Bombay Grenadier Battalion, 1806
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