9th (Secunderabad) Division

Last updated

9th (Secunderabad) Division
Active1904 - 1922
Country British India
Allegiance British Crown
Branch British Indian Army
Type Infantry
RoleInternal Security
Size Division
Part of Southern Army

The 9th (Secunderabad) Division was an infantry division formation of the British Indian Army. It was part of the Southern Army and was formed in 1904 [1] after Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India between 1902 and 1909. He instituted large-scale reforms, including merging the three armies of the Presidencies into a unified force and forming higher level formations, eight army divisions, and brigading Indian and British units. Following Kitchener's reforms, the British Indian Army became "the force recruited locally and permanently based in India, together with its expatriate British officers." [2]

Contents

The Division remained in India on internal security duties during World War I, but some of its brigades were transferred to serve with other units. The 9th (Secunderabad) Cavalry Brigade traveled to France and served on the Western Front as part of the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division. The 27th (Bangalore) Brigade served in East Africa as part of the Indian Expeditionary Force B. Force B was broken up in December 1914 and its units used for the defence of East Africa. [3] [4]

Composition in 1914

At the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, the division was commanded by Major-General A. Phayre [5] and had the following composition: [6] [4]

Secunderabad Cavalry Brigade

Deccan Horse at Bazentin Ridge, France, 1916 Deccan Horse, Bazentin Ridge 1916.jpg
Deccan Horse at Bazentin Ridge, France, 1916

Commander: Brigadier-General F.W.G. Wadeson [7]

1st Secunderabad Infantry Brigade

Commander: Major-General P.S. Wilkinson [7]

2nd Secunderabad Infantry Brigade

Commander: Brigadier-General E.H. Rodwell [7]

Bangalore Brigade

Indian Army Gun crew East Africa 10pounderMountainGunEastAfricaWWI.jpg
Indian Army Gun crew East Africa

Commander: Brigadier-General Richard Wapshare [7]

The brigade was reformed as 27th (Bangalore) Brigade and joined Indian Expeditionary Force B for service in British East Africa. The formation was:

Southern Brigade

Commander: Brigadier-General W.G. Hamilton [7]

Engineers

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Infantry Division (India)</span> Infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II

The 5th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II that fought in several theatres of war and was nicknamed the "Ball of Fire". It was one of the few Allied divisions to fight against three different armies - the Italian, German and Japanese armies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">19th Indian Infantry Division</span> Military unit

The 19th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II, and played a prominent part in the final part of the Burma Campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">10th Indian Infantry Division</span> Infantry Division of the Indian army during World War II

The 10th Indian Infantry Division was a war formed infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. In four years, the division travelled over 4,000 miles (6,400 km) from Tehran to Trieste, fought three small wars, and fought two great campaigns: the Anglo-Iraqi War, the Invasion of Syria–Lebanon, the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, the North African Campaign, and the Italian Campaign.

The Malaya Command was a formation of the British Army formed in the 1920s for the coordination of the defences of British Malaya, which comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States and the Unfederated Malay States. It consisted mainly of small garrison forces in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Taiping, Seremban and Singapore.

The 10th Indian Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army during World War I. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914 with three infantry brigades of Indian Expeditionary Force F. After taking part in the Actions on the Suez Canal, the division was dispersed as its brigades were posted away.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">25th Indian Infantry Division</span> Military unit

The 25th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II which fought in the Burma Campaign. It was re-raised within the post-independence Indian Army in 1948.

The Order of battle of the East African campaign shows the ground forces of both sides in East Africa on the date that the Italians declared war on Britain and France, 10 June 1940 and for the British and Commonwealth forces involved in the 1941 offensive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Expeditionary Force order of battle (1914)</span>

The British Expeditionary Force order of battle 1914, as originally despatched to France in August and September 1914, at the beginning of World War I. The British Army prior to World War I traced its origins to the increasing demands of imperial expansion together with inefficiencies highlighted during the Crimean War, which led to the Cardwell and Childers Reforms of the late 19th century. These gave the British Army its modern shape, and defined its regimental system. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created an Expeditionary force and the Territorial Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd (Lahore) Division</span> Military unit

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 12th Indian Division was formed in March 1915 from units of the British Indian Army. It formed part of the Tigris Corps, for service during the Mesopotamia Campaign of World War I. The Division arrived in Mesopotamia in April 1915 and remained there until it was broken up in March 1916. The Division's brigades remained in Mesopotamia as independent formations until forming part of the 15th Indian Division in May 1916. During its short existence it fought in a number of actions including the Battle of Shaiba between April 12–14, 1915, the Battle of Khafajiya between May 14–16, 1915, the Battle of Nasiriya between July 5, 13-14, 24 1915, where 400 British and Indian soldiers were killed in the battle and up to 2,000 Turkish Soldiers. The Occupation of Nasiriya and the affair at Butanuja, January 14, 1916.

The 17th Indian Division was formed in 1917 from units of the British Indian Army for service in the Mesopotamia Campaign during World War I. After the war, it formed part of the occupation force for Iraq and took part in the Iraq Rebellion in 1920. In August 1923, the division was reduced to a single brigade.

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 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.

Second Battle of Monte Cassino order of battle February 1944 is a listing of the significant formations that were involved in the fighting on the Winter Line in February 1944 during the period generally known as the Second Battle of Monte Cassino.

In September 1939, the British Army was in process of expanding their anti-aircraft and mobile assets. Among these new changes was the formation of Anti-Aircraft Command which was formed on 1 April 1939, and the 1st Armoured Division formed in 1937. The list below will include the British Army units, colonial units, and those units which were in the process of formation.

The Secunderabad Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Indian Army formed in 1907 as a result of the Kitchener Reforms. It was mobilized as 9th (Secunderabad) Cavalry Brigade at the outbreak of the First World War and departed for France. It served on the Western Front as part of the 1st and 2nd Indian Cavalry Divisions until it was broken up in March 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th Indian Cavalry Brigade</span> Military unit

The 6th Indian Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service in the Indian Army during the First World War. It took part in the Mesopotamian campaign and was broken up soon after the end of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Force in Egypt</span>

The Force in Egypt was a British Army formation established in August 1914 to administer garrisoning armed forces in Egypt at the beginning of the First World War. The force had the objective of protecting the Suez Canal and was originally commanded by Major General Julian Byng, but he was replaced by General J. Maxwell, who took command on 8 September 1914. Initially, the main threat to the Suez came from Germany and throughout the early months several of the force's elements were sent to Europe to take part in the fighting on the Western Front. On 5 November 1914, Britain and France declared war on the Ottoman Empire, after which the Force in Egypt faced a direct threat from Ottoman forces, which was realised in February 1915 with a raid on the Suez Canal. This threat remained until 1916 when the British forces went on the offensive.

The Order of battle, Keren 1941 shows Italian army forces that participated in the Battle of Keren from February to March 1941 and British troops in Sudan on 20 January 1941, which participated in military operations against Eritrea during the East African Campaign 1940–1941.

References

  1. Sumner 2001 , p. 4
  2. Oxford History of the British Army
  3. "9th (Secunderabad) Division on The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918 by PB Chappell". Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
  4. 1 2 "The Indian Army 1914 by Dr. Graham Watson on orbat.com". Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  5. Perry 1993 , p. 105
  6. Perry 1993 , p. 108
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Perry 1993 , p. 106
  8. Rinaldi 2008 , pp. 330, 331
  9. "The Order of Battle of the British Expeditionary Force (October 1914)". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2015.

Bibliography