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Assam Valley Light Horse
The Assam Valley Light Horse regiment was raised in 1891 and formed part of Indian Volunteer Force, later the Indian Defence Force and finally the Auxiliary Force (India). The regimental headquarters was at Dibrugarh in Assam. It was recruited from the European community in Assam—mostly tea planters. A light horse regiment had a rough strength of approximately 400 men and its troops typically fought as mounted infantry rather than traditional cavalry. A few volunteers from the regiment joined Lumsden's Horse in 1899 raised by Colonel Dugald McTavish Lumsden for service in the Boer War and similarly in 1911 a few volunteers took part in the Abor campaign of 1911–12. It was not mobilized as a unit during World War I or World War II but individuals did serve, mainly with the British Indian Army. Military units and formations established in 1891 Indian World War I regiments Indian World War II regiments Dibrugarh The regiment was disbanded when India India, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Defence Force
The Indian Defence Force (IDF) was a part-time defence force established as part of the Indian Army in 1917 in order to release regular troops from garrison duties during the First World War. It was divided into British and Indian sections. Like the Indian Army of the time, units in the Indian section consisted primarily of British officers and Indian other ranks. Units in the British section were all British. The Indians were volunteers, but many of the Europeans were conscripted, as the Indian Defence Force Act 1917 made military service compulsory for all Europeans permanently residing in British India (including the princely states) between the ages of 16 and 50. Boys between 16 and 18 were only obliged to undertake training and men over 40 only had to serve in their local district, but men between 19 and 40 were obliged to serve anywhere required within the country. Only clergy were exempt. The IDF was generally unpopular among the British conscripts. It was disbanded in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auxiliary Force (India)
The Auxiliary Force (India) (AFI) was a part-time, paid volunteer military organisation within the British Indian Army, with recruits from British India. Its units were entirely made up of European and Anglo-Indian personnel. The AFI was formed in 1920, along with the Indian Territorial Force (ITF), replacing the Indian Defence Force (IDF). History The AFI was created by the Auxiliary Force Act 1920"Indian Auxiliary Forces: A Territorial Scheme", ''The Times'', 1 October 1920 to replace the unpopular British section of the Indian Defence Force (IDF), which had recruited by conscription. By contrast, the AFI was an all-volunteer force modelled after the British Territorial Army. The Indian parallel to the AFI was the Indian Territorial Force (ITF) which was composed of British officers and Indian other ranks. Units on 3 September 1939 In popular culture The Auxiliary Force features extensively in the plot of John Masters' novel '' Bhowani Junction'', focusing on a community of An ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dibrugarh
Dibrugarh (pron: ˌdɪbru:ˈgɑ:) is an industrial city in Upper Assam with sprawling tea gardens. It is located 435 kms East from the state capital of Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of Dibrugarh district in the state of Assam in India. Dibrugarh serves as the headquarters of the Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council, which is the governing council of the Sonowal Kachari tribe (found predominantly in the Dibrugarh district). Etymology Dibrugarh derived its name from Dibarumukh (as a renowned encampment of Ahoms during the Ahom-Chutia conflict). Either the name “Dibru” evolved from Dibaru river or from the Bodo-Kachari word “Dibru” which means a “blister” and “Garh” meaning "fort". The Bodo-Kacharis add the prefix “Di-” (which means “water”) wherever there is small stream, a river, or a large river in a town or city. Climate Dibrugarh has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cwa'') with extremely wet summers and relat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur to the east; Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Bangladesh to the south; and West Bengal to the west via the Siliguri Corridor, a wide strip of land that connects the state to the rest of India. Assamese and Boro are the official languages of Assam, while Bengali is an additional official language in the Barak Valley. Assam is known for Assam tea and Assam silk. The state was the first site for oil drilling in Asia. Assam is home to the one-horned Indian rhinoceros, along with the wild water buffalo, pygmy hog, tiger and various species of Asiatic birds, and provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant. The Assamese economy is aided by wildlife tourism to Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park, which are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted in one geographical area, by a leader who was often also the feudal lord ''in capite'' of the soldiers. Lesser barons of knightly rank could be expected to muster or hire a company or battalion from their manorial estate. By the end of the 17th century, infantry regiments in most European armies were permanent units, with approximately 800 men and commanded by a colonel. Definitions During the modern era, the word "regiment" – much like "corps" – may have two somewhat divergent meanings, which refer to two distinct roles: # a front-line military formation; or # an administrative or ceremonial unit. In many armies, the first role has been assumed by independent battalions, battlegroups, task forces, brigades and other, similarly s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mounted Infantry
Mounted infantry were infantry who rode horses instead of marching. The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry. According to the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', "Mounted rifles are half cavalry, mounted infantry merely specially mobile infantry." Today, with motor vehicles having replaced horses for military transport, the motorized infantry are in some respects successors to mounted infantry. History Pre-gunpowder The origins of mounted infantry go back to at least the beginnings of organised warfare. With the weight of ancient bronze armor, the opposing champions would travel to battle on chariots before dismounting to fight. With the evolution of hoplite warfare, some hoplites would travel to battle on horseback, before dismounting to take their place in the phalanx. The early pre-Marian Roman military had units consisting of infantrymen clinging to the saddles of the cavalry to take them to battle and then dismounting to fight. Gallic and Germanic warban ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lumsden's Horse
Lumsden's Horse, also known as Colonel Lumsden's Corps, was the name given to the Indian Mounted Infantry Corps, which was formed in Calcutta in 1899 by Lieutenant-Colonel Dugald McTavish Lumsden of the Assam Valley Light Horse. The new corps was raised from volunteers from various existing Indian regiments, including the Assam Valley Light Horse. Colonel Lumsden contributed 50,000 rupees. The Corps left Calcutta 250 strong in February 1900 to take part in the Second Boer War, under the command of Field Marshal Lord Roberts. The Corps took part in the march to Bloemfontein, the occupation of Johannesburg and Pretoria, the pursuit of de Wet, and the Barberton & De Kaap campaigns against the Boers. Lord Curzon, Viceroy and Governor General of India placed a memorial tablet in St.Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta. It lists those of the Corps who died in action and in sickness. Lieutenant-Colonel Dugald McTavish Lumsden was formally appointed Commandant in March 1900, with Lieuten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dugald McTavish Lumsden
Colonel Dugald McTavish Lumsden Order of the Bath, CB (5 March 1851–10 May 1915) was a Scottish-born British army officer who founded the cavalry unit Lumsden's Horse in India in 1899. Lumsden was the oldest of the four sons of James Lumsden (1812-1882) and Grace (née McTavish, died 1894) of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Aged 22 Lumsden obtained a post with the Borelli Tea Estate in the Tezpur district of Assam. On arriving in India Lumsden attempted to popularise the volunteer movement in Assam, perhaps taking the volunteer movement in his native Scotland as his model. When the Durrung Mounted Rifles was founded in 1887 Lumsden was appointed a captain in the force. In 1888 this unit was renamed the Assam Valley Light Horse and Lumsden commanded F Squadron in the Durrung District. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South African Republic and the Orange Free State) over the Empire's influence in Southern Africa from 1899 to 1902. Following the discovery of gold deposits in the Boer republics, there was a large influx of "foreigners", mostly British from the Cape Colony. They were not permitted to have a vote, and were regarded as "unwelcome visitors", invaders, and they protested to the British authorities in the Cape. Negotiations failed and, in the opening stages of the war, the Boers launched successful attacks against British outposts before being pushed back by imperial reinforcements. Though the British swiftly occupied the Boer republics, numerous Boers refused to accept defeat and engaged in guerrilla warfare. Eventually, British scorched eart ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which could also have their own armies. As quoted in the Imperial Gazetteer of India, "The British Government has undertaken to protect the dominions of the Native princes from invasion and even from rebellion within: its army is organized for the defence not merely of British India, but of all possessions under the suzerainty of the King-Emperor." The Indian Army was an important part of the British Empire's forces, both in India and abroad, particularly during the First World War and the Second World War. The term ''Indian Army'' appears to have been first used informally, as a collective description of the Presidency armies, which collectively comprised the Bengal Army, the Madras Army and the Bombay Army, of the Presidencies of British India ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
