The 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis was an

infantry regiment Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

of the

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 co ...

raised in 1846 as the 2nd Bellochee Battalion. It was designated as the 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis in 1903, and became 4th Battalion (Duke of Connaught's Own)

10th Baluch Regiment The 10th Baluch or Baluch Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. After Partition of India, independence, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was amalgamated with the 8th Punjab Regiment, 8th Punja ...

in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

, where it continues to exist as 11th Battalion of The

Baloch Regiment 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 Regiment, 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments with the 10th Baluch Regiment, Baluch Regiment. Since then, furt ...

.Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.

Early history

The regiment was raised on 6 May 1846 at

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

on the orders of General Sir Charles Napier, the British Governor of

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

. Its manpower was mostly drawn from

Balochis The Baloch or Baluch ( bal, بلۏچ, Balòc) are an Iranian people who live mainly in the Balochistan region, located at the southeasternmost edge of the Iranian plateau, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. There ar ...

Sindhis Sindhis ( sd, سنڌي Perso-Arabic: सिन्धी Devanagari; ) are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group who speak the Sindhi language and are native to the province of Sindh in Pakistan. After the partition of British Indian empire in 1947, man ...

and

Pathan Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

s of Sindh. Later, it also recruited Brahuis and Punjabi Muslims, while the recruitment area was extended to include

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...

and the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. In 1856, the battalion was dispatched to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and fought in the

Anglo-Persian War The Anglo-Persian War or the Anglo-Iranian War () lasted between 1 November 1856 and 4 April 1857, and was fought between the United Kingdom and Iran, which was ruled by the Qajar dynasty. The war had the British oppose an attempt by Iran to ...

. In the post-

Mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

realignment, it was brought into line in 1861 and became the 29th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry or the 2nd Belooch Regiment. In 1862, the regiment went to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

to suppress the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It lasted fr ...

. Two years later, they became the first foreign troops to be stationed in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, when two companies were sent to

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

to guard the British legation. In 1878–80, the 2nd Belooch Regiment fought in the

Second Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the ...

, followed by the

Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt (1882), also known as Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

of 1882. In 1883, the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also ...

was appointed their Colonel-in-Chief.Qureshi, Lt Col IA. (1966). ''History of 11th Battalion, the Baluch Regiment''. Lahore: The Allied Press.Cadell, Sir Patrick. (1938). ''History of the Bombay Army''. London: Longmans & Green.Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin. (1998). ''History of the Baloch Regiment 1820-1939''. Abbottabad: Baloch Regimental Centre. Subsequent to the

reforms Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

brought about in the British Indian Army by Lord Kitchener in 1903, all former

Bombay Army The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three presidencies of Presidencies and provinces of British India, British India. It was established in 1662 and governed by the East India Company until the Government of India A ...

units had 100 added to their numbers. Consequently, the regiment's designation was changed to 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis. In 1912, General Sir Garrett O'Moore Creagh, VC, GCB,

GCSI The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India, GCSI) # ...

, Commander-in-Chief, British Indian Army was appointed Colonel of the 129th DCO Baluchis. He was a former Commanding Officer of the regiment. The regimental full dress uniform in 1914 included a rifle green turban and ''kurta'' (knee length tunic) piped in red, worn with red trousers and white gaiters. The red trousers were a distinctive feature of all five Baluch infantry regiments then serving in the British Indian Army. 29TH BOMBAY NATIVE INFANTRY on Firing Exercise 1885 Simkin

29TH BOMBAY NATIVE INFANTRY on Firing Exercise 1885 Simkin

During the

First World War 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 fightin ...

, the 129th DCO Baluchis served on the Western Front in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, where they became the first Indian regiment to attack the Germans. At

Hollebeke Hollebeke is a Flemish village in the Belgian province of West Vlaanderen, now part of Ypres city. History In World War I, it was the site of allied heroism (like other neighbouring parts of Ypres, such as Klein Zillebeke) that won Khudadad Khan t ...

, during the First Ypres, Sepoy

Khudadad Khan Subedar Khudadad Khan, VC (20 October 1888 – 8 March 1971) was a Pakistani and the recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces. During t ...

became the first Pakistani to win the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

; Britain's highest decoration for valour. The regiment also fought in the Battles of Messines 1914,

Armentières 1914 Armentières (; vls, Armentiers) is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fière'' (Poor but proud). Geogr ...

, Festubert 1914, Givenchy 1914 and Neuve Chapelle 1915. From France, the regiment proceeded to

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...

and again distinguished itself in the long and difficult campaign. The German commander, General von Lettow-Vorbeck, said of them: ''"... the 129th Baluchis ... were without a doubt very good"''. The regiment suffered a staggering 3585 casualties out of the 4447 officers and men, who served with it in the First World War. Out of these casualties 348 died, including 45 attached men from the 127th Baluchi Light Infantry and 6 men from the 124th Baluchis. In 1918, the regiment raised a second battalion. Both 1st & 2nd Battalions 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis fought in the

Third Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War; fa, جنگ سوم افغان-انگلیس), also known as the Third Afghan War, the British-Afghan War of 1919, or in Afghanistan as the War of Independence, began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan inv ...

of 1919, while the 2nd Battalion also served in Iraq during the

Iraqi revolt against the British The Iraqi revolt against the British, also known as the 1920 Iraqi Revolt or the Great Iraqi Revolution, started in Baghdad in the summer of 1920 with mass demonstrations by Iraqis, including protests by embittered officers from the old Ottoman ...

in 1920. The 2nd Battalion was disbanded in 1922.

Subsequent history

In 1922, the regiment was grouped with five other Baluch battalions: 1st & 2nd Battalions of 124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry,

126th Baluchistan Infantry The 126th Baluchistan Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1825 as the 2nd Extra Battalion of Bombay Native Infantry. It was designated as the 126th Baluchistan Infantry in 1903 and became 2nd Battalion 10th Baluch ...

127th Queen Mary's Own Baluch Light Infantry The 127th Queen Mary's Own Baluch Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1844 as The Scinde Bellochee Corps. It was designated as the 127th Baluch Light Infantry in 1903 and became 3rd Battalion (Queen Mary's O ...

and the 130th King George's Own Baluchis (Jacob's Rifles), to form the 10th Baluch Regiment. The 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis were designated as the 4th Battalion (Duke of Connaught's Own) 10th Baluch Regiment. 129th Baluchis near Holobeke

During the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

, 4/10th Baluch served in

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa ( it, Africa Orientale Italiana, AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somalia, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire, conquered in the Seco ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The battalion's performance in the war was once again highly commendable. It suffered a total of 1677 casualties and received numerous gallantry awards. On the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

in 1947, the battalion, along with the Baluch Regiment was allocated to Pakistan Army. In the 1948 Indo-Pakistan War, the battalion captured the strategic heights of Pandu in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. In 1956, on the merger of 8th Punjab and

Bahawalpur Regiment The Bahawalpur Regiment was a regiment of Pakistan Army. The regiment was formed in 1952 from the infantry battalions of the erstwhile Princely State of Bahawalpur (princely state), Bahawalpur, which had acceded to Pakistan in 1947. In 1956, the Ba ...

s with the Baluch Regiment, 4 Baluch was redesignated as 11 Baluch (now 11 Baloch). During the

Indo-Pakistani Wars Since the Partition of British India in 1947 and subsequent creation of the dominions of India and Pakistan, the two countries have been involved in a number of wars, conflicts, and military standoffs. A long-running dispute over Kashmir and ...

of 1965 and 1971, the battalion fought with distinction in the

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

and Zafarwal Sectors.

Genealogy

*1846 2nd Bellochee Battalion *1858 2nd Belooch Extra Battalion Bombay Native Infantry *1859 2nd Belooch Regiment Bombay Native Infantry *1861 29th Regiment Bombay Native Infantry or 2nd Belooch Regiment *1883 29th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Regiment Bombay Native Infantry or 2nd Belooch Regiment *1885 29th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Regiment Bombay Infantry or 2nd Belooch Regiment *1888 29th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Regiment (2nd Belooch Battalion) Bombay Infantry *1892 29th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Regiment (2nd Baluch Battalion) Bombay Infantry or 29th Baluchis 129th Baluchis 1911

*1901 29th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Baluch Infantry *1903 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis *1917 1st Battalion 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis *1922 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis *1922 4th Battalion (Duke of Connaught's Own) 10th Baluch Regiment or 4/10th Baluch *1945 4th Battalion (Duke of Connaught's Own) The Baluch Regiment or 4 Baluch *1956 11th Battalion The Baluch Regiment or 11 Baluch *1991 11th Battalion The Baloch Regiment or 11 Baloch

Uniforms

Throughout its existence as a separate regiment the 129th Baluchis wore a full dress comprising dark green turban and tunic, the latter with red facings. Trousers were red and cut wide in "knickerbocker" style. Gaiters were white and equipment of brown leather. British officers wore green tunics of rifle regiment pattern with silver ornamented pouch-belts and red trousers. Khaki drill field service uniforms were introduced about 1880 and replaced the green and red for most occasions after 1914.

References

External links

*''History of the Baloch Regiment 1820–1939 the Colonial Period'', text o
pages 1 to 15
available online as download preview Baloch Regiment British Indian Army infantry regiments Military units and formations established in 1903 Military units and formations disestablished in 1922