The 12th Indian Brigade was an

infantry 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 mar ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

of the British Indian Army that saw active service in 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 ...

. It served in the

Mesopotamian Campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Po ...

on the Euphrates Front throughout its existence.

History

The 12th Indian Brigade was formed at Nasirabad in

5th (Mhow) Division The 5th (Mhow) Division was a regular division of the British Indian Army and part of the Southern Army which was formed in 1903 after Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India between 1902 and 1909. He instituted large-scale re ...

in January 1915. It was transferred to

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

and joined the 12th Indian Division on formation at the end of March. ;12th Indian Division With the division, the brigade took part in the Actions for Nasiriya (5, 1314, 24 July) and the Occupation of

Nasiriya Nasiriyah ( ar, ٱلنَّاصِرِيَّة; BGN: ''An Nāşirīyah''; also spelled ''Nassiriya'' or ''Nasiriya'') is a city in Iraq. It is on the lower Euphrates, about south-southeast of Baghdad, near the ruins of the ancient city of Ur. ...

(25 July) in 1915 and the Affair of Butaniya on 14 January 1916. The division never reached full strength as units were constantly detached to support the efforts to relieve the

6th (Poona) Division The 6th (Poona) Division was a division of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1903, following the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army. World War I The 6th (Poona) Division served in the Mesopotamian campaign. Led by Major General Barr ...

besieged at Kut. The division was broken up on 10 March 1916 and the brigade was posted to the new 15th Indian Division in May 1916. ;15th Indian Division The 15th Indian Division was formed on 7 May 1916 to replace the 12th Indian Division on the Euphrates Front; the brigade joined the division on formation. It remained with the division on the Euphrates Front until the end of the war. The brigade took part in the

action of As Sahilan Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

(11 September 1916), the Capture of Ramadi (28 and 29 September 1917), the Occupation of

Hīt Hīt, also spelled ''Heet'' ( ar, هيت), ancient name ''Is'', is an Iraqi city in Al-Anbar province. Hīt lies northwest of Ramadi, the provincial capital. Straddling the Euphrates River, the city of Hīt was originally a small walled town sur ...

(9 March 1918) and the action of Khan Baghdadi (26 and 27 March 1918). At the end of the war, the division was rapidly run down and it (along with the brigade) was disbanded in March 1919.

Order of battle

The brigade commanded the following units in the

: * 2nd Battalion,

Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

''(joined from

Nasirabad Brigade The 5th (Mhow) Division was a regular division of the British Indian Army and part of the Southern Army which was formed in 1903 after Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India between 1902 and 1909. He instituted large-scale refo ...

, 5th (Mhow) Division in January 1915; in November 1915, half of the battalion joined

30th Indian Brigade The 30th Indian Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service with the Indian Army during the First World War. It initially saw active service in Egypt in 1915, before transferring to Mesopotamia. It took ...

and the other half to

34th Indian Brigade The 34th Indian Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service in the Mesopotamian campaign in the Indian Army during the First World War. It was reformed for the Second World War as the ''34th Indian States ...

, 12th Indian Division)'' * 90th Punjabis ''(joined from Nasirabad Brigade, 5th (Mhow) Division)'' * 44th Mherwara Infantry ''(joined from Nasirabad Brigade, 5th (Mhow) Division; to Corps Troops in June 1915)'' *

4th Prince Albert Victor's Rajputs The 4th Prince Albert Victor's Rajputs was an infantry battalion of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1798, when they were the 2nd Battalion, 16th Bengal Native Infantry. Over the years they became known by a number of di ...

''(joined from

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the old ...

, 3rd Lahore Divisional Area; in June 1915 posted to

33rd Indian Brigade The 33rd Indian Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service with the Indian Army during the First World War. It took part in the Mesopotamian campaign in 1915 before being broken up at the end of the year ...

, 12th Indian Division)'' *

67th Punjabis The 67th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1759, when they were raised as the 8th Battalion Coast Sepoys. The regiment's first action was during the Carnatic Wars followed by the Thir ...

''(joined from 33rd Indian Brigade, 12th Indian Division in April 1915; in November 1915, half of the battalion joined 30th Indian Brigade, 6th (Poona) Division and the other half to Corps Troops)'' * 1/5th Battalion,

Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Ar ...

''(joined from 34th Indian Brigade, 12th Indian Division in February 1916)'' * 1st Battalion, 43rd Erinpura Infantry ''(joined from Corp Troops in June 1916)'' * 128th Machine Gun Company ''(joined from Corp Troops in August 1916)'' * 2nd Battalion,

39th Garhwal Rifles The 39th Garhwal Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. History The regiment was first raised in 1887 as the Aligarh Levy but was disbanded after disgracing itself at the Rawalpindi Review in 1888. In 1891, the 39th (The Ga ...

''(joined in April 1917 from

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

, 7th Meerut Divisional Area)'' * 12th Light

Trench Mortar ''Minenwerfer'' ("mine launcher" or "mine thrower") is the German name for a class of short range mine shell launching mortars used extensively during the First World War by the Imperial German Army. The weapons were intended to be used by engin ...

Battery ''('M' Light Trench Mortar Battery joined 15th Division in September 1917 and assigned to the brigade in February 1918)''

Commanders

The brigade had the following commanders:

References

Bibliography

External links