The 153rd Punjabisalso designated 153rd Rifles, see
nomenclature (below)was an
infantry regiment 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 ...
. It was formed in
Mesopotamia and
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
in May 1918, saw service in the
Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the
First World War, and was disbanded in June 1922.
Background
Heavy losses suffered by the
British Expeditionary Force on the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to:
Military frontiers
*Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...
following the
German spring offensive in March 1918 resulted in a major reorganization of the
Egyptian Expeditionary Force:
* two divisions
52nd (Lowland) and
74th (Yeomanry) were transferred to France in April; they were replaced by the
3rd (Lahore) and
7th (Meerut) Division
The 7th (Meerut) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service during World War I.
Pre-1857
The Meerut Division first appeared in the Indian Army List in 1829, under the command of Sir Jasper Nicolls, ...
s
from
Mesopotamia;
* nine
yeomanry regiments were dismounted, converted to machine gunners and sent to France at the end of the same month; the
4th
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
and
5th Cavalry Divisions were reformed with Indian cavalry regiments withdrawn from France and the
15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade
The 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade was a brigade-sized formation that served alongside British Empire forces in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, during World War I. Originally called the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade it was formed ...
already in Egypt;
* the
10th (Irish),
,
,
and
75th Divisions were reduced to a single British
battalion per
brigade. They were reformed with nine Indian infantry battalions and an Indian
pioneer
Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land.
In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...
battalion each.
In fact, the 75th Division already had four Indian battalions assigned, so of the 36 battalions needed to reform the divisions, 22 were improvised
by taking whole
companies from existing units already on active service in Mesopotamia and Palestine to form the
150th Infantry
The 150th Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in Mesopotamia in May 1918, saw service in the First World War and the Third Anglo-Afghan War, and was disbanded in June 1921.
History Background
Heavy losses ...
(3 battalions),
151st Sikh Infantry
The 151st Sikh Infantryalso designated 151st Punjabi Rifles, see nomenclature (below)was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in Mesopotamia and Palestine in May 1918, saw active service in the First World War and the ...
(3),
152nd Punjabis
The 152nd Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in Mesopotamia and Palestine in May 1918, saw service in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War, and was disbanded in September 1921.
Histor ...
(3), 153rd Punjabis (3),
154th Infantry
The 154th Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in Mesopotamia in May 1918, saw service in the First World War and the Third Anglo-Afghan War, and was disbanded in May 1921.
History Background
Heavy losses ...
(3),
155th Pioneers
The 155th Pioneers was a pioneer regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in Mesopotamia and Palestine in May and June 1918, saw service in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War, and was disbanded in 1920.
Backgro ...
(2),
156th Infantry
The 156th Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in Mesopotamian campaign, Mesopotamia in May 1918 during the Indian Army during World War I, First World War. It moved to India in June where it remained unti ...
(1) and the
11th Gurkha Rifles (4).
The donor units were then brought back up to strength by drafts. In the event, just 13 of the battalions were assigned to the divisions
and the remaining nine were transferred from Mesopotamia to India in June 1918.
History
The 153rd Punjabis was formed of three battalions in May 1918. The 1st Battalion was formed in Mesopotamia with companies posted from battalions serving in the
14th
14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15.
In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen".
In mathematics
* 14 is a composite number.
* 14 is a square pyramidal number.
* 14 is a s ...
,
15th
15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 (number), 14 and preceding 16 (number), 16.
Mathematics
15 is:
* A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and .
* A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky ...
, and
18th Indian Division
The 18th Indian Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service in the First World War. It took part in the Mesopotamian campaign and formed part of the occupation force for Iraq post-war. The division was n ...
s.
It was transferred to Egypt during June and July 1918. In contrast, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were formed in Palestine with companies posted from battalions already serving in the
theatre,
particularly from the 3rd (Lahore)
and 7th (Meerut) Divisions.
All three battalions were assigned to the
53rd (Welsh) Division
The 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought in both the First and Second World Wars. Originally raised in 1908 as the Welsh Division, part of the Territorial Force (TF), the division saw service in ...
in June and August and remained with the division for the rest of the
Sinai and Palestine Campaign,
[ taking part in the ]Battle of Nablus
The Battle of Nablus was fought from April 5 to April 8, 2002 in the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian forces, as part of Operation Defensive Shield in the Second Intifada. It re ...
(18–21 September 1918). At the end of the battle, the division was employed on salvage work and working on the Nablus
Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
road.[ The battalions were disbanded in India in 1921 and 1922.]
Nomenclature
Oddly, the designation of the regiment varied between the battalions. The 1st and 2nd Battalions were 153rd Punjabis whereas the 3rd Battalion was 153rd Rifles, hence 1st Battalion, 153rd Punjabis, 2nd Battalion, 153rd Punjabis and 3rd Battalion, 153rd Rifles.
1st Battalion
The 1st Battalion was formed at Diyala on 18 May 1918[ by the transfer of complete companies from:][
*]82nd Punjabis
The 82nd Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1788, as the 29th Madras Battalion. It was designated as the 82nd Punjabis in 1903 and became the 5th Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was al ...
*87th Punjabis
The 87th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1798, when they were raised as the 1st Battalion, 14th Madras Native Infantry.
The regiments first action was in the Battle of Mahidpur duri ...
*89th Punjabis
The 89th Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1798 as a battalion of Madras Native Infantry. It was designated as the 89th Punjabis in 1903 and became 1st Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was allo ...
*90th Punjabis
The 90th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was raised in 1799 as a battalion of Madras Native Infantry. It was designated as the 90th Punjabis in 1903 and became 2nd Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment in 1922. ...
The battalion moved to Amara on 23 May and left for Egypt on 20 June. It disembarked at Suez on 5 July and reached Lydda on 17 July. The battalion joined the 159th Brigade, 53rd (Welsh) Division on 2 August 1918 near Jerusalem.[ 1st Battalion, 153rd Punjabis was disbanded on 15 June 1921.][
]
2nd Battalion
The 2nd Battalion was formed at Sarafand Sarafand or Sarafend may refer to:
Places
* Sarafand, Lebanon, also spelled Sarafend
** Sarepta, an ancient Phoenician city at the location of the modern Lebanese town
* Tzrifin, area in central Israel previously known as "Sarafand" or "Sarafend", ...
(now Tzrifin) on 27 May 1918[ by the transfer of complete companies from:][
*]74th Punjabis
The 74th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1776, when they were raised as the 14th Carnatic Battalion.
The regiment first saw action during the Carnatic Wars. This was followed by the ...
* 91st Punjabis (Light Infantry)
*92nd Punjabis
The 92nd Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was raised in 1800 as a battalion of Madras Native Infantry. It was designated as the 92nd Punjabis in 1903 and became 4th Battalion (Prince of Wales's Own) 8th P ...
*93rd Burma Infantry
The 93rd Burma Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was raised in 1800 as a battalion of Madras Native Infantry. It was designated as the 93rd Burma Infantry in 1903 and became the 5th (Burma) Battalion 8th Pu ...
The battalion joined the 159th Brigade, 53rd (Welsh) Division on 5 June 1918 near Ram Allah.[ 2nd Battalion, 153rd Punjabis was disbanded on 15 June 1921.][
]
3rd Battalion
The 3rd Battalion was also formed at Sarafand on 24 May 1918[ by the transfer of complete companies from:][
*]105th Mahratta Light Infantry
The 105th Mahratta Light Infantry were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment traces their origins to 1768, when they were raised as the 3rd Battalion, Bombay Sepoys.
The regiment's first action was during the Mysore Cam ...
*123rd Outram's Rifles
The 123rd Outram's Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army.
History
It traced its origins to the 12th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry, part of the British East India Company's Bombay Army. It fought in the Battle of Khadki ...
*2nd Battalion, 124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry
The 124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1820 as the 2nd (Marine) Battalion 12th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry. It was designated as the 124th Duchess of Connaught' ...
*125th Napier's Rifles
The 125th Napier's Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. At various points in history it was also known as the 1st Extra Battalion Bombay Native Infantry, the 25th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry (1826–1889) and the 25th ...
The battalion joined the 158th Brigade, 53rd (Welsh) Division on 10 June 1918 at Et Taiyibe.[ 3rd Battalion, 153rd Rifles was disbanded on 24 June 1922.][
]
See also
* Indian Army during World War I
The Indian Army during World War I was involved World War I. Over one million Indian troops served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another 67,000 were wounded. In total at least 74,187 Indian soldiers died during the war.
In World War I the ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
* {{cite web , url=http://orbat.com/site/history/open4/uk_eygptianexpeditionaryforce1918.pdf , title=Order of Battle of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, September 1918 , last=Hanafin , first=James , publisher=orbat.com , access-date=11 November 2011 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109153754/http://orbat.com/site/history/open4/uk_eygptianexpeditionaryforce1918.pdf , archive-date=9 January 2015
British Indian Army infantry regiments
Military units and formations established in 1918
Military units and formations disestablished in 1922