The 156th Infantry 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 in May 1918 during the
First World War. It moved to India in June where it remained until disbanded in 1919.
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5th Cavalry Divisions were reformed with Indian cavalry regiments withdrawn from France and the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
The 153rd Punjabisalso designated 153rd Rifles, see nomenclature (below)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 W ...
(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 (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 regiment was formed with a single battalion (1st Battalion) in Mesopotamia in May 1918 by the transfer of complete companies from:
[
*]73rd Carnatic Infantry
The 73rd Carnatic Infantry was an infantry regiment originally raised in 1776 as the 13th Carnatic Battalion (using drafts of men from the 4th, 7th and the 11th Carnatic Battalion) as part of the Presidency of Madras Army which was itself p ...
*79th Carnatic Infantry
The 79th Carnatic Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1777, when the 20th Carnatic Battalion was raised from sub-units of the 1st, 3rd, 8th and 16th Carnatic Battalions.
History
As part ...
*80th Carnatic Infantry
The 80th Carnatic Infantry were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1777, when they were raised as the 21st Carnatic Battalion, by enlisting men from the 2nd, the 6th, the 12th and the 15th Carnatic ...
*83rd Wallajahbad Light Infantry
The 83rd Wallajahbad Light Infantry was an infantry regiment originally raised in 1794 as the 33rd Madras Battalion, part of the Presidency of Madras Army which was itself part of the Honourable East India Company Army. The presidency armies, ...
The battalion was transferred from Mesopotamia to India in June 1918 and joined the Karachi Brigade where it remained in until the end of the First World War.[
]
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
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*
*
*
*
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 1919