The 16th Punjab Regiment 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 ...

from 1922 to 1947. Upon 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: ...

, it was transferred to the newly-raised

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 ...

. It ceased to exist in this form in 1956, when it was amalgamated with the 1st,

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 ...

and

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 ...

Punjab regiments to form the

Punjab Regiment Punjab Regiment may refer to the following existing units: *Punjab Regiment (India) *Punjab Regiment (Pakistan) From 1922 to 1947, the British Indian Army included 6 numbered Punjab Regiments: *1st Punjab Regiment * 2nd Punjab Regiment *8th Punj ...

, an existing infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army.Rizvi, Brig SHA. (1984). ''Veteran Campaigners – A History of the Punjab Regiment 1759-1981''. Lahore: Wajidalis.Lawford, Lt Col JP, and Catto, Maj WE. (1967). ''Solah Punjab: The History of the 16th Punjab Regiment''. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.

Early history

The 16th Punjab Regiment was formed in 1922 by amalgamation of the 30th, 31st, 33rd and

46th Punjabis The 46th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1900, as the 46th (Punjab) Regiment of Bengal Infantry. It was designated as the 46th Punjabis in 1903 and became 10th (Training) Battalion of 16th Punjab Regi ...

, and

9th Bhopal Infantry The 9th Bhopal Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army.It was raised by Nawab of Bhopal in 1818 near Sehore. It was re-raised in 1859, as the Bhopal Levy. The regiment was disbanned for participating in war against British ...

. Except for the 46th Punjabis, who were raised in 1900, the rest were raised during the upheaval of the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

in 1857-59. The 30th and 31st Punjabis were raised in 1857, as the 22nd Regiment of Punjab Infantry and Van Cortlandt's Levy respectively. The 33rd Punjabis were also raised in 1857, as the Allahabad Levy, while the 9th Bhopal Infantry was raised in 1859, as the Bhopal Levy from the remnants of loyal elements of the Bhopal Contingent. The 30th and 31st Punjabis served in the Bhutan War of 1864-66 and all the battalions saw service on the North West Frontier of India. The 30th and 31st Punjabis along with the 9th Bhopal took part in the Second Afghan War of 1878-80, while the 33rd Punjabis served in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885-87.

First World War

The 30th Punjabis served with distinction in the

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 ...

, while their 2nd Battalion served in the Palestine Campaign. The regiment raised a total of three new battalions during the war. Another regiment that raised three battalions was the 9th Bhopal Infantry, who were dispatched to the killing fields of France and Flanders in 1914. The regiment suffered heavy losses at the Battles of

Neuve Chapelle Neuve-Chapelle ( vls, Nieuwkappel) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. It was the site of a First World War battle in 1915. Geography Neuve-Chapelle is situated some northeast of Béthune and ...

, Festubert, Givenchy and the

Second Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pre ...

. In 1915, they arrived in Mesopotamia, where Sepoy

Chatta Singh Chatta Singh VC (188628 March 1961) was an Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Details He was about 29 ye ...

was awarded the Victoria Cross for exceptional valour. By the time they returned home, only fifteen men remained of those who had sailed for France in 1914. 33rd Punjabis (15 Punjab) (PMs) 1910

*30th Punjabis - India,

, Egypt. *2/30th Punjabis - Raised in 1918. India, Egypt,

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 ...

. *3/30th Punjabis - Raised in 1918. India. *4/30th Punjabis - Raised in 1918. India. *31st Punjabis - India, Mesopotamia, Greece, Turkey. *33rd Punjabis - India, Egypt, France,

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

, German East Africa. *2/33rd Punjabis - Raised in 1917. India. *9th Bhopal Infantry - India, France, Egypt, Mesopotamia. *2/9th Bhopal Infantry (The Delhi Regiment) - Raised in 1917. India, Mesopotamia. *3/9th Bhopal Infantry - Raised in 1917. India, Mesopotamia. *4/9th Bhopal Infantry - Raised in 1918. India. *46th Punjabis - India, Egypt. All war-raised battalions were disbanded after the war. In 1921-22, a major reorganization was undertaken in the British Indian Army leading to the formation of large infantry groups of four to six battalions. Among these was the 16th Punjab Regiment. The line-up of battalions for Solah Punjab was: * 1st Battalion -

30th Punjabis The 30th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as the 22nd Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 30th Punjabis in 1903 and became 1st Battalion 16th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, ...

* 2nd Battalion -

31st Punjabis The 31st Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as Van Cortlandt's Levy. The regiment was designated as the 31st Punjabis in 1903 and became 2nd Battalion 16th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was ...

* 3rd Battalion -

33rd Punjabis The 33rd Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as the Allahabad Levy. It was designated as the 33rd Punjabis in 1903 and became 3rd Battalion 16th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to ...

* 4th Battalion -

* 10th (Training) Battalion -

. The class composition of the new regiment was Punjabi Muslims, Sikhs and Dogras. The new regimental badge consisted of a Maltese cross with a Muslim crescent and a Sikh quoit, surmounted by a Tudor crown with a scroll below. The uniform was scarlet with white facings. Multan in the Punjab was chosen as the permanent station for the Training Battalion.

Second World War

The 2nd and 3rd Battalions were captured by the Japanese at Singapore. The 1st, 5th and 7th Battalions fought in Burma, and the 4th Battalion's fought in Africa and Italy. Lance Naik Sher Shah of the 7th Battalion was awarded the Victoria Cross in Burma. During the war, the 16th Punjab Regiment suffered a total of 2744 casualties including 990 killed or died of wounds. *1st Battalion - India, Burma,

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

. *2nd Battalion - India,

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

. Captured by the Japanese at Singapore in February 1942. They would end up on a Japanese "hell ship" ''Buyo Maru''. Unit re-raised in 1945. *3rd Battalion - India, Malaya, Singapore. Captured by the Japanese in February 1942. Re-raised in 1946 as 3rd (Para) Battalion. *4th Battalion - India, North Africa, Italian East Africa, Italy,

. *5th Battalion - Raised in 1940. India, Burma. Re-designated as 2/16th Punjab in 1945. *6th Battalion - Raised in 1941. India,

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Re-designated as 3/16th Punjab in 1946. *7th Battalion - Raised in 1941. India, Burma, Malaya. Disbanded January 1948; re-raised October 1948. *9th Battalion - Raised in 1943 by re-designation of 25th Garrison Battalion on conversion to active status. India. Disbanded 1945. *25th Garrison Battalion - Raised in 1941. India. Redesignated as 9/16th Punjab in 1943 on conversion to active status. India. *26th Garrison Battalion - Raised in 1942. India. Disbanded 1946.

Post-independence history

On the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the 16th Punjab Regiment was allotted to Pakistan Army. At the time, the active battalions were 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th. Jats, Sikhs and Dogras were transferred to the Indian Army and the regiment's new class composition was fixed as Punjabis and Pathans. In 1948, the 1st, 3rd and 4th Battalions fought in the war with India 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, a major reorganization was undertaken in the Pakistan Army and larger infantry groups were created by amalgamating the existing infantry regiments. As a result, the 16th Punjab Regiment was amalgamated with the 1st, 14th and 15th Punjab Regiments to form one large Punjab Regiment. The four regimental centres were also merged and the combined centre moved to Mardan. The line-up of the new regiment was: *1 Punjab - 1/1st Punjab *2 Punjab - 2/1st Punjab *3 Punjab - 3/1st Punjab *4 Punjab - 5/1st Punjab *5 Punjab - 1/14th Punjab *6 Punjab - 2/14th Punjab (Duke of Cambridge's Own) *7 Punjab - 3/14th Punjab *8 Punjab - 4/14th Punjab *9 Punjab - 1/15th Punjab *10 Punjab - 2/15th Punjab *11 Punjab - 3/15th Punjab *12 Punjab - 4/15th Punjab *13 Punjab - 1/16th Punjab *14 Punjab - 2/16th Punjab *15 Punjab - 3/16th Punjab *16 Punjab - 5/14th Punjab (Pathans) *17 Punjab - 4/16th Punjab (Bhopal) *18 Punjab - 7/1st Punjab *19 Punjab - 7/16th Punjab *20 Punjab - 14/1st Punjab

Battle honours

Afghanistan 1879-80, Burma 1885-87, Chitral, Tirah, Malakand, Punjab Frontier, La Bassee 1914, Messines 1914, Armentieres 1914, Festubert 1914, Givenchy 1914, Ypres 1915, St Julien, Aubers, Loos, France and Flanders 1914-15, Macedonia 1918, Suez Canal, Egypt 1915-16, Megiddo, Nablus, Palestine 1918, Aden, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1915-18, NW Frontier India, 1915, 1916–17, Behobeho, Narungombe, Nyangao, East Africa 1917-18, Afghanistan 1919, Mescelit Pass, Mt Engiahat, Massawa, Abyssinia 1940-41, Sidi Barrani, Omars, Benghazi, El Alamein, Mareth, Akarit, Djebel Garci, Tunis, North Africa 1940-43, Cassino I, Italy 1943-45, Kroh, Jitra, Gurun, Ipoh, Kampar, The Muar, Singapore Island, Malaya 1941-42, Fort White, North Arakan, Kaladan, Maungdaw, Ngakyedauk Pass, Imphal, Tamu Road, Litan, Arakan Beaches, Burma 1942-45, Kashmir 1948.Rodger, Alexander. (2003). ''Battle Honours of the British Empire and Commonwealth Land Forces 1662-1991''. Ramsbury: The Crowood Press.

Early history

First World War

Second World War

Post-independence history

Battle honours

See also

References

Further reading