The 18th Infantry were 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 ...
. Their origins trace back to 1795, when they were known as the Calcutta Native Militia. Over the years they were known by a number of different names, such as the Alipore Regiment in 1859, the 18th Bengal Native Infantry in 1861, the 18th (Alipore) Bengal Native Infantry in 1864, the 18th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry in 1885 and the 18th Musulman Rajput Infantry in 1902. Finally, following the
Kitchener reforms
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 cou ...
of the Indian Army, the 18th Infantry.
They took part in the
Third Anglo-Burmese War
The Third Anglo-Burmese War ( my, တတိယ အင်္ဂလိပ် – မြန်မာစစ်, Tatiya Anggalip–Mran cac), also known as the Third Burma War, took place during 7–29 November 1885, with sporadic resistance conti ...
in 1885 and
World War I
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 ...
. During World War I they were part of the
Derajat Brigade The Derajat Brigade was formed after the 1903 reforms of the British Indian Army by Herbert Kitchener when he was Commander-in-Chief, India. The brigade was part of the Northern Army and deployed along the North West Frontier. The Derajat Brigade ...
and took part in operations on the
North West Frontier. After World War I the Indian government reformed the army again moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments.
[Sumner p.15] The 18th Infantry now became the 4th Battalion
9th Jat Regiment. In the reorganisation of 1922, this unit became the Regimental Centre located at Bareilly. The other active battalions of the Jat Regiment formed were from the erstwhile Bengal (Ist and 3rd battalions) and Bombay (2nd (Mooltan) battalion) armies. The Jat Regimental Centre, to-day, has an unbroken history since raised as the Calcutta Native Militia, to protect East India Company's assets, in 1795. After independence this was one of the regiments allocated to the new
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
.
References
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British Indian Army infantry regiments
Honourable East India Company regiments
Military units and formations established in 1795
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