The 119th Infantry (The Mooltan Regiment) was an infantry regiment of the
British Indian Army. The regiment originated in 1817, when it was raised as the 1st Battalion, 10th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry.
The regiment's first action was in the
Battle of Ghazni
The Battle of Ghazni (or Ghuznee) took place in the city of Ghazni in central Afghanistan on Tuesday, July 23, 1839, during the First Anglo-Afghan War.
Prelude
In the 1830s, the British were firmly entrenched in India but by 1837, feared a Rus ...
in the
First Afghan War
The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Afghanistan, Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking si ...
. After Afghanistan it took part in the
Siege of Multan
The siege of Multan began on 19 April 1848 and lasted until 22 January 1849, and saw fighting around Multan (in present-day Pakistan) between the British East India Company and the Sikh Empire. It began with a rebellion against a ruler imposed ...
in the
Second Anglo-Sikh War
The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company that took place in 1848 and 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently ...
. It returned to Afghanistan in the
Second Afghan War
The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the ...
and took part in the
Siege of Multan
The siege of Multan began on 19 April 1848 and lasted until 22 January 1849, and saw fighting around Multan (in present-day Pakistan) between the British East India Company and the Sikh Empire. It began with a rebellion against a ruler imposed ...
. During
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 ...
it was attached to 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 ...
and 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 ...
. It fought in the
Battle of Basra, the
Battle of Qurna, the
Battle of Es Sinn before suffering a setback at the
Battle of Ctesiphon, after which it withdrew to
Kut
Kūt ( ar, ٱلْكُوت, al-Kūt), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare or Kut al-Imara, is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 389,400 people.
It ...
. Trapped in the city in the
Siege of Kut
The siege of Kut Al Amara (7 December 1915 – 29 April 1916), also known as the first battle of Kut, was the besieging of an 8,000 strong British Army garrison in the town of Kut, south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. In 1915, its population ...
the regiment was forced to surrender after 147 days. A second battalion was raised from men on leave and reinforcements, and sent to Mesopotamia.
After World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving from single-battalion to multi-battalion regiments. In 1922 the 119th Infantry (The Molten Regiment) became the 2nd (Mooltan Battalion), The
9th Jat Regiment
The 9th Jat Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, after the Indian government reformed the army, moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments.
World War II
The Regiment saw a g ...
. After independence it was one of the regiments allocated to the
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- ...
.
Predecessor names
*1st Battalion, 10th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry – 1817-1824
*19th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry – 1824-1885
*19th Bombay Infantry (The Mooltan Regiment) – 1885-1903
*119th Infantry (The Mooltan Regiment) - 1903-1922
*2nd (Mooltan) Battalion, The 9th JAT Regiment - 1922-1947
References
Sources and further reading
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*{{cite book , last=Sumner , first=Ian , title=The Indian Army 1914–1947 , year=2001 , publisher=Osprey Publishing , isbn=1-84176-196-6
British Indian Army infantry regiments
Bombay Presidency
Military units and formations established in 1817
Military units and formations disestablished in 1922