The 1st Punjab Regiment was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. Upon the Partition of India, it was transferred to the newly-raised Pakistan Army. It ceased to exist in this form in 1956, when it was amalgamated with the 14th, 15th and

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

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.

History

Madras Army

The 1st Punjab Regiment had its antecedents in the old Madras Army of the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

, which was largely responsible for the establishment of British rule in south and central

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Its senior battalion was raised as the 3rd Battalion of Coast Sepoys in 1759, making it the senior-most surviving infantry battalion of the British Indian Army. The 2nd Battalion was raised in 1761 as the 7th Battalion of Coast Sepoys, while the 3rd Battalion was raised in 1776 as the 16th Carnatic Battalion. This was followed by the 5th Battalion in 1788 as 29th Madras Battalion and the 10th Battalion in 1794 as 34th Madras Battalion. These battalions underwent several changes in nomenclature until 1824, when they were designated as the 2nd, 6th, 16th, 22nd and 24th Regiments of Madras Native Infantry. Their men were mostly enlisted from South India and consisted of Muslims and Hindus. The 4th Battalion was an oddity as being a survivor of the Bengal Army, most of whose units were disbanded following the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 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 ...

–58. It was raised in 1776 as the 30th Battalion of Bengal Sepoys. In 1861, it was designated as the 1st Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry. It mostly recruited Hindu

Brahmans Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru o ...

from

Oudh The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of ...

. All the battalions of the regiment played an important role in the early military campaigns of the East India Company and were actively engaged in the wars against the French,

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

and the

Marathas The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...

. Their first major engagement was the decisive Battle of Wandiwash in 1760, which ended French colonial ambitions in India. This was followed by forty years of constant warfare against the Sultans of Mysore, and then the Marathas chieftains. In the

Second Maratha War } The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) was the second conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. Background The British had supported the "fugitive" Peshwa Raghunathrao in the First Anglo-Maratha War ...

of 1803–05, the 1st and 10th Battalions fought in the

Battle of Assaye The Battle of Assaye was a major battle of the Second Anglo-Maratha War fought between the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company. It occurred on 23 September 1803 near Assaye in western India. An outnumbered Indian and British forc ...

under General Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, while the 4th Battalion fought in the Battles of Laswari and

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...

in 1803, and

Bhurtpore Bharatpur is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, south of India's capital, New Delhi, from Rajasthan's capital Jaipur, west of Agra of Uttar Pradesh and from Mathura of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Bharatp ...

in 1805. The performance of the 1st and 10th at Assaye was much appreciated and they were permitted the word "Assaye" with the device of an elephant on their colours and appointments. The two battalions were again engaged against the Marathas during the

Third Maratha War The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the English East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an invasion of Maratha ter ...

of 1817–19, which decisively broke the Maratha power in India. The regiment also made overseas forays, when the 2nd and 10th Battalions took part in the expeditions to

Bourbon Island Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by ...

and

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

in 1810, and the 3rd and 5th served in the

First Anglo-Burmese War The First Anglo-Burmese War ( my, ပထမ အင်္ဂလိပ်-မြန်မာ စစ်; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War, was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmes ...

of 1824–26. In 1840, the 1st and 2nd Battalions took part in the

First Anglo-Chinese War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...

. Their performance was much appreciated and as a reward, they were the only two battalions of the Indian Army authorized to bear a golden dragon wearing the imperial crown upon their

regimental colours In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours (or colors), standards, flags, or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some ...

along with the

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

of "China". In the latter part of the 19th century, the regiment did not see much action, although all of its battalions served in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

After the conquest of Sindh and the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

in the 1840s, British focus shifted towards the northwest and the Madras Army was largely reduced to garrison duties. This greatly affected its morale and efficiency. By the turn of the century, the reputation of Madrassi units had suffered considerably and they were either disbanded or reconstituted with northerners. Among the latter were the five battalions, which would go on to form the 1st Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1902, the South Indians were mustered out and replaced with Punjabi Muslims,

Jat The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...

Sikhs and

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

s in the 1st, 2nd and 10th Battalions. Next year, the 3rd and 5th Battalions were also reconstituted with Punjabi Muslims, Sikh Jats and Hindu

s. Under 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 co ...

of 1903, these battalions were redesignated as the 62nd, 66th, 76th, 82nd and 84th Punjabis; thus severing almost a hundred and fifty years of association with Madras. Meanwhile, the 1st Bengal Infantry was redesignated as the 1st Brahmans.

First World War

During the

First World War 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 ...

, except for the 1st Brahmans, all battalions of the regiment 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 ...

, while the 62nd and 76th Punjabis also served at Suez Canal during the Turkish offensive of 1915. Captain

Claude Auchinleck Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, (21 June 1884 – 23 March 1981), was a British Army commander during the Second World War. He was a career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, where he rose to become Commander ...

, later Field Marshal and the last Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army, served with the 62nd Punjabis in Egypt and Mesopotamia. 62nd Punjabis, Ismailia, Egypt, 1914

* 62nd Punjabis –

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

, Aden. *

66th Punjabis The 66th Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1761 as the 7th Battalion of Coast Sepoys. It was designated as the 66th Punjabis in 1903 and became 2nd Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was ...

– Mesopotamia. Captured by the Turks at

Kut al Amara 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 ...

in 1915. Re-formed 1916. * 2/66th Punjabis – Raised in 1918 – India. Disbanded 1921. * 76th Punjabis – Egypt, Mesopotamia. Captured by the Turks at Kut al Amara in 1915. Re-formed 1917. * 2/76th Punjabis – Raised in 1917 – India. Disbanded 1922. * 1st Brahmans – North West Frontier of India, Aden. * 2/1st Brahmans – Raised in 1917 – India. Disbanded. * 82nd Punjabis – North West Frontier of India, Mesopotamia. * 84th Punjabis – North West Frontier of India, Mesopotamia,

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. In 1919, the 66th, 76th and 82nd Punjabis participated in the

Third Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War; fa, جنگ سوم افغان-انگلیس), also known as the Third Afghan War, the British-Afghan War of 1919, or in Afghanistan as the War of Independence, began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan inv ...

. 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 in 1922. Among these was the 1st Punjab Regiment; most senior among the infantry regiments of the Indian Army. The line-up of battalions for the 1st Punjabis was: Mortar of 2nd Bn 1st Punjab Regt in action

Mortar of 2nd Bn 1st Punjab Regt in action

* 62nd Punjabis – 1st Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment *

– 2nd Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment * 76th Punjabis – 3rd Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment * 1st Brahmans – 4th Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment * 82nd Punjabis – 5th Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment * 84th Punjabis – 10th (Training) Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment * 1st (Territorial) Battalion 62nd Punjabis – 11th (Territorial) Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment The new class composition of the 1st Punjab Regiment, based at Jhelum, was Punjabi Muslims, Rajputs, Muslims from Hazara and Sikhs. The Elephant of Assaye and the Imperial Dragon superimposed over the Star of India were chosen as its new emblem. The regiment's uniform was scarlet with green facings. In the inter-war period, the 1st Punjab Regiment saw extensive service on the North West Frontier of India. In 1931, the 4th Battalion was disbanded due to retrenchment in the Indian Army. In 1937, King George VI was gazetted as the Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Punjab Regiment.

Second World War

* 1st Battalion – India,

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, Dutch East Indies. 3rd Bn 1st Punjab Regt in the Libyan Desrt, 1942

* 2nd Battalion – India, Burma, Dutch East Indies. * 3rd Battalion – India, North Africa, Eritrea,

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. * 5th Battalion – India, Burma, Occupation of Japan 1945 - 1947. * 6th Battalion – Raised in 1940. Captured at

by the Japanese in February 1942. * 7th Battalion – Raised in 1941. India, Andamans, Singapore. * 8th Battalion – Raised 1941. Converted into 6th (1st Punjab) Light Anti Aircraft Regiment. India. Redesignated as the 28th (Punjab) Para Light Anti Aircraft Regiment in 1947. Disbanded later that year. * 9th Battalion – Redesignation of the 11th (Territorial) Battalion on regularization in 1941. Transferred to the

Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India. F ...

in 1943. * 10th (Training) Battalion – Redesignated as the 1st Punjab Regimental Centre in 1943. * 11th (Territorial) Battalion – Converted to active status and redesignated as 9/1st Punjab in June 1941. * 14th Battalion – Raised in 1942. India. Disbanded 1947. Re-raised 1948. * 15th Battalion – Raised in 1942. India. Disbanded 1946. * 16th Battalion – Raised as the 25th Garrison Battalion in 1941. Redesignated as 16/1st Punjab in 1943 and converted into a training battalion. Disbanded 1946. * 25th (Garrison) Battalion – Raised in 1942. India. Redesignated as 16/1st Punjab in 1943. * 26th (Garrison) Battalion – Raised in 1942. India. Disbanded 1943. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the 1st Punjab Regiment suffered a total of 5510 casualties, including 1291 killed. The 2nd Battalion received more gallantry awards than any other unit of the Indian Army. These included a posthumous

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

to Subedar Ram Sarup Singh for gallantry in action on Kennedy Peak in Burma in 1944. The 3rd Battalion was nominated for parachute training in June 1946 to join the 2nd Indian Airborne Division. However, soon after completing its training in 1947, the 3rd (Para) Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment was engaged in quelling communal riots and in July, was detailed to join the Punjab Boundary Force, formed to keep the peace on the new East-West Punjab border. The 5th Battalion was sent to Japan as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force.

Post-independence history

On the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in 1947, the 1st Punjab Regiment was allotted to Pakistan Army. At the time, the active battalions were 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th. Sikhs and Rajputs were transferred to the Indian Army and the regiment's new class composition was fixed as Punjabis and Pathans. In November, Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, Supreme Commander of the Indian and Pakistan Armies was appointed Colonel of the 1st Punjab Regiment and the regiment was authorized to wear a grass-green hackle with regimental berets. In 1948, the 14th Battalion was re-raised in response to the war with India in Kashmir, where the 2nd Battalion again distinguished itself and Captain Muhammad Sarwar became the first recipient of

Nishan-i-Haider Nishan-e-Haider (NH; ), is the highest military gallantry award of Pakistan. The Nishan-e-Haider is awarded posthumously and only to members of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It recognises the highest acts of extraordinary bravery in the face of ...

, Pakistan's highest gallantry award. 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 1st Punjab Regiment was amalgamated with the 14th, 15th and 16th Punjab Regiments to form one large

. The four regimental centres were also merged and the combined centre moved to

Mardan Mardān (Pashto and ; Urdu ; Pashto: ) is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar). It is a fast-growing ...

. The line up of the new regiment was: 22nd Madras Infantry (4 Punjab) 1900

* 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 (The Desert Hawks) * 19 Punjab – 7/16th Punjab * 20 Punjab – 14/1st Punjab

Battle honours

Sholinghur, Carnatic, Mysore, Seringapatam, Assaye, Leswarree, Bourbon, Nagpore, Ava, Bhurtpore, China, Burma 1885–87, Suez Canal, Egypt 1915, Shaiba, Kut al Amara 1915, Ctesiphon, Defence of Kut al Amara, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1915–18, Aden, NW Frontier India 1915, Afghanistan 1919, Agordat, Keren, Abyssinia 1940–41, Damascus, Syria 1941, Sidi Barrani, Omars, Benghazi, Gazala, Defence of Alamein Line, El Alamein, North Africa 1940–43, Arezzo, Advance to Florence, Gothic Line, The Senio, Italy 1943–45, Pyuntaza-Shwegyin, Yenengyaung 1942, Monywa 1942, Donbaik, Htizwe, North Arakan, Buthidaung, Razabil, Mayu Tunnels, Maungdaw, Ngakyedauk Pass, Imphal, Tamu Road, Litan, Kanglatongbi, Kohima, Defence of Kohima, Relief of Kohima, Jail Hill, Ukhrul, Kennedy Peak, Kalewa, Meiktila, Defence of Meiktila, Taungtha, The Irrawaddy, Rangoon Road, Pyawbwe, Shwemyo Bluff, Pyinmana, Toungoo, Pegu 1945, Sittang 1945, Ramree, Burma 1942–45, Kashmir 1948.

History

Madras Army

First World War

Second World War

Post-independence history

Battle honours

See also

References

Further reading