The 12th Indian Brigade was an infantry brigade 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 ...

that saw active service in the First World War. It served in the Mesopotamian Campaign on the Euphrates Front throughout its existence.

History

The 12th Indian Brigade was formed at Nasirabad in 5th (Mhow) Division in January 1915. It was transferred to Mesopotamia and joined the

12th Indian Division The 12th Indian Division was formed in March 1915 from units of the British Indian Army. It formed part of the Tigris Corps, for service during the Mesopotamia Campaign of World War I. The Division arrived in Mesopotamia in April 1915 and remai ...

on formation at the end of March. ;12th Indian Division With the division, the brigade took part in the

Actions for Nasiriya Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

(5, 1314, 24 July) and the Occupation of Nasiriya (25 July) in 1915 and the Affair of Butaniya on 14 January 1916. The division never reached full strength as units were constantly detached to support the efforts to relieve the 6th (Poona) Division besieged at Kut. The division was broken up on 10 March 1916 and the brigade was posted to the new

15th Indian Division The 15th Indian Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service in the First World War. It served in the Mesopotamian Campaign on the Euphrates Front throughout its existence. It did not serve in the Second ...

in May 1916. ;15th Indian Division The 15th Indian Division was formed on 7 May 1916 to replace the 12th Indian Division on the Euphrates Front; the brigade joined the division on formation. It remained with the division on the Euphrates Front until the end of the war. The brigade took part in the action of As Sahilan (11 September 1916), the Capture of Ramadi (28 and 29 September 1917), the Occupation of Hīt (9 March 1918) and the

action of Khan Baghdadi The action of Khan Baghdadi was an engagement during the Mesopotamian campaign in World War I. Khan Baghdadi The 15th Indian Division had been at Ramadi since its capture of the town in September 1917. On 9 March 1918, it advanced and occupi ...

(26 and 27 March 1918). At the end of the war, the division was rapidly run down and it (along with the brigade) was disbanded in March 1919.

Order of battle

The brigade commanded the following units in the First World War: * 2nd Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) ''(joined from Nasirabad Brigade, 5th (Mhow) Division in January 1915; in November 1915, half of the battalion joined 30th Indian Brigade, 6th (Poona) Division and the other half to

34th Indian Brigade The 34th Indian Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service in the Mesopotamian campaign in the Indian Army during the First World War. It was reformed for the Second World War as the ''34th Indian States ...

, 12th Indian Division)'' *

90th Punjabis The 90th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was raised in 1799 as a battalion of Madras Native Infantry. It was designated as the 90th Punjabis in 1903 and became 2nd Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment in 1922. ...

''(joined from Nasirabad Brigade, 5th (Mhow) Division)'' * 44th Mherwara Infantry ''(joined from Nasirabad Brigade, 5th (Mhow) Division; to Corps Troops in June 1915)'' *

4th Prince Albert Victor's Rajputs The 4th Prince Albert Victor's Rajputs was an infantry battalion of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1798, when they were the 2nd Battalion, 16th Bengal Native Infantry. Over the years they became known by a number of dif ...

''(joined from Multan, 3rd Lahore Divisional Area; in June 1915 posted to 33rd Indian Brigade, 12th Indian Division)'' * 67th Punjabis ''(joined from 33rd Indian Brigade, 12th Indian Division in April 1915; in November 1915, half of the battalion joined 30th Indian Brigade, 6th (Poona) Division and the other half to Corps Troops)'' * 1/5th Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) ''(joined from 34th Indian Brigade, 12th Indian Division in February 1916)'' * 1st Battalion, 43rd Erinpura Infantry ''(joined from Corp Troops in June 1916)'' * 128th Machine Gun Company ''(joined from Corp Troops in August 1916)'' * 2nd Battalion,

39th Garhwal Rifles The 39th Garhwal Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. History The regiment was first raised in 1887 as the Aligarh Levy but was disbanded after disgracing itself at the Rawalpindi Review in 1888. In 1891, the 39th (The Ga ...

''(joined in April 1917 from Delhi,

7th Meerut Divisional Area The 7th Meerut Divisional Area was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that formed part of the Indian Army during the First World War. It was formed in September 1914 to replace the original 7th (Meerut) Division that had been mo ...

)'' * 12th Light

Trench Mortar ''Minenwerfer'' ("mine launcher" or "mine thrower") is the German name for a class of short range mine shell launching mortars used extensively during the First World War by the Imperial German Army. The weapons were intended to be used by en ...

Battery ''('M' Light Trench Mortar Battery joined 15th Division in September 1917 and assigned to the brigade in February 1918)''

Commanders

The brigade had the following commanders:

References

Bibliography

External links