The 21st Kohat Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) was an artillery unit of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1851 as the No. 2 Horse or Punjab Light Field Battery,

Punjab Irregular Force The Punjab Irregular Force (PIF) was created in 1851 to protect the NW frontier of British India. It was termed "Irregular" because it was outside the control of the Regular British East India Company Presidency armies of the three Presidencies o ...

. It became the 21st Kohat Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) in 1903. In 1947, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army, where it exists as the 2nd Royal Kohat Battery (Frontier Force) of The First (SP) Medium Regiment Artillery (Frontier Force).

History

The 21st Kohat Mountain Battery was raised at Bannu by Lieutenant H Hammond on 1 February 1851 from horse artillery detachments of the

Lahore Durbar Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

, as part of the Punjab Irregular Force (Piffer). The Piffers were a collection of regular units accreted for expeditionary operations in the Punjab Frontier and Afghanistan. 21st Kohat Mountain Battery was the first unit to be formally raised as a permanent part of the Punjab Irregular Force, later designated as the Punjab Frontier Force. Is the senior most unit of the Frontier Force Regiment. After 1903 reforms, the Punjab Frontier Force began to cease to be an expeditionary force and incorporated permanent units. The Frontier Force earned legendary fame for its exploits on the Northwest Frontier of India. The Kohat Battery saw extensive service on the Frontier and took part in numerous operations including 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 the

Tirah Campaign The Tirah campaign, often referred to in contemporary British accounts as the Tirah expedition, was an Indian frontier campaign from September 1897 to April 1898. Tirah is a mountainous tract of country in what was formally known as Federally ...

in 1897-98.Graham, Brig Gen CAL. (1957). ''The History of the Indian Mountain Artillery''. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.North, REFG. (1934). ''The Punjab Frontier Force: A Brief Record of Their Services 1846-1924''. DI Khan: Commercial Steam Press. 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 ...

, the 21st Kohat Mountain Battery fought with great distinction at Gallipoli,

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 ...

and

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. For its outstanding performance in the war, it was awarded the title of ‘Royal’ in 1922. After the war, it again saw service on the Northwest Frontier. 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 ...

, it fought in the Burma Campaign as part of the 17th Indian Division. In 1944, it became an exclusively Punjabi Muslim unit. In 1947, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army, where it became part of the 1st Mountain Regiment, Royal Pakistan Artillery. The battery fought in the

Kashmir War 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 encompass ...

of 1948. In 1957, it was equipped with 105 mm Self Propelled Field guns and the 1st Mountain Regiment was re-designated as the 1st (SP) Field Regiment, Artillery. The regiment fought with great gallantry in the Battle of Chawinda during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. In the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...

, the regiment served in the Zafarwal Sector. In 1980, it was re-equipped with medium guns. The battery is affiliated with the

Frontier Force Regiment The Frontier Force Regiment is one of the six infantry regiments of the Pakistan Army. They are popularly known as the ''Piffers'' in reference to their military history as the PIF ( Punjab Irregular Force) of the British Indian Army, or as th ...

Battle honours

Peiwar Kotal, Kabul 1879, Afghanistan 1878-80, Tirah, Punjab Frontier, Suez Canal, Egypt 1915-16, Mesopotamia 1916-18, Persia 1918, Anzac, Landing at Anzac, Defence of Anzac, Suvla, Sari Bair, Gallipoli 1915.

Genealogy

*1851 - No. 2 Horse or Punjab Light Field Battery, Punjab Irregular Force

*1865 - No. 2 Horse or Punjab Light Field Battery, Punjab Frontier Force *1877 - No. 1 Mountain Battery, Punjab Frontier Force *1879 - No. 1 Kohat Mountain Battery, Punjab Frontier Force *1890 - No. 1 (Kohat) Mountain Battery, Punjab Frontier Force *1901 - Kohat Mountain Battery *1903 - 21st Kohat Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) *1920 - 21st Kohat Pack Battery (Frontier Force) *1921 - 101st (Kohat) Pack Battery *1922 - 101st Royal (Kohat) Pack Battery (Frontier Force) (How)Howitzer *1924 - 101st Royal (Kohat) Pack Battery, Royal Artillery (Frontier Force) (How) *1927 - 1st Royal (Kohat) Indian Mountain Battery, Royal Artillery (Frontier Force) (How) *1928 - 1st Royal (Kohat) Mountain Battery, Royal Artillery (Frontier Force) (How) *1939 - 1st Royal (Kohat) Mountain Battery, Frontier Force, Indian Artillery *1942 - 1st Royal (Kohat) Indian Mountain Battery, Frontier Force, Indian Artillery *1945 - 1st Royal (Kohat) Indian Mountain Battery, Frontier Force, Royal Indian Artillery *1947 - 2nd Royal (Kohat) Mountain Battery, Frontier Force, Royal Pakistan Artillery *1956 - 2nd Royal (Kohat) Mountain Battery, Frontier Force, Artillery *1957 - 2 Royal Kohat (SP) Field Battery, Artillery (FF) *1980 - 2 Royal Kohat (SP) Medium Battery, Artillery (FF)

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Artillery regiments of Pakistan British Indian Army regiments Indian World War I regiments Artillery units and formations Military units and formations established in 1851