The 12th Cavalry Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) is an armoured regiment of Pakistan Army. It was formed in the British Indian army in 1922 by the amalgamation of 22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) and 25th Cavalry (Frontier Force).

22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force)

The 22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) was raised in 1849 at

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

by Lieutenant Samuel J. Browne as the 2nd Punjab Irregular Cavalry. It was one of five regiments of Punjab Cavalry raised to guard the North West Frontier of

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 ...

, soon part of the Punjab Frontier Force or the "Piffers". Over the next decades, the regiment saw extensive service on the Frontier.North, REFG. (1934). ''The Punjab Frontier Force: A Brief Record of Their Services 1846-1924''. DI Khan: Commercial Steam Press During the

Indian Mutiny 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 for ...

, the regiment was engaged in the

Siege of Delhi The siege of Delhi was one of the decisive conflicts of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The rebellion against the authority of the East India Company was widespread through much of Northern India, but essentially it was sparked by the mass up ...

Relief of Lucknow The siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the British The Residency, Lucknow, Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel Sepoy, sepoys (Indian soldiers in the East India Company, British East India Company's Army) during the Indian ...

, the

Battle of Agra The Battle of Agra was a comparatively minor but nevertheless decisive action during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Indian rebels attacked a column of British troops which had relieved a garrison at Agra, but although they surprised the column, ...

and the Campaign in Rohilkhand. In one of the actions, their commandant, Captain Sam Browne was awarded the

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 ...

. His citation reads: :''In an engagement with the rebels, Captain Browne, whilst advancing upon the enemy's position, pushed on with one orderly sowar upon a 9-pounder gun and attacked the gunners, preventing them from re-loading and attacking the infantry who were advancing to the attack. In the conflict which ensued, Captain Browne received two sword cuts, one on the left knee and one which severed his left arm at the shoulder, but not before he had cut down one of his assailants. The gun was eventually captured and the gunner killed.'' It was the loss of his arm that caused Browne to invent the famous

Sam Browne belt The Sam Browne is a leather belt with a supporting strap that passes over the right shoulder, worn by military and police officers. It is named after Sir Samuel J. Browne (1824–1901), the British Indian Army general who invented it. Origins ...

, still in the use of many of today's armies. The original belt is on display in the India Room at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Meanwhile, Captain Dighton Probyn was also awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry, while serving with the 2nd Punjab Cavalry. His citation reads: :''On many occasions during the period 1857–1858 in India, Captain Probyn performed gallant and daring acts. On one occasion, at the Battle of Agra, when his squadron charged the rebel infantry, he was sometimes separated from his men and surrounded by five or six

sepoys ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...

. He defended himself and, before his own men had joined him, had cut down two of his assailants.'' 2nd Punjab Cavalry, 1880 Gordon Hayward

During the

Second Anglo-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 l ...

of 1878–80, the 2nd Punjab Cavalry was with the Kandahar Field Force, and fought at the

Battle of Ahmed Khel The Battle of Ahmed Khel took place during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. It was fought on 19 April 1880, on the road between Kandahar and Kabul in central Afghanistan between Afghan tribesmen and soldiers of the British Empire, including forces fro ...

in April 1880. 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 regiment served in the Mesopotamia Campaign.

Name changes

* 1849 2nd Punjab Irregular Cavalry * 1851 2nd Regiment of Cavalry, Punjab Irregular Force * 1861 2nd Regiment of Punjab Cavalry, Punjab Frontier Force * 1901 2nd Punjab Cavalry * 1903 22nd Cavalry (Frontier Force) * 1904 22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force)

25th Cavalry (Frontier Force)

The 25th Cavalry (Frontier Force) was raised by Captain Robert Fitzgerald as the 5th Punjab Irregular Cavalry at

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the old ...

in 1849, with Risaldar Gurmukh Singh Dhillon of Bahmaniwala village, Patti Sub Division of

Amritsar district Amritsar district is one of the twenty three districts that make up the Indian state of Punjab. Located in the Majha region of Punjab, the city of Amritsar is the headquarters of this district. As of 2011, it is the second most populous dist ...

of the Punjab, as the first native Commandant of 5th Punjab Irregular Cavalry. The troops of the Sikh Squadron were mostly taken from the disbanded

Khalsa Army The Sikh Khalsa Army (), also known as Khalsaji or simply Sikh Army, was the military force of the Sikh Empire. With its roots in the Khalsa founded by Guru Gobind Singh, the army was later modernised on Franco-British principles by Maharaja Ran ...

which was recently defeated by the British 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 ...

of 1848. During the Indian Mutiny they were part of the besieging army at

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

and took part in the

. The troops of 5th Punjab Irregular Cavalry were now avenging themselves on the mutinous Bengal Army for the defeat of the Khalsa's Sikh Army in the Anglo Sikh Wars. One squadron fought at

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The c ...

, where two of its Indian officers won the

Order of British India The Order of British India was an order of merit established in 1837 by the East India Company for "long, faithful and honourable service". The company's powers were removed after the Indian Mutiny, and the Order was incorporated into the Brit ...

and nine other ranks received the

Indian Order of Merit The Indian Order of Merit (IOM) was a military and civilian decoration of British India. It was established in 1837, (General Order of the Governor-General of India, No. 94 of 1 May 1837) although following the Partition of India in 1947 it was ...

. The regiment was involved in a number of small actions on the North West Frontier with the Punjab Frontier Force. In March 1860, 150 men under an Indian officer attacked a 3,000 strong armed force of

Mahsuds The Mahsud or Mehsood ( ps, محسود), also spelled Maseed ( ps, ماسيد), is a Karlani Pashtun tribe inhabiting mostly the South Waziristan Agency in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, now merged within Khyb ...

and Waziris at

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

, killing 300 and dispersing the others. In January 1867, an Indian officer with 27 sowars charged a body of 1,000 tribesmen, killed 150 and captured most of the rest. During 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 ...

, the 5th Punjab Cavalry were present at the capture of Charasiah and Frederick Roberts the Commanding General ordered that they and the

9th Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but w ...

should have the honour of escorting him into

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

. During the attack on the

Asmai Heights The Koh-e Asamai ( prs, کوه آسمایی ''Kōh-e Āsamā'ī'') is a mountain located directly to the west of downtown Kabul, Afghanistan at an elevation of . It is known colloquially as the ''Television Hill'' due to the large TV mast and ant ...

in December 1879, near Kabul, Captain William John Vousden made repeated charges with a small body of men of the 5th Punjab Cavalry, passing through the ranks of an overwhelming force again and again until the enemy fled. Vousden received a Victoria Cross and his ten surviving men the Indian Order of Merit. For their excellent record in the Indian Mutiny and the Second Afghan War, the 5th Punjab Cavalry was among the units honoured during the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria's celebrations in London in June and July 1897. Risaldar-Major Kesar Singh Dhillon of Bahmaniwala Dhillons represented the 5th Punjab Cavalry as part of Indian Native Cavalry. For the acts of valour during the Indian Mutiny and during the Second Afghan War, the troops of 5th Punjab Cavalry were awarded grants of agricultural land in

Lyallpur District Faisalabad District (Lyallpur District until 1979) (Punjabi and ur, ) is one of the districts of Punjab province, Pakistan. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan it had a population of 3,029,547 of which almost 42% were in Faisalabad City. ...

in 1904. Most of the Sikh troops of Kanhayia Misl shifted from Amritsar District to Lyallpur on being granted lands there. During the

, it served in German East Africa, followed by service 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 ...

of 1919.

Name changes

* 1849 5th Punjab Irregular Cavalry * 1851 5th Regiment of Cavalry, Punjab Irregular Force * 1861 5th Regiment of Punjab Cavalry, Punjab Frontier Force * 1901 5th Punjab Cavalry * 1903 25th Cavalry (Frontier Force)

12th Cavalry (Frontier Force)

After the First World War, the number of Indian cavalry regiments was reduced from thirty-nine to twenty-one. However, instead of disbanding the surplus units, it was decided to amalgamate them in pairs. This resulted in renumbering and renaming of the entire cavalry line. The 22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) and 25th Cavalry (Frontier Force) were amalgamated in 1921 to form 12th Cavalry. The uniform of 12th Cavalry was scarlet with blue facings. The badge showed a mounted figure within a circle carrying the title 'Sam Browne's Cavalry XII FF' with a crown above. Its class composition was one squadron each of Punjabi Muslims, Sikhs and Dogras. In 1937, 12th Cavalry became the training regiment of 2nd Indian Cavalry Group at

Ferozepur Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who died ...

. It was converted into a training centre in 1940 by amalgamating it with 15th Lancers. On the partition of India in 1947, this training centre was transferred to Pakistan. On 15 January 1955, 12th Cavalry (Frontier Force) was re-raised at Rawalpindi as a Reconnaissance Regiment of

Pakistan Armoured Corps The Armoured Corps ( ur, ﺁرمرڈ كور) of the Pakistan Army is a combat branch tasked with armoured warfare. Equipped with more than 3,742 main battle tanks, the corps is headquartered in the garrison town of Nowshera, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. T ...

. The regiment served with distinction during the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistani Wars. During the 1965 War, the regiment fought in four different sectors simultaneously when all four squadrons of the regiment operated independently at

Chawinda Chawinda ( ur, ) is a city located in Pasrur Tehsil, Sialkot District, Punjab, Pakistan. The town sits at an altitude of , close to the border with Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. Chawinda was the site of a key tank battle during ...

, Bedian,

Khemkaran Khem Karan is a town and a nagar panchayat, just 56km from Tarn Taran Sahib in Tarn Taran district of Patti tehsil of the Majha region of Indian state of Punjab. It was the site of a major tank battle in 1965. The Battle of Asal Uttar was th ...

and

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

.''The Sabre & Lance: Journal of the Pakistan Armoured Corps''. (1997). Nowshera: The School of Armour & Mechanised Warfare. Lt.Col Muhammad Asaf Hussain Khan was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat for outstanding gallantry in the Khemkaran sector during the 1965 war. Captains Ahmed Arsalan Asaf and Nadeem Ahmad Raja were the Siachin Warriors of 12th Cavalary, Asaf participating in Operation Naveed Top during the

Siachen conflict The Siachen conflict, sometimes referred to as the Siachen Glacier conflict or the Siachen War, was a military conflict between India and Pakistan over the disputed Siachen Glacier region in Kashmir. The conflict was started in 1984 by India' ...

in April 1989. Captain Mearaj Muhammad of the 12th Cavalary was killed on 4 June 2009 while fighting with Taliban militants in Buner District. He was awarded the Sitara-e-Basalat by the Government of Pakistan for his bravery and sacrifice. SamBrowneLarge

Name changes

* 1921 22nd/25th Cavalry (amalgamation) * 1922 12th Cavalry (Frontier Force) * 1927 Sam Browne's Cavalry (12th Frontier Force) * 1940 1st Indian Armoured Corps Centre * 1947 Pakistan Armoured Corps Centre * 1955 12th Cavalry (Frontier Force) (re-raised)

Affiliations & Alliances

* 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 ...

* 9th/12th Royal Lancers

References

External links

Sam Browne's Cavalry (12th Frontier Force) by John Gaylor at The Defence Journal
{{British Indian Army Cavalry Regiments 1903 - 1946 British Indian Army cavalry regiments Armoured regiments of Pakistan Military units and formations established in 1849 Military units and formations disestablished in 1937 Military units and formations established in 1955 1921 establishments in British India

22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force)

Name changes

25th Cavalry (Frontier Force)

Name changes

12th Cavalry (Frontier Force)

Name changes

Affiliations & Alliances

References

Further reading

External links