The 126th Baluchistan Infantry was an infantry regiment 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 ...

raised in 1825 as the 2nd Extra Battalion of Bombay Native Infantry. It was designated as the 126th Baluchistan Infantry in 1903 and became 2nd Battalion

10th Baluch Regiment The 10th Baluch or Baluch Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. After Partition of India, independence, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was amalgamated with the 8th Punjab Regiment, 8th Punja ...

in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

, where it continues to exist as 7th Battalion of The Baloch Regiment.Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.

Early history

The regiment was raised in 1825 at Bombay as the 2nd Extra Battalion of Bombay Native Infantry. In 1826, it was designated as the 26th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry. In 1856, it was dispatched to Persia, where it took part in the

Battle of Kooshab The Battle of Khushab ( fa, جنگ خوشاب) took place in Khushab on 7 February 1857 and was the largest single engagement of the Anglo-Persian War. Having taken Borazjan without a fight, the British expeditionary army under Sir James Outram ...

during the Anglo-Persian War of 1856-57. In 1891, the regiment was localized to the Province of

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

and reconstituted with Balochis,

Brahuis The Brahui ( brh, ), Brahvi or Brohi, are an ethnic group of pastoralists principally found in Balochistan, Pakistan. A minority speaks the Brahui language, which belongs to the Dravidian language family, while the rest speaks Balochi and tend ...

, Pathans and Punjabi Muslims. It adopted uniforms of drab colour with red trousers and its designation was changed to 26th (Baluchistan) Regiment of Bombay Infantry. In 1900 it was sent to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

to suppress the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

. In 1901, the regiment's designation was changed to 26th Baluchistan Infantry.Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin. (1998). ''History of the Baloch Regiment 1820-1939''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.Cadell, Sir Patrick. (1938). ''History of the Bombay Army''. London: Longmans & Green.

126th Baluchistan Infantry

Subsequent to the reforms brought about in the Indian Army by Lord Kitchener in 1903, all former Bombay Army units had 100 added to their numbers. Consequently, the regiment's designation was changed to 126th Baluchistan Infantry and it was delocalized from Baluchistan. On the outbreak of the First World War, the regiment was sent to

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

, where it remained during the war except for brief stays in Egypt in 1915 and Mesopotamia in 1917. 26th (Baluchistan) Regiment, Bombay Infantry 1897

Subsequent History

In 1922, the regiment was grouped with five other Baluch battalions: 1st & 2nd Battalions of

124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry The 124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1820 as the 2nd (Marine) Battalion 12th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry. It was designated as the 124th Duchess of Connaught' ...

127th Queen Mary's Own Baluch Light Infantry The 127th Queen Mary's Own Baluch Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1844 as The Scinde Bellochee Corps. It was designated as the 127th Baluch Light Infantry in 1903 and became 3rd Battalion (Queen Mary's O ...

129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis The 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1846 as the 2nd Bellochee Battalion. It was designated as the 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis in 1903, and became 4th Battalion (Duke ...

and the

130th King George's Own Baluchis (Jacob's Rifles) The 130th King George's Own Baluchis (Jacob's Rifles) was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in June 1858 as the 1st Belooch Rifles; re-designated as 1st Regiment Jacob's Rifles in September. Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2017). ''History ...

, to form the 10th Baluch Regiment. The 126th Baluchistan Infantry was redesignated as the 2nd Battalion of the new regiment. During the Second World War, 2/10th Baluch fought with great gallantry in the

Malayan Campaign The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles between ...

. The battalion was taken prisoner by the Japanese on Singapore Island after the surrender of British forces on 15 February 1942. It suffered a total of 1596 casualties in the war and during the Japanese captivity. The battalion won distinction for resisting intense enemy pressure to join the Japanese-sponsored

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a collaborationist armed force formed by Indian collaborators and Imperial Japan on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. Its aim was to secure In ...

. Prominent among them was Lieutenant Abrar Hussain, who was awarded the MBE for his heroic conduct whilst a Prisoner of War. On its return from captivity, the battalion was reformed in 1946. On the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the Baluch Regiment was allocated to

.Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin. (2000). ''History of the Baloch Regiment 1939-1956''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre. In 1956, on the merger of 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments with the Baluch Regiment, 2 Baluch was redesignated as 7 Baluch (now 7 Baloch). During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, the battalion fought with distinction in the Kasur Sector. 126th Baluchistan Inf 1912

Genealogy

*1825 - 2nd Extra Battalion of Bombay Native Infantry *1826 - 26th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry *1885 - 26th Regiment of Bombay Infantry *1892 - 26th (Baluchistan) Regiment of Bombay Infantry *1901 - 26th Baluchistan Infantry *1903 - 126th Baluchistan Infantry *1922 - 2nd Battalion 10th Baluch Regiment or 2/10th Baluch *1945 - 2nd Battalion The Baluch Regiment or 2 Baluch *1956 - 7th Battalion The Baluch Regiment or 7 Baluch *1991 - 7th Battalion The Baloch Regiment or 7 Baloch

References

External links

*''History of the Baloch Regiment 1820–1939 the Colonial Period'', text o
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