The 2nd Indian Cavalry Division was a division 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 ...

formed at the outbreak of

World War I 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 ...

. It served on the Western Front, being renamed as 5th Cavalry Division on 26 November 1916. In March 1918, the 5th Cavalry Division was broken up. The British and Canadian units remained in France and the Indian elements were sent to Egypt to help constitute 2nd Mounted Division.

History

The division sailed for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

on 16 October 1914, under the command of Major General G A Cookson. During the war the division would serve in the trenches as infantry. Due to the difference on troop levels each cavalry brigade, once dismounted, formed a dismounted regiment. In March 1916 the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division was attached to the British Fourth Army. On 1 July 1916 the 9th (Secunderabad) Cavalry Brigade moved into a reserve position on the Somme, ready to exploit any breakthrough. The same brigade was sent up again on 14 July, to

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, an ...

to support the attack on the

Bazentin Bazentin () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Situated between Amiens to the southwest and Arras to the north, on the D73 road. Population History * 1914–1918: The village, in the middle o ...

–

Longueval Longueval () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Longueval is located northwest of Amiens on the D919 road, at the junction with the D8. Longueval is found in the north-east of the départeme ...

ridge. At 17.30 the leading two regiments were ordered to advance between

High Wood The Attacks on High Wood, near Bazentin le Petit in the Somme ''département'' of northern France, took place between the British Fourth Army and the German 1st Army during the Battle of the Somme. After the Battle of Bazentin Ridge on 14 July ...

and

Delville Wood The Battle of Delville Wood was a series of engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War, between the armies of the German Empire and the British Empire. Delville Wood , was a thick tangle of trees, chiefly beech and ...

. The British 7th Dragoon Guards and the Indian 20th Deccan Horse galloped forward to a position between the woods, but little could be achieved. At 03.30 on 15 July, they returned to Montauban, having suffered casualties of 74 men and 110 horses. Cavalry units were again brought forward on 15 September to support the attack on Flers-Courcelette, but were not drawn into the fighting and played no further part in the Battle of the Somme except as labour units in reserve. The high number of officer casualties suffered early on had an effect on its later performance. British officers that understood the language, customs, and psychology of their men could not be quickly replaced, and the alien environment of the Western Front had some effect on the soldiers. The 2nd Indian Cavalry Division was renamed the 5th Cavalry Division on 26 November 1916 and attached to the 5th Army. In March 1918 the division was transferred to Egypt, although its two British regular cavalry regiments (8th Hussars and 7th Dragoon Guards) remained in France.

Order of battle

5th (Mhow) Cavalry Brigade ''(left on 15 September 1915 for 1st Indian Cavalry Division)'' *

6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons The 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1689 as Sir Albert Cunningham's Regiment of Dragoons. One of the regiment's most notable battles was the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690. It became the ...

* 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) * 38th King George's Own Central India Horse *

X Battery, Royal Horse Artillery X, or x, is the twenty-fourth and third-to-last letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''"ex"'' (pronounced ), ...

7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade ''(left in June 1916 for

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 F ...

)''

* 13th Hussars *

3rd Skinner's Horse The 3rd Skinner's Horse was a cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was originally raised at Hansi by Lt.-Col. James Skinner as the 2nd Regiment of Skinner's Horse in 1814, the various changes and amalgamations are listed below. *18 ...

* 18th King George's Own Tiwana Lancers ''(transferred in June 1916 to 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade)'' * 30th Lancers (Gordon's Horse) ''(joined in June 1916 from 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade)'' *

V Battery, Royal Horse Artillery V Battery Royal Horse Artillery was a battery of the Royal Horse Artillery. Formed in 1804, the battery took part in the Napoleonic Warsnotably the Peninsular War and Battle of Waterloobefore being placed into suspended animation in 1816 as par ...

* 15th

Machine Gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

Squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

''(joined in February 1916)'' 9th (Secunderabad) Cavalry Brigade Deccan Horse, Bazentin Ridge 1916

7th (Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards The 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1688 as Lord Cavendish's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as the 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards for Princess Charlotte in 1788. ...

* 20th Deccan Horse * 34th Prince Albert Victor's Own Poona Horse *

N Battery, Royal Horse Artillery N Battery (The Eagle Troop) Royal Horse Artillery is a Tactical Group Battery of 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery. They are currently based in Albemarle Barracks in Northumberland and equipped with the 105 mm Light Gun. The battery is commo ...

* 13th Machine Gun Squadron ''(joined on 29 February 1916)'' 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade ''(joined on 15 September 1915 from 1st Indian Cavalry Division)'' Hodsons Horse France 1917 IWM Q 2061

8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars The 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. It saw service for three centuries including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces ...

9th Hodson's Horse 4th Horse (Hodson's Horse) is a part of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army, which had its beginnings as an irregular cavalry regiment during the time of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Formation The regiment was raised during the turbulent tim ...

* 30th Lancers (Gordon's Horse) ''(transferred in June 1916 to 7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade)'' * 18th King George's Own Lancers ''(joined in June 1916 from 7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade)'' *

* 14th Machine Gun Squadron ''(joined on 29 February 1916)''

Canadian Cavalry Brigade The Canadian Cavalry Brigade was raised in December 1914, under its first commanding officer Brigadier-General J.E.B. Seely. It was originally composed of two Canadian and one British regiments and an attached artillery battery. The Canadian u ...

''(joined on 17 June 1916 from 3rd Cavalry Division)'' *

Royal Canadian Dragoons The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) is the senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Army by precedence. It is one of three armoured regiments in the Regular Force and forms part of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. The colonel-in-chief of The ...

Lord Strathcona's Horse Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH C is a regular armoured regiment of the Canadian Army and is Canada’s only tank regiment. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 1 Canadian Mechanize ...

Fort Garry Horse The Fort Garry Horse is a Canadian Army Reserve armoured regiment based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 38 Canadian Brigade Group. It traces its history to a cavalry regiment first formed in 1912 that first took ...

Royal Canadian Horse Artillery The Royal Canadian Horse Artillery is the name given to the regular field artillery units of the Canadian Army. Organization The Regular Force has three RCHA regiments: ; 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery: this is the descendant of ...

Brigade (A and B Batteries, RCHA) * Canadian Cavalry Brigade Machine Gun Squadron

II Indian Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery II is the Roman numeral for 2. II may also refer to: Biology and medicine * Image intensifier, medical imaging equipment * Invariant chain, a polypeptide involved in the formation and transport of MHC class II protein *Optic nerve, the second ...

''( XVII Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery from 26 November 1916)'' *

''(with 9th (Secunderabad) Cavalry Brigade)'' *

''(with 7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade, to Mesopotamia with brigade)'' *

''(with 5th (Mhow) Cavalry Brigade then 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade)'' * II Indian RHA Brigade Ammunition Column

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:C2 British Indian Army divisions Indian World War I divisions Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 British cavalry divisions 1914 establishments in India

History

Order of battle

See also

References

Bibliography

External links