The 33rd Indian Brigade was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

of the British Indian Army that saw active service with the

Indian Army during the First World War The Indian Army during World War I was involved World War I. Over one million Indian troops served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another 67,000 were wounded. In total at least 74,187 Indian soldiers died during the war. In World War I the ...

. It took part in the

Mesopotamian campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Po ...

in 1915 before being broken up at the end of the year.

History

The 33rd Indian Brigade was formed in

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 ...

in March 1915 as part of the 12th Indian Division, with the last elements arriving at

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

on 9 April. On 18 August, the HQ was transferred to

Bushire Bushehr, Booshehr or Bushire ( fa, بوشهر ; also romanised as ''Būshehr'', ''Bouchehr'', ''Buschir'' and ''Busehr''), also known as Bandar Bushehr ( fa, ; also romanised as ''Bandar Būshehr'' and ''Bandar-e Būshehr''), previously Antioc ...

and the HQ was reformed in the division. The brigade was broken up on 7 December and replaced by the

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 ...

. The only significant action the brigade was involved with was the Occupation of

Nasiriya Nasiriyah ( ar, ٱلنَّاصِرِيَّة; BGN: ''An Nāşirīyah''; also spelled ''Nassiriya'' or ''Nasiriya'') is a city in Iraq. It is on the lower Euphrates, about south-southeast of Baghdad, near the ruins of the ancient city of Ur. ...

on 25 July.

Order of battle

The brigade commanded the following units in 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 ...

: * 1/4th Battalion,

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The regim ...

''(joined from Rawalpindi Brigade, 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division in March 1915; attached to 30th Indian Brigade May to October; joined the 1/5th ( The Weald of Kent) Battalion, Buffs (East Kent Regiment) as the Composite Territorial Battalion in February 1916 in 35th Indian Brigade)'' *

11th Rajputs The 11th Rajputs was an infantry regiment of the Bengal Army and later of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1825, when they were the 2nd Extra Battalion, Bengal Native Infantry. In 1828, they were renamed the 70th Bengal Na ...

''(joined from

Presidency Brigade The 8th (Lucknow) Division was a formation of the British Indian Army's Northern Army that was first formed as a result of the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army in 1903. The Division remained in India on internal security duties during World ...

, 8th (Lucknow) Division in March 1915; left for Bushire in July)'' *

66th Punjabis The 66th Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1761 as the 7th Battalion of Coast Sepoys. It was designated as the 66th Punjabis in 1903 and became 2nd Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was ...

''(joined from 5th (Jhelum) Brigade, 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division in March 1915; to 16th (Poona) Brigade,

6th (Poona) Division The 6th (Poona) Division was a division of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1903, following the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army. World War I The 6th (Poona) Division served in the Mesopotamian campaign. Led by Major General Barr ...

in October)'' *

67th Punjabis The 67th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1759, when they were raised as the 8th Battalion Coast Sepoys. The regiment's first action was during the Carnatic Wars followed by the Thir ...

''(joined from Lorelai,

4th (Quetta) Division The 4th (Quetta) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army. It was formed by Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, General Kitchener while he was Commander-in-chief of British Raj, India. During World War I the division rema ...

in March 1915; to 12th Indian Brigade in April)'' *

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 di ...

''(joined from 12th Indian Brigade in July 1915; to Corps Troops in December)'' * 43rd Erinpura Regiment ''(joined from

Chaman Chaman ( Balochi, Pashto and ur, ) is a city and recently claimed as a new district of Balochistan named Chaman District as it was earlier a part of district Qila Abdullah District located on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. It is the capital o ...

, 4th (Quetta) Division in August 1915; to Corps Troops in October)'' *

20th Punjabis The 20th Duke of Cambridge's Own Infantry (Brownlow's Punjabis) was a regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as the 8th Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 20th Duke of Cambridge's Own Infantry (Brownlow's Pu ...

''(joined from 16th (Poona) Brigade, 6th (Poona) Division in October 1915; to Corps Troops in December)''

Commanders

The brigade had the following commanders in the First World War:

References

Bibliography

External links