The 3rd Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

formed from the 5th and 8th Cavalry regiments in 1922. It served on the North West Frontier and during

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 ...

and

World War II 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 opposin ...

, in British Indian service.

Early history

The 3rd Cavalry Regiment was formed from two older Regiments, the 7th Irregular Cavalry which was raised in 1841 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 city ...

and the

17th Cavalry The 15th Lancers (Baloch) is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 17th Cavalry and the 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse).Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottab ...

which was raised at Sultanpur in 1846. Often re-designated, by the turn of the century they were called 5th Cavalry and

8th Lancers The 8th Lancers was (until 1922) one of the 39 cavalry regiments of the British Indian Army. It had originally been part of the army of the East India Company before passing into the reorganised Bengal Army of the post-Mutiny period and ultimately i ...

. The two regiments serving in India and abroad, saw action in Afghanistan, Bhutan, Mesopotamia and Palestine earning Battle Honours Afghanistan 1879–80 and Mesopotamia 1916–18. They were amalgamated in 1922, to form the 5th/8th Cavalry, re-designated in 1923 as 3rd Cavalry. They were selected to become an Indianised regiment from 1931 onwards.

5th Cavalry

Raised at Bareilly in 1841 as a result of the

First Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession di ...

the regiment also served in 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 l ...

between 1878 – 1880. Like all the regiments of the Indian Army, the 5th Cavalry underwent many name changes in the various reorganisations. They are listed below: :1841 7th Irregular Cavalry :1861 5th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry :1901 5th Bengal Cavalry :1903 5th Cavalry. ;World War I At the start of World War I the 5th Cavalry was part of the 4th (Rawalpindi) Brigade in October 1916 they transferred to the

1st (Peshawar) Division The 1st (Peshawar) Division was a Regular Division of the British Indian Army formed as a result of the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army in 1903. During World War I, the Division remained in India for local defense, but was mobilized for a ...

for service on the North West Frontier until October 1917 when they left to take 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 Powe ...

8th Lancers

The

were the last regiment to be raised before the

Indian Mutiny 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 fo ...

. They served in

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

in 1857 and in the

. They were issued with lances in 1899 to become the 8th Bengal Lancers, this title was later changed to the 8th Lancers. Like all the regiments of the Indian Army, the 8th Lancers underwent many name changes in the various reorganisations. They are listed below. :1846 17th Irregular Cavalry :1847 18th Irregular Cavalry :1861 8th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry :1900 8th Regiment of Bengal Lancers :1901 8th Bengal Lancers :1903 8th Lancers ;World War I During World War I the 8th Lancers were part of the

Jhansi Brigade The 5th (Mhow) Division was a regular division of the British Indian Army and part of the Southern Army which was formed in 1903 after Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India between 1902 and 1909. He instituted large-scale re ...

, at

Mhow Mhow, officially Dr. Ambedkar Nagar, is a town in the Indore district in Madhya Pradesh state of India. It is located south-west of Indore city, towards Mumbai on the old Mumbai-Agra Road. The town was renamed as ''Dr. Ambedkar Nagar'' in 20 ...

under the command of Major General Townshend the brigade consisted of the: :8th Lancers : 38th Central Indian Horse :2nd Battalion,

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...

10th Jats The 10th Jats were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1823, when they were known as the 1st Battalion, 33rd Bengal Native Infantry. Over the years they became known by a number of different titles. T ...

: 99th Deccan Infantry :

107th Pioneers The 107th Pioneers were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. Their origin can be traced back to 1788, when they were raised as the 4th Battalion, Bombay Sepoys. The regiments first action was in the Third Anglo-Mysore War. They also ...

: 116th Mahrattas :60th Company, RGA

World War II

In 1941, whilst still in the process of being equipped with armoured cars, 3rd Cavalry was made part of the

11th Indian Infantry Division The 11th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. It formed part of Indian III Corps in the Malaya Command during the Battle of Malaya. The division was re-raised on 1 April 1965 and is presently ...

and was deployed to Malaya to counter the Japanese advance. They were involved in the battles at

Taiping, Perak Taiping (, Jawi: ; zh, t=太平, , Hokkien: Thài-pêng; ta, தைப்பிங்) is a town located in Larut, Matang and Selama District, Perak, Malaysia. It is located approximately northwest of Ipoh, the capital of Perak, and ...

, Sungei Pattani,

Penang Island Penang Island ( ms, Pulau Pinang; zh, 檳榔嶼; ta, பினாங்கு தீவு) is part of the state of Penang, on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was named Prince of Wales Island when it was occupied by the British Ea ...

Perak River The Perak River ( ms, Sungai Perak; ) is the second longest river in Peninsular Malaysia after Pahang River in Pahang, Malaysia. A number of towns are on the banks of the river including the royal town of Kuala Kangsar. Most of the settlements in ...

and the

Battle of Slim River The Battle of Slim River occurred during the Malayan campaign in January 1942 between the Imperial Japanese Army and the British Indian Army on the west coast of Malaya. Background Japanese forces had invaded north-west Malaya from southern ...

where two Indian Brigades were annihilated by the Japanese. The Regiment was then captured by the Japanese after the

fall of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...

and went into captivity until the end of the war. For the regiment's service in Malaya it was awarded the Battle Honours "North Malaya" and "Central Malaya" and Theatre Honour "Malaya 1941–42".

Post-war

Although recommended to be disbanded after the war, the regiment was instead designated a regiment of airborne reconnaissance cavalry in 1946. ;

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

: During the post partition riots, Sowar Prithi Singh was awarded the Ashoka Chakra, Class II for showing bravery, when a military special train was attacked by a mob. ;

Hyderabad Police Action Operation Polo was the code name of the Hyderabad "police action" in September 1948, by the then newly independent Dominion of India against Hyderabad State. It was a military operation in which the Indian Armed Forces invaded the Nizam-rule ...

(1948): The Regiment was part of the Smash Force (1 Armoured Brigade) which liberated Hyderabad from marauding Razakars and integrated this princely state with the Union of India. ;

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

: The Regiment, which was part of the 2nd Independent Armored Brigade under 4 Infantry Division played an important part in the

Battle of Asal Uttar The Battle of Asal Uttar (Hindi : आसल उत्ताड़ , Punjabi: ਆਸਲ ਉਤਾੜ) was one of the largest tank battles fought during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. It was fought from 8 to 10 September 1965, when the Pakist ...

. For its crucial role in the battle, the regiment won the Battle Honour "Asal Uttar" and Theatre Honour "Punjab 1965" and earned the sobriquet ''The Patton Wreckers''. Lieutenant Colonel Salim Caleb, the Commandant of the regiment was awareded the

Maha Vir Chakra The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) () is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced the B ...

. ;

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 was part of the 7 Infantry Division under

XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

and was equipped with

Centurion tanks The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post- World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seei ...

. It was awarded the Battle Honour "Shehjra" and Theatre Honour "Punjab 1971".

Composition

The regiment has a “fixed class” composition, drawing troops from

Rajputs Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

s and

Jats The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subse ...

Regimental Insignia

The Regimental insignia consists of the

Roman numeral Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...

'III' mounted with the Ashoka capital and a scroll below with the word 'Cavalry'.

References

External links

History of the 3rd Cavalry

{{Indian Army Armoured Corps , state=expanded British Indian Army cavalry regiments Military units and formations established in 1922 Armoured and cavalry regiments of the Indian Army from 1947 1922 establishments in India R