The Grenadiers is 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 marine i ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

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- ...

, formerly part of the

Bombay Army The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three presidencies of Presidencies and provinces of British India, British India. It was established in 1662 and governed by the East India Company until the Government of India A ...

and later the pre-independence

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 ...

, when the regiment was known as the 4th Bombay Grenadiers. It has distinguished itself during the two

world war A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

s and also since the

Independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

. The regiment has won many

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

s and

gallantry award Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. DoD Manual 1348.33, 2010, Vol. 3 A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a meda ...

s, and is considered to be one of India's most decorated regiments with three

Param Vir Chakra The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates as the "Wheel of the Ultimate Brave", and the award is granted for "most conspicu ...

awardees in three different conflicts.

History

Early history

The oldest grenadier regiment of the armies in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

belongs to the Indian Army. The concept of 'Grenadiers' evolved from the practice of selecting the bravest and strongest men for the most dangerous tasks in combat. The Grenadiers have the longest unbroken record of existence in the Indian Army.Sharma, p. 75 The history of the Indian Grenadiers is linked to the troops recruited for the army of the

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

. The very first mention of a grenadier company hails back to 1684, when a little army of English troops, which had taken possession of the island of

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- ...

and comprising three companies of Europeans and local Christians, had a grenadier company, but nothing was heard about this unit subsequently. In 1710, the

consisted of five companies of "Europeans, topasses (

Indian Christians Christianity is India's third-largest religion with about 27.8 million adherents, making up 2.3 percent of the population as of the 2011 census. The written records of the Saint Thomas Christians state that Christianity was introduced to th ...

), and coffrees ( Kaffirs)" of which the first company was a European grenadier company. This company was merged into the Bombay European Regiment, which was later disbanded. In 1757,

Robert Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British ...

had raised the 1st Regiment of the Bengal Native Infantry of which two companies were grenadier companies, however, no regiments of grenadiers were formed from the Bengal Army until a battalion was formed in 1779. In 1759, as a response to French manoeuvring in South India, the strength of the Bombay Army was enhanced, and the first company of

sepoy ''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 ...

grenadiers was raised with the best of Bombay sepoys "paying a regard to those having families on the island". It had only native officers and all sepoys wore red coats faced with blue. Later on, an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

was appointed to the corps. Later the Bombay Army comprised a number of sepoy battalions, each having one or two grenadier companies. These were clubbed together as a composite battalion comprising the grenadier companies of the Bombay sepoy battalions, and they won the famous

battle of Talegaon A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in 1778. So impressive was the performance of this composite battalion that the Bombay Presidency ordered the permanent raising of a grenadier battalion which duly took place on 12 March 1779, thirty-six years before the first time that a British battalion was given the honour of calling itself "grenadiers". The Governor General of Bombay made an Order dated 12 November 1779, according to which the grenadier companies of the following regiments combined to form the very first Grenadier Regiment in the world, namely " The Grenadier Battalion, First Regiment of Infantry": * 1st Sepoy Battalion * 2nd Sepoy Battalion * 3rd Sepoy Battalion * 4th Sepoy Battalion * 5th Sepoy Battalion * 6th Sepoy Battalion * Marine Battalion (two companies of grenadiers)

4th Bombay Grenadiers

The 4th Bombay Grenadiers were an infantry regiment of the pre-independence

, formed on 1 March 1922 as part of the reforms of the Indian Army that took place after the end of 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 ...

. Following this, the Regiment spent the next fifteen years serving in the

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British Empire, British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Soma ...

protectorate in present-day

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

, as well as in

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 ...

and on the North-West Frontier. The 3rd, 4th and 5th Battalions were all disbanded and the 10th Battalion amalgamated with the 10th Battalion,

Jat Regiment The Jat Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, of which it is one of the longest-serving regiments.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 ...

.Sharma, p. 75 Following the

Second World War 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 ...

they were one of the regiments allocated to the new

and renamed The Grenadiers The regiment consisted of six battalions, all former regiments themselves. These were: *1st Battalion - Formerly the 101st Grenadiers. *2nd Battalion - Formerly the 102nd King Edward's Own Grenadiers *3rd Battalion - Formerly the 108th Infantry *4th Battalion - Formerly the

109th Infantry The 109th Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment traces its origins to 1768, when it was raised as the 5th Battalion, Bombay Sepoys. The regiment's first action was during the Mysore Campaign in the Third A ...

*5th Battalion - Formerly the 112th Infantry *10th (Training) Battalion - Formerly the 113th Infantry

Second World War

Indian Armoured Corps in the Middle East 1944

At the beginning of the Second World War there were only two battalions of the Regiment, the 1st and 2nd. This was soon changed, though, as a number of battalions were raised for wartime service, including: 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 14th, 25th, 26th and 27th Battalions. The 10th (Training Battalion) was also de-linked from the Jat Regiment. Some of these battalions were to be garrison or rear area troops only, while others went on to serve with distinction in a number of theatres during the war including the Middle East and Burma, notably during the Arakan campaigns and at

Kohima Kohima (; Angami Naga: ''Kewhira'' ()), is the capital of the Northeastern Indian state of Nagaland. With a resident population of almost 100,000, it is the second largest city in the state. Originally known as ''Kewhira'', Kohima was founded ...

. The 4th Grenadiers formed the motorised infantry element of the Indian Armoured and Tank brigades, distinguishing themselves as 'tank escort' infantry protecting tanks against sniper attack in jungle conditions: *1/4th Battalion,

252nd Indian Armoured Brigade The 252nd Indian Armoured Brigade was an armoured formation of the Indian Army. It was formed from the 3rd (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade when it was dispersed and reformed as the 2nd Indian Armoured Brigade in 1940, from July 1941 as 2nd Independent A ...

31st Indian Armoured Division The 31st Indian Armoured Division was an armoured division of the Indian Army during World War II, formed in 1940, originally as the 1st Indian Armoured Division; it consisted of units of the British Army and the British Indian Army. When it was ...

*2/4th Battalion, 50th Indian Tank Brigade *3/4th Battalion,

254th Indian Tank Brigade The 254th Indian Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade of the Indian Army during World War II. This brigade was originally raised at the cavalry depot at Risalpur in India with effect from 1 April 1941 as the 4th Indian Armoured Brigade. In Octobe ...

*4/4th Battalion,

255th Indian Tank Brigade The 255th Indian Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade of the Indian Army during World War II. It was part of the Fourteenth Army and saw action in the Burma Campaign. The 255th Tank Brigade's tactical sign was a black bull, with yellow horns and ...

Regimental battalions

* 2nd Battalion (102nd KEO Grenadiers) (second to none) * 3rd Battalion (108th Infantry) (Param Vir Chakra Paltan) * 4th Battalion (109th Infantry) (The Fighting Fourth) (Param Vir Chakra Paltan) * 5th Battalion (finest fifth) * 6th Battalion (joshila sixth) * 8th Battalion (Chakra Bn) * 9th Battalion (Mewar, ex-State Forces unit) * 10th (Training) Battalion - (113th Infantry) * 11th Battalion (ex-Territorial battalion) * 12th Battalion (Thundering Twelfths) * 13th Battalion ( Ganga risala) * 14th Battalion * 15th Battalion (The Dare Devils) * 16th Battalion (Shola) (Kargil) * 17th Battalion (desert hawks) (Motorized Infantry) * 18th Battalion (Param Vir Chakra Paltan) (Kargil) * 19th Battalion (Jalim Khanzar) * 20th Battalion (Double Axe) * 21st Battalion (Awwal Ekkis) * 22nd Battalion (Bravest of the Brave) (Ashok Chakra Paltan) (Kargil) * 23rd Battalion * 24th Battalion * 25th Battalion (Parakrami Pacchees) * 12 Rashtriya Rifles * 29 Rashtriya Rifles * 39 Rashtriya Rifles * 55 Rashtriya Rifles The Grenadiers including these battalions have 4 battalions in the Rashtriya Rifles and 2 battalions in the territorial army. * 1st Battalion, The Grenadiers became 2nd Battalion

Brigade of the Guards The Brigade of The Guards is a mechanised infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised as the first "all India", "all class" infantry unit of the Army where troops from all parts of India serve together, as opposed to other regiments that ...

in 1950 * 7th battalion, The Grenadiers became 9th Battalion

Mechanised Infantry Regiment The Mechanised Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, comprising 27 battalions dispersed under various armoured formations throughout India. Together with the 21 battalions of Brigade of the Guards, they form part of the ' ...

* 118 (TA) Battalion - Bhusaval, Maharashtra * 123 (TA) Battalion -

Jaipur, Rajasthan Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known as ...

Battle honours

Battle Honour (Pre-Independence)

Prior to Indian independence, the Regiment had won many

battle honours A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

as part of the British Indian Army. These battle honour include:

Pre-World War I

* Mangalore – 1784 *

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

– 1786 *

Srirangapatnam Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated at around 984 CE. Later, under the British rule the city wa ...

– 1799 *

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

– 1802 * Koregaon – 1818 * Beni Boo Alli – 1821 *

Kirkee Khadki is a cantonment in the city of Pune, India. It has now flourished as a quasi-metropolis & centered in the northern region of the city. Description Khadki could be considered an Indian Army base, along with an ordnance factory consisting ...

– 1827 * Hyderabad – 1831–43 * Meeane – 1843 * Punjab – 1848 * Central India – 1858 * Abyssinia – 1868 *

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

– 1878–1880 *

Kandahar 1880 Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the ca ...

* Afghanistan 1878–80 * Burma 1885–87 *

(Dharatol) – 1901–04

World War I

* East Africa 1914–16 *

– 1916–17 *

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

– 1917 * Kut-Al-Amara – 1917 * Gaza – 1917 *

Battle of Sharqat The Battle of Sharqat (October 23–30, 1918) was fought between the British and the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian Campaign in World War I, which became the last conflict between the belligerents before of the signing of the Armistice of Mud ...

– 1918 *

Megiddo Megiddo may refer to: Places and sites in Israel * Tel Megiddo, site of an ancient city in Israel's Jezreel valley * Megiddo Airport, a domestic airport in Israel * Megiddo church (Israel) * Megiddo, Israel, a kibbutz in Israel * Megiddo Junction, ...

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

– 1918 * Palestine 1917–18 *

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 ...

– 1915–18 *

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. ...

– 1914–19 * Afghanistan 1919 * Tigris – 1919

World War II

* Kohima – 1944 *

Kalewa Kalewa is a town at the confluence of the Chindwin River and the Myittha River in Kale District, Sagaing Region of north-western Myanmar. It is the administrative seat of Kalewa Township. Climate Kalewa has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen c ...

– 1944 * Naga Village – 1944 *

Fort Dufferin Fort Dufferin is a former Canadian government post near the Canada–United States border at Emerson, Manitoba. The fort was used during the 1870s as a base for the North American Boundary Commission and the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP), ...

, Mandalay – 1945 * Pwabwe – 1945 *

Capture of Meiktila Capture may refer to: *Asteroid capture, a phenomenon in which an asteroid enters a stable orbit around another body *Capture, a software for lighting design, documentation and visualisation *"Capture" a song by Simon Townshend *Capture (band), an ...

– 1945 * Defense of Meiktila – 1945 * Pegu – 1945 * Taungtha – 1945

Battle Honour (Post-Independence)

Since 1947, the Regiment has won the following battle honours as part of the Indian Army: * Gurais – 1948 * Asal Uttar – 1965 * Jarpal – 1971 * Chakra – 1971 * Tololing & Tiger Hill (Kargil War) – 1999

Decorations

The Grenadiers have the unique and distinct honour of having the most number of

s, India's highest medal for gallantry, among all the Indian Army's Infantry Regiments. Of note also, is the fact that prior to independence, British officers serving with The Grenadiers won four

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 ...

es. Members of the Regiment have also received a number of other decorations prior to independence, including 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 ...

Param Vir Chakra Recipients

* Company Quarter Master Havildar Abdul Hamid, 4th Grenadiers – 1965. * Major Hoshiar Singh, 3rd Grenadiers – 1971. * Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav, 18th Grenadiers – 1999.

Maha Vir Chakra Recipients

*Major

Rajesh Adhikari Major Rajesh Singh Adhikari, MVC (25 December 1970 – 30 May 1999), was an Indian Army officer who died during the Kargil War. He was posthumously awarded the second highest Indian military honour, the Maha Vir Chakra for bravery on the ...

MVC MVC may refer to: Science and technology * Maximum-value composite procedure, an imaging procedure * Multivariable calculus, a concept in mathematics * Multivariable control, a concept in process engineering * Mechanical vapor compression, a desal ...

(Posthumous), 18 Grenadiers,

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

(Operation Vijay) 1999. *Colonel

Balwan Singh Colonel Balwan Singh Panghal MVC (born 17 October 1973) is a decorated Indian Army officer who was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for his courage in leading the successful assault to capture Tiger Hill during the 1999 Kargil War. Early life A s ...

, 18 Grenadiers,

(Operation Vijay) 1999. *Brigadier

Rai Singh Yadav Brigadier Rai Singh Yadav, MVC (17 March 1925 – 23 March 2017) was an officer in the Indian Army notable for his participation in the Nathu La and Cho La clashes 1967. He displayed exemplary courage and leadership during the clashes, for w ...

, 2 Grenadiers,

Nathu La and Cho La clashes The Nathu La and Cho La clashes, sometimes referred to as the Sino-Indian War of 1967, consisted of a series of border clashes between India and China alongside the border of the Himalayan Kingdom of Sikkim, then an Indian protectorate. The ...

1967. *2nd Lieutenant GVP Rao,

(Posthumous), 4 Grenadiers,

Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tib ...

1962. *Major Dharam Vir Singh,

, 8 Grenadiers,

Indo-Pak 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 Decemb ...

. *Lieutenant General Ved Prakash Airy,

, 3 Grenadiers,

(

Battle of Basantar The Battle of Basantar also known as the Battle of Shakargarh or Battle of Barapind (December 4–16, 1971) was one of the vital battles fought as part of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 in the western sector of India. The Indian troops won a har ...

Ashok Chakra Recipients

* Major Rajiv Kumar Joon, 22 Grenadiers. * Second Lieutenant Rakesh Singh, 22 Grenadiers.

Victoria Cross

* Captain George Murray Rolland, 22 April 1903, Daratoleh,

Indian Order of Merit

* Subedar Rahim Khan, Palestine (against Turkey), April 1918Sharma, p. 73 * Naik Shivlal Dalal (1933)

References & notes

Bibliography

* * * * * Moberly, F.J. (1923). ''Official History of the War: Mesopotamia Campaign'', Imperial War Museum. * Singh, Rajendra (1969) ''History of the Grenadiers'' * Singh, Rajendra (1955) ''Organisation and Administration in the Indian Army''

External links

Official Website of Indian Army

Indian Grenadiers Regiment

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grenadiers Regiment Military units and formations established in 1947 Infantry regiments of the Indian Army from 1947 Grenadier regiments Indian World War I regiments Indian World War II regiments Military units and formations in Burma in World War II