The 50th Indian Brigade was an infantry brigade 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 ...

that saw active service with the Indian Army during the First World War. It served in the Mesopotamian Campaign on the Euphrates Front throughout its existence. It was not reformed for the Second World War.

History

;Formation The 50th Indian Brigade was formed in Mesopotamia on 20 August 1917 as part of the newly formed

15th Indian Division The 15th Indian Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service in the First World War. It served in the Mesopotamian Campaign on the Euphrates Front throughout its existence. It did not serve in the Second ...

. It was made up of battalions that had already been in Mesopotamia for some months, guarding

lines of communications A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communicati ...

. From late August to mid-September it was attached to the

3rd (Lahore) Division The 3rd (Lahore) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army, first organised in 1852. It saw service during World War I as part of the Indian Corps in France before being moved to the Middle East where it fought against troops ...

before joining the

17th Indian Division The 17th Indian Division was formed in 1917 from units of the British Indian Army for service in the Mesopotamia Campaign during World War I. After the war, it formed part of the occupation force for Iraq and took part in the Iraq Rebellion in ...

. It was replaced in the 15th Indian Division 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 ...

, ex 17th Indian Division. ;15th Indian Division The brigade remained with the division on the Euphrates Front until the end of the war. It took part in the Capture of Ramadi (28 and 29 September 1917), the Occupation of Hīt (9 March 1918) and the

action of Khan Baghdadi The action of Khan Baghdadi was an engagement during the Mesopotamian campaign in World War I. Khan Baghdadi The 15th Indian Division had been at Ramadi since its capture of the town in September 1917. On 9 March 1918, it advanced and occupi ...

(26 and 27 March 1918). At the end of the war, the division was rapidly run down and it (along with the brigade) was disbanded in March 1919. The Indian Army did not form a ''50th Indian Infantry Brigade'' in the Second World War, however it did form

50th Indian Parachute Brigade The 50th Parachute Brigade is a brigade-sized formation of the Indian Army. Its main force is formed of battalions of the Parachute Regiment. It consists of 2 Airborne battalions, supported by units of the Regiment of Artillery, the Corps of En ...

and

50th Indian Tank Brigade The 50th Indian Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed for service in the Burma Campaign of World War II from units of the British Army and the British Indian Army. The brigade's forma ...

Order of battle

The brigade had the following composition in the First World War: * 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry ''(joined from Corps Troops in August 1917)'' * 6th Jat Light Infantry ''(joined from Corps Troops in August 1917)'' * 14th King George's Own Ferozepore Sikhs ''(joined from Corps Troops in August 1917; transferred to

51st Indian Brigade The 51st Indian Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service with the Indian Army during the First World War. It took part in the Mesopotamian campaign and formed part of the occupation force for Iraq post- ...

, 17th Indian Division in October 1917)'' * 1st Battalion,

97th Deccan Infantry The 97th Deccan Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origin to 1794, when they were the 3rd Battalion of the Aurangabad Division in the Hyderabad State army. Which took part in the Battle of Seringap ...

''(joined from Corps Troops in August 1917)'' *

24th Punjabis The 24th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as the 11th Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 24th Punjabis in 1861 and became 4th Battalion 14th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, i ...

''(joined from Corps Troops in September 1917; left in September 1918 to join the 66th Brigade,

British 22nd Division The 22nd Division was an infantry division of the British Army during World War I, raised in September 1914, from men volunteering for Lord Kitchener's New Armies. The division moved to France in September 1915, but it was transferred to Greece ...

)'' * 256th Machine Gun Company * 50th Light

Trench Mortar ''Minenwerfer'' ("mine launcher" or "mine thrower") is the German name for a class of short range mine shell launching mortars used extensively during the First World War by the Imperial German Army. The weapons were intended to be used by en ...

Battery ''('O' Light Trench Mortar Battery joined 15th Division in September 1917 and assigned to the brigade in February 1918)''

Commander

The brigade was commanded from formation by

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

A.W. Andrew A&W, AW, Aw, aW or aw may refer to: Companies * A&W Restaurants ** A&W Root Beer * Addison-Wesley, publishers * Africa World Airlines, IATA code * Prefix for helicopters made by AgustaWestland * Allied Waste Industries, Inc, stock symbol on N ...

References

Bibliography

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External links