The 6th Indian Cavalry Brigade was a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

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 in the Indian Army during the First World War. It took part in the Mesopotamian campaign and was broken up soon after the end of the war.

History

On 21 February 1915, orders were sent from India to form a

brigade in Mesopotamia. As a result, the 6th Indian Cavalry Brigade was formed with the

33rd Queen Victoria's Own Light Cavalry The Poona Horse is an armoured regiment in the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. The regiment, known before independence as The Poona Horse (17th Queen Victoria's Own Cavalry), was raised as a regular cavalry regiment in the Bombay Presidency ...

which had arrived in Mesopotamia in November 1914 with 6th (Poona) Division,

16th Cavalry The 6th Lancers is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. Previously, it was known as the 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse), and was a regular cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by amalgamati ...

and S Battery, Royal Horse Artillery which arrived earlier in the month, and

7th Hariana Lancers The 7th Hariana Lancers was a cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1846 and in 1921 was amalgamated with the 6th King Edward's Own Cavalry to form the 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry. The unit was formed in 1846 as a regi ...

which departed India on 28 February to complete the brigade. It served in the campaign in Mesopotamia for the rest of the First World War. Initially acting in an independent role, the brigade took part in the

Battle of Shaiba The Battle of Shaiba (12–14 April 1915) was a battle of World War I fought between British and Ottoman forces, the latter trying to retake the city of Basra from the British. Background By capturing Basra, the British had taken an important ...

(12–14 April 1915) where

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

George Wheeler of the

won the Victoria Cross, and Operations in Persian Arabistan (21 April–18 June) including the

Affair of Khafajiya An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of i ...

(14–16 May). It then took part in the Battle of Es Sinn (28 September) that resulted in the capture of Kut al Amara. From 6 October, the brigade was placed under the command of the 6th (Poona) Division and with it took part in the advance on Baghdad including the Battle of Ctesiphon (22–24 November) and the subsequent withdrawal (the Affair of Umm at Tabul on 1 December) back to Kut. It left the division there on 6 December before it got besieged. From the start of 1916, the brigade was involved in efforts to raise the siege, including the Action of Sheikh Sa'ad (6–8 January), the Action of the Wadi (13 January), the First Attack on Hanna (21 January) and the Attack on the Dujaila Redoubt (8 March). These were in vain and the division surrendered on 29 April. On 8 December 1916, The Cavalry Division was organized from the 6th and 7th Indian Cavalry Brigades, the latter having arrived from the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

in August. With the division, it took part in the Second Battle of Kut including the

Advance to the Hai and Capture of the Khudaira Bend Advance commonly refers to: *Advance, an offensive push in sports, games, thoughts, military combat, or sexual or romantic pursuits * Advance payment for goods or services * Advance against royalties, a payment to be offset against future royalty p ...

(14 December 1916 – 19 January 1917), the

Capture of the Hai Salient 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), ...

(25 January–5 February 1917), the Capture of the Dahra Bend (9–16 February). It then took part in the pursuit to Baghdad and a number of actions later in 1917, notably the

Second Battle of Ramadi Battle of Ramadi may refer to one of the following: * Battle of Ramadi (1917) - Battle between British and Ottoman Empire forces in September 1917 during the First World War * Battle of Ramadi (2004), part of the Iraq War * Battle of Ramadi ...

(28–29 September). The Cavalry Division was dissolved on 8 April 1918, and the brigade continued to serve as an independent formation. It took part in the Affair of Kulawand (27 April), the action of Tuz Khurmatli (29 April) and, finally, the occupation of

Kirkuk Kirkuk ( ar, كركوك, ku, کەرکووک, translit=Kerkûk, , tr, Kerkük) is a city in Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate, located north of Baghdad. The city is home to a diverse population of Turkmens, Arabs, Kurds, ...

(7 May). After the Armistice of Mudros, the brigade was not selected to form part of the occupation forces for Mesopotamia. In February and March 1919, the last of the units sailed for India and the brigade was no more.

Order of battle

The brigade commanded the following units during the First World War: ;Cavalry regiments *

''(joined on formation from 6th (Poona) Division; left in October 1916 for 3rd Lahore Divisional Area)'' *

''(joined on formation from Lucknow,

8th (Lucknow) Division 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 ...

; left in October 1916 for

4th (Quetta) Division The 4th (Quetta) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army. It was formed by General Kitchener while he was Commander-in-chief of India. During World War I the division remained in India. Its composition was: Formation 191 ...

)'' *

''(joined on formation from Ferozepore, 3rd Lahore Divisional Area; left in June 1916 for

9th (Secunderabad) Division The 9th (Secunderabad) Division was an infantry division formation of the British Indian Army. It was part of the Southern Army and was formed in 1904 after Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India between 1902 and 1909. He i ...

)'' *

23rd Cavalry (Frontier Force) The 11th Cavalry (Frontier Force), is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was previously known as the 11th Prince Albert Victor's Own Cavalry and was a regular cavalry regiment of the old British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by th ...

''(arrived on 10 June 1915 from 3rd Lahore Divisional Area and attached until August; later joined the 7th Indian Cavalry Brigade)'' *

14th (King's) Hussars The 14th King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with the 20th Hussars to form the 14th/20th King's Hussars in 192 ...

''(joined on 28 November 1915 from 4th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade,

7th Meerut Divisional Area The 7th Meerut Divisional Area was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that formed part of the Indian Army during the First World War. It was formed in September 1914 to replace the original 7th (Meerut) Division that had been mo ...

; attached to

14th Indian Division The 14th Indian Division was formed during World War I, for service in the Mesopotamian Campaign. It was composed of battalions of the Regular British Army, the British Territorial Force and the British Indian Army. History The Division now pa ...

from April 1918)'' * 4th Cavalry ''(formerly divisional cavalry of

7th (Meerut) Division The 7th (Meerut) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service during World War I. Pre-1857 The Meerut Division first appeared in the Indian Army List in 1829, under the command of Sir Jasper Nicolls, ...

; attached to the brigade JanuaryJune and AugustOctober 1916 then to 7th Meerut Divisional Area)'' *

21st Prince Albert Victor’s Own Cavalry (Frontier Force) The 11th Cavalry (Frontier Force), is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was previously known as the 11th Prince Albert Victor's Own Cavalry and was a regular cavalry regiment of the old British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by th ...

''(joined in November 1916 from 3rd Lahore Divisional Area)'' *

22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) The 12th Cavalry Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) is an armoured regiment of Pakistan Army. It was formed in the British Indian army in 1922 by the amalgamation of 22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) and 25th Cavalry (Frontier Force ...

''(joined in November 1916 from 9th (Secunderabad) Division; left in April 1918 and joined

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 ...

in August)'' * 11th King Edward's Own Lancers (Probyn's Horse) ''(arrived from Derajat Brigade in October 1917 and joined the brigade in August 1918)'' * 1st Patiala Lancers ( I.S.) ''(arrived in Mesopotamia in June 1916 and joined the brigade in August 1918)'' ;Support units * S Battery, Royal Horse Artillery ''(joined on formation from Bangalore, 9th (Secunderabad) Division)'' * 6th Cavalry Brigade Signal Troop ''(joined on formation)'' * 6th Cavalry Brigade Supply and Transport

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

''(joined on formation)'' * 131st Combined Cavalry Field Ambulance ''(from December 1915)'' * 2nd Troop,

2nd Queen Victoria's Own Madras Miners and Sappers Madras Engineer Group (MEG), informally known as the Madras Sappers, is an engineer group of the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. The Madras Sappers draw their origin from the erstwhile Madras Presidency army of the British Raj. This ...

''(joined in May 1916)'' * 6th Machine Gun Squadron ''(joined in September 1916)'' * 15th Machine Gun Squadron ''(renumbered from 6th in May 1917)'' * 5th Mobile Veterinary Section ''(joined in May 1917)''

Commanders

The brigade had the following commanders:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* *{{cite web, url=http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_cav/cav_bdes_.htm , title=Independent Indian Cavalry Brigades in Mesopotamia on ''The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918'' by PB Chappell , access-date=2015-07-13 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517085117/http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_cav/cav_bdes_.htm , archive-date=17 May 2008 , df=dmy C06 Cavalry brigades of the British Indian Army Military units and formations established in 1915 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919