The Meerut Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry

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 formed in 1904 as a result of the

Kitchener Reforms 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 ...

. It was mobilized as 7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade at the outbreak 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 ...

and departed for the Western Front where it served as part of the

2nd Indian Cavalry Division The 2nd Indian Cavalry Division was a division of the British Indian Army formed at the outbreak of World War I. It served on the Western Front, being renamed as 5th Cavalry Division on 26 November 1916. In March 1918, the 5th Cavalry Divisi ...

. It was reorganized in June 1916 as 7th Indian Cavalry Brigade and 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 ...

. It formed part of the occupation forces for

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 ...

after the end of the war and was broken up late in 1920.

History

The

, carried out during Lord Kitchener's tenure as Commander-in-Chief, India (1902–09), completed the unification of the three former

Presidency armies The presidency armies were the armies of the three presidencies of the East India Company's rule in India, later the forces of the British Crown in India, composed primarily of Indian sepoys. The presidency armies were named after the presiden ...

, the Punjab Frontier Force, the

Hyderabad Contingent The Nizam's Contingent, later Hyderabad Contingent, was the army funded by the Nizam of Hyderabad, the ruler of a Princely state of India.http://www.indianarmy.gov.in/Site/FormTemplete/frmTemp12PLM8C.aspx?MnId=l7m6i4kBQ6GVWWXGRMx4Yg&ParentID=R ...

and other local forces into one

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- ...

. Kitchener identified the Indian Army's main task as the defence of the North-West Frontier against foreign aggression (particularly Russian expansion into Afghanistan) with

internal security Internal security is the act of keeping peace within the borders of a sovereign state or other self-governing territories, generally by upholding the national law and defending against internal security threats. Responsibility for internal secu ...

relegated to a secondary role. The Army was organized into divisions and

s that would act as field formations but also included internal security troops. The Meerut Brigade was formed in November 1904 as a result of the Kitchener Reforms. The brigade formed part of the 7th (Meerut) Division. In 1908, it was redesignated as Meerut Cavalry Brigade.

7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade

13th Hussars horselines and bivouacs Aire, France (Photo 24-108)

In August 1914, the brigade was mobilized as the 7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade. In company with the newly formed 5th (Mhow) Cavalry Brigade, it departed

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-m ...

on 19 November 1914 and landed at Marseilles on 14–16 December. It joined the

which was formally constituted on 14 December. The division concentrated around

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Front on 1–4 January 1915. While in France, the brigade was known by its geographical rather than numerical designation so as to avoid confusion with the British 7th Cavalry Brigade also serving on the Western Front at the same time. The brigade did not take part in any significant actions while on the Western Front. Instead, it was held in reserve in case of a breakthrough, although it did send parties to the trenches on a number of occasions. They would hold the line, or act as Pioneers; such parties were designated as the Meerut Battalion. In June 1916, the brigade was extensively reorganized and was sent to

: * 3rd Skinner's Horse went to 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division *

18th King George's Own Tiwana Lancers The 19th Lancers is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. Before 1956, it was known as 19th King George V's Own Lancers, which was a regular cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, by the amalgamation of 18th King ...

transferred to 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade and was replaced by

30th Lancers (Gordon's Horse) The 8th Light Cavalry traces its origins from the 8th King George's Own Light Cavalry which was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 26th King George's Own Light Cavalry and the 30th Lancers following a re-organisation of the Indian Cavalry C ...

which in turn joined the 1st (Peshawar) Division in August 1916. * 13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers (Watson's Horse) joined from the 1st (Peshawar) Division *

14th Murray's Jat Lancers The 14th Murray's Jat Lancers, also sometimes known as the Murray's Jat Horse, was a cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was first raised at Aligarh as an irregular cavalry unit in 1857 as the Jat Horse Yeomanry, for the Eas ...

joined from the 1st (Peshawar) Division

7th Indian Cavalry Brigade

The brigade arrived in

in August 1916 where it served as an independent brigade, as part of the

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

from 8 December 1916 to 8 April 1918, and as an independent brigade to the end of the war. With the division, it took part in the

Second Battle of Kut The Second Battle of Kut was fought on 23 February 1917, between British and Ottoman forces at Kut, Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). The battle was part of the British advance to Baghdad begun in December 1916 by a 50,000-man British force (main ...

including the Advance to the Hai and Capture of the Khudaira Bend (14 December 1916 – 19 January 1917), the Capture of the Hai Salient (25 January–5 February 1917), and the

Capture of the Dahra Bend 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 ...

(9–16 February). It then took part in the Pursuit to Baghdad and a number of actions later in 1917. In 1918 it took part in the Affair of Kulawand (27 April), the action of Tuz Khurmatli (29 April), the action at Fat-ha Gorge on the Little Zab (23–26 October 1918), and the

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 ...

(28–30 October 1918) under the command of

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...

. After the

Armistice of Mudros Concluded on 30 October 1918 and taking effect at noon the next day, the Armistice of Mudros ( tr, Mondros Mütarekesi) ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I. It was signed by th ...

, the brigade was selected to form part of the occupation forces for Mesopotamia. The brigade was finally broken up in late 1920.

Orders of battle

Commanders

The Meerut Brigade / Meerut Cavalry Brigade / 7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade / 7th Indian Cavalry Brigade had the following commanders:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* * * *{{cite web, url=http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_cav/ind_cav_div.htm , title=Cavalry Division on ''The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918'' by PB Chappell , access-date=2015-07-13 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517084710/http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_cav/ind_cav_div.htm , archive-date=17 May 2008 , df=dmy C07 Cavalry brigades of the British Indian Army Military units and formations established in 1904 Military units and formations disestablished in 1920