The 93rd Burma Infantry was an infantry regiment 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 ...

. The regiment was raised in 1800 as a battalion of Madras Native Infantry. It was designated as the 93rd Burma Infantry in 1903 and became the 5th (Burma) Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

, where it continues to exist as 5th Battalion of The Baloch Regiment.Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.

Early history

The regiment was raised on 1 January 1800 at

Guntur Guntur () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Guntur is spread across 168.49 km square and is the third-largest city in the state. It is situated to the west of the Ba ...

, in South India as the 1st Battalion 17th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry by Colonel George Wahab, and was known as ''Wahab ki Paltan'' (Wahab's Battalion). It was composed mostly of Muslims, Tamils and Telugus. In 1803, it took part in the Second Anglo-Maratha War, while in 1809, at Cochin, it repulsed a force of 3000 rebels during the

Travancore War The Travancore rebellion against the British East India Company was led by the prime ministers of the Indian states of Travancore and Cochin in 1808–09 with support from Sikhs ruling Punjab. Background The East India Company–Travanco ...

. In 1817, the battalion operated against the Pindaris during the Third Anglo-Maratha War. In 1824, it was redesignated as the 33rd Regiment of Madras Native Infantry. During the Great Indian Rebellion of 1857, it again operated against the Marathas in

Central India Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in alm ...

.Ahmad, Maj RN, and Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin. (2006). ''Unfaded Glory: The 8th Punjab Regiment 1798-1956''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre. In 1890, the 33rd Madras Infantry was reconstituted with Punjabi Muslims, Pathans and

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 permanently based in Burma. Its designation was changed to the 3rd Regiment of Burma Infantry, and in 1891, to the 33rd Regiment (3rd Burma Battalion) of Madras Infantry. In 1901, its title was changed to the 33rd Burma Infantry. The Burma Battalions were units raised to police the new territories acquired in the Third Anglo-Burmese War and pacify the rebellious hill tribes inhabiting the frontier regions of Burma. From 1891 to 1893, the regiment operated in the

Kachin State Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...

in northern Burma, quelling various outbreaks of rebellion.

93rd Burma Infantry

As part of the reforms brought about in the Indian Army by Lord Kitchener in 1903, all former Madras units had 60 added to their numbers. Consequently, the regiment's designation was changed to 93rd Burma Infantry. In 1910, the Burma Battalions were delocalised from Burma and in 1913, the 93rd Burma Infantry moved to

Barrackpore Barrackpore (also known as Barrackpur) is a city and a municipality of urban Kolkata of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA ...

in India. On the outbreak of the First World War, the regiment sailed for Egypt in November 1914, where it was deployed to defend the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

against the Turks. In September 1915, they left for France and over the next three months, served in the trenches of the Western Front. Early in 1916, the regiment arrived in Mesopotamia, where they were engaged in fierce fighting on the Tigris Front during British efforts to relieve the besieged garrison of Kut al Amara. The regiment took part in the Battles of

Dujaila Redoubt Dujaila may refer: *Battle of Dujaila, 1916 battle between Ottoman and British forces near Kut, Iraq. *Dujaila River The Dujaila River ( ar, نهر الدجيلة), also called the Dujailah, Dujaili, Dujaylah or Nahr Shaţţ ad Dujaylah, is a ri ...

, Beit Aissa, Khudaira Bend & Jebel Hamrin. It fought with great gallantry and suffered heavy losses in this long and bloody campaign. In 1918, the 93rd Burma Infantry proceeded to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

and took part in the Battle of Megiddo, which led to the annihilation of Turkish Army in Palestine. During the war, the 93rd Burma Infantry suffered 1157 casualties including 235 killed. They received a large number of gallantry awards for their outstanding performance in the war.Haycraft, Maj WS. (1921). ''Regimental History, 1914-1920, 93rd Burma Infantry''. Cardiff: William Lewis.

Subsequent History

After the First World War, the 93rd Burma Infantry was grouped with the 90th, 91st and

92nd Punjabis The 92nd Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was raised in 1800 as a battalion of Madras Native Infantry. It was designated as the 92nd Punjabis in 1903 and became 4th Battalion (Prince of Wales's Own) 8th P ...

and the two battalions of

89th Punjabis The 89th Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1798 as a battalion of Madras Native Infantry. It was designated as the 89th Punjabis in 1903 and became 1st Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was allo ...

to form the 8th Punjab Regiment, and was designated as the 5th (Burma) Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment in 1922. During the Second World War, 5/8th Punjab (Burma) fought in the Burma Campaign and served in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

. In 1947, the 8th Punjab Regiment was allocated to the Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was merged with the Baluch Regiment and 5/8th Punjab was designated as 5 Baluch (now 5 Baloch).

Genealogy

*1800 - 1st Battalion 17th Regiment Madras Native Infantry Major General George Wahab (1752-1808)

*1824 - 33rd Regiment Madras Native Infantry *1885 - 33rd Regiment Madras Infantry *1890 - 3rd Regiment Burma Infantry *1891 - 33rd Regiment (3rd Burma Battalion) Madras Infantry *1901 - 33rd Burma Infantry *1903 - 93rd Burma Infantry *1922 - 5th (Burma) Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment or 5/8th Punjab *1956 - 5th Battalion The Baluch Regiment or 5 Baluch *1991 - 5th Battalion The Baloch Regiment or 5 Baloch

Early history

93rd Burma Infantry

Subsequent History

Genealogy

References

Further reading

See also