The Bani Bu Ali expedition (1820–21) was a punitive campaign launched by the

Sultan of Muscat The sultan of the Sultanate of Oman is the monarchical head of state and head of government of Oman. It is the most powerful position in the country. The sultans of Oman are members of the Busaid dynasty, which has been the ruling family of O ...

and the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

against an

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

i tribe known as the Bani Bu Ali in southeastern

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

. It consisted of two expeditions. The first was the only land campaign

Said bin Sultan Sayyid Saïd bin Sultan al-Busaidi ( ar, سعيد بن سلطان, , sw, Saïd bin Sultani) (5 June 1791 – 19 October 1856), was Sultan of Muscat and Oman, the fifth ruler of the Busaid dynasty from 1804 to 4 June 1856. His rule commenced fol ...

conducted in Arabia during his long reign. It included a small allied British force and was defeated. The second, led by a more substantial British component, resulted in a decisive victory over the Bani Bu Ali. Company units engaged in the expedition received the "Beni Boo Alli"

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 ...

Background

The Bani Bu Ali tribe occupied the fortified village of Belad Bani Bu Ali (Place of the Sons of Ali) in

, in the hinterland of the Sultanate of Muscat, whose suzerainty the tribe nominally recognized. They did not, however, respect the good relations of sultan with the Company and engaged in piracy in the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

.A. W. H. Lees, "A Forgotten Battle: Belad Beni Bu Ali, 1821", ''Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research'', Vol. 14, No. 55 (1935), pp. 166–169. In 1819, the Company carried out a punitive expedition to Ras al Khaimah, which destroyed a pirate base and removed the threat of piracy from the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

. As a result, several Gulf states signed the

General Maritime Treaty of 1820 The General Maritime Treaty of 1820 was a treaty initially signed between the rulers of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Great Britain in January 1820, with the nearby island state of Bahrain acceding to the treaty i ...

outlawing piracy. When the Bani Bu Ali murdered the pilot of a British ship carrying a British envoy at Rass al Junaiz, it was decided to dispatch of a small punitive expedition from India to Ash Sharqiyah (Oman) to assist the sultan in subduing the Bani Bu Ali.E. W. C. Sandes, ''The Indian Sappers and Miners'' (1948), pp. 126ff.

First expedition (1820)

The expedition sailed from

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- ...

in October 1820 and sailed to Sur via

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is s ...

. The small force consisting of six companies (380 men) of Indian infantry, along with four six-pounder guns, under Captain Perronet Thomson joined the sultan's force of about 2000 irregulars. They proceeded inland to Belad Bani Bu Ali, the tribal capital. When negotiations failed,J. E. Peterson, ''Oman's Insurgencies: The Sultanate's Struggle for Supremacy'' (Saqi, 2013). on 18 November 1820, this force was attacked and almost annihilated as they approached the capital. The Arabs had charged with spears and swords. A majority of the British officers (seven) and two-thirds of the soldiers (270) were killed as the Arabs gave no quarter. The guns were all captured. The survivors, including many of the wounded, returned to Sur, thence to Muscat from where they were taken to Qishm at the entrance of the Persian Gulf.

Second expedition (1821)

The destruction of this force was a major blow to British prestige in Arabia and a second stronger expedition was assembled. This force of 6000 mixed British soldiers and Indian

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 ...

s, under Major General Lionel Smith, sailed from Bombay on 11 January 1821. This force contained engineer elements of the Bombay Presidency army consisting of the newly formed company of the Bombay Sappers and Miners who, under Capt. T. Dickinson (Bombay Engineers) and assisted by Lt T.B. Jervis (Bombay Engineers), were proceeding abroad for the first time in their history. Along with the Sappers and Miners company sailed the 3rd Company of the

Bombay Pioneers 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 ...

who had recently served in the 1819 Ras al-Khaimah expedition to suppress piracy in the Persian Gulf. The force disembarked at Sur on 27 January and marched into the interior. Repulsing an attack on 10 February, they reached Balad Bani Nu Hassan on 2 March. The Bani bu Ali advanced with desperate fanaticism to give battle in the open, ignoring the cannonades of grape-shot from the British artillery. The Arabs fought bravely with

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and

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, attempting to break the British line, causing havoc at close quarters wherever they could do so. However, the line of bayonets prevailed and the Bani bu Ali were beaten off, leaving behind 500 dead and dying. On the other hand, the British casualties were 29 dead and 173 wounded. The fort at Balad was occupied after a brief bombardment. Later, the expedition returned to Sur where they embarked for Bombay. The Bani bu Ali were defeated, the fort at their capital occupied and British prestige restored.

Battle honour

By a General Order of the Bombay Presidency, dated 11 February 1831, all units which had served in the expedition were awarded the battle honour ''Beni Boo Ali'', including the Bombay Pioneers and the Bombay Sappers and Miners. ''Beni Boo Ali'' heads the list of battle and theatre honours of the

Bombay Sappers The Bombay Engineer Group, or the ''Bombay Sappers'' as they are informally known, are a regiment of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers, Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. The Bombay Sappers draw their origin from the erstwhile Bombay Pres ...

today. This honour is not considered

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. The following

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 ...

units were awarded the battle honour : *3rd Company, Bombay Pioneer Battalion -

*1st/13th Bombay Infantry -

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Regimental Centre *lst/3rd Bombay Infantry - 1st Battalion

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*1st/5th Bombay Infantry - 2nd Battalion

*2nd /4th Bombay Infantry - 1st Battalion,

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- now 3rd Battalion,

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*2nd/18th Bombay Infantry (Disbanded) *1st/17th Bombay Infantry (Disbanded 1933 as the 1st Battalion 2nd Bombay Pioneers) *1st Troop/The Horse Brigade, Bombay Artillery *5th Company/2nd Battalion The Foot Artillery, Bombay Artillery

Background

First expedition (1820)

Second expedition (1821)

Battle honour

Notes

References

Further reading