The 14th Indian Division was formed during

World War I 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 ...

, for service 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 Powe ...

. It was composed of battalions of the Regular

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, the British

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

and 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 ...

History

The Division now part of the

Tigris Corps The III Corps is a formation of the Indian Army that was formed during World War I in Mesopotamia during its respective campaign. Prior to the reorganization of the British and Indian forces in Mesopotamia, it was designated as the Tigris Corps. ...

was involved in a number on minor engagements 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 ...

and the Fall of Baghdad, the Division's 36th Brigade was left in Baghdad as the

Garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

. The Division remained in Mesopotamia until 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 ...

31 October 1918.British Official History of the Great War, Mesopotamia Campaign Vol. 4

Order of battle

The division commanded the following units, although not all of them served at the same time:

35th Indian Brigade

* 1/5th Battalion,

Buffs (East Kent Regiment) The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and ...

* 37th Dogras * 102nd King Edward's Own Grenadiers * 2nd Battalion, 4th Gurkha Rifles

36th Indian Brigade

Departed for the

North Persia Force North Persia Force (Norper force) was a British military force that operated in Northern Persia from 1918–1919. Composition The force was a large brigade which consisted of: * 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers * 1st Battalion, 42nd Deoli Reg ...

in June 1918, replaced by 56th Indian Brigade * 1/4th Battalion,

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The regi ...

* 26th Punjabis * 62nd Punjabis * 82nd Punjabis

37th Indian Brigade

* 1st Battalion, 2nd King Edward's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) *

36th Sikhs The 36th Sikhs was an infantry regiment in the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1887, when they were the 36th (Sikh) Bengal Infantry. Composed of Jat Sikhs, it was created by Colonel Jim Cooke and Captain H. R. Holmes. They h ...

* 64th Pioneers * 1/4th Battalion,

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1958 ...

45th Rattray's Sikhs The 45th Rattray's Sikhs was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to the 1st Bengal Military Police Battalion raised in April 1856, at Lahore, by Captain Thomas Rattray originally consisting of a troop ...

* 2nd Battalion,

Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

* 2nd Battalion,

9th Gurkha Rifles The 9th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiments (India), Gorkha infantry regiment of the Indian Army and, previously, the British Army. The regiment was initially formed by the British in 1817, and was one of the Gurkha regiments transferred to the In ...

* 1st Battalion,

67th Punjabis The 67th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1759, when they were raised as the 8th Battalion Coast Sepoys. The regiment's first action was during the Carnatic Wars followed by the Thir ...

* 82nd Punjabis * 185th Machine Gun Company * 37th 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 engin ...

Battery

56th Indian Brigade

Joined in August 1918 to replace 36th Indian Brigade * 1/4th Battalion,

Prince Albert's (Somerset Light Infantry) The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Some ...

* 1st Battalion, 42nd Deoli Regiment * 95th Russell's Infantry * 104th Wellesley's Rifles * 1st

Patiala Lancers The 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade was a brigade-sized formation that served alongside British Empire forces in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, during World War I. Originally called the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade it was formed ...

''(attached March to June 1918)'' * 2nd Indian Machine Gun Company * 56th Light Trench Mortar Battery

Artillery

*13th Brigade

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

*C/69th Howitzer battery

Battles

*Advance to the Hai and capture of the Khudaira Bend. 14 December 1916. *Capture of the Hai Salient. 25 January – 5 February 1917. *Capture of Sannaiyat. 17–24 February 1917. *

. 23 February 1917 *Passage of the

Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...

. 23–24 February 1917. *

Fall of Baghdad (1917) The Fall of Baghdad (11 March 1917) occurred during the Mesopotamia Campaign, fought between the forces of the British Empire and the Ottoman Empire in the First World War. Arrival of General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude After the surrender of ...

. 8–11 March 1917 *Passage of the ‘ Adhaim. 18 April 1917. *Action of the Shatt al Adhaim. 30 April 1917. *Second action of

Jabal Hamrin The Hamrin Mountains ( ar, جبل حمرين, Jabāl Hamrīn, ku, چیای حەمرین, Çiyayê Hemrîn or Çiyayên Hemrîn) are a small mountain ridge in northeast Iraq. The westernmost ripple of the greater Zagros mountains, the Hamrin mounta ...

. 16–20 October 1917. *Third action of Jabal Hamrin. 3–6 December 1917.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* {{Indian Expeditionary Forces British Indian Army divisions Indian World War I divisions Military units and formations established in 1916 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919