The 16th Light Cavalry is a regiment of the

Armoured Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armou ...

, a primary combat arm of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

. Prior to India gaining independence from the British in 1947, it was a regular cavalry 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 cou ...

. It was formed in 1776 and is the oldest armoured regiment raised in India. The 16th Light Cavalry saw service in a number of conflicts ranging from the Second Anglo-Mysore War in 1781 to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It has a number of battle honours including "Punjab 1965" earned during the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

History

Formation

The regiment was raised prior to 1776 as the 3rd Regiment of Native Cavalry in the service of the

Nawab of Arcot The Carnatic Sultanate was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, and was under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil N ...

Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, or Muhammed Ali, Wallajah (7 July 1717 – 13 October 1795), was the Nawab of the Carnatic from 1749 until his death in 1795. He declared himself Nawab in 1749. This position was disputed between Wallajah and Ch ...

. In 1780, while under service with the

British 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 South ...

, it formed part of the force that defeated

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the att ...

during the Second Anglo-Mysore War and was awarded battle honours for the ''

Battle of Sholinghur The Battle of Sholinghur was fought on 27 September 1781 at Sholinghur, West of Chennai (Madras), between forces of the Kingdom of Mysore led by Hyder Ali and East India Company forces led by General Eyre Coote. Haider Ali's forces were surpri ...

'', '' Battle of Mysore'', '' Battle of Carnatic'' and the ''

Battle of Seringapatam A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

'' for service during the

Anglo-Mysore Wars The Anglo-Mysore Wars were a series of four wars fought during the last three decades of the 18th century between the Sultanate of Mysore on the one hand, and the British East India Company (represented chiefly by the neighbouring Madras Pres ...

. After the Anglo-Mysore Wars the regiment was next in action during the

Third Anglo-Burmese War The Third Anglo-Burmese War ( my, တတိယ အင်္ဂလိပ် – မြန်မာစစ်, Tatiya Anggalip–Mran cac), also known as the Third Burma War, took place during 7–29 November 1885, with sporadic resistance conti ...

and were awarded the Battle Honour of ''Burma 1885-87''.

Early 20th Century

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

(1914–1918) the regiment remained in India for the defence of the North West Frontier but they did send drafts to other Indian cavalry regiments serving in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. In 1919 the regiment was involved in the brief

Third Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War; fa, جنگ سوم افغان-انگلیس), also known as the Third Afghan War, the British-Afghan War of 1919, or in Afghanistan as the War of Independence, began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan inv ...

, for which they were awarded the battle honour of ''Afghanistan 1919''. In 1923, the regiment was selected for ‘Indianisation’, wherein British officers were finally replaced by Indian officers and this became the first Indian cavalry regiment to be officered by Indians.

World War II

During

the regiment was employed in the defence of India having converted from horses to armour at

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of th ...

in 1941. In 1945 they were selected to undertake operations in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. Within three weeks the regiment covered a distance of 3,500 miles from Quetta to the banks of

Irrawaddy River The Irrawaddy River ( Ayeyarwady River; , , from Indic ''revatī'', meaning "abounding in riches") is a river that flows from north to south through Myanmar (Burma). It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Orig ...

and was personally complimented by General

Slim Slim or SLIM may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slim Goodbody, a fictional character who teaches about anatomy * Slim, one of the alien antagonists of the 1988 film '' Killer Klowns from Outer Space'' * Slim, the Pixl fro ...

, the Fourteenth Army commander. In Burma the regiment were 14th Army troops and were also attached to the

255th Indian Tank Brigade The 255th Indian Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade of the Indian Army during World War II. It was part of the Fourteenth Army and saw action in the Burma Campaign. The 255th Tank Brigade's tactical sign was a black bull, with yellow horns and ...

, the brigade formation was; * 116 Royal Armoured Corps (formed from the

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gord ...

) - Sherman tanks. *

7th Light Cavalry The 7th Light Cavalry previously the 28th Light Cavalry, was a regular army cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1784 under the East India Company. The regiment later saw service on the North West Frontier and in World Wa ...

- Stuart *16th Light Cavalry -

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between ...

and Daimler armoured cars (B squadron).

Post Independence

During the

, the regiment was part of the 1 Armoured Brigade and took part in the Battle of Phillora and Battle of Gadgor. In a major tank battle fought at Gadgor on 8 September, and a subsequent engagement at Alhar Railway Station, they destroyed 16 Patton Tanks of the enemy, against a loss of 6 tanks of their own. 2 officers, 1 JCO and 14 other ranks of the unit were killed in these actions and many wounded. The regiment won the Theatre Honour 'PUNJAB 1965'. The gallantry awards won by its officers and men comprised 1

Vir Chakra Vir Chakra (pronunciation: ʋ iː ɾ a tʃ a kɾa) is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy on the battlefield and is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards a ...

, 1

Sena Medal The Sena Medal is awarded to members of the Indian army, of all ranks, "for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Army." Awards may be made posthumously and a bar is authorized for s ...

, 8 Mention-in-Dispatches and 3 Commendation Cards from the Chief of Army Staff. In the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...

, the regiment with its

Centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

tanks fought the war under the 16th Independent Armoured Brigade in Shakargarh Sector. Seven Vijayanta tanks from 16 Cavalry fought in Amritsar during Operation Blue Star. At least three entered the Golden Temple compound to provide illumination and machine gun fire, but eventually deployed their main guns against the fortified Akal Takht building. During a terrorist attack in

Samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havi ...

on 26 September 2013, three terrorist attacked the officers' mess of the regiment. The three terrorists were killed, but the unit lost one officer and three men. Lt Col Bikramjeet Singh was conferred with

Shaurya Chakra The Shaurya Chakra is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice while not engaged in direct action with the enemy. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, sometimes posthumously ...

posthumously.

Affiliations

The regiment was affiliated with the

Madras Regiment The Madras Regiment is the oldest infantry regiment of the Indian Army, originating in the 1750s. The regiment took part in numerous campaigns with both the British Indian Army and the post-independence Indian Army. History The town of Madras wa ...

in 2003 and with

INS Talwar The following ships of the Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy ...

, the lead ship of the modern Talwar (modified Krivak) class frigates in 2005.

Composition

During its more than 200 years of existence, the regiment has seen many changes of organisations and designations. Manned originally by men from the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

, its composition was changed in 1903 to

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

Jats The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...

and

Deccani Muslims The Deccanis ( ur, ) or Deccani People are an ethnoreligious community of Urdu-speaking Muslims who inhabit, or trace their ancestry from, the Deccan region of Southern and Central India, and speak the Deccani dialect. The community traces it ...

. Since Independence, the regiment has retained its original

South Indian South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

composition.

Lineage

*1776 – Regiment of Cavalry (Stevenson's),

's Army *1784 – 3rd Madras Native Cavalry *1784 – 1st Madras Native Cavalry *1786 – 4th Madras Native Cavalry *1788 – 2nd Madras Native Cavalry *1819 – 2nd Madras Light Cavalry *1886 – 2nd Regiment of Madras Lancers *1901 – 2nd Madras Lancers *1903 – 27th Light Cavalry *1922 – 16th Light Cavalry *1947 – Allocated to India at independence and partition, continues in service as 16th Light Cavalry

Battle honours

The battle and theatre honours of the 16th Light Cavalry are: ;Pre-World War I *

Sholinghur Sholinghur is a municipality under Sholinghur taluk in Ranipet District of Tamil Nadu, India. The town is famous in Tamil Nadu and other neighboring states for the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple. Sholinghur is located between Tiruttani (Tam ...

* Carnatic *

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude o ...

Seringapatam Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated at around 984 CE. Later, under the British rule the city wa ...

* Burma 1885-87 ;World War I and later * Afghanistan 1919 ;The Second World War * Meiktila * Capture of Meiktila * Defence of Meiktila * Rangoon Road * Pegu 1945 * Sittang 1945 * Burma 1942-45. ;Indo Pak Conflict 1965 * Punjab 1965

Notable Officers

*Major General Thakur Sheodatt Singh *Major General

Hira Lal Atal Hira Lal Atal (26 January 1905 – 23 January 1985) was an Indian soldier in the British Indian Army from 1925 until 1947 and the Indian Army from 1947. He became a Major General and the first indigenous Adjutant General of independent India ...

- became the first

Adjutant-General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

of independent India *Major General Enaith Habibullah - First Commandant of the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...

, Khadakwasla *Major General Ghanshyam Singh *Lieutenant General Shiv Dev Verma - First Commandant of

Defence Services Staff College , motto_lang = sa , mottoeng = ''To War with Wisdom'' , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'', Deolali) , type = Defence Service Training Institute , affiliation = , endowment = , administrative_staff = , faculty = , pres ...

, GOC 15 Corps *Lieutenant General Mohinder Singh Wadalia - the first Deputy Chief of the Army Staff *Lieutenant General Har Prasad - Commissioned into the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, commanded the regiment between 1949 and 1952, went on to become

and subsequently Vice Chief of the Army Staff *General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri - 5th Chief of the Army Staff, commanded the unit from September 1944 *Lieutenant General Khem Karan Singh - General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Central Command *General

Vishwa Nath Sharma General Vishwa Nath Sharma, PVSM, AVSM, ADC (born 4 June 1930) was the 14th Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army, serving between 1988–1990. He was the first Indian COAS to have begun his career in the post-Independence Indian Army. ...

- 14th Chief of the Army Staff

Notes

References

* Kempton, C. (1996). ''A Register of Titles of the Units of the H.E.I.C. & Indian Armies 1666–1947.'' Bristol: British Empire & Commonwealth Museum. . * Gaylor, J. (1992). ''Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies 1903–1991.'' Stroud: Spellmount Publishers Ltd. .

External links

Uniforms of the late 19th Century

* https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182855/http://www.wolftree.freeserve.co.uk/Burma/Burma.html {{Indian Army Armoured Corps British Indian Army cavalry regiments Honourable East India Company regiments Indian World War I regiments Indian World War II regiments Military units and formations established in 1776 Armoured and cavalry regiments of the Indian Army from 1947 R