The 28th Indian Brigade was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

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. ...

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 ...

that saw active service with the

Indian Army during the First World War The Indian Army during World War I was involved World War I. Over one million Indian troops served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another 67,000 were wounded. In total at least 74,187 Indian soldiers died during the war. In World War I the ...

. Formed in October 1914, it defended 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 popula ...

in early 1915, ended the Ottoman threat to

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 peopl ...

in July 1915, 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 ...

in 1916 and 1917, before finishing the war in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. It remained in Palestine until it was broken up in 1920.

History

;Egypt and Aden The 28th Indian Brigade was formed in October 1914 as part of

Indian Expeditionary Force F The Indian Army during World War I was involved World War I. Over one million Indian troops served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another 67,000 were wounded. In total at least 74,187 Indian soldiers died during the war. In World War I the ...

(along with the

29th 29 (twenty-nine) is the natural number following 28 and preceding 30. Mathematics * 29 is the tenth prime number, and the fourth primorial prime. * 29 forms a twin prime pair with thirty-one, which is also a primorial prime. Twenty-nine is also ...

and

30th Indian Brigade The 30th Indian Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service with the Indian Army during the First World War. It initially saw active service in Egypt in 1915, before transferring to Mesopotamia. It took ...

s) and sent to Egypt. After arriving in Egypt, it joined the

10th Indian Division The 10th Indian Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army during World War I. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914 with three infantry brigades of Indian Expeditionary Force F. After taking part in the Actions on th ...

when it was formed on 24 December. It served on the

Defences, notably taking part in the Actions on the Suez Canal on 3–4 February 1915. In July 1915, the brigade was detached to

with 1/B Battery, HAC and 1/1st Berkshire Battery, RHA. They fought a sharp action at

Sheikh Othman Ash Shaikh Outhman District is a district of the Aden Governorate, Yemen. As of 2003, the district had a population of 105,248 inhabitants. History Sheikh Othman derives its name from a religious shrine for Sheikh Othman Al-Zubairi Al-Wahki. The ...

on 20 July that removed the Turkish threat to Aden for the rest of the war, before returning to Egypt in September. In November 1915, the brigade left the division and moved to

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 ...

. ;Mesopotamia The brigade joined the

7th (Meerut) Division The 7th (Meerut) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service during World War I. Pre-1857 The Meerut Division first appeared in the Indian Army List in 1829, under the command of Sir Jasper Nicolls, K ...

in December 1915 and, other than a short attachment to the

3rd (Lahore) Division The 3rd (Lahore) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army, first organised in 1852. It saw service during World War I as part of the Indian Corps in France before being moved to the Middle East where it fought against troop ...

(16 January 1916 to the end of the month), remained with the division for the rest of the war. Initially, the division and brigade were heavily involved in the (ultimately futile) attempts to relieve the

6th (Poona) Division The 6th (Poona) Division was a division of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1903, following the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army. World War I The 6th (Poona) Division served in the Mesopotamian campaign. Led by Major General Barr ...

besieged at Kut, including the Action of Shaikh Saad (6–8 January 1916), the Action of the Wadi (13 January), the First action on the Hanna (21 January), and the First, Second and Third attacks on Sannaiyat (6, 9 and 22 April). The 6th (Poona) Division surrendered on 29 April 1916. In 1917, the brigade 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 (ma ...

including the Capture of Sannaiyat (17–24 February) and the following advance to

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

including the Operations on the Tigris right bank (9–10 March), and the Occupation of Baghdad (11 March). The brigade then advanced to

Samarra Samarra ( ar, سَامَرَّاء, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The city of Samarra was founded by Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutasim for his Turkish professional ar ...

including the Actions of Mushahida (14 March), the action of Istabulat (21–22 April) and the Occupation of Samarra (24 April). The brigade's final action in Mesopotamia was the action of Daur (2 November). ;Sinai and Palestine In December 1917, it was decided to transfer a division to Egypt and the 7th (Meerut) Division was selected. It arrived in January 1918, and on 1 April took over the line from

52nd (Lowland) Division The 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was originally formed as the Lowland Division, in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. It later became the 52nd (Lowland) Division in 1915. The 52nd (Lowl ...

(transferred to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

). The brigade remained in Palestine for the rest of the war, taking part in the Battles of Megiddo (18 September – 31 October 1918), in particular the Battle of Sharon. 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 remained with the division as part of the

occupation of Palestine The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The I ...

until broken up in February 1920.

Order of battle

The brigade had the following composition during the

First World War 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, ...

: *

51st Sikhs (Frontier Force) The 51st Sikhs (Frontier Force) was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1846 as the 1st Regiment of Infantry The Frontier Brigade. It was designated as the 51st Sikhs (Frontier Force) in 1903 and became 1st Battalio ...

''(joined from

Dargai Dargai ( ps, درگئی; ur, ) is one of the tehsils of Malakand District (the other being Batkhela) in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It located on the main highway from Peshawar to Swat, Dir and Chitral. The town of ...

1st (Peshawar) Division The 1st (Peshawar) Division was a Regular Division of the British Indian Army formed as a result of the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army in 1903. During World War I, the Division remained in India for local defense, but was mobilized for a ...

)'' *

53rd Sikhs (Frontier Force) The 53rd Sikhs (Frontier Force) was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1847 as the 3rd Regiment of Infantry The Frontier Brigade. It was designated as the 53rd Sikhs (Frontier Force) in 1903 and became 3rd Battalion ...

''(joined from

Kohat Brigade The Kohat Brigade (now 101 Infantry Brigade, Sialkot, Pakistan) was formed after the 1903 reforms of the British Indian Army by Herbert Kitchener when he was Commander-in-Chief, India. The brigade was part of the Northern Army and deployed along t ...

)'' *

56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force) The 56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force) was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1849 as the 2nd Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force) in 1906 and became 2nd Battal ...

''(joined from Kohat Brigade)'' * 1st Battalion,

5th Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force), also abbreviated as 5 GR(FF) is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Nepalese origin. It was formed in 1858 as part of the British Indian Army. The regiment's battalions served ...

''(joined from

3rd (Abbottabad) Brigade The 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division was a regular army division of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1903 after the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army. During World War I it remained in India for local defence but it was mobilised for actio ...

2nd (Rawalpindi) Division The 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division was a regular army division of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1903 after the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army. During World War I it remained in India for local defence but it was mobilised for actio ...

; left in May 1915 for

29th Indian Brigade The 29th Indian Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service with the Indian Army during the First World War. Formed in October 1914, it raided Sheik Saiad en route to Egypt, defended the Suez Canal in ea ...

)'' *

125th Napier's Rifles The 125th Napier's Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. At various points in history it was also known as the 1st Extra Battalion Bombay Native Infantry, the 25th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry (1826–1889) and the 25th ...

''(joined in June 1915 from

21st (Bareilly) Brigade The 7th (Meerut) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service during World War I. Pre-1857 The Meerut Division first appeared in the Indian Army List in 1829, under the command of Sir Jasper Nicolls, K ...

; left on 12 June 1915 for

22nd (Lucknow) Brigade The Lucknow Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army formed in 1907 as a result of the Kitchener Reforms. It was mobilized as 22nd (Lucknow) Brigade at the outbreak of the First World War as part of Indian Expeditionary For ...

11th Indian Division The 11th Indian Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army during World War I. It was formed in December 1914 with two infantry brigades already in Egypt and a third formed in January 1915. After taking part in the Actions ...

)'' *

62nd Punjabis The 62nd Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1759 as the 3rd Battalion of Coast Sepoys, and formed part of the Madras Army. It was designated as the 62nd Punjabis in 1903 and became 1st Battalion 1st Punja ...

''(joined on 9 July 1915 from 22nd (Lucknow) Brigade, 11th Indian Division; left in September for

)'' * 2nd Battalion,

Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both W ...

''(joined on 17 November 1915 in Egypt from

20th (Garhwal) Brigade The Garhwal Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army formed in 1902 as a result of the Kitchener Reforms. It was mobilized as 20th (Garhwal) Brigade at the outbreak of the First World War as part of the 7th (Meerut) Division ...

, 7th (Meerut) Division)'' * Provisional Battalion,

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence ...

''(attached January to June 1916)'' * 136th Machine Gun Company ''(joined in August 1916; in March 1918 joined the divisional 7th Machine Gun Battalion)'' * 28th Light Trench Mortar Battery ''('F' Light Trench Mortar Battery joined the division in September 1917 and assigned to the brigade in December)''

Commanders

The brigade had the following commanders:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* * {{Indian Expeditionary Forces Brigades of India in World War I Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1920

History

Order of battle

Commanders

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links