The 34th 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 marine i ...

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. Br ...

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 ...

that saw active 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 ...

in 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 ...

. It was reformed for the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as the ''34th Indian States Forces Infantry Brigade''.

History

;12th Indian Division The 34th Indian Brigade was formed in

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 F ...

in December 1915 with four

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

s newly arrived from India. It joined the

12th Indian Division The 12th Indian Division was formed in March 1915 from units of the British Indian Army. It formed part of the Tigris Corps, for service during the Mesopotamia Campaign of World War I. The Division arrived in Mesopotamia in April 1915 and remai ...

to replace the

33rd Indian Brigade The 33rd 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 took part in the Mesopotamian campaign in 1915 before being broken up at the end of the year ...

that was broken up on 7 December. While with the division, it took part in the Affair of Butaniya on 14 January 1916. The division never reached full strength as units were constantly detached to support the efforts 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. The division was broken up on 10 March 1916 and the brigade joined Corps Troops before it was posted to the new 15th Indian Division in May 1916. ;15th Indian Division The 15th Indian Division was formed on 7 May 1916 to replace the 12th Indian Division on the Euphrates Front; the brigade joined the division on formation. It remained with the division on the Euphrates Front until August 1917. The only significant action that the brigade took part in as part of the 15th Indian Division was the

action of As Sahilan Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

on 11 September 1916. ;17th Indian Division The brigade joined the newly formed 17th Indian Division, swapping places with the

50th Indian Brigade The 50th 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 served in the Mesopotamian Campaign on the Euphrates Front throughout its existence. It was ...

. It remained with the division for the rest of the war, taking part in the action at Fat-ha Gorge on the

Little Zab The Little Zab or Lower Zab (, ''al-Zāb al-Asfal''; or '; , ''Zâb-e Kuchak''; , ''Zāba Taḥtāya'') is a river that originates in Iran and joins the Tigris just south of Al Zab in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. It is approximately long and dr ...

(23–26 October 1918) and the

Battle of Sharqat The Battle of Sharqat (October 23–30, 1918) was fought between the British and the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian Campaign in World War I, which became the last conflict between the belligerents before of the signing of the Armistice of Mud ...

(28–30 October 1918). At the end of the war, the 17th Division was chosen to form part of the occupation force for Iraq. It took part in the Iraq Rebellion in 1920. In August 1923, the division was reduced to a single brigade; the last British troops left in March 1927 and the Indian ones in November 1928.

Order of battle

The brigade had the following composition in the

First World War 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 ...

: * 1/5th Battalion,

Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Arm ...

''(joined from

Allahabad Brigade The 8th (Lucknow) Division was a formation of the British Indian Army's Northern Army that was first formed as a result of the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army in 1903. The Division remained in India on internal security duties during World ...

, 8th (Lucknow) Division in December 1915; posted to

12th Indian Brigade The 12th Indian Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service in the First World War. It served in the Mesopotamian Campaign on the Euphrates Front throughout its existence. History The 12th Indian Brigade ...

in February 1916)'' * 31st Punjabis ''(joined from

Fort Sandeman Zhob (; ) or Zhobak (), formerly known as Appozai or Fort Sandeman, is a city and district capital of Zhob District in Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan province of Pakistan. Zhob is located on the banks of Zhob River 337 km from Quetta, the ca ...

4th (Quetta) Division The 4th (Quetta) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army. It was formed by General Kitchener while he was Commander-in-chief of India. During World War I the division remained in India. Its composition was: Formation 191 ...

in December 1915; left in September 1918 and joined the 83rd Brigade in the

British 28th Division The 28th Division was an infantry division of the British Army raised for service in World War I. History Formed in England in December 1914 - January 1915 from regular army battalions returning from India, Singapore and Egypt. In January 19 ...

)'' * 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry ''(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 in December 1915)'' * 114th Mahrattas ''(joined from 5th (Jhelum) Brigade, 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division in December 1915)'' * half of 2nd Battalion,

Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

''(joined from 12th Indian Brigade in January 1916; the battalion was reformed in June 1916)'' * 129th Machine Gun Company ''(joined from Corps Troops in August 1916)'' * 34th Light Trench Mortar Battery ''(joined in February 1918)''

Commanders

The brigade had the following commanders:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* * * * {{cite web , url = http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/sharqat.htm , title = Battle of Sharqat, 1918 , publisher = FirstWorldWar.com , access-date=31 May 2015 Brigades of India in World War I Military units and formations established in 1915 Military units and formations disestablished in 1923