The 3rd Lahore Divisional Area 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 ...

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of the British Indian Army that formed part of 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 formed in September 1914 to replace the original

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 troops ...

that had been mobilized in August 1914 for service on the Western Front. It was abolished in May 1917 when its remaining responsibilities were passed on to the 16th Indian Division.

History

At the outbreak of 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 ...

, the

was mobilized in August 1914 and 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-m ...

and

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

between 24 and 29 September for the Western Front. The 3rd Lahore Divisional Area was formed in September 1914 to take over the area responsibilities of the 3rd (Lahore) Division. It took over the units left behind by the original division and started to form brigades to control them: the Ambala Brigade in November and the 44th (Ferozepore) Brigade in December 1914. However, the 45th (Jullundur) Brigade was not reformed until February 1917. The division served under Northern Army. It was intended to form a reserve division for the North West Frontier, but the urgent need to find troops for

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 ...

meant that the 16th Indian Division was not formed until December 1916. In February 1917, 44th (Ferozepore) Brigade joined 43rd Indian Brigade in the new division. The Divisional Area and 16th Indian Division existed side by side until May 1917 when the 16th Indian Division took over the last of the area responsibilities and the 3rd Lahore Divisional Area was abolished.

Order of battle

The division commanded the following brigades in the

: * Ambala Brigadeformed in November 1914; to 16th Indian Division in May 1917 * 44th (Ferozepore) Brigadeformed in December 1914; to 16th Indian Division in February 1917 * 45th (Jullundur) Brigadeformed in February 1917; to 16th Indian Division in May 1917

Commanders

The 3rd Lahore Divisional Area had the following commanders:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* {{Indian Divisions in World War I British Indian Army divisions Indian World War I divisions Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1917