The 6th Indian Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry

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. B ...

of the British Indian Army that saw active service 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 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 ...

and was broken up soon after the end of the war.

History

On 21 February 1915, orders were sent from India to form a cavalry

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 ...

. As a result, the 6th Indian Cavalry Brigade was formed with the 33rd Queen Victoria's Own Light Cavalry which had arrived in Mesopotamia in November 1914 with

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 ...

, 16th Cavalry and

S Battery, Royal Horse Artillery S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. History ...

which arrived earlier in the month, and 7th Hariana Lancers which departed India on 28 February to complete the brigade. It served in the campaign in Mesopotamia for the rest 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 ...

. Initially acting in an independent role, the brigade took part in the Battle of Shaiba (12–14 April 1915) where Major George Wheeler of the 7th Hariana Lancers won the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, and Operations in Persian Arabistan (21 April–18 June) including the Affair of Khafajiya (14–16 May). It then took part in the Battle of Es Sinn (28 September) that resulted in the capture of

Kut al Amara Kūt ( ar, ٱلْكُوت, al-Kūt), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare or Kut al-Imara, is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 389,400 people. It ...

. From 6 October, the brigade was placed under the command of the 6th (Poona) Division and with it took part in the advance on

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. I ...

including the Battle of Ctesiphon (22–24 November) and the subsequent withdrawal (the Affair of Umm at Tabul on 1 December) back to Kut. It left the division there on 6 December before it got

besieged Besieged may refer to: * the state of being under siege * ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci {{disambiguation ...

. From the start of 1916, the brigade was involved in efforts to raise the siege, including the Action of Sheikh Sa'ad (6–8 January), the Action of the Wadi (13 January), the First Attack on Hanna (21 January) and the Attack on the Dujaila Redoubt (8 March). These were in vain and the division surrendered on 29 April. On 8 December 1916, The Cavalry Division was organized from the 6th and 7th Indian Cavalry Brigades, the latter having arrived from the Western Front in August. With the division, it 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 (main ...

including the Advance to the Hai and Capture of the Khudaira Bend (14 December 1916 – 19 January 1917), the Capture of the Hai Salient (25 January–5 February 1917), the

Capture of the Dahra Bend Capture may refer to: *Asteroid capture, a phenomenon in which an asteroid enters a stable orbit around another body *Capture, a software for lighting design, documentation and visualisation *"Capture" a song by Simon Townshend *Capture (band), an ...

(9–16 February). It then took part in the pursuit to Baghdad and a number of actions later in 1917, notably the Second Battle of Ramadi (28–29 September). The Cavalry Division was dissolved on 8 April 1918, and the brigade continued to serve as an independent formation. It took part in the Affair of Kulawand (27 April), the action of Tuz Khurmatli (29 April) and, finally, the occupation of Kirkuk (7 May). 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 was not selected to form part of the occupation forces for Mesopotamia. In February and March 1919, the last of the units sailed for India and the brigade was no more.

Order of battle

The brigade commanded the following units during the

: ;Cavalry regiments * 33rd Queen Victoria's Own Light Cavalry ''(joined on formation from 6th (Poona) Division; left in October 1916 for 3rd Lahore Divisional Area)'' * 16th Cavalry ''(joined on formation from

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

, 8th (Lucknow) Division; left in October 1916 for

4th (Quetta) Division The 4th (Quetta) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army. It was formed by Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, General Kitchener while he was Commander-in-chief of British Raj, India. During World War I the division rema ...

)'' * 7th Hariana Lancers ''(joined on formation from

Ferozepore Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who died ...

, 3rd Lahore Divisional Area; left in June 1916 for 9th (Secunderabad) Division)'' *

23rd Cavalry (Frontier Force) The 11th Cavalry (Frontier Force), is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was previously known as the 11th Prince Albert Victor's Own Cavalry and was a regular cavalry regiment of the old British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by th ...

''(arrived on 10 June 1915 from 3rd Lahore Divisional Area and attached until August; later joined the 7th Indian Cavalry Brigade)'' * 14th (King's) Hussars ''(joined on 28 November 1915 from

4th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade C4, C04, C.IV, C-4, or C-04 may refer to: Places * Caldwell 4 or NGC 7023 or Iris Nebula, a reflection nebula in the constellation Cepheus * Circumferential Road 4 or C-4, an arterial road of Manila, Philippines * Ken-Ō Expressway (includes so ...

, 7th Meerut Divisional Area; attached to

14th Indian Division The 14th Indian Division was formed during World War I, for service in the Mesopotamian Campaign. It was composed of battalions of the Regular British Army, the British Territorial Force and the British Indian Army. History The Division now pa ...

from April 1918)'' * 4th Cavalry ''(formerly divisional cavalry of 7th (Meerut) Division; attached to the brigade JanuaryJune and AugustOctober 1916 then to 7th Meerut Divisional Area)'' * 21st Prince Albert Victor’s Own Cavalry (Frontier Force) ''(joined in November 1916 from 3rd Lahore Divisional Area)'' *

22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) The 12th Cavalry Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) is an armoured regiment of Pakistan Army. It was formed in the British Indian army in 1922 by the amalgamation of 22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) and 25th Cavalry (Frontier Force) ...

''(joined in November 1916 from 9th (Secunderabad) Division; left in April 1918 and joined 15th Indian Division in August)'' * 11th King Edward's Own Lancers (Probyn's Horse) ''(arrived from

Derajat Brigade The Derajat Brigade 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 the North West Frontier. The Derajat Brigade ...

in October 1917 and joined the brigade in August 1918)'' * 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 ...

( I.S.) ''(arrived in Mesopotamia in June 1916 and joined the brigade in August 1918)'' ;Support units *

''(joined on formation from

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

, 9th (Secunderabad) Division)'' * 6th Cavalry Brigade Signal Troop ''(joined on formation)'' * 6th Cavalry Brigade Supply and Transport Company ''(joined on formation)'' * 131st Combined Cavalry Field Ambulance ''(from December 1915)'' * 2nd

Troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Tr ...

, 2nd Queen Victoria's Own Madras Miners and Sappers ''(joined in May 1916)'' * 6th

Machine Gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

Squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

''(joined in September 1916)'' * 15th Machine Gun Squadron ''(renumbered from 6th in May 1917)'' * 5th Mobile Veterinary Section ''(joined in May 1917)''

Commanders

The brigade had the following commanders:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* *{{cite web, url=http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_cav/cav_bdes_.htm , title=Independent Indian Cavalry Brigades in Mesopotamia on ''The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918'' by PB Chappell , access-date=2015-07-13 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517085117/http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_cav/cav_bdes_.htm , archive-date=17 May 2008 , df=dmy C06 Cavalry brigades of the British Indian Army Military units and formations established in 1915 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919