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Madras Engineer Group (MEG), informally known as the Madras Sappers, is an engineer group of the Corps of Engineers 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 ...

. The Madras Sappers draw their origin from the erstwhile Madras Presidency army of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

. This regiment has its HQ in

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. The Madras Sappers are the oldest of the three groups of the Corps of Engineers. The Madras Sappers were the only regiment of the Madras Presidency Army to survive unscathed the extensive reorganisations that took place between 1862 and 1928. The ''thambis'', as the troops of the Madras Sappers are popularly known, with their hallmark

Shako A shako (, , or ) is a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually with a visor, and sometimes tapered at the top. It is usually adorned with an ornamental plate or badge on the front, metallic or otherwise; and often has a feather, plume (see hackle) ...

s have distinguished themselves in many battlefields around the world for more than 200 years. The Bangalore torpedo, a mine clearing explosive device, was invented in the Centre at Bengaluru in the early years of the Twentieth Century.

Timeline

* 1780 – Created ''Madras Pioneers'' from two company of Pioneers (On 30 September 1780 at Madras Patnam) * 1831 – Renamed Corps of Madras Sappers and Miners * 1834 – Relocated HQ to

, where it remains today * 1876 – Receive prefix ''Queens's Own'' * 1903 – 2nd Queen's Own Madras Sappers and Miners, Renamed as part of the

Kitchener Reforms 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 ...

* 1911 – Renamed 2nd Queen Victoria's Own Madras Sappers and Miners

History

The second half of the eighteenth century found the

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 Sou ...

involved in the politics of India and in conflict with the French and a number of native states, amongst whom

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 ...

, the

Marathas The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...

and the remnants of the Mughal empire were prominent. The newly raised army of 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 ...

was deficient of combat pioneers who were raised as 'ad hoc' companies and disbanded after the conflicts. The First Anglo-Mysore War highlighted this deficiency and led to the raising of two companies of the Madras Pioneers on 30 September 1780 at

Fort St George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress in the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...

. These men are the forefathers of the Madras Engineer Group of today and the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. The Madras Pioneers formed an integral part of the armed forces. Their principal job in active warfare was to dig 'saps' or 'trenches' which permitted

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

to be brought in range of enemy

fortifications A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''face ...

and to dig 'mines' which would explode creating a breach in the fort walls. Hence the name, ''Sappers & Miners''. In addition, the sappers used to lead the way to the breach for the 'forlorn hope' and infantry to follow. They also built roads, bridges, fortifications, wells, water-supply and fought as infantry when needed. Since this group was constituted by the

, and formed part of the Madras Army, they were called the Madras Sappers. Likewise in 1803 and again in 1824, the Bengal Sappers and Bombay Sappers were formed in the other presidencies. The Madras Sappers recruited and trained ''small tough and wiry men'' from

South India 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 terr ...

. These engineer troops fought in numerous campaigns in India at

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 ...

Srirangapatna 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 ...

Assaye Assaye is a small village in the Jalna district of the state of Maharashtra in western India. The village was the location of the Battle of Assaye in 1803, fought between the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company The East Indi ...

(along with Major General Arthur Wellesley, later

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister ...

), and also in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

, China,

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 ...

and other places abroad. The Madras Sappers moved into

in 1834, when they were involved in a major part of the construction activities of the Civilian and Military buildings in Bengaluru. Their association with Bengaluru, where the Centre is located, continues to this day. The motto of the Madras Sappers is that common to all three regiments of the Corps of Engineers, Sarvatra (''Sanskrit:Everywhere'') the Indian equivalent to 'Ubique', the motto of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

Battle honours

Pre-World War I

* Carnatic (1781–82) * Sholinghur (1781–82) * Mysore (1792) * Seringapatam (1799) * Egypt 1801 * Assaye (1803) * Java (1811) * Nagpur (1819) * Mehidpur (1819) * Ava (1825) * China (1840) * Meanee (1843) * Hyderabad (1843) * Pegu (1852) * Persia (1856–57) * Central India (1858) * Lucknow (1858) * Taku Forts (1860) * Pekin (1860) * Abyssinia (1868) * Afghanistan (1878–80) * Egypt (1882) * Tel-el-Kebir (1882) * Suakin (1885) * Tofrek (1885) * Burma (1885–87) * Chitral (1895) * Malakand (1897) * Tirah (1897–98) * Punjab Frontier (1897–98) * Boxer Rebellion (1900)

World War I

* France & Flanders (1914–15) * Suez Canal (1915–17) * Egypt (1915–17) * Gaza (1917) * Megiddo (1917) * Sharon (1918) * Palestine (1918) * Baghdad (1915–18) * Mesopotamia (1915–18) * Tigris (1916) * Kut-el-Amara (1917) * India (1917) *Persia (1918) *N.W. Frontier (1914–15) * East Africa (1918)

World War II

* Mersa Matruh (1940–43) * Ngakyedauk Pass (1942–45) * Bishenpur (1942–45) * Meiktila (1942–45) * Tamu Road (1942–45) * Cassino I (1943–45) * Abyssinia (1940–41) * North Africa (1940–43) * Iraq (1941) * Syria (1941) * Malaya (1941–42) * Burma (1942–45) * Italy (1943–45)

Post Independence

* Zoji La (1948) * Basantar River (1971) * Jammu & Kashmir (1947-48) * Jammu & Kashmir (1965) * Punjab (1965) * Jammu & Kashmir (1971) * Punjab (1971) * East Pakistan (1971)

Symbols

The Queen's Own Madras Sappers and Miners, Review Order

The battle symbols of MEG are, a sphinx to commemorate the victory in Egypt in 1801, an elephant for the victory in Assaye in 1803, a dragon for China(1848), a bighorn sheep for Zoji La (1948), and a tank for Basantar (1971).

Republic Day Parade

Madras Engineer Group have been actively participating in the annual

Republic Day Parade The Delhi Republic Day parade is the largest and most important of the parades marking the Republic Day celebrations in India. The parade takes place every year on 26 January at Rajpath, New Delhi. It is the main attraction of India's Repu ...

of India. MEG have been awarded the Best Marching Contingent three times in 1991, 1997 and 2017.

Gallery

Image:Egypt_(Sphinx).jpg, Sphinx symbol depicting the campaign in Egypt, 1801. Image:Assaye (Elephant).jpg, Elephant emblem depicting the

Battle of Assaye The Battle of Assaye was a major battle of the Second Anglo-Maratha War fought between the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company. It occurred on 23 September 1803 near Assaye in western India. An outnumbered Indian and British f ...

, 1803. Image:China (Dragon).jpg, Dragon symbol depicting the campaign in China, during the

First Opium War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...

, 1840.

Notes

Book references

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20091027133925/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/9460/remem.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20071108123617/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/southasia/art-eng-sig/sm-mad.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20090725060217/http://www.remuseum.org.uk/corpshistory/rem_corps_part10.htm
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Madras Engineer Group * British Indian Army regiments Indian Army Corps of Engineers Indian World War I regiments Indian World War II regiments Military units and formations established in 1780 1780 establishments in British India E Regiments of the Indian Army