The 5th Horse is an armoured

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

. It was previously known as the 5th King Edward's Own Lancers Probyn's Horse, which was a regular cavalry regiment of the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

. It was formed in 1921 by the amalgamation of the 11th King Edward's Own Lancers (Probyn's Horse) and the 12th Cavalry.

11th King Edward's Own Lancers (Probyn's Horse)

The regiment known as 11th King Edward's Own Lancers (Probyn's Horse) was originally raised on 1 August 1857 by Captain Frederick Wale as Wale's Horse during the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

and served at

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

. Captain Wale was killed in action on 1 March 1858, while leading the regiment in the pursuit of rebels, and was replaced by Major

Dighton Probyn General (United Kingdom), General Sir Dighton Macnaghten Probyn, (21 January 1833 – 20 June 1924) was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be ...

, VC. In 1860 the regiment was dispatched to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to take part in the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or ''Arrow'' War, was fought between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major ...

. It participated in the advance on

Peking Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is l ...

and returned to India in 1861 with a good reputation. The regiment saw service in the

Second Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai ...

of 1878-80 and then took part in the

Black Mountain Expedition Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psyc ...

; it went to Chitral and formed part of the

Malakand Field Force The siege of Malakand was the 26 July – 2 August 1897 siege of the British garrison in the Malakand region of colonial British India's North West Frontier Province.Nevill p. 232 The British faced a force of Pashtun tribesmen whose tribal la ...

. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the regiment served in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

.Boyle, Maj CA. (1929). ''The History of Probyn's Horse (5th King Edward's Own Lancers)''. Aldershot: Gale & Polden. *1857 Wale's Horse *1857 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry *1858 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry (Probyn's Horse) *1861 11th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry *1864 11th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry (Lancers) *1874 11th Regiment of Bengal Lancers *1876 11th (Prince of Wales's Own) Regiment of Bengal Lancers *1901 11th (Prince of Wales's Own) Bengal Lancers *1903 11th Prince of Wales's Own Lancers *1904 11th Prince of Wales's Own Lancers (Probyn's Horse) *1906 11th King Edward's Own Lancers (Probyn's Horse)

Uniform

The Lancer's uniform of Probyn's Horse was topped by cap-line worn unattached. Shoulder epaulettes were covered with gilt curb-chains, and plus the Mameluke scimitar. Mussullmen were unique in wearing a ''kulla'', a pointed cap under the puggaree. Made of heavy khaki cloth it gave good protection against the sun, and became popular, even with British officers, who's adopted the puggaree as part of their dress.

12th Cavalry

The 12th Cavalry was also raised during the

, by Captain PR Hockin in October 1857. It formed part of the

1868 Expedition to Abyssinia The British Expedition to Abyssinia was a rescue mission and punitive expedition carried out in 1868 by the armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire (also known at the time as Abyssinia). Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, ...

(

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

) and served in the

of 1878-80. During the First World War, the regiment fought in the

Mesopotamian Campaign The Mesopotamian campaign or Mesopotamian front () was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the British Empire, with troops from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain, Australia and the vast major ...

. *1857 2nd Sikh Irregular Cavalry *1861 12th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry *1901 12th Bengal Cavalry *1903 12th Cavalry

Probyn's Horse (5th King Edward VII's Own Lancers)

After the First World War, the number of Indian cavalry regiments was reduced from thirty-nine to twenty-one. However, instead of disbanding the surplus units, it was decided to amalgamate them in pairs. This resulted in renumbering and renaming the entire cavalry line. The 11th King Edward's Own Lancers (Probyn's Horse) and the 12th Cavalry were amalgamated at Meerut on 28 August 1921 to form 5th King Edward's Own Probyn's Horse. The uniform of Probyn's Horse was blue with scarlet facings. The new regiment's badge consisted of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

's plumes. Its class composition was one squadron each of

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

i Muslims,

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

s and

Dogra __NOTOC__ Dogras, or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic community of Pakistan and India. Dogra, Dogras or Dogri may also refer to: * Dogra dynasty, a Hindu dynasty of Kashmir * Dogri language, a language spoken by Dogras and other ethnic commu ...

Mechanisation

The regiment was converted to a mechanised unit in 1940 while based at

Risalpur Risalpur (Pashto/) is a city in Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on the Nowshera-Mardan Road. It is nearly 45 km from Peshawar and 18 km from Mardan and is located at 34°4'52N 71°58'21E. In a basin some 316 meters abo ...

. Initially this simply involved the substitution of trucks for horses but by mid-1942 re-equipment with three squadrons of

Stuart tank The M3 Stuart/light tank M3, was a US light tank of World War II, first entered service in the British Army in early 1941 and saw action in the North African campaign in July 1941. Later an improved version of the tank entered service as the ...

s and

Lee tank The M3 Lee, officially Medium Tank, M3, was an American medium tank used during World War II. The turret was produced in two different forms, one for US needs and one modified to British requirements to place the radio next to the commander. I ...

s had been concluded. In 1944 Probyn's was assigned to 225 Indian Tank Brigade, to serve with distinction in the

Burma Campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

using M4 Sherman tanks.

Independence

On the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

in 1947, Probyn's Horse was allotted to Pakistan. In 1956, Pakistan became a republic and all titles pertaining to British royalty were dropped. The regiment's new designation was 5 Horse, although informally, it continues to be known as the Probyn's Horse. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, 5 Horse fought in the Battle of Khem Karan. *1921 11th/12th Probyn's Horse (amalgamation) *1922 5th King Edward's Own Probyn's Horse *1927 Probyn's Horse (5th King Edward's Own Lancers) *1937 Probyn's Horse (5th King Edward VII's Own Lancers) *1956 5 Horse

Battle honours

Lucknow,

Taku Forts The Taku Forts or Dagukou Forts (大沽口炮台), also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River (Peiho River) estuary in the Binhai New Area, Tianjin, in northeastern China. They are located southeast of the Tianjin urban ...

Pekin 1860 Pekin may refer to: Places *A historic spelling of a name of Beijing, China *Pekin (hotel), a four star hotel in Moscow, Russia United States *Pekin, Illinois * Pekin Township, Tazewell County, Illinois * Pekin, Indiana ** Old Pekin, Indiana * ...

, Abyssinia, Ali Masjid, Peiwar Kotal, Charasiah, Kabul 1879, Afghanistan 1878–80, Chitral, Malakand, Punjab Frontier, Mesopotamia 1915-18, Meiktila, Capture of Meiktila, Defence of Meiktila, Taungtha, Rangoon Road, Pyawbwe, Pyinmana, Toungoo, Pegu 1945, Burma 1942–45, Khem Karan 1965.Rodger, Alexander. (2003). ''Battle Honours of the British Empire and Commonwealth Land Forces 1662-1991''. Ramsbury: The Crowood Press., Sialkot 1971

References

External links

Probyn's Horse (5th King Edward VII's Own Lancers) by John Gaylor at The Defence Journal
{{British Indian Army Cavalry Regiments 1903 - 1946 Military units and formations established in 1857 British Indian Army cavalry regiments Honourable East India Company regiments Armoured regiments of Pakistan 1857 establishments in British India R