The British Army in India

The Art of Richard Simkin 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.

Types of the Army of Indore Types of Imperial Service Troops – India- I Types of Imperial Service Troops- India-II Types of Imperial Service Troops- India III Types of Indian Native Army – Madras Types of Indian Native Army- Bengal- I Types of Indian Native Army- Bengal- II Types of the Native Indian Army- Bombay Types of Indian Army Native Troops Under the Orders of the Government of India Types of the Indian Army Types of the Indian Army Punjab Frontier Force Types of British Officers of the Native Indian Cavalry Forces Types of Canadian Forces The Tasmanian and New Zealand Regiments Types of Cape Colony and Rhodesian Regiments Types of Victorian Regiments Types of New South Wales Regiments Types of South Australian Regiments Types of Native Forces in the Smaller Colonies Types of the Egyptian Army Types of Natal Forces Volunteer Royal Engineers Volunteer Royal Artillery Northumberland Hussars The British Navy 1903 Royal East Kent Mounted Rifles Royal North Devon Hussars Derbyshire Yeomanry Cavalry Queens Own Royal Glasgow Yeomanry Cavalry Hertfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry The Queens Own Yorkshire Dragoons Dorsettshire Yeomanry Cavalry Royal Devon Yeomanry Cavalry Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry Cavalry Queens Own West Kent Yeomanry Cavalry 4th Yeomanry Brigade Warwickshire Yeomanry Cavalry Ayershire Earl of Carricks Yeomanry Cavalry Lanarkshire Yeomanry Cavalry

41. 15th Yeomanry Brigade 42. 9th Yeomanry Brigade 43. Imperial Yeomanry All Uniformology reproduction plates are reproduced from photos taken of the original first edition plates. No modern reproductions of any kind are used or duplicated. In some cases the quality of the originals does affect the quality of our reproductions, all plates are included in a given collection to keep it complete. Occasionally also some colors are darker or lighter than those used to modern offset printing might expect. The original plates were all hand colored and variations do occur. This publication and all contents herein © Uniformology, 105 Coates Trail, Weatherford , Texas 76087 For more information on Uniformology prints and reproductions call 1-817-6629-9205 or visit us on the web at http://www.uniformology.com.

EGYPTIAN CAVALRY (Summer Kit)

EGYPTIAN INFANTRY Winter

EGYPTIAN CAMEL CORPS (Khako Kit)

BRITISH OFFICER OF SOUDANESE (Khaki Kit)

Summer

TYPES OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY

SOUDANESE INFANTRY

MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES E D I T O R : P H I L I P WARNER

30th Punjabis Text by JAMES LAWFORD, MC, MA Colour plates by M I C H A E L Y O U E N S

OSPREY PUBLISHING L I M I T E D

Published in 1972 Osprey Publishing 707 Oxford R o a d , © Copyright 1972

by Ltd, P . O . Box 25, Reading, Berkshire Osprey Publishing Ltd

This book is copyrighted under the Berne Convention. All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, 1956, no part of this publication m a y be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Enquiries should be addressed to the Publishers. SBN 85045 061 6

Printed in Great Britain by Jarrold & Sons Ltd, Norwich

30th Punjabis

Early Days 1857-1914

In August 1944, as always at that time of year, the black monsoon clouds had closed down over the jungle-clad Naga Hills, swamping everything in torrential rain and turning the steep and sinuous hill-tracks into a morass of quivering mud. Along these paths staggered the starving, tattered remnants of the Imperial Japanese Army which had so proudly marched on India but three months before. Upon the twin rocks of Imphal and Kohima the invasion had foundered: nothing now remained for the fever-ridden survivors but to seek sanctuary beyond the Chindwin where, perhaps, their pursuers might grant them respite and where they might find opportunity to recover a little of their strength. And while the Japanese withdrew on Burma, the 30th Punjabis, their final task completed, dug in on the rain-soaked ridges that overlooked the Lokchao River. The Regiment numbered little more than 300; the stern fighting of the preceding weeks and the appalling weather had taken a heavy toll. Below the regimental position lay the road to Tamu, a slim scar winding round the hillside. As the soldiers watched the 11 th East African Division in their 30 cwt Dodge trucks sweeping past to disappear into the grey blanket of cloud shrouding the road towards Tamu, no one in the 30th

Punjabis, or the 1st Battalion the 16th Punjab Regiment as it was then entitled, realized that the Regiment had fought its last great battle in the service of the British. It was at the time of another great crisis that the Regiment had been raised. In May 1857 Indian regiments stationed in Meerut suddenly mutinied. Counter-measures were slow and ineffectual; in a few weeks almost the whole Bengal Army of the East India Company, 100,000 strong, had broken out into a murderous and bloody revolt. British regiments were few, many had been called away to the war in the Crimea; and the Indian regiments that remained loyal were inevitably suspect. These were desperate days for the British. The

Brigadier C. P. Clarke. He joined the Regiment in 1915 and, except for spells recruiting and at the Training Battalion, spent all his service with it until he relinquished c o m m a n d in 1941. Like m a n y other British officers he centred his life round the Regiment, and indeed did not marry until after he had retired

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mutinies had been accompanied by the massacre of all British men, women and children, near the scene of the outbreak. It was not only British rule that was threatened; the continued existence of every Briton in India seemed in the balance. The Indian soldier, the sepoy, whose loyalty in the past had been above question, on whose fighting ability the whole structure of British power in India had been built, had turned on his masters. Fortunately, in North-West India in the Punjab there existed men such as J o h n Lawrence, J o h n Nicholson, Harry Lumsden - men whose courage and determination were to become a legend within the span of their own lives. The Punjab had been annexed less than ten years before, when, after the hardest wars Britain had fought in India, the power of the Sikhs who ruled it was finally broken. Beyond its borders lay the unruly kingdom of Afghanistan. An unusually large number of British regiments had been stationed in the newly conquered province to preserve law and order, and to secure the frontiers against the incursions of the Afghan and Pathan. In addition, the sepoys of the Bengal Army, perhaps because they had formerly greatly feared the Sikhs, had treated the conquered Punjabis with a disdain and an arrogance that had made them detested from Lahore to Rawalpindi. When the crisis came, the Governor of the Punjab, Lawrence, was able to act with energy and decision. All the Bengal Army regiments were disbanded, and where mutinies did occur the mutineers were speedily rounded up or driven out of the province. To replace the disbanded units, Lawrence made the bold decision to raise new regiments from the Punjab, and the Punjabis, both Sikh and Mohammedan, eager to avenge the insults and injuries they had suffered, flocked to enlist. Amongst the many regiments raised at this time was the 22nd Regiment of Punjab Infantry, in due course to become, after one or two transmutations, the 30th Punjabis. It was merely one among the many which remained in the Indian Army order of battle after the Mutiny had been put down. Its history is representative of that of the great body of Indian infantry regiments of the line upon whose devotion to duty the strength of the Indian Army ultimately depended. In J u n e 1857 Mr George Ricketts, the Deputy

4

Commissioner of Ludhiana, received orders to raise a regiment. He resolved to call in any old soldiers, of whatever unit, who might be on furlough in his district. He wrote of the raising: 'A number of recruits had taken service from Ludhiana District and had just reached their homes 'on leave. I ordered them all into the station and there they were, as fine a lot of three year old (in service) soldiers as you could wish to see, all in their clean white clothes looking their best and wondering what they were wanted for. I kept them in two old barracks, fed them well, and when they had ceased coming in, I paraded them according to the number of their regiments, then according to the dates of their enlistment and then I selected them by age — so many for havildars, so many for ranks, leaving a few in each grade for promotion - and you never saw a lot of youngsters so happy, promoted to posts which in ordinary times they would have taken 12 to 14 years to attain. Practically they drilled themselves, they were always at it, even going to the bazaar. At any time they fell in and marched and worked as on parade.' The Regiment had an authorized establishment of 800 men organized into ten companies consisting of a light company, a grenadier company and eight line companies. Among these, four were composed of Punjabi Mohammedans, four of Sikhs and two of Dogras. The men were armed with muskets and their early uniforms must have been a hotchpotch of those current in the Bengal Army at the time (see colour plate A). The Regiment, in common with most of those newly raised, took no part in the great battles around Delhi and Lucknow. On 14 February 1858, however, it joined the Shahjahanpore Field Brigade and started to play a fully active role. By now the war had become largely a matter of hunting down fugitive bands of mutineers, a duty which the Regiment embraced with no little zeal. As a reward, it became a part of the permanent establishment of the Bengal Army. In 1859 its authorized establishment is shown as 1,000 men organized into ten companies and including one sergeantmajor, two quartermaster-sergeants, two native doctors, ten subedars, ten jemadars, sixty havildars and twenty drummers. The sergeant-major and quartermaster-sergeants

were British; the havildars were the Indian equivalent of sergeants in the British Army and wore similar badges of rank; although not specifically included in the establishment, there was also a junior grade of N.C.O., the 'naik', corresponding to the British Army corporal. The two commissioned ranks of 'jemadar' and 'subedar', however, were peculiar to the Indian Army and merit some explanation. When the East India Company started raising Indian units in the mid-18th century, local magnates were often called on to recruit and train independent companies, which they, or their nominees, commanded with the title of 'subedar'. For a particular operation a number of companies might be grouped together under a British officer, generally either a captain or a subaltern. As the number of these independent companies increased, it became apparent that a larger permanent unit was needed, and the companies were formed into battalions under an Indian battalion commander. In addition a British captain and two subalterns, holding East India Company commissions, were superimposed on the Indian officer hierarchy; their main functions were to supervise training in peacetime and to command the battalion when it went on service; all British officers were automatically senior to all Indian. This process of posting British officers permanently to Indian battalions, once started, gained considerable momentum until, by the time of the Mutiny, an Indian infantry battalion had virtually as many British officers as a British battalion in Her Majesty's Army. The existing organization of Indian officers, or 'Native' officers as they were originally called, remained, however, unaltered. This had unfortunate results. The command structure became hopelessly top-heavy, while the Native officers saw their responsibilities and status steadily eroded. Not unnaturally this caused considerable discontent, a discontent which may well have contributed materially to the decision, which so many took in 1857, to forsake their allegiance. After British rule had been re-established, the number of British officers in Indian regiments was drastically reduced and, instead of adopting a slavish imitation of British Army organizations, a command structure was designed that took properly into account the special characteristics

of Indian regiments. In 1863 the number of British officers was reduced to six - the commanding officer, the adjutant, the quartermaster, two wing commanders and a wing officer. This seems a somewhat peculiar organization: the proportion of junior to senior officer appointments must have been far too low to preserve a properly balanced structure. It was probably adopted as a short-term measure to absorb a number of senior officers who might otherwise have become redundant. The establishment of British officers was successively increased to eight in 1868, to nine in 1882 and to thirteen in 1901. In this final establishment the post of commanding officer, second-in-command, company commander, adjutant and quartermaster all became British. British N.C.O.s were phased out at an early date; to replace that important man, the quartermaster-sergeant, the appointment of quartermaster was filled by a normal combatant British officer, a significant departure from the practice in the British Army. The old idea of an Indian commandant, in some ways analogous to the master of the ship in the old Royal Navy, was retained but modified. The senior Indian rank was that of Subedar Major. In theory he was junior to all British officers, but he wore the badges of rank of a major and was personal adviser to the commanding officer on all administrative matters connected with the Regiment and particularly those relating to Indian customs. His position might appear to resemble that of a British Regimental Sergeant-Major, but in practice, with perhaps only five or six British officers actually present in a unit, he wielded considerably more power and, after the commanding officer, was probably the most important member of the Regiment. Below him in rank came the subedar, who initially commanded a company but gradually came to assume the position of second-incommand; he remained a fully trained officer, both tactically and administratively, and was capable of commanding a company in peace and war, not infrequently being called upon to do so. To complete the officer structure of the company were the jemadars; these came to be the platoon commanders, discharging all the responsibilities of subalterns in a British infantry battalion, except for one or two minor differences - for instance,

5

they were debarred from financial responsibilities and wore the badges of rank of second lieutenants. Initially many of the subedars and jemadars were enlisted as such and frequently had seen service in the old Sikh Army. But with the passage of time it became customary to promote men who had previously served in the ranks, and direct commissioning became rare, although instances occurred as late as 1914. These Native officers or 'sirdars', as they were sometimes called, were men of considerable standing both in their regiments and in their villages. They wore swords and all the normal accoutrements of an officer; they were entitled to a salute from all other ranks and to be addressed as 'sahib'. They dedicated themselves

The badge of the 30th Punjabis. In its original form, as can be seen on the colours, 'Punjab Native Infantry' w a s inscribed around the device within the wreath

to their regiments, were complete masters of their trade and knew their men as a father his sons. They made the regiment what it was and, provided the right men were promoted, the commanding officer had little to cause him anxiety. The nearest equivalent to the Native officer was probably the centurion in the old Roman legion. This welding together of British and Indian produced an organization which, fundamentally unaltered, withstood the passage of nearly ninety years, and the stresses and strains of two world wars. In the 19th century it had one further advantage almost certainly unpremeditated by its authors, it provided the Indian sepoy, on enlistment, with a better prospect of promotion than existed in almost any other army of that period. But to return to the history of the 30th Punjabis. In 1861 the Regiment's title was changed from 'the 22nd Regiment of Punjab Infantry' to that of 'the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry'; then before the year was out, it became 'the 30th Bengal Infantry'. The uniform at this time was still that of the old East India Company Army of pre-Mutiny days. The Sikhs must have

6

been allowed to wear safas, the long bands of cloth wound round the head to form a turban, but the other classes wore a version of the Kilmarnock cap. Changes, however, were on the way. Paradoxically, when the Indian Army was brought directly under the Crown, the old policy of producing imitation British Army uniforms was gradually abandoned, and on occasion it was the Indian Army that proved the innovator. The wise policy that had brought a specifically Indian organization to Indian regiments was followed in the matter of uniforms, and the Punjab Frontier Force units, for instance, which after the Mutiny had been incorporated in the new Queen's Army, did not even adopt the traditional red coat, but persisted in wearing their original, and highly irregular, khaki, using their own home-made dyes', occasionally with somewhat spectacular results. In 1862 the regiments were authorized to wear plain native turbans, or safas. The 30th retained the red coat, but white trousers were on the way out except for hot weather wear, and blue serge trousers became standard. During the late 1860s trousers were discarded in favour of pantaloons and gaiters, and Punjabi shoes were permitted instead of boots. In the 1870s long puttees gradually took over from gaiters; it is not clear why the long puttee came to be regarded with so much favour; it was not particularly suitable for mountain warfare as it impeded the free play of the calf muscles and the binding just below the knee could cause varicose veins; in the 1914-18 war it was a potent source of 'trench feet'. Nevertheless the British Army, when the Boer War woke it up sharply to the advantages of khaki, adopted the long puttee along with khaki uniform. As regards organization, the light and grenadier companies were disbanded in 1864 and native infantry battalions were given an authorized strength of eight line companies, each consisting of one subedar, one jemadar, five havildars, five naiks, two drummers and seventy-five privates, the battalion totalling 712 all ranks. In 1862 the Regiment became the proud possessor of a brass band - the officers subscribed for the instruments out of their own pockets - and in 1865, under LieutenantColonel Boisragon, it once again took the field, this time in Bhutan. Colonel Boisragon was to hold command for some twenty years; clearly in

those days there were some who believed in the virtues of continuity. Bhutan was a remote Himalayan kingdom. The Bhutanese did not lack courage, but rather the sinews of war: they constructed stockaded forts on hilltops from which they rained down arrows and stones upon intruders, weapons scarcely sophisticated enough to achieve much success in the latter half of the 19th century. The real enemy was sickness: fiftyfour men died from fever, dysentery or scurvy, and seventeen had to be invalided out of the service. But it was on another frontier that the Regiment was to see most of its service. Beyond the Khyber Pass lay Afghanistan, and beyond Afghanistan Central Asia across which the Russia of the Tsars was remorselessly driving southwards. No clear border existed between Afghanistan and India proper, and the Pushtu-speaking Pathan tribes that inhabited Afghanistan were kin to those who had filtered south and eastwards and now occupied the Himalayan foothills west and north of the River Indus. Even before Britain conquered the Punjab, suspicion of Russian intentions had been depriving British statesmen of their slumbers. In 1838 a disputed succession seemed to offer an opportunity to turn Afghanistan into a British puppet state. In the event, the attempt failed disastrously and a British army perished in the Himalayan snows. After the Mutiny Britain forswore further annexations. But although Afghan independence had to be respected, a hostile Afghan government which might embrace the Russian bear too warmly was something no British government dare tolerate. Afghanistan had to be kept friendly to Britain, if necessary at the cost of an occasional chastisement; after all, from time to time all friends fall out. In practice the policy worked well enough, but implicit in it was the need to maintain adequate forces near the undefined borders of that country. The real problem, therefore, was how to deal with the Pathan tribes that had spilled over into British India and lived on and across the frontier. The region was one of hill and mountain where roads were unknown and the tracks often suitable for little more than goats. The tribesmen were fiercely independent, giving allegiance to none but their tribal chiefs and quite prepared on occasion to challenge even their authority. Their land was poor and like many

highlanders they found it necessary to raid the plains to find means of subsistence. Almost from birth the Pathan learnt that the rest of the world was his prey, to be robbed or killed as occasion might warrant. Besides a fanatical loyalty to his family and to the Mohammedan religion, the only law he recognized was that of the vendetta or blood-feud. By this law an insult to the family had to be avenged, an eye being exacted for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. A blood-feud between two families, once begun, rarely ended before all the members of one family or the other had been exterminated. The law of the blood-feud did bring some form of order to an otherwise anarchic society. Courtesy was at a premium when an insult or an injury could bring consequences so deadly. But even so, in a touchy, hot-headed community, unfortunate incidents could happen and blood-feuds were by no means rare. Hence the Pathan's home was in every sense his castle; it was, in fact, frequently a tower constructed to withstand a siege. A Pathan out for a stroll took with him his rifle as automatically as the London businessman his umbrella.

Bhutan 1865, the Bala stockade. Companies of the 30th took part in the assault on this medieval fortification. From a contemporary sketch by John Ruggles. (India Office Library)

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1878, the 12th Kelat-i-Ghilzai Regiment drilling in Multan. They are wearing full dress and gaiters, and carrying their rifles at the shoulder. From a contemporary sketch by Lieutenant Pulley for Illustrated London News. (Illustrated London News)

To deal with this problem the British had roughly two alternatives: they could fortify the line of the Indus in the style of the old Roman Empire, leaving the bulk of the Pathans to their own devices and hanging those that would inevitably come raiding across the frontier; alternatively they could delimit an agreed border with Afghanistan and firmly bring the tribes on the British side under control. The former alternative put British influence in Afghanistan at risk and surrendered the natural geographical borders of India to the tribes who might come under the influence of the sinister power of Russia; as to the latter, its cost was too great in peacetime and the resources required were not available in time of war. In consequence Britain adopted a typical compromise. The border tribes were largely left to themselves, and their chieftains were subsidized so long as they were of good behaviour; this had the advantage that they had the money to pay a fine if, as not infrequently happened, their behaviour left something to be desired. Bases and forts were, however, constructed at strategic points and if the conduct of a tribe became too outrageous, a punitive column would be sent in to chastise it and blow up some of its towers. Britain's policy in general, until she withdrew from the sub-continent, was to meddle as little as possible with the tribal areas, as they were called, so long as the peace of the settled areas or the security of the Frontier regions were not unduly threatened. Punitive action had inevitably to be taken from time to time, and the situation could become dangerous

8

if the ruling faction in Afghanistan was antiBritish. The policy, however, preserved peace of a sort. The Pathan liked shooting, and shooting at the British was generally a less dangerous sport than starting a blood-feud with his neighbours. Thus occasional small wars broke out which formed excellent training exercises for the Army in India, and although the nightmare of a war with Afghanistan, simultaneous with a general rising of the Frontier tribes, might occasionally disturb the sleep of the political agents, in practice the tribes had too many conflicting interests and were far too disunited to join together to throw off an Imperial yoke which bore on them so lightly. These Frontier wars were fought in a highly original and professional manner by both sides. The Pathans, who did not believe in making their national sport too dangerous, studied their opponents exceedingly carefully and avoided those that were skilled in Frontier fighting. In consequence the wars were remarkable for one possibly unique characteristic: if a regiment suffered heavy casualties in an action it hung its head in shame; heavy casualties marked a unit not as gallant but as inefficient. There was an element of sport about Frontier warfare, yet it was a deadly sport. The Pathans had an unpleasing habit of torturing and mutilating any adversary they might capture; for a British soldier to surrender was merely to exchange the possibility of a quick death for the certainty of a lingering one. But it was the wounded who were most affected. For a regiment to leave out a wounded man to fall into the hands of the Pathans and their somewhat imaginative wives was the ultimate disgrace. Frontier wars were the bread-and-butter of soldiering to the 30th and many other regiments besides. The 30th began its apprenticeship in the Black Mountain expedition of 1868 and concluded its last operation in 1942. However, it was not until the Second Afghan War that the Regiment had a chance to show its mettle. By 1880 the war had been in progress about a year. Negotiations for peace had been disrupted by a treacherous attack on the British Embassy in Kabul, and General Roberts had marched on Kandahar and occupied it by 13 October 1879. On arrival at the Frontier, the 30th joined the 2nd Khyber Division engaged at that time in

1878. Punjabi pioneers serving in the Khoorum Valley. They are wearing khaki and long puttees. F r o m the Illustrated London News of January 1879. (Illustrated London News)

establishing a direct line of communication between Peshawar and Kabul. After remaining on line of communication duties until December the Regiment moved up to Dakka, 12 miles north-west of Landi Kotal. It was soon to see action. On occupying Kabul after the siege of Sherpur, General Roberts had seized the wife of Yakub K h a n on the grounds that she had been inciting the Kabulis to revolt. The good lady was deported to India. Unfortunately her father, the K h a n of Lalpur, was most incensed by such treatment of his daughter. He called his clansmen to arms and the Mohmands responded eagerly. On 14 J a n u a r y 1880 some 5,000 Mohmands with twenty-five standards were observed from Dakka Fort encamped on a plateau overlooking the Kabul River and about five miles to the east of the Fort. Another body of about 3,000 were descried on the Gara Heights three miles to the south-east. It was decided to drive the tribesmen away. The main column was to advance on the plateau and cut the tribesmen off from their escape route across the Kabul River, while a subsidiary column under Colonel Boisragon was to capture the Gara Heights. Colonel Boisragon's force comprised: 6th Dragoon Guards 94}144 sabres 17th Bengal Cavalry 50} 'C' Battery Royal Horse Artillery 4 guns 25th Foot 110 } 8th Bengal Infantry 110 } 720 rifles 30th Punjab Infantry 500 }

At 11 a.m. on 15 J a n u a r y this force was drawn up on the plain immediately south-west of Dakka Fort facing the 3,000 Mohmands on the Gara Heights. The main force had marched six hours earlier and was assumed already to be in a position to cut off the enemy's retreat. The attack began with the guns of the Royal Horse Artillery opening fire on the advanced sangars (stone emplacements) of the tribesmen at a range of 1,000 yards, while the infantry made a feint as if to threaten the enemy's north flank nearest the river. The main infantry assault began at 1.55 p.m. in three echelons - 300 rifles forming the line of skirmishers with 200 in support and the remainder in reserve. The attack was carried through with great dash and by 2.30 p.m. the Gara Heights were gained with the loss of only one man killed and three wounded. By 5 p.m. Colonel Boisragon's force had crossed the Gara Pass, but unfortunately the main body had encountered unexpected difficulties in traversing the route selected for them and had failed to close the gap in time to cut off the enemy's retreat by raft and ferry across the Kabul River. The river was at this point unfordable and further action was delayed for a day pending the construction of rafts. This enabled the enemy to escape without further loss, but although in this respect the combined movement, as planned, had failed, it later became known that the defeat of the Mohmands on the Gara Heights had created panic in the tribe and the country was deserted for miles around. The number of Mohmands so brilliantly routed by Colonel Boisragon's column is confirmed in Volume I I I of The Second Afghan War, by Colonel H. B. Hanna, published in London, 1899-1910. It was Colonel Boisragon's last action with the 30th. The extreme cold had affected his health, and on 4 March he was invalided home to England where he died in 1882. In 1881 the 30th joined a punitive column operating against the Mahsuds, one of the toughest of the Pathan tribes, and penetrated to Razmak, a place which attained a certain renown in later years. The expedition was chiefly notable for the composition of the column which comprised about 4,000 fighting men, 4,000 followers to administer to their comfort, 3,000 mules and 3,000 camels. It must have been a fine spectacle on the line of march.

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The tribes celebrated the fin de siècle with considerable gusto, even if they were actually ignorant of the event; at one time or another almost every tribe took up arms against the British. In 1895 the 30th assisted in the relief of Chitral and in 1897 became embroiled with the Afridis in the Tirah. The Tirah campaign was a major operation undertaken by two full infantry divisions. The campaign opened with an attack by the 2nd Division on the heights at Dargai which guarded the entrance to the Afridi homeland. Here the Afridis stood and fought, and only after a bitter battle were the heights carried by the Gordon Highlanders in a magnificent charge. This action convinced the Afridis that standing and fighting was a mistake, and they adopted tactics that were to dictate the pattern of warfare on the North-West Frontier until Britain withdrew from India in 1947. They no longer attempted to resist an advance frontally, but hung round the flanks and rear of columns, shooting at everything within range. In that mountainous country a column generally had only one route it could follow, normally up a valley. Once the route had become obvious, the Afridis would occupy every height that commanded it and snipe the column as it marched along. When they were attacked the tribesmen withdrew; when their attackers withdrew in their turn they followed them up. These were difficult tactics to counter, but gradually a drill was evolved

Afghan War, 1879. Bayonet and Kukri v e r s u s knife and sword w h e n a baggage train w a s a m b u s h e d at Koruh. (Illustrated London News)

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Afghan War, 1879. A photograph showing Sikhs escorting captured Afghans. The blouses and puttees are plainly khaki; the trousers are difficult to identify, but it would look as though they were dark blue serge. Punjabi shoes, not boots, are worn. (National Army Museum)

that altered little over the next fifty years. The column, generally at brigade strength, was inevitably confined by its transport to marching along a valley. In front, however, would be placed an advance guard, perhaps a company strong, deployed to cover the head of the column. As it moved forward, small bodies of men, generally amounting to about a platoon, would be sent up on either flank from the troops behind it to establish posts on any feature that commanded the line of advance. These small posts were known as piquets, and their function was to prevent the tribesmen sniping the long strings of animal transport trudging along the valley floor below. Thus the column progressed inside an envelope of piquets until at last, behind everything else, came the rearguard deployed across the valley in much the same fashion as the advance guard. As it came level with the flanking piquets, the rearguard commander would call them in to rejoin the column; meanwhile the advance guard as it moved forward would be sending up a steady stream of piquets to safeguard the route. The main body of the Brigade marched surrounded by an everchanging ring of piquets and, it was hoped, in comparative security. These piquets, and the technique of piquetting, became one of the most characteristic features of warfare on the NorthWest Frontier. After it returned from the Tirah, the Regiment was not to enjoy the delights of life in a cantonment for very long. In 1902 it went to China as

part of the force to relieve the foreign legations in By now boots had been adopted for wear on all Peking and help put down the Boxer rebellion. It occasions and Punjabi shoes were no longer arrived off Tientsin on 12 July 1902, but took no tolerated. Khaki drill blouses, pantaloons and major part in the fighting, being mainly concerned long puttees were the normal service dress. Towith railway protection. It scored, however, a wards the turn of the century some Gurkha regimajor success with its musketry, beating all comers ments had come to design and wear khaki shorts, in an international rifle meeting held in August and these came to be regarded with some favour 1902. The results aroused considerable interest in as a wear for mountain warfare. It has been London. The Globe of 15 December 1902 com- recorded that in 1904 the Colonel of a Gurkha mented: 'Those foreign critics who sought to regiment, with great daring, paraded his whole disparage the efficiency of the Native Indian regiment in shorts at a review for his General. It contingent in China must admit that the British was not, however, until the First World War that [Indian] sepoy is a capable marksman, a good shorts received official recognition, and in 1916, deal more capable than their own soldiers.' The when the 30th embarked for overseas service, they Regiment also managed to acquire a splendid were still wearing khaki drill pantaloons, or silver dragon as a centrepiece for the Officers' knickerbockers, while khaki shorts were still a form Mess. of dress recognized only at regimental level. As In December 1907 the Regiment celebrated its regards arms, this was a period of rapid change. fifty years' Jubilee at Jhelum. 'The Regiment Rifled barrels were replacing smooth-bore, breechlooked a splendid sight in its full dress, all ranks loading replacing muzzle-loading. With breechwearing scarlet jackets with white piping and blue loading the old round ball propelled by a separately pantaloons with scarlet welts (except the British loaded charge was replaced by a shaped bullet inofficers who wore blue overalls). The British tegral with its cartridge and fed into the barrel from officers also wore white helmets and white gloves a magazine to speed up reloading. In 1865 the with their ceremonial belts and swords.' Regiment was armed with the Victoria carbine,

Afghan War, 1880. Dakka fort. F r o m the Illustrated London News. (Illustrated London News)

The interior of Dakka fort - from a contemporary photograph. (National Army M u s e u m )

II

The First World War Afridis, 1874. The long jezail with its curved stock w a s the standard weapon carried by the tribesmen. The skullcaps the m e n are wearing were reputedly capable of withstanding a sabre cut. (India Office Library)

and a year later buff cap pouches and ball bags were replaced by brown leather ones. In 1872 the Enfield rifle succeeded the Victoria carbine but was superseded by the Snider in 1875, although havildars for some reason kept the short Enfield. The Martini-Henry rifle was introduced about 1890 and then in 1905 came the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle, and at the same time bandolier equipment was issued. In the same year a double-company organization was adopted and the Regiment was now largely armed, organized and dressed as it was to be in the great conflict about to break out.

Sepoys, probably pioneers, in field service marching order, 1901. Carrying the blanket rolled bandolier-fashion was very unusual. Although they carry magazine rifles, they only have the old-style pouches. The circular waterbottle of the t i m e s h o w s up clearly. (National Army Museum)

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During the first years of the war, the 30th Punjabis remained in India. Although mobilized and warned for service overseas twice in 1914, the Regiment had become so riddled with malaria, thanks to a sojourn in some particularly unhealthy lines near Delhi, that on each occasion it was found to be unfit. A spell in the invigorating atmosphere of the North-West Frontier, however, served to restore it to health and in 1916 it was pronounced sound in wind and limb. During the course of that year the rather curious system of grouping the companies in pairs as double companies was taken to a logical conclusion; the pairs were merged to form large single companies and the number of companies reduced from eight to four. The new companies contained four platoons, each of four sections; they were armed with the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle but possessed neither automatic weapons nor hand grenades. Ammunition was carried in bandoliers. Equipment was based on the Christmas-tree principle, assorted haversacks, water-bottles, packs, blankets and so on being hung about the men by separate canvas straps whenever such were required. At this time British officers filled the appointments of commanding officer, second-in-command, adjutant, and quartermaster in Regimental Headquarters; each company was commanded by a

British officer with, in theory, a British subaltern as his second-in-command; of the four platoons one was commanded by a subedar and the remaining three by jemadars. Indian officers, as the Native officers were now termed, also held the posts of subedar-major, jemadar-adjutant, and jemadar-quartermaster in Regimental Headquarters. At full strength the Regiment numbered about 900 Indian ranks. In November 1916 came the long-awaited tiding. The 30th Punjabis were to proceed to German East Africa. The Regiment embarked at Karachi on 1 December, arriving at Dar es Salaam on the 11th. Before leaving India, it formed a Vickers machine-gun platoon under a British officer; the platoon consisted of two sections each armed with two Vickers machine-guns. Two spare guns were issued, and in East Africa, after a sufficient number of men had been trained in them, a third section was improvised. Before leaving India the Regiment had to detach a British officer and some fifty men, chosen from the sick and unfit, to set up a regimental depot which could look after its affairs in India and train its recruits. When the Regiment arrived at Dar es Salaam, British forces had been fighting German-trained African soldiers known as 'askaris' for nearly two years. The German Commander, Von LettowVorbeck, hopelessly isolated from the European theatre of war and with no hope of ultimate success, yet endeavoured to tie down as many British troops as he could, hoping thereby to distract valuable British military resources from other more important theatres of war. In this he was only partially successful. The Dominion of South Africa had been deputed to run the campaign in East Africa and General Smuts exercised supreme command. His troops consisted of some South African ex-commandos, a single British battalion largely composed of African white hunters, some Indian units and some from the King's African Rifles. Although these forces amounted to a formidable number of men, it is doubtful if many could have been usefully deployed elsewhere. To achieve his object, it was obvious to the German Commander that ground was of little value compared with the importance of keeping

his field force intact. He therefore pursued guerrilla tactics, steadfastly avoiding a decisive battle and relying on the nature of the country to make up for his deficiencies in numbers. T h a t part of East Africa was hilly, bush country, almost entirely lacking in roads or other forms of communication, and was well suited to his purpose. The tsetse fly made animal transport difficult to use, and the 30th found they had to rely on enormous columns of African porters for their essential supplies. This had its problems. With the porters strung out in single file along narrow paths, column lengths could become prodigious, and the head of the Regiment on occasion had almost reached the new camping ground before the rear had left the old. In action these African porters not unnaturally showed little enthusiasm for risking life and limb, and when the going became dangerous they were apt to deposit vital loads, such as ammunition, on the ground, the better to facilitate their search for more salubrious regions. In the course of the campaign the Regiment fought three major engagements. At the Rufiji River it established an important bridgehead across a river line; at Tandamuthi Hill it was the victim of a rash endeavour to infiltrate a German position and suffered crippling casualties; finally at the heights of Narkadi it won a decisive success that helped to destroy the last remnants of Von Lettow-Vorbeck's field army. From the numbers engaged, by Western Front standards, all three actions were mere skirmishes scarcely meriting a mention; but at the unit level

1916. British and Indian officers of the 30th photographed before embarking for German East Africa. Shorts have not yet been adopted for field wear. There s e e m s a fine freedom over the colour of puttees. A pith helmet can be seen in the foreground, and not the unpopular Wolseley helmet

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the fighting was often extremely fierce. The combat at the Rufiji River is a typical example of the sort of actions that were fought in that part of the world. The Regiment, serving with the 1st East African Brigade, had been pressing the German forces steadily southwards. The askaris, however, skilfully avoiding all attempts to encircle them, had withdrawn across the Rufiji, blowing the bridge over the river as they went. When the Brigade came up to the river bank, the Brigadier-General decided that the enemy must be granted no respite and ordered the 30th to cross that night. In the hot clammy darkness the 30th Punjabis embarked in tiny Berthon assault boats which, fully loaded, could only carry three armed men and an oarsman. The river here was some 800 yards wide, and a herd of hippos wallowing in its waters resented their intrusion. The sepoys had to repulse their attacks with the bayonet. As a result of these difficulties, by dawn only one company and a machine-gun section had been established on the far bank. The advanced company lay up in the bush all day undetected, and the next night the rest of the Regiment successfully negotiated the crossing. But when dawn broke the Germans soon discovered that the river line had been breached and launched a series of determined assaults. The events of that day are best told in the words of one who was present. An Eyewitness Account of the Rufiji River Battle 'At this time I held the appointment of Quartermaster. On the night of 6 J a n u a r y 1917 I crossed to the south bank of the river, together with the

1917. German East Africa. The J a m m u and K a s h m i r Battery in action. The Battery supported the 30th on a number of occasions. (Imperial War Museum)

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rearward echelons of the regiment. The position held was very restricted with a perimeter of about 250 yards, but only some 150 yards in depth, facing south. Early next day " D " Company (Sikhs) (Capt. W. B. K. Wilson) ran into heavy opposition whilst patrolling down the right bank of the river at about 0800 hours. I was ordered to take over " C " Company (Dogras) and advance with two platoons to occupy a position in a thick belt of Pampas grass some 800 to 1,000 yards south of our position (i.e. 90 0 to the right of " D " Company). Role, to protect right flank. Shortly afterwards 2nd Lt. Robinson (M.G.O.) arrived with a section of machine guns to join me. This was a great waste of fire power, as we were not even seriously engaged as yet. However, a German machine gunner up a tree was a bit of a menace, and Robinson, creeping up cleverly under cover, shot him out of it with a few sharp bursts. 'Meanwhile, we could hear and see " B " Company (P.M.s) (Capt. J. A. Pottinger) advancing on our left. They went straight into it without hesitating. I think if I had advanced simultaneously and done a left hook, we might have mopped up the German left flank. But my orders were to guard our right flank, and a 2nd Lt. aged just 21 - must obey orders! About 1500 hours, " B " Company were retiring and one of their platoons was cut off and joined my command. I had sent several messages to Regimental Headquarters by runner asking for orders. I also knew that " A " Company (Sikhs) and the last reserve had been thrown in on the right of " D " Company. The battle was being fought in two parts: " D " and " A " Companies on the left, " B " and " C " Companies on the right, with a long gap in between. The situation was pretty grim. 'After a considerable delay I received orders to withdraw at once, with a rebuke for not having obeyed previous orders to do so! These had never reached me. By this time we were isolated and the enemy were fast closing in on both flanks. However, we managed to sneak away with J e m a d a r Lall Singh (a veteran of Loos etc. in France - afterwards Subedar Major) leading the first lay-back. At least we were not subject to aimed fire whilst in the long grass some eight foot

high, but on emerging from this belt we were faced with flat open sand for some 500 yards to the main bridge-head. Robinson had been hit in the leg and could not move, but his M.G.s had been got away safely. J e m a d a r Lall Singh formed another lay-back to a flank, and I held the foremost echelon, while the wounded were got away with great difficulty. Thereafter by two quick dashes we reached the main position, though casualties were heavy. J e m a d a r Allah Ditta, the commander of the P.M. Platoon who had joined us, fell dead at my feet as we reached the perimeter, and there were a good number of other casualties. It was 1700 hours by now, and I was about "all i n " - no food and very little water all day. I reported to the C O . who was in a very distressed state - he looked at me and said - " M y dear boy, I thought you were dead long ago." He gave me no orders, and I returned to the front line. I had lost my Dogras, so I joined Pottinger who was trying to sort out the chaos there. The companies had become inextricably mixed up in the confined space and it seemed that an enemy attack was imminent. 'The situation roughly was as follows - on the left " D " Company, where Capt. Wilson was lying in the bottom of the trench only halfconscious having been nearly drowned in the river. Major Thompson of " A " Company had been left out during the withdrawal at his own urgent request, believed mortally wounded. The company was scattered here and there on the perimeter. In the centre most of the P.M. Company and on the right the Dogras ("C") Company also intermixed. By this time I had been switched from O.C. " C " Company to Machine Gun Officer (being the only one qualified). J o h n Pottinger was truly magnificent and by his own personality and stamina held the front line. He had lost his senior Subedar, Mohamed Khan, who was a Raja of the Ghakkar Tribe in his own right and an original direct commission, much highly regarded by all his men, and also the stalwart J e m a d a r Allah Ditta already mentioned. In fact he had only one Indian Officer left. Capt. Pottinger had assumed command of all the troops in the front line - he was here there and everywhere; standing on the parapet of the low sandy trench and cheering the troops on to

greater efforts; moving from one flank to the other, sometimes stopping to say his prayers in the bottom of the trench (he was a highly religious man, but this did not stop him hurling curses at the enemy, or even his own troops); then rising to cuff a windy recruit over the head he had a high proportion of recruits in his own company; above all a stalwart and brave example to everyone. At one period I was trying to direct the fire of a section of machine guns from the front line, when a young sepoy, who must have dipped the muzzle of his rifle in the sand, took a pot shot from alongside me. There was a loud explosion, and the bolt blew back into the firer's face. I don't know if he survived, but I was knocked out by the blast for some time. When I recovered, the C O . sent for me and told me I must take over duties of Adjutant. This made four jobs!!! (i.e. Q . M . - O.C. " C " Company M . G . O . and now Adjutant as well). 2nd Lt. Donald Powell, who had become Adjutant when we left India, very gallantly went forward during the day to ascertain the situation. He was hit in the leg and by this time had been evacuated across the river. 'At dusk the firing died down, there was a somewhat uneasy lull, and the river crossings re-commenced. The Brigadier was the first man over, and he brought with him (in driblets) a company of the 130th Baluchis. The Baluchis were a very war-hardened unit with a great fighting spirit. Their company took over the left of our line and we were able to re-organize. Capt. J o h n Pottinger was called from the front line to be awarded a Bar to his M . C His only comment was - " T h a n k you, Sir, but you might have made it a D.S.O. this time"!!! 'That night Subedar Thakur Singh of " A " Company begged the Colonel to allow him to take out a patrol and search for Major Thompson his company commander. His mission was successful, and to everyone's joy, Thompson recovered from his severe wound to command the regiment later in the campaign. 'It was now midnight, and I found the only rations to come over were a few bags of dates, of which 2 bags had been saved for " A " Company who had now been re-organized and sent out to guard the right flank. I collected a couple of men

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and set out to deliver these miserable goods following the telephone cable over some 1,000 yards of sandy hillocks. On arrival at the " A " Company position, I found Major Thompson's company officer sitting in an open patch of sand with his company gathered round him. When I enquired why he had not taken up any defensive position he replied, " I t is useless to do so - the enemy are coming any minute - we shall all be killed. Can't you hear them coming?" (it was only the wind in the trees). After reasoning with him for a while, I decided the strain had unhinged him. On return to the main base, I reported to Col. Ward and told him his right flank was in jeopardy. His reaction was to order me to return to " A " Company and take over. Once more I slogged over that sandy waste, fortunately in moonlight, for the third time. I ordered Subedar Thakur Singh to take up some proper defensive positions and push forward standing patrols. And then just collapsed in the sand for the second time. It was about 2 a.m. and I had been on my feet for nineteen hours with little or no food. Next morning at 7 a.m. the sun was shining and all was quiet on the right flank. Only sporadic firing at the main position.' In addition to the immediate awards the following were announced soon afterwards:

British Distinguished Conduct Medal) and five Indian Distinguished Service Medals (equivalent to the Military Medal). In addition two Distinguished Service Orders were awarded a little later. Early in 1918 the Regiment returned to India, and it was serving there when the Armistice was declared in November. In J a n u a r y of that year, however, the 2nd Battalion the 30th Punjabis was raised and in May left for Palestine in time to join Allenby's army and take part in the battle of Megiddo. For the task, in addition to its machinegun platoon it was equipped with one Lewis gun per platoon. Despite this honourable beginning, however, the 2nd Battalion was disbanded shortly after hostilities had ceased; but not before it had rendered some yeoman service in South Waziristan during the troubled days of 1919.

The Years Between the Wars, 1919-1939

Lieutenant-Colonel A. Ward, D.S.O. Major Thompson, D.S.O. Second Lieutenant D. Powell, Croix de Guerre Spasmodic fighting continued at the bridgehead for several days, then on 16 J a n u a r y the Germans withdrew. This unvarnished account does not gloss over the occasional failure or paint soldiers as supermen impervious to normal human emotions; battle tests endurance to the limit and sometimes beyond, and it is misleading to ignore this characteristic. In the action the 30th, although suffering heavily in the process, held off the attacks of a superior enemy, and by piercing their position forced the Germans to abandon the line of the river. In recognition of gallant services rendered, various members of the Regiment received immediate awards consisting of one bar to an M.C., one Indian Order of Merit (roughly equivalent to a 16

The war years left their mark both on organization and on uniform. After the Mutiny, as already mentioned, khaki crept in, initially as a hot weather dress; in a similar fashion, during the early part of the 20th century khaki drill shorts came gradually to be acceptable. These shorts, in some ways a reversion to the early dress of the old East India Company's armies, had much to recommend them: they were cool, cheap, easy to launder and left the limbs remarkably free; they were excellent for the hills of the North-West Frontier, and for the deserts of the Middle East where so many

regiments served during the war just ended. Ordnance indeed had been inspired to produce a peculiarly repellent form of semi-trouser, known as 'long' shorts. These were as curious as their name. They were shorts with turn-ups designed to be buttoned up by day to allow the winds of heaven to circulate freely, but to be turned down and folded into the top of the hosetop at night to foil the activities of malaria-bearing mosquitoes. After rain, or when the shorts were unpressed as was apt to happen on service, they made the sepoys resemble elderly gentlemen paddling by the seashore and, as such, were rejected by every right-minded Commanding Officer, among whom the C O . of the 30th was to be numbered. Khaki drill shorts, however, as originally designed, were universally approved. After the war a Commander-in-Chief, India, who nursed a prejudice against bare masculine knees, was sternly informed that the Indian Army had fought the last war in shorts and had no intention of discarding them now; he forsook a cause which was plainly hopeless. The victory of the shorts assumed all the more importance since the issue of full dress had been discontinued during the war, and was not likely to be revived. In the 30th, Review Order for other ranks now consisted of a khaki drill jacket, cut rather long with the bottom of the coat coming level with the thumb when the sepoy was at attention, khaki drill shorts, green hosetops, dark khaki puttees and black boots, as illustrated in colour plate H2. Officers, both British and Indian, wore the standard British Army khaki drill jacket and brown boots, but British officers differed from Indian in that they wore the light-coloured Fox's puttees while Indian officers wore the dark standard issue (see colour plate G). The hosetop perhaps requires some explanation. When puttees were worn with shorts, they were wound round the bare leg or over stockings. In a hot climate neither was particularly desirable. Some ingenious person solved this problem by inventing the hosetop. In essence the hosetop, as the name implies, was merely a stout green stocking that lacked a foot, so that it could be drawn on over the normal issue sock; it was worn with one end just above the top of the boot and the other folded down over the top of the puttee, the length of the fold being the width of a standard packet of ten cigarettes.

Drill on the Vickers machine-gun. The machine-gunners are P.M.s. Their head-dresses are the short-service safa, of which one end w a s starched so that it stood up, and this w a s called the shamla; the other hung down over the neck

For head-dress British officers were meant to wear Wolseley helmets on drill parades and similar occasions, but in practice the 30th preferred the pith helmet with the pugri edged in the regimental colours. As regards arms and equipment, India tended to lag behind the United Kingdom. There were no native-based sources of supply, and the needs of the Army in India were generally met only after the requirements of the troops in Britain had been satisfied to the full. In addition it was not then contemplated that Indian troops would be employed again in a European theatre of war; the defence of the North-West Frontier was defined as their primary role, and for this, while the latest equipment might be desirable, it could scarcely be classed as essential. In consequence, Mills webbing equipment, issued to the home army in 1908, was not taken into use in India until 1920; Lewis guns at a scale of one to a platoon did not become standard until the closing stages of the war. Organizationally, the Regiment comprised a headquarters wing consisting of four groups, a machine-gun group (two sections totalling four Vickers machine-guns), an administrative group, a signals group and a transport and followers group. The four rifle companies contained four rifle platoons, each of four sections, one of which was armed with a Lewis gun. Each section

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consisted theoretically of a non-commissioned officer and about eight sepoys. In 1922 the whole organization of the Indian Army underwent drastic change. In the 1880s a system for training recruits and reinforcing regiments on service had been evolved, known as the 'link regiment system'. Regiments were linked in pairs, the 30th being linked to the 31st. It was intended that one of the pair should always occupy a home station and be available to train recruits and organize reinforcements while the other was on service overseas. During the war the large number of regiments sent overseas caused the system to collapse almost from the first, and regiments proceeding to an overseas theatre had been compelled to set up their own depots from their own already overstrained resources. Not unnaturally the inadequate staffs, often of unfit men, left behind for this purpose proved quite unable to cope with the complex problems that resulted from the appalling casualty rates. The enormous number of men passing through the depots made proper documentation impossible, while the unfortunate depot commanders were nearly asphyxiated under the mountain of paper that piled up on their desks. By the end of the war, there were some 115 of these depots all operating independently of one another. The sytem had proved grossly inefficient; obviously, reform was urgently needed. As soon as the aftermath of the war was over, the whole regimental organization was reviewed. As a result, it was decided to group regiments in fives or sixes with one of the group permanently located at a suitable home station; here it could train recruits for the other members in peacetime, and in war it could assume all the functions of a regimental depot. The regiments thus allied were given a common group number. The 30th joined the 31st, the 33rd, the 9th Bhopal Infantry and the 46th Punjabis, to form the 16th group. The 46th was designated the Training Battalion and took up permanent residence in Sialkot. Then late in 1922 Army Headquarters turned the groups into regiments and ordered the separate regiments of each group to become battalions of the group regiment. The 16th group duly became the 16th Regiment and, since most of its regiments came from the Punjab, added the name of the province

to the regimental title. The 30th became the 1st Battalion, the 16th Punjab Regiment. In passing, it may be of interest to note that the number of the regiment in the Indian Army has always been the important part of its nomenclature, the territorial or other addition being often no more than an attractive piece of ornamentation. Hence the 16th Punjab Regiment had no closer affinity with the 15th Punjab Regiment than it had with the 10th Baluchi Regiment or the 13th Frontier Force Rifles. It is true that for a brief period towards the end of the Second World War some staff officer at Delhi, who cannot really have understood the system, tried to drop the numbering for a brief while, but this period had no real significance.

The badge of the 16th Punjab Regiment

After the reorganization, the usual committees sat and discussed the usual topics. In the end, the Regiment managed to agree on a common badge: it was based on a crescent moon encircling a Maltese cross to commemorate the service in Malta of the 2nd Battalion; in the centre of the cross was placed the regimental numeral surrounded by a Sikh quoit; the crown of the 30th was retained on top. Common types of buttons and shoulder titles were adopted, but battalions wore different coloured flashes under the titles. The flash of the 30th was red. The Training Battalion, the 46th, was redesignated the 10th Battalion, and soon lost all trace of its former identity: one company was allotted to each active battalion and this was staffed by officers and men seconded to it from the battalion to which it was affiliated. Although this might seem to imply a high degree of integration, in fact the battalions continued to lead an almost entirely independent existence. In peacetime there was no interposting of officers or men, nor was a common promotion roll even contemplated. Members of the different battalions only met when they were seconded to

the Training Battalion at Sialkot, or attended a regimental function there, unless by some odd throw of the dice at Army Headquarters two battalions happened to serve together in the same brigade or division. Inside the 1st/16th there were some relatively minor changes during the inter-war years. With the decision to introduce King's Commissioned Indian Officers into certain selected regiments, the term 'Indian Officer' for subedars and jemadars would have led to confusion. In consequence their generic title was altered to that of Viceroy's Commissioned Officer, generally shorted to V . C . O . The machine-gun group was elevated to the status of a company in 1929 by the addition of two more machine-gun sections; a rifle company was disbanded to make way for it and the fourth company became ' D ' (Machine-gun) Company. In 1935 some inspiration at Army Headquarters led to this company being redesignated ' D ' (S) Company, i.e. support company, without any other alteration in its composition. By the 1930s the Lewis gun, at best a temperamental piece of equipment, had clearly outstayed its welcome. The British Army seemed unable to decide on a replacement and, possibly for the first time, the Indian Army resolved to 'go it alone' on a piece of equipment. In 1936 a light machinegun, known as the Vickers Berthier, was issued to replace the Lewis gun; in appearance and handling it much resembled the Bren-gun that was to supersede it, but it was lighter and less robust. In December 1938, to conform to the new organization which the British Army had adopted some time before, certain changes were made. The modern infantry battalion was to consist of four rifle companies, a support company, including such elements as a 3-inch mortar platoon and a carrier platoon, and a headquarter company. Since the 1st/16th was still literally in the horseand-buggy era, these refinements did not much apply. However, the Machine-gun Company was dissolved; two machine-gun sections were disbanded, and two returned to Battalion Headquarters, whence they had come, to form a machine-gun platoon; ' D ' Company resumed the role of a rifle company. This did not lead to an alteration in strength as the new rifle companies had only three platoons, each of three sections.

For some reason this new organization made the Battalion much easier to handle in the field. It also suited its class composition which for the past twenty years had been 25 per cent J a t Sikhs, 25 per cent Dogra Rajputs and 50 per cent Punjabi Mohammedans (generally referred to as P.M.s), since each class could be allotted to a separate rifle company and complications over cooking and rations lessened. During this time there was a small change in dress. T h e long puttee wound to the knee had shown undesirable characteristics. During the early 1930s the Regiment introduced a cut-down version that was only tied round the ankle. This became standard wear for all but ceremonial occasions. In April 1939, on the brink of the Second World War, the Battalion received new colours and the old 30th colour was laid to rest. It was a fine parade, made notable by the presence of almost as many pensioners as the present strength of the Battalion. They had little difficulty in recognizing what they saw. The organization of the Battalion differed little from that which they had known in German East Africa. It possessed no vehicles; it had seven chargers to mount the commanding officer, the adjutant, quartermaster and four company commanders, and thirty-two mules of which twenty-four carried the machine-guns and ammunition of the M.G. platoon; while eight each carried a Vickers Berthier and its ammunition; owing to shortages only eight of the twelve rifle platoons possessed Vickers Berthiers. For station

A Vickers machine-gun loaded on a mule. The m u l e leader is a Dogra

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duties there were ten animal transport carts which required two mules apiece to draw them. These could furnish some entertainment. On one occasion the mules, having taken charge, were unable to agree which side of a tree they would go, with the result that the cart and the driver found themselves trying to climb the tree trunk. The carts were never taken out on training or service. The 1920s were relatively peaceful: for a short period the Battalion had two companies in the Persian Gulf garrisoning such places as Bandar Abbas, Bushire, Muscat and Bahrain. Later it spent four pleasant years in the tranquil atmosphere of the state of Baroda. But in the 1930s, stimulated by the fiery Fakir of Ipi, the tribes inhabiting the barren hills of Waziristan, perhaps bored by twenty years of comparative quiet, suddenly sprang to arms and by 1937 a quiet war was flourishing in the regions between Razmak and the old Sikh stronghold of Bannu. By now Frontier warfare had reached its technical peak. Most operations were carried out by columns of brigade strength which marched through the hills along stony tracks passable only by mules and camels. The brigade generally started early in the morning, aiming to reach its camping ground not much later than midday, as, after its arrival, much had to be done: the camp itself had to be laid out, camp piquets dispatched to near-by heights to protect it, and a stone wall, like some sort of medieval fortification, constructed round it; the rocky ground made entrenching on any scale impossible. The camp itself was not

The presentation of n e w Colours. The illustration s h o w s British field officers in ceremonial dress. They are wearing khaki drill breeches, leather leggings and boots

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unlike those laid out by the legions of ancient Rome. Two wide roads stretched right through it at right angles to each other and crossing in the centre; here brigade headquarters would take its ground. Each of the four battalions, the normal strength of a 'Frontier' brigade, would be allotted a quarter of the perimeter, probably about 300 yards. From this boundary each battalion was allowed an area extending only thirty yards in towards the centre of the camp, limiting the battalion camp to an area of 300 yards by 30. The first seven yards in from the perimeter wall constituted the fighting space; no store, equipment or any impediment to movement was allowed within it, nothing could be permitted that might hinder the free movement of the perimeter guards. A further seven yards in was reserved for the rifle companies' lines, generally about seven 160-pound tents. The remaining fifteen to sixteen yards in was allotted to the rest of the battalion; here would be the mule lines, the officers' mess, the quartermaster's store and the quarterguard, these two usually located close to a camp road, and the battalion office. On column, battalions carried flags to mark the location of battalion headquarters, and these were always flown from their quarterguards when in camp. These flags served something of the function of the old colours and some battalions were not above awarding themselves battle honours, such local distinctions as 'Biche Kashkai 1937' being sometimes to be seen beside the unit designation. The Battalion flag was a red '16' on a blue background.

A post on the perimeter. The upright headstones on the tops of the wall were to break up its outline and prevent the head of the sentry f r o m being silhouetted. The post had been plentifully supplied with grenades

All the mules were lodged inside the perimeter and contributed powerfully to the hordes of flies which would come to haunt its confines; but the camels, smelly, dangerous beasts able to kick in any direction and capable of giving horrible bites which reputedly could lead to unmentionable diseases, were expelled to a separate camel serai outside its borders. There they lived with their Pathan camel-drivers under the protection of a reluctant body of sepoys who, for the period of twenty-four hours, had been awarded the unsought honour of guarding them. Between 1937 and 1942 the 1st/16th took part in a number of Frontier operations which it would be impossible to describe in detail; perhaps the description of a single day in the life of a column may best serve to show what these campaigns entailed. The following description of a day based on the operations of the column that marched to the relief of Datta Khel fort in the summer of 1938 contains a number of incidents, not all of which happened within that particular twenty-four hours but which were typical of this sort of warfare. In 1938 the tribesmen had been blockading, from the beginning of May, the lonely Frontier fort of Datta Khel situated in the Upper Tochi Valley not far from the Durand line, the undelimited frontier with Afghanistan. The fort was garrisoned by a few platoons from that fine irregular corps, the Tochi Scouts. The Pathans knew better than to attack the fort, although they occasionally bombarded it using a home-made cannon, the shells from which, however, also home-made, fortunately seldom exploded. Never-

theless, with numbers of tribesmen lying up in the surrounding hills and sniping at any movement outside the ramparts of the fort, life was made difficult for the garrison, and Headquarters Waziristan District from its mountain eyrie in Razmak decreed that the fort must be relieved forthwith; to this end they assembled two brigades at Razani on the Bannu-Razmak road, the Razmak Brigade itself and the 3rd Jhelum Brigade comprising: 8th Mountain Battery 19th Mountain Battery 1st Battalion the 5th Mahratta Light Infantry 1st Battalion the 10th Baluch Regiment 1st Battalion the 16th Punjab Regiment 1st Battalion the 17th Dogra Regiment At this time there were six British officers actually present with the Battalion: three majors, a captain, and two second lieutenants, one newly joined. The posts they held reveal much of how an Indian regiment functioned. One major commanded the Regiment (the Colonel was officiating as Brigade Commander), one commanded 'A' Company and the other ' C . The captain was adjutant; a second lieutenant, the more experienced of the two, was quartermaster, while the other was a company officer in 'A' Company. 'B' and ' D ' Companies were commanded by subedars. Early in J u n e the advance began. The aim on the first day was to reach Mami Rogha about five miles along the track to Datta Khel. The 3rd Jhelum Brigade was to lead the advance, and the 1st/16th to lead the 3rd Brigade. In the clear bracing sunlight of an early morning in J u n e the Battalion started out. 'A' and 'C Companies went first, to secure the hills overlooking the ravine through which the track ran. On the right, 'C Company moved across the plain towards the hills beyond, its four platoons deployed; in front were four sections extended in line with perhaps ten paces between each pair of men. Echelonned behind them came the remaining twelve sections, extended in a similar fashion. Suddenly the whole plain seemed carpeted with long lines of khakiclad figures moving steadily forward, the shamlas of the P.M.s bobbing in the dawn breeze. Up in front with the forward sections orange blobs could be descried, marking the most advanced men of the leading platoons. These were squares of cloth,

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coloured orange one side, khaki the other; known as piquetting screens, their function was to show those manning the supporting weapons where it was safe to fire. As the long lines approached the brown scrubcovered hills, the figures began to merge with the spiky green bushes through which they moved. On the left, 'A' Company, in a similar formation, kept pace with ' C . As the long brigade column started to uncoil from the camp site in a flurry of orders and a jangle of mule harness, the guns of a mountain battery came into action on the right of the track. At one moment there were huddles of mules and men, at the next the mules were being led back at a canter and four little guns pointed menacingly up at the hills. While the gunners crouched by the guns ready for instant action, their officers behind swept the ground with their binoculars on the alert for the slightest sign of movement. Ahead a machine-gun section raced into action, vying with the mountain gunners in speed, their Vickers guns trained on the flanks of the advancing infantry. Headquarters of the 1st/16th deployed near the gunners to watch the advance. The observers suddenly stiffened incredulously. There on the ridges fronting the valley tiny figures could be seen dancing about and waving their guns. The sight was too much for the gunners. The guns boomed out and white puffs of shrapnel appeared like fragments of cotton wool momentarily fluttering above the line of hills. The dancing figures disappeared, but the serious business of the day had begun. The abrupt crack of rifle shots shattered the still morning air; then a Vickers Berthier opened up with the toc-toc-toc-toc-toc of its five-round bursts, to be joined by the faster, higher-pitched bursts of the Vickers guns. The mountain guns threw a few shells at the distant crests more in hope than in expectation of finding a target. A heat shimmer began to crown the hills. Then a roll of ground hid the forward lines of 'C Company. On the left, 'A' Company advanced rapidly, challenged only by a few random shots; but on the right, battle had clearly been joined. 'C Company, out of sight of their supporting weapons, were now on their own. Their company commander, Major Wilcock, was well versed in this type of fighting; only the year before he had been awarded the Military Cross for his part in

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Thal fort overlooking the Tochi River at the point where the Bannu-Razmak road crossed the river. It w a s normally garrisoned by a company. The watch-towers have been roofed in to keep the sun off the sentries. (Photographed by R. B. H o l m e s of Peshawar)

the ambush at the Shahur Tangi. 'C Company pressed on. To the watchers below the unseen battle appeared to be mounting in a furious crescendo. Firing from the Vickers Berthiers seemed almost continuous, their bursts punctuated by a heavy fusillade of rifle shots. Then below the summit of the hills the watchers could see a steeltipped line forming. All at once it raced up the hillside with startling speed and disappeared over the crest. Then the crest itself began to blossom in orange squares, and in the centre and a little below, a white signal flag began to dip smartly in the dots and dashes of the Morse code. At Battalion Headquarters a signaller at the 'C Company terminal began to spell out the message using the old phonetic alphabet. 'Ink, pip ack': 'C Company was in position O K . Two men had been killed, the message continued, and five wounded; assistance was required to evacuate the wounded back to the track. It had been a gallant little affair for which a jemadar and a havildar were subsequently to be awarded I.D.S.M.s (Indian Distinguished Service Medals). Meanwhile 'A' Company had secured the lefthand shoulder of the ravine. The long column shook itself into motion. Overhead an aged biplane, a Wapiti from the R.A.F. station at Miranshah, the station where T. E. Lawrence had once been a member of the clerical staff, had begun to cruise. The advance continued; other companies doubled out from the column to scale other heights farther down the track. The shooting swelled and died spasmodically. Overhead the aircraft made sudden swoops, its high-speed machine-

guns blaring out momentarily, before the pilot pulled out of his dive a few feet above the rocky summits to resume his circling above the head of the column. Each platoon carried a pair of white canvas groundstrips with which to signal to the aircraft; when holding a forward position, the strips were put down in the form of an X. The airman looking down on a pattern of X's displayed on the ground beneath could see exactly where the soldiers were deployed and where it was safe to strafe; at least that was the theory. An occasional forgetful platoon that omitted to pick up its groundstrips, once it had been bypassed, might have to face some rather unpleasant recriminations on its return to camp. Platoons that could see a target changed their X into a V with the apex pointing in the direction in which they wanted fire to be brought down. A platoon in urgent need of assistance put out its strips in a T with the head pointing towards the enemy. If a pilot saw a T, he gave it priority over all other calls for assistance. The pilot himself rarely saw a Pathan, but his fire brought joy to the piquets near by and froze the tribesmen behind their rocks. The day drew on. Now a near-vertical sun shone out of a bright and brassy sky and the heat began to grow oppressive. Battalion Headquarters found a safe place off the route where all four companies were visible, and cast around for some shade, while the signal terminals checked their communications. The battle had moved deep into the hills and the British officers at Battalion Headquarters considered slaking their thirst from the cans of beer that the officers' mess mule carried for this purpose. Higher up the track from a shoulder of the hillside a little above it, a dancing shaft of light showed that Brigade Headquarters had also come to rest and was deploying its heliographs. The firing by now had become sporadic, almost somnolent, and there were intervals when nothing broke the quiet. Along the track padded the long strings of camels bearing on their backs the baggage of the Brigade. Just ahead of them marched the colour parties closing up on the advance guard so as to mark out the new camp as soon as its site had been secured. The activities of the morning seemed to be forgotten as the column plodded on through the noonday heat. The colour parties turned a corner and the river bed they had

Battalion Headquarters marked by the Battalion flag. The sepoy is wearing the final type of Mills webbing equipment with three cartridge pouches each side, instead of the five of the 1908 equipment

been following widened out into a stony valley, terminating in a beflagged cemetery and a small, empty, straggling village. Remains of a former camp with partially dismantled walls came into view, nestling under a low ridge some 400 yards away. Even as the colour parties stepped into the valley, the orange piquetting screens appeared along its length. The staff captain of the Brigade marked out the boundaries of the camp and allotted battalions their sectors. The 1st/16th had a length of perimeter facing the ridge. The quartermaster and the company quartermaster havildars put out their little flags to mark sub-unit areas. They had to work fast as the main body of the Brigade was streaming into the valley, and their work had to be completed before the Battalion arrived; if they held up the building of the camp, the comments of the Colonel, let alone those of their comrades, were unlikely to be kind. Now the grumbling, rumbling camels were moving out to unit areas with the regimental followers marching with them. Down the ravine from which they had emerged everything seemed quiet, but along the ridge a fierce battle had ignited which soon extended right around the valley. The troops holding positions covering the camp were endeavouring to build stone emplacements, known as 'sangars', where piquets could be posted during the night to prevent the tribesmen concentrating for a night rush too close to the perimeter wall, and to make it more hazardous for them to snipe the camp. The tribesmen, fully aware of this, were happily engaged in sniping the sangar-builders. The building parties separated into groups, some

23

A P.M. subedar in fighting order for the Frontier. The flag w a s waved by the last m a n off a piquet to signify that the piquet position w a s clear and supporting a r m s could safely fire on it

trying to subdue the fire of the Pathans, others to find reasonable cover from which to build up the sangars. Soon the whole valley re-echoed to rifle shots, in many cases sounding more dangerous than they were, for the Pathans, confronted by a well-conducted manoeuvre executed by seasoned troops, hesitated to close the range. Meanwhile the rifle companies of the 1st/16th had debouched into the valley and marched on to their camp site to start unloading the baggage. A pair of mountain guns dropped into action and started shelling trouble-spots. Machine-guns also appeared, and overhead a relief aircraft circled the camp area, occasionally diving like a hawk on some unseen target. The firing lost much of its ferocity. As the men poured in, tents started mushrooming with amazing rapidity, stores were unloaded and the tedious task of erecting the perimeter was begun. Then, after little more than two hours, the stony valley became transformed into a wellorganized, smart-looking brigade camp, surrounded by a four-foot stone wall. An hour or so

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before sunset the camp piquets started to climb the hills to their dangerous perches, and the covering troops thankfully withdrew within the perimeter. At sunset, in accordance with the invariable rule, everyone stood-to at his alarm post fully armed. The inlying piquets, from whom the sentries for the night would be drawn, manned the perimeter wall. All not detailed for night duty, except the mule leaders whose first charge was their mules, were formed into bayonet parties whose task was to drive out any intruding Pathans by use of the bayonet alone; firing within the confines of the close-packed camp could not be tolerated. These parties, usually about a platoon in strength, took post at intervals behind the fighting space. Evening stand-to was always taken by the Commanding Officer. As the C O . , accompanied by the adjutant, the Subedar Major and the stick orderly, started to tour the Battalion's area, he could see a long row of riflemen manning the wall, with here and there a Vickers Berthier light machine-gun resting on the wall, generally in a cut-out wooden ration box with the edges of the box marking the boundaries of its arcs of fire. Deployed in angles of the wall were the machineguns with little lights placed in front to indicate the line of fire after dark. They were trained, some to sweep the flanks of camp piquets, others the front of the perimeter wall. Behind them stretched the seven unobstructed yards of the fighting space; and behind the fighting space the first line of tents dotted here and there by rectangular clumps of bayonets where the reserves were mustered. As the light faded, the 1st/16th perimeter remained quiet, but over on the right heavy firing broke out from the area of the cemetery. Vickers Berthiers replied, the bullets sounding a devil's tattoo among the stone graves. Then came the deep boom of the mountain guns firing at pointblank range. The firing became heavier, bullets hissing over the camp; then gradually it slackened off and died. A few sporadic shots, then silence. Quietly, as he went his rounds, the C O . checked the dispositions of his companies, and when satisfied ordered them to stand down. When he had completed his inspection, only the occasional pair of sentries from the inlying piquets remained, peering over the stone wall into the gathering darkness. At evening stand-to and for night duty the

MICHAEL YOUENS

A

B

MICHAEL

YOUENS

MICHAEL YOUENS

c

D

MICHAEL YOUENS

MICHAEL YOUENS

E

F

MICHAEL

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MICHAEL

YOUENS

G

H

MICHAEL YOUENS

Battalion adopted a simplified and slightly unorthodox form of dress. The men wore shirts over khaki pyjamas, and chaplis (the Indian sandal); socks and puttees were discarded. The British officers donned a mess dress consisting of a shirt, in cold weather a cardigan worn on top, dark grey flannel trousers and brown shoes. For equipment they had a Sam Browne belt and a pistol in a leather holster slung from a strap round the shoulder (see colour plate G2). That evening after stand-down, the British officers, as usual, congregated in the mess tents to enjoy a well-earned glass of whisky. It was customary for a couple of officers to remain to act as host to any visitors, while the rest dispersed to the other regimental messes in search of drink and social diversion. About 9.30 the last wanderer had returned, singing quietly to himself, and the officers sat down to dine at a 'table' formed by a cleared stretch of earth with trenches on either side to perform the function of chairs. On this occasion just as the soup was about to appear - it was seldom worth drinking on column - a bugle sounded reveille high up in the hills. Immediately a volley crashed out from some fifty rifles. For ten minutes bullets hummed and whined over the camp; the trenches by the mess table were found to have certain advantages. Then, as suddenly as it began, the firing stopped. The damage was surprisingly light: two men wounded, neither seriously, and a mule hit. When quiet had been restored and the interrupted meal resumed, there was considerable speculation about the bugler. Was he a timeexpired Pathan from some Frontier Force regiment, or perhaps a South Waziristan Scout on leave? The South Waziristan Scouts were recruited from North Waziristan and served in the South. One on leave might feel he ought to join in any local diversion organized by his fellow villagers. The mystery was never solved, but after the final burst of firing the Pathans granted the Brigade a quiet night. A few days later Datta Khel was relieved. A Tochi Scout basking in the sun outside the fort was asked by Major Wilcock, a Pushtuspeaker, if he was pleased that he was no longer besieged. The Scout considered the matter carefully, then replied that, while it had of course been tiresome being confined to the fort, now that they

were relieved he supposed they would have to start 'gashting' (patrolling) again; he did not seem to fancy the prospect. This type of fighting, uncomplicated by journalists or television, while it made the men superbly fit and was wonderful training for war, was not without its perils. In 1940 the Battalion had the misfortune to have two British officers killed in North Waziristan, a heavy loss out of a complement of about ten. The 1st/16th was in Jhelum when on a hot and steamy evening in early September 1939 the radio announced that Germany had invaded Poland. It was perhaps to be expected of those extraordinary days that after Neville Chamberlain had made his historic broadcast, clearly heard by the Battalion, the Indian Army was informed that its services were not likely to be required for this particular war.

The Second World War

Although the Indian Army was told that it had no role to play in a European war, the Battalion was mobilized shortly after its outbreak. No new units were raised, however, and it remained rather awkwardly over strength. It was not until August 1940, eleven months after the declaration of war, that a new battalion, the 5th, was formed; it was a tragic delay, for which India was to pay dearly when the war swept up to her borders. Meanwhile the Indian Army remained to all intents and purposes at peace. Army Headquarters renamed themselves General Headquarters and directed that on all crime sheets soldiers should be

25

stated as being on active service. Even this trivial gesture came to nothing. A learned judge of the High Court could, with some justice, find no evidence to show that the Indian Army was on active service and promptly ruled that it was not. G.H.Q., nervously aware that their former order might well be considered unconstitutional, hastily rescinded it. In February 1940 the 3rd Jhelum Brigade returned to its Frontier haunts. The tribesmen from a region known as the Ahmedzai Salient were raiding up to the perimeter wire of Bannu itself, and on the heights overlooking the Gomatti Tangi, a pass barely five miles away, had erected their black banners; they appeared to be challenging the British to come on. G . H . Q . resolved to take the chance offered and mount a large-scale exercise with a live enemy. Three brigades were concentrated and everything was done in the correct manner. After a dawn bombardment the Jhelum Brigade launched a two-battalion attack on the heights with the 1st/16th on the left and the 1st/10th Baluchis on the right. After a vigorous engagement all objectives were captured. To give weight to the attack, 6-inch howitzers had been brought down from Razmak, and deployed outside Bannu. Bannu was a family station and the families took exception to being woken up at six o'clock in the morning by a heavy artillery bombardment, particularly as the blast from the howitzers shattered some of their windows. The Pathans also lodged an objection, as they thought heavy guns like 6-inch howitzers were out of place in a Frontier operation. After the battle of the Gomatti Tangi the largescale exercise continued, but the enemy declined to take any further part. Some three months of marching and road-building followed, then the Salient was handed over to the Frontier Constabulary. In May the 1st/16th trudged up the B a n n u Razmak road to a two-battalion perimeter camp called Damdil, some ten miles from Razani. It was here, protecting the lines of communication between Razmak and Bannu, that it heard, coming over the B.B.C. short-wave transmitters, the heavy news of the fall of France. Now it was clear that the Indian Army would have a role to play in the war, and at last orders for its expansion began to be issued. Slow to start, 26

The Bannu-Razmak road. 'D' Company on the line of march, May 1940. (Photographed by R. B. H o l m e s of Peshawar)

after 1940 the expansion of the Army was wildly accelerated. Until this time Indian King's Commissioned Officers could go only to a few selected regiments; one of the main problems in raising new regiments was that of providing British officers who knew something of military matters, could speak Urdu and had some knowledge of India. The problem was solved by a stroke of the pen. All regiments were opened to Indian officers, and henceforward the term 'British officer' was often widened to include Indian officers serving with the King's Commission. The first Indian officer to join the 1st/16th, Lieutenant Pritam Singh, arrived in 1941. The supply of Sikh and Dogra recruits began to run dry; another brisk stroke of the pen and Jats were enlisted to fill Sikh vacancies, Gujars and Ahirs to fill Dogra vacancies. The complications of having J a t sepoys serving in a partially Sikh company under exclusively Sikh N.C.O.s were very considerable, just at a time when owing to the rapid expansion officers were least able to understand and cope with the type of problem likely to arise. The headlong expansion did considerable harm. The Indian sepoy, excellent as he proved himself to be, needed thorough training and sufficient time to become acclimatized to the military machine if he was to realize anything like his true potential. On paper, 1,600 men are twice the strength of 800, but in practice, as any field soldier knew, a good battalion was invaluable while two bad battalions were simply a liability doubled. At times it seemed that there were too many mathematicians at G . H . Q . From 1940 until 1942 the Battalion remained

on the Frontier, nominally stationed at Kohat, but in practice spending much of its time on column. Ceaseless drafts to form new battalions or to reinforce those on service sapped its strength. Among others, it sent a complete company of well-trained soldiers to Malaya. They arrived in Singapore in good time to add to the numbers of men captured by the Japanese. At this time, the Battalion's main concession to the war was to change from brass shoulder titles to embroidered ones, although the opportunity was taken to start the training of specialists against the day that modern weapons should be received. Then in August 1942 the Battalion, the last old regular battalion still serving on the Frontier, once again marched to Datta Khel to help break what was fast becoming its traditional blockade. On its return to Kohat at the beginning of September, it was ordered to the eastern borders of India now threatened by the Japanese. Three hundred semitrained recruits arrived to bring it up to strength; on 10 September the Band and Drums beat retreat for the last time, the last of the mess champagne was drunk, and on 15 September the Battalion entrained to be railed across the breadth of India to eastern Bengal. In February 1943 it joined the 1st Indian Infantry Brigade of the 23rd Indian Division at Tamu, just inside the border of Central Burma, and spent the following spring and summer engaged on long-range patrolling up to and across the Chindwin River which, by a form of mutual consent, had become the accepted border between the British and Japanese. After its arrival in eastern Bengal, the Battalion had been issued with the new khaki drill battle dress; it was an unimaginative imitation of the serge battledress of the British Army. The blouse, lacking the give of serge, proved highly restricting and was soon discarded in favour of shirt sleeves, cardigans being worn when the weather was cold. The colour also was wrong as the light khaki drill did not blend with the green of the jungle. In July that year Ordnance issued green dye to tide units over until the new olive-green uniform became available in quantity; the many shades of green that resulted from the enthusiastic but unskilled efforts of the amateur dyers would have delighted the eye of a landscape gardener.

In November, as the Japanese started to secure jumping-off places for their coming spring offensive, the 1st/16th fought its first major engagement. T h e Japanese 33rd Division had begun to close in on the region round Tiddim in the Chin Hills some 160 miles south of Imphal. A single infantry brigade of the 17th Division was responsible for that sector of the front and it called urgently for help. The 1st/16th was sent to its assistance. The Battalion took up a position on a ridge some 8,000 feet high and almost twenty miles from Tiddim. Here, on a cold autumn night, the Japanese attacked. They assaulted the face of the position, but these attacks were held. They also climbed on to the ridge behind it and attacked from the rear. As the dawn broke, hordes of Japanese infantry came charging down on the thinly held trenches; they crashed through to Battalion Headquarters, but Lieutenant-Colonel Wilcock, now the commanding officer, improvised a line of signallers and orderlies and checked their advance. The Japanese called for artillery fire. Colonel Wilcock, sitting on his shooting-stick in the open, was killed almost immediately; the adjutant died beside him. The line was shattered and the Japanese poured on to the crest. A hastily organized counter-attack failed to dislodge them. Now the Battalion faced a difficult situation. The Japanese held the top of the ridge, the key to the position, in strength, and had overrun the area containing the reserve ammunition; 'B' and ' D ' Companies were being closely pressed. The second-in-command, Major Newell, resolved to break contact and rejoin the main body of the Brigade in the neighbourhood of Tiddim. Jettisoning everything that could not be carried on the man, the Battalion struck out through virgin jungle. After two days threading their way across the steep slopes of the Chin Hills the tired men managed to rejoin the Brigade. The Japanese made no attempt to exploit their success. The 1st/16th had suffered only some seventy casualties and had been manoeuvred rather than driven off its position; as a baptism of fire it had been a bitter experience and the loss of Colonel Wilcock, who knew every man in the Battalion and enjoyed their unquestioning trust, was a heavy blow; it was not to be forgotten or forgiven. After two more months holding positions about

27

A P.M. signaller wearing fighting order, 1942; he is standing by a heliograph. The large pouches at the front of the shirt were designed to contain two Bren magazines each. (Photographed by R. B. Holmes of Peshawar)

Tiddim, the Battalion returned to its own brigade in the Imphal plateau. In the new year it carried out a month of intensive training, putting into practice all it had learned in the Chin Hills. When the crunch came in May 1944, and 4 Corps on the Imphal plain was surrounded, it was trained, fit and ready. During the long-drawn-out battle that followed, it operated as often as not behind the enemy lines. As regards uniform and equipment at this time, the 1st/16th wore olive-green bush shirts and olive-green trousers tucked into the standard short gaiter and boots; the men wore the normal equipment but the heavy and clumsy pack was put aside and replaced by the haversack carried well up the back between the shoulders. The cardigan was rolled inside the gas cape, the lightweight waterproof cape that had a hundred uses besides protection against gas, the whole being fastened to the waistbelt by straps taken from the pack. In the haversack the men carried three days' light-

28

scale rations (these were later replaced by the American 'K' ration). The sepoys, of course, could not eat bully beef and were given tinned sardines or herrings instead. The waterbottle was slung on the right-hand side in the usual way, but two men per section carried chagals - porous canvas bags holding nearly a quart of water. Each man had Bren magazines in his basic pouches and 100 rounds of ammunition slung around his waist in canvas bandoliers. The total transport consisted of about eighty mules, each capable of shouldering 160 lb. None could be spared for small arms, and Brens and 2-inch mortars had to be carried by the men. Four 3-inch mortar detachments with seventy-two bombs per mortar accompanied the Battalion and required most of the mules for their transport. Although there were six trained mortar detachments available, it seemed of little value to have more mortars but fewer bombs. The few mules left over carried reserve small arms ammunition, entrenching tools and water. One mule was allotted to the doctor for his stores. For the first operation, the adjutant and his orderly carried a couple of bottles of rum in their basic pouches as a contribution to the Officers' Mess. By a singular coincidence both broke their bottles, ostensibly owing to falls, while marching along hill paths at night. Thereafter one mule was detailed for the Battalion office. On one side its load consisted of such mundane articles as message pads, pencils and so on, balanced on the other by liquid refreshment for the British officers. The system worked well; the mule was teetotal, and the morale of the British officers was maintained. In early April the 1st Indian Infantry Brigade was ordered to infiltrate across the lines of communication of the Japanese 15th Division and cut off a force that had captured the Litan saddle, an important feature on the approaches to Imphal. When the 1st Brigade was in position, the 37th, another brigade in the Division, was to attack the saddle frontally. Marching by night and lying up by day, it successfully accomplished the task and the Japanese were eliminated. But now came news that the headquarters of the 15th Division was at a village called Shongphel, only some eight mapmiles away - it was more nearly twenty by jungle trails over the Naga Hills. Orders came to liquidate this headquarters. The 1st/16th were to flush

the Japanese out of the village, while other troops laid ambushes along the only possible paths for their retreat. At 5 p.m. on 25 April the Battalion started out. It forded the Thoubal River and twelve hours later at 5 a.m. went into a hide a few miles short of Shongphel. Naga villagers interrogated by local guides - the village schoolmaster of Ukhrul rendered magnificent service both as guide and interpreter - talked gaily about 1,000-2,000 Japanese being quartered in Shongphel; the news was not passed on to the men, but Battalion Headquarters was a little silent and thoughtful that day. Next night the advance was resumed. About a mile short of Shongphel the track that the Battalion was following mounted a high ridge. Colonel Newell, assuming that the Japanese were certain to be holding the col where the track crossed this ridge, decided to turn off it well short of the crest. With the help of the splendid Naga guides the Battalion struck up the hillside through trackless jungle. Few who took part will ever forget the last three hours' climbing towards a skyline that for ever receded. However, as the darkness began to lighten, the never-ending ascent, incredibly, came to an end. The ground no longer rose, instead it fell sharply away. In the pale light of dawn a village could be seen through the trees in the valley below. After a little discussion and compass work, it was confidently identified as Shongphel. Colonel Newell now ordered 'B' Company to dig in on the ridge to form a firm base in the event of trouble, while the rest of the Battalion led by 'C' Company pressed along it to the col. 'C' Company advanced with its leading platoon deployed with all automatic weapons forward. For a short time the advance was wary and slow; then the platoon encountered some Japanese digging in. The automatics roared into action and a blast of fire smote the surprised Japanese; they fled, with 'C' Company in hot pursuit. The slow walk forward suddenly became a run that carried 'C' Company right across the col and up the slope the far side. The Japanese disappeared down a track that appeared to lead to the village, leaving a medium machine-gun behind them, and Colonel Newell took the opportunity to stop the headlong rush forward and impose some form of control.

1942. A Dogra signaller with signalling flag. The illustration s h o w s how the haversack and water-bottle were carried in fighting order

'C' Company was ordered to take up a position on the far side of the col. ' D ' Company was then to establish itself half-way down the track to Shongphel, after which 'A' Company was to pass through and penetrate into the village itself. Tactical Battalion Headquarters, the small operational component restricted to a few signallers and intelligence men needed for the minute-to-minute control of the Battalion, was to move with ' D ' Company. At noon ' D ' Company started descending the track and took up a defensive position on a spur half-way down it; there was no sign of the Japanese. 'A' Company passed through, and soon bursts of fire announced that it had encountered opposition. With great verve, however, it pressed on. Then, dramatically, heavy fire broke out on the ridge where 'C Company had taken up its position. Some Japanese had climbed on to the ridge beyond the company and were trying to drive on down to the col. The Battalion had a gunner officer with it, but unfortunately it had

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not proved possible to haul the guns within range; no assistance from outside could be expected. From 'C' Company came the news that their leading platoon was having difficulty in holding their hastily dug trenches. The situation began to look dangerous. If 'C' Company gave way, the 1st/16th would be irretrievably split. By now 'A' Company had entered the village itself, but the company commander had been wounded at its approaches. The news from 'C' Company became increasingly alarming. 'A' Company had accomplished their task and seized Shongphel; it appeared high time to concentrate the Battalion back on the ridge while 'C' Company still held band and d r u m s in full dress, Kohat, 1942. This was out. This conclusion was reinforced when a The their last parade with their instruments; they were not Japanese light machine-gun opened up on ' D ' re-formed. (Photographed by R. B. H o l m e s of Peshawar) Company. 'A' Company was called back and returned in excellent order, bringing with them a reserve at Wang Jing; it had not suffered many British 3-inch mortar and some Japanese dis- casualties and morale was extremely high. But a charger cups which they had captured in month of uncooked meals was beginning to tell, Shongphel; the sepoys had seen the back of the and lice had begun to appear on men's clothing; Japanese and were exultant. a change of raiment was somewhat overdue. As soon as 'A' Company was established across Early in May the Battalion embarked on its the col, ' D ' Company retired through it and went toughest action of the battle. For some time now, on down the ridge to join 'B'. Now came the the troops surrounded on the Imphal plateau had delicate task of extricating 'C' Company. The been entirely dependent on air supply; the two men thinned out to re-form within the 'A' Com- airstrips, one at Imphal, the other at Palel, were pany defences. Then the 3-inch mortars with pin- vital to the British and their capture was therefore point accuracy dropped ten bombs by the forward the chief objective of the Japanese. weapons pits of' 'C' Company and the last platoon Towards Palel the main Japanese thrust had of that company broke clear. The whole battalion been along the Tamu-Palel road, but at the now concentrated for the night on the position heights of Shenam which commanded that route that 'B' Company had been constructing. All were they had been blocked after bitter fighting. They alert for a night attack, but the hours of darkness were now infiltrating north of the road and their passed quietly. Next day patrols pushed forward; artillery had begun to shell the Palel airstrip from they found no live Japanese, only a few corpses positions underneath a mountain about 5,200 feet round the empty 'C' Company trenches beyond high which had been code-named 'Ben Nevis'. On the col. T h a t day the Battalion rested and in the 11 May the Battalion took to the hills with the evening Brigade Headquarters sent their con- aim of capturing Ben Nevis and forcing the gratulations together with the suggestion that Japanese to withdraw their guns. On the 12th, Shongphel should be occupied. Some Japanese, while they were proceeding down the track from withdrawing the previous night, had been am- Maibi Khunou towards Khudei Khunou, the bushed, but other troops had been late into Brigadier was encountered standing by the side of position and the jaws of the trap had failed to the path; he told Colonel Newell that a patrol of close. It was reported that headquarters of the the Patiala Infantry, a company strong, had run Japanese Division had gone off the air. However into some Japanese on the ridge near Khudei that might be, one thing became clear: there were Khunou and that he had ordered the Patialas to no Japanese in Shongphel. drive them out. As in the clear sunlight of a perfect On 30 April the Brigade was withdrawn into morning the Battalion drew near the village, there

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came the sounds of heavy firing; a little farther on stretcher-bearers appeared carrying back Patiala casualties, always an enlivening spectacle before an engagement. T h e Battalion halted, while the Colonel walked forward to see the Patiala company commander. The latter reported he could not get on. The Japanese were entrenched on a crest overlooking the ridge which at this point was only about twenty yards wide with both sides falling away steeply into valleys some 500 feet below. They had heavy machine-guns covering the ridge approach and he thought they probably numbered a company. At this moment the Brigadier came up on the air; the 1st/16th were to attack the position and clear the Japanese out forthwith. A troop of a field battery, four guns, would give support; the gunners were limited to firing eighty shells, but, it was generously added, they were prepared to fire them any way that Colonel Newell wanted. A straightforward attack down the ridge would certainly be costly and would most probably fail. The Colonel decided to send two companies down into the valley on a wide outflanking movement to come in on the Japanese from their flank and rear. While this move was in progress the gunners were to bombard the crest with a very slow rate of fire to be followed by a feint attack straight along it to keep the attention of the Japanese focused on the ridge. At about 3 p.m. 'A' and 'C' Companies started to descend into the valley; to avoid disclosing their movements from the inevitable noises of switched-on radio sets, they preserved wireless silence. The two companies disappeared into the jungle down the hillside and for three hours were neither heard nor seen. Then, as the daylight was going, a cascade of fire revealed that they had struck home. The roar of musketry, punctuated by the deep thud of grenades and the slow stutter of the Japanese heavy machine-guns, was moving unmistakably up the hill, to the jubiliation of the watchers at Battalion Headquarters. Through the gathering darkness came the high-pitched 'Yah Ali' of the P.M.s followed by the deep baying 'Sat sri Akhal' of the Sikhs. The sound of battle reached the crest, then slowly faded and died. Over the radio came the voice of the 'C' Company commander. Khudei Khunou had been captured.

A 3-inch m o r t a r detachment, 1941 (not the 1st/16th). The sepoys are wearing the long shorts with the flap buttoned up. Ordnance revived this regrettable form of dress in 1941, but it w a s soon overtaken by khaki drill battle dress. (Imperial War Museum)

The attack had achieved complete surprise, falling upon the Japanese from a route so difficult that they had scarcely bothered to guard against it. The Battalion rested next day and patrolled forward. Except for some corpses there was no trace of the Japanese. The advance was resumed. Ahead, black and menacing, loomed the mighty bulk of Ben Nevis; that night the Battalion halted above the little village of Phalbung, some two miles short of the mountain destined to be its next objective. The slopes of Ben Nevis culminated in twin peaks about 400 yards apart. The ridge by Phalbung continued into the hillside about 500 yards below the right-hand peak. 'A' Company was pushed along the ridge just short of a knoll beyond which the ridge dipped into a shallow saddle before joining the slopes of the mountain itself. About 200 yards beyond the knoll the foremost bunker of the J a p position could be clearly discerned. Unusually for such skilled jungle fighters, although the bunker had been camouflaged with the branches of trees the camouflage had not been renewed, and the brown of the dead foliage stood out clearly against the green background. A good sign! Perhaps the Japanese were not from that redoubtable jungle division, the 33rd. For the next few days, although both sides

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could see each other, neither opened fire: the 1st/16th had no desire to alert their enemy; the Japanese thought perhaps that their position had not been observed. The Battalion was once again on its own. The nearest unit of the Brigade, the Patiala Infantry, was between two and three miles away. It had to patrol widely to guard against surprise, but now, hardened as it was in jungle tactics, this caused little difficulty. The main target, however, was Ben Nevis. For a week, patrols combed the slopes of the mountain. Gradually a picture of the J a p dispositions emerged; they had entrenched two localities, one by each peak. The hillside was not precipitous, but steep and covered in high jungle, with here and there patches of dense undergrowth.

A red fighting cock on a yellow background w a s the e m b l e m of the 23rd Indian Division. The e m b l e m w a s worn in all f o r m s of dress on both sleeves, t w o inches below the shoulder

Thanks to the jungle the two J a p positions were not intersupporting; a daring patrol managed to penetrate between them and nearly reach the saddle between the two peaks. It was estimated that the Japanese amounted to about two infantry companies or a weak battalion. Now Colonel Newell elaborated his plans. The attack would be supported by a complete regiment of artillery and a strike from the air. Even so, surprise would be vital. The Japanese obviously expected that an assault would come down the ridge from Phalbung, as this was far the easiest approach. Colonel Newell resolved not to use it, but to concentrate the Battalion in an assembly position in the valley and attack obliquely upwards. ' D ' Company supported by 'A' would attack Left Peak; 'B' supported by ' D ' , Right Peak. Tactical Battalion Headquarters would be established on Knoll which afforded a limited view of the mountainside. The attack would be preceded by an air strike and artillery concentrations on both peaks. Brigade placed a company of Patiala

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Infantry under command to make a firm base on the ridge and be available to exploit a success. On the evening of 23 May the companies moved out to their assembly areas and bedded down for the night. The air strike had been timed to go in at eight o'clock next morning. The dawn broke overcast and wet. The peaks were veiled in cloud. The air strike was postponed until ten o'clock while everyone studied the clouds anxiously watching for the first sign of a break. Suddenly the skies began to clear and, punctually at ten, flights of Vengeance dive-bombers roared into view. One by one the aircraft peeled off to come screaming down on the peaks. As their 500-lb. bombs exploded, great clouds of dust momentarily obscured the view; then the summits reappeared, to show tall trees tumbling to the ground. As the last of the bombers completed its mission the flights re-formed and sped away. Now Hurricane fighterbombers came sweeping in to drop their lighter bombs on the Japanese and to strafe their positions with cannon and machine-gun fire. But suddenly things started to go wrong Targets for the Vengeances had been indicated by artillery smoke and the smoke had drifted. The Hurricanes strafed and bombed short. Three came straight for Knoll, their guns blazing. Battalion Headquarters hugged the ground, but it was utterly unprotected. Earth spouted as bullets and cannot-shot slammed into the crest. Men fell crashing down the hillside. From the valley below came the dull boom of exploding bombs. An impassioned plea to Brigade Headquarters resulted eventually in the aircraft being called off, but Battalion Headquarters had suffered severely; among others, Colonel Newell had been seriously wounded and the Intelligence officer, also hit, had disappeared somewhere down the hillside. The rifle companies had escaped more lightly; the bombs had fallen into clumps of bamboo and their effect had been smothered. Nevertheless, each company had suffered one or two casualties; when bombs meant to support an attack fall instead on the attackers, it does little to stimulate the enthusiasm of men already highly tensed at the prospect of imminent combat. Now the guns opened up. They were firing at long range, about 9,000 yards; it had proved impossible to tow them any nearer; the changeable climatic conditions affected the flight of the

shells and many fell wide. As the second-incommand took over and ordered the rifle companies forward, the omens for the day were far from auspicious. ' D ' Company, attacking Left Peak, soon ran into trouble; attack after attack was shattered by the withering fire of the Japanese from well-concealed positions. The number of casualties mounted, while progress seemed impossible. On the right the men of 'B' Company led. Their line of advance brought them obliquely against the Japanese trenches; they skirted them skilfully and through dense jungle forced their way to the top. The J a p position had been constructed on the forward slope well below the summit, probably as a precaution against strikes from the air. Now 'B' Company attacked downhill on their rear. Unprepared for an assault from this direction, the Japs panicked and ran out towards Tengnoupal. At once 'B' and 'C' Companies dug in on Right Peak, pushing forward observation posts to give early warning of a counter-attack. The situation now appeared to be that, while the attack on Left Peak had failed, Right Peak was firmly held. It was an invaluable characteristic of the operation that the regimental signallers never lost contact between headquarters and the rifle companies. Acting on the axiom of reinforcing success rather than failure, the second-in-command ordered the reserve company of Patialas forward to Right Peak, and accompanied them himself. He decided to use the Patiala company to attack Left Peak and called for an artillery concentration on that target. Although it had previously been registered, this was no easy task; shells ranged fractionally too far would spend themselves harmlessly in the valley beyond, while any short would pitch into ' D ' Company just below the Japanese. Almost every shell had to be individually observed and observation itself was difficult. However, at about 4.30 p.m. the Patiala company commander, somewhat to his surprise, was told that the concentration had been fired and he left for Left Peak. The Patialas were highly trained and experienced soldiers. They took their time, nearly forty-five minutes, to cover 400 yards, but they also took Left Peak. Here again the main Japanese position had been dug below the crest. Now they were sandwiched with the Patialas above them and ' D '

and 'A' Companies beneath. The second-incommand went to Left Peak to organize the final phase. A patrol was sent down to establish physical contact with the companies below; then 'A' Company launched a last desperate assault. For a few moments the fire was intense and a heavy blast struck the Patiala company. It was only to cover the Japanese withdrawl. 'A' Company surged up to Left Peak and began to dig in beside the Patialas. ' D ' Company, a third of its strength wounded or dead, remained where it was. By nightfall all objectives had been captured. Next day patrols revealed that the Japanese were gone, and now plans were made to replace the somewhat ad hoc defences of the previous evening. Right Peak was clearly the key to the position. This was made a double-company locality and here Battalion Headquarters was sited. Left Peak was held by another company and the fourth held Knoll on the Phalbung ridge. The position resembled a right-angled triangle with Right Peak at the right angle. During the day ' D ' Company marched in, and the Patialas, their task completed, returned to their parent battalion. The view from Ben Nevis was superb. The curves of the T a m u road were exposed to view, almost as far as the Lokchao River. While Ben Nevis was in British hands, a major offensive by the Japanese on the Shenam Heights was virtually impossible. Clearly the Japs would regard its recapture as a high priority. The Battalion prepared to hold what it had won. Trees were cut down and the timber used to build head cover over weapon pits. The localities were surrounded with bamboo fences, and punjis, sharpened bamboo stakes about eighteen inches long, were driven in along their base. The fences were also boobytrapped; for this purpose Mills hand-grenades, with the firing-pin withdrawn, were placed in milk tins, and trip wires made from the strands of telephone cable were attached to the firing-levers. A fence was an excellent place for booby-traps: these dangerous little devices could backfire on their makers if their positions were not exactly recorded, but in a fence there was no danger of the wrong people being injured. No defence stores of any kind were available, of course; everything had to be improvised.

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The Battalion enjoyed two days of tranquillity, cover ground which, owing to the steepness of the presumably while the Japanese mustered their hillside, could not be reached by the guns. The forces. It may seem strange that the British forces mortars fired at a range of 100 yards, well inside at Shenam could do nothing to pin down the their authorized minimum. Each night they retroops on their front. The task of the 23rd Division registered their targets by the simple method of at this time was essentially defensive. While screwing their mortars upwards until the bombs Imphal was beleaguered, resources in fire-power descended on the forward trenches; their occuhad to be carefully husbanded. Of necessity, the pants considered that, since they were protected main effort had to be directed to reopening the and the Japs in the open, the risk was worth road to Kohima and re-establishing ground com- taking. munications with India. The role of the 23rd As night after night they fired on their defensive Division was to hold the Palel airstrip and for this targets, complaints came up from the gun lines the possession of the Shenam Heights was vital. If that the gunners were getting no rest; the news the Japanese had to withdraw resources from was received without sympathy. On the mountain, before Shenam this suited the divisional plan, after the first bombardment, all the mules had been evacuated. Water had to be carried up by however much the 1st/16th might deplore it. So the Battalion strengthened its defences and hand from a spring 300 feet below. By day the men awaited the inevitable. On the third day it hap- removed their boots for a couple of hours to pened. During the late afternoon Japanese 105 prevent their feet becoming soft; there could be and 155 mm. guns started to bombard the peaks. no question of taking them off at night. As time Against the heavy 155 mm. shells the head cover passed the men became lousy, and after more than on the weapon pits offered little protection. Many a month on the American 'K' ration, during shells struck the trees and burst in the air, their which no form of cooked meal had been eaten, fragments scything down on what lay below. For their physical condition began to deteriorate. some reason the brunt of the bombardment fell on Slowly, from shellfire and sickness, the Battalion's Left Peak and here 'A' Company suffered severely. strength drained away. A draft of ninety men Then, in the small hours of the morning, scream- joined on the mountain - what a place to join a ing Japanese infantry came charging through the unit, the adjutant reflected - but this soon darkness. They were surprised by the strength of dwindled away. Every night the trenches were Right Peak and before the steady fire of the manned, every night the attacks were repelled. defenders found themselves unable to make any The Japanese could not always retrieve their dead, impression. At daybreak, baffled, they dug in and the sickly smell of decaying corpses was added about 100 yards below the Right Peak perimeter. to the other pleasures of the mountain resort. Next morning 'A' Company was moved from As the strength of the Battalion ebbed away, it Left Peak to the comparative safety of Knoll. became apparent that the time would come when Knoll, under the shadow of Ben Nevis, was the trenches could not be properly manned, and immune to shellfire from the far side of that that one night the Battalion would be overrun. mountain. For the next ten days a recurrent The Divisional Commander had been watching pattern set in. By day the Japanese sporadically the situation and now concluded that Ben Nevis shelled the mountain top; anything they could see was too exposed and the problems of supply too moving, they sniped with 75 mm. field guns great to justify continuing to hold the mountain. emplaced near by. By night their infantry attacked, The operation had fulfilled its purpose. For a fortnormally after the moon was down. Only the night night it had diverted the main Japanese thrust of the full moon was quiet. Night after night they away from the Palel road; now he resolved not to were foiled by the fire from the perimeter, the relieve the 1st/16th but to evacuate. pounding of the 25-pounders sited in the distant Ironically, while the orders for the evacuation Sengmai Turel and the devastating accuracy of were going out on 6 J u n e , the Japanese launched the 3-inch mortars. Two had been sited in Right their heaviest bombardment. By now they had Peak and one in each of the other localities to pinpointed every inch of the position and they

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proceeded to search it yard by yard. They had recognized the importance of Right Peak and directed almost the whole of their fire on it. Two miles away Brigade Headquarters, aghast, watched a flaming torrent of shells exploding on the mountain top. It seemed to them incredible that anyone could live underneath such a bombardment. Somehow the word got about that the Battalion had withdrawn. The order went to the guns in the Sengmai Turel to fire ten rounds gunfire into Right Peak. At this time all the gunner communications on Ben Nevis had been destroyed; the gunner signaller lay dead, with his officer lying mortally wounded across his body. But fortunately the brigade radio set was still in order, and the adjutant contrived a pungent conversation with the Brigade Major. He afterwards swore that a piece of molten metal whizzed between his lips and the mouthpiece of the radio. Then, as always, with the coming of darkness the Japanese guns fell silent and it was possible to take stock. Right Peak was almost unrecognizable. Twisted tree-trunks lay strewn across the ground, and a great pit yawned where presumably a number of shells had fallen together. ' D ' Company held the front face of the position and had been savagely mauled. Company Headquarters had been hit and the company commander wounded; the Japanese had blasted the forward bunkers with a 75 mm. field gun at a range of 500 yards and had blown away half the forward platoon. The sole surviving V.C.O. took over. Reinforcements were called for from Knoll; the battery commander, who had survived by a miracle, worked frantically to restore communications with the guns. By evening standto some sort of order had been imposed. H a d the Japanese attacked immediately after the shelling, the Battalion must have been overrun, but they waited for nightfall, and that gave the 1st/16th a chance. As the darkness deepened the Battalion waited grimly for the events of the night to unfold. It rather resembled the outer rind of a cheese from which the cheese itself had been removed: every man, batman, cook, orderly, clerk, was manning the outer trenches; inside there was nothing save the two mortar detachments and the brigade signal terminal. At ten the Japs came. Their leading ranks started to break through the bamboo

fence thirty yards away from the trenches, and for a few crucial moments the hard-tried men of ' D ' Company wavered. Then came the order for rapid fire; the mortars opened up and far away in the Sengmai Turel a distant sound like the beating of a heavy drum told that the guns were once more in action. The line held; against so fierce a fire the Japanese had no hope. They returned to the attack again at two in the morning, but they had no stomach for a fight which they knew to be hopeless; they faded away as the first automatics opened up from the perimeter. For the rest of the night the silence was intense. Then with the dawn came the rain. Fortune was favouring the 1st/16th. As the heavy clouds closed down, not a sound was to be heard from the Japanese lines. At nine o'clock a host of stretcherbearers arrived from Brigade Headquarters. It was a ten-mile carry over rough hill-tracks to roadhead; a badly wounded man had little hope. Then the mules came, were loaded up and were gone. The grey clouds hung around the mountain face and masked the Battalion as it quietly filtered away. By 2 p.m. Ben Nevis was clear. Not a shot had been fired. Except for 'A' Company remaining on Knoll to cover the withdrawal, the remainder of the Battalion marched back to the gun lines in the Sengmai Turel. T h a t night the gunners, whose unstinting assistance had contributed so much to the successful defence, insisted on taking over the night guards to give the Battalion an uninterrupted sleep. It was a generous gesture and much appreciated, although it was probably several days before the reflex reactions after the past fortnight permitted unbroken slumber. Next day 'A' Company re-joined. The company commander reported that during the night they had heard the Japanese firing on the trenches of Ben Nevis; they had called down fire to keep them amused, but towards morning a shout of triumph had indicated that the J a p s had found the trenches empty. The Battalion, sick, weary, lousy, was withdrawn into Corps reserve. All its clothing had to be destroyed; for six weeks the men had neither washed nor eaten cooked food, and the first taste of normal cooked meals on stomachs unused to any type of fat or grease was certain to provoke an upset. During the first week 150 men went sick.

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But they soon recovered and spirits rose high. All felt that the reverse in the Chin Hills had now been avenged. During the fighting round Ben Nevis, the strength of the Battalion rarely exceeded 450, since all drivers, members of the carrier platoon, two mortar detachments and various duty men, had to be left at base. It suffered 153 casualties; apart from those inflicted during the initial assault, almost all the remainder could be attributed to shellfire. For the next six weeks the 1st/16th occupied quiet sectors; then, in July with the I m p h a l Kohima road open, the 23rd Division turned to the offensive. As it drove down towards T a m u the 1st Indian Infantry Brigade was once more ordered into the jungle to cut in behind the Japanese defences. The Battalion had a full part to play. The monsoon had broken and the rain was unceasing, making the jungle tracks mere rivers of mud. Steep slopes were almost impassable and casualties among the mules were many. But the Battalion took all its objectives; the Japanese, attacked in front and rear, were annihilated. Nevertheless, in these inhuman conditions sickness took a heavier toll than the enemy. By the time the Battalion took up its final position on the ridges by the Lokchao River, rifle companies were strong if they could muster forty men. But the 23rd Division's task was over. It had been on the border continuously since May 1942 and now in August 1944, with the Japanese reeling back into Burma, it was to return to India as the reserve division to the 14th Army. During the fighting from November 1943 to August 1944 the Battalion suffered the following casualties:

arose not from any excessive need for the officers to lead, but from the deliberate policy of the Japanese to shoot primarily at the officers, and British officers tended to be conspicuous. During the fighting round Imphal, British officers blackened their faces and carried rifles, and this undoubtedly reduced the casualty rates. O u t of the total casualty list, only eleven men were listed as missing; these were all lost at the action in the Chin Hills. Thereafter the Battalion had not a man missing or unaccounted for. After the return to India, the Division was alerted for various landings from the sea, all of which were cancelled. In August 1945 it landed in Malaya. The operation was conducted without firing, not entirely to its dismay. After two short a stay in the lush pastures of that country, the 1st Brigade sailed for J a v a . Here the Battalion took part in various operations and lost some thirty-five men. On 18 November 1946 it sailed for Bombay, leaving with relief a task that had become increasingly distasteful. Then in 1947 the association of the 1st Battalion the 16th Punjab Regiment with the British Crown ceased and the Regiment was split between Pakistan and the new India. A British-Indian relationship which both sides had found singularly rewarding had come to an end and the 30th Punjabis, in its old form, was no more.

King's Commissioned Officers - 15 Viceroy's Commissioned Officers- 10 Other ranks - 332 O u t of an authorized establishment of thirteen K.C.O.s a total of fifteen casualties was high. It

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The Colours of the 1st Battalion, The 16th Punjab Regiment

The Plates

B1 Sepoy, 1865 Little is known of the uniform worn by the 30th during the 1860s, except that it was red. This figure shows the first reforms after the Mutiny. The sepoy wears the plain native turban, or 'safa', with a red triangular patch or 'pug' above the forehead. The old red jacket has been replaced by the so-called zouave jacket with a broad stripe of the regimental facing down the front, and the sides of the jacket are a little cut away; it has virtually no collar. Blue serge trousers are standard issue and worn with brown Punjabi shoes. Buttons and belt buckle are all brass, and a brass '30 P' can be seen on the white shoulder strap.

B2 Sepoy, 1879 A1 Sepoy, service dress, 1857 The zouave jacket is still worn but trousers have The Army at the time of the Mutiny. White been discarded, and in their place pantaloons are trousers were worn on full-dress occasions, grey worn tucked into a pair of short gaiters over black overalls on service. This sepoy is in the 28th shoes. Belt, cartridge pouches and straps are of Bengal Infantry, and wears an early version of the brown leather. Kilmarnock cap which, on service, was beginning to replace the clumsy shako. The uniform is modelled on those worn by the British Army B3 Havildar,full dress, 1910 during the Peninsular War, and based on prints The rank of havildar was equivalent to that of by Akcrmann and the engravings 'A Bengal regi- sergeant in the British Army, and similar badges ment on the line of march' by F. Layard. of rank were worn. This havildar is in the 31st Punjabis, the link battalion with the 30th. A A2 Sepoy, service dress, 1857 A rear view of the figure depicted in At. His service dress accoutrements include white crossbelts, rifle sling, a canvas knapsack painted black, and an ammunition box suspended below the knapsack. On top of the knapsack appears a 'lohar' of polished brass. The uniform is based on prints by Akermann and engravings by F. Layard.

A3 Native Officer, full dress, 1857 This officer, again of the 28th Bengal Infantry, is in full dress and wears the shako. All facings and braid arc of gold. Native officers, or 'sirdars' as they were sometimes called, were men of considerable standing both in their regiment and their villages. They wore swords and all the usual accoutrements of an officer of the period, and as such were entitled to a salute from all other ranks and were addressed as 'sahib'.

The original colours presented in 1876. They are shown on their last parade in 1939. This was the only drill occasion that the Battalion Havildar-Major drew his sword

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similar style of zouave jacket to that of the 1870s C2 Indian Officer, full dress, 1900 is still worn, but it is now cut square. The trend A Punjabi Mohammedan Indian officer of the towards gaiters has reached its final conclusion, 30th. He wears a blue and gold safa, the triangular and blue pantaloons are worn with much longer crown, or 'kullah', of which is plain gold. The white gaiters. The 30th did in fact adopt blue scarlet jacket has not altered, but the blue pantaputtees rather than gaiters for a time, but when loons are worn with blue puttees and black boots. grouped with the 31st in 1922, the final version of The illustration is based on Regimental photofull dress showed that there had been a reversion graphs from the collection of the late Brigadier to white gaiters. G. P. Clarke. C1 Subedar, Kelat-i-Ghilzai Regiment, 1879 Subedars were fully trained officers who initially commanded a company, but gradually came to assume the position of second-in-command. After the Mutiny, the Government issued the sepoy with a uniform coat and trousers once every other year; the rest of his uniform he bought for himself. This gave commanding officers considerable opportunity to exercise their own discretion over uniform - a discretion they seldom failed to use. This subedar of the Kelat-i-Ghilzai Regiment wears boots and polished brass spurs as if he were a British field officer. By the beginning of the 20th century, however, this exuberance had subsided a little. The figure is based on a sketch by Lieutenant Pulley for the Illustrated London News of 1879, and Regimental photographs from an album compiled by the late Brigadier C. P. Clarke.

Regimental mufti. From left to right: a Sikh, a Dogra and a P.M. in off-duty walking-out dress

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C3 Drill Havildar, full dress, 1900 A Dogra drill havildar of the 30th. His safa is plain blue with white fringe to the 'pugri', while the rest of the uniform is almost identical with that of the officers, with the exception of the absence of all gold piping and braid. Based on Regimental photographs from the collection of the late Brigadier C. P. Clarke. D1 Havildar, service dress, 1900 By the early 1900s khaki drill was the normal service dress. This figure shows a Sikh havildar in khaki drill safa, blouse, pantaloons and long puttees. His rank is indicated by dark blue sergeant's stripes on the upper arm. Hot weather kit was initially white drill, purchased locally; but following the example of the Punjab Frontier Force, many regiments dyed their white drill khaki as early as the 1860s, and the experience of service on the Frontier showed the wisdom of this move. By the 1880s khaki was almost universally worn on service. The illustration, based on a Regimental photograph, shows a rather curious compromise in equipment. The havildar is wearing the Slade Wallace equipment introduced in the 1880s (comprising leather belt, cartridge pouches, and vertical leather braces with a rolled greatcoat or blanket on the back). However, he wears only one canvas cross-strap, presumably to carry a water-bottle, but nothing for a haversack. He is also wearing a red sash - an unusual item of kit for service. D2 Sepoy, fighting order, 1910 On service at the Frontier this sepoy in 'fighting order' wears the bandolier equipment issued with the arrival of the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle in 1905. In order to carry the five-round clips of ammunition now standard for these bolt-action

magazine rifles, the shoulder bandolier replaced the old leather pouches. A rolled blanket or greatcoat was often carried high up on the shoulders, sometimes with a leather strap across the chest to make the two vertical straps more rigid; this strap impeded the breathing and was soon discarded. Although the British Army started to adopt webbing equipment in 1908, versions of the Slade Wallace equipment were standard in India until 1920. Based on pictures by A. C. Lovett.

F2 Sepoy, full dress, 1926 Again wearing the post-1922 full dress for special occasions, this Punjabi Mohammedan sepoy shows the last vestiges of the old zouave jacket in the white piping round the buttons of the blouse. From Regimental photographs.

F3 Drummer, 1928 This Dogra is a side-drummer, and as such wears the special post-1922 full dress. The jacket and pantaloons are almost identical with those of the sepoy, with the addition of gold braid with a green D3 Sepoy, fighting order, 1910 A rear view of the figure in D2, showing the bugle lanyard and tassle. The waist-belt is white arrangement of the equipment carried on canvas instead of brown leather, and the drummer wears straps. Varied equipment such as haversacks, white gloves. From Regimental photographs. water-bottles, packs, blankets, etc., were hung about the men by separate canvas straps whenever G1 Indian Officer, fighting order, 1930 such were required. Based on pictures by A. C. This Sikh Indian officer is clad for the Frontier. Lovett. The grey-backed shirt was introduced for colder E British Officer, full dress, 1912 A mounted British officer of the 30th. The cork helmet with a spike had replaced the Elwood wicker topee in about 1880. In 1900 the Wolseley helmet had been introduced for service; however, it was unpopular, and by 1917 the Regiment had adopted its own pattern of pith helmet. The illustration is based on a painting from the Regimental records.

F1 Subedar-Major, full dress, 1923 The Subedar-Major was the most senior Indian officer. His position could be considered similar to that of a British Regimental Sergeant-Major, although in practice, with perhaps only five or six British officers actually present in a unit, he was probably the most important member of the Regiment after the commanding officer, to whom he was personal adviser, particularly on matters relating to Indian customs. He wore the badges of rank of a major. This subedar-major is a Punjabi Mohammedan and wears the post-1922 full dress. This was never worn by the Regiment as a whole; its use was confined to selected persons on special occasions and to members of the band and drums. There has also been a reversion to the wearing of white gaiters in place of the blue puttees.

weather in the 1920s, as, being of thick flannel, it was warmer than the thin khaki drill, It was found that the grey and khaki blended in well with the rocks of Waziristan. Khaki drill shorts are now universally approved and are worn with long puttees, green hosetops and brown boots. Officers, both British and Indian, wore the standard British Army brown boots, whereas other ranks wore black. Punjabi shoes were no longer tolerated. The hosetop requires some explanation. When long puttees were worn with shorts, they were wound round the bare leg or over stockings. The hosetop was merely a stout green stocking that lacked a foot, so that it could be worn over the normal issue sock with one end just above the top of the boot beneath the puttee, and the other folded down over the top. All equipment is of webbing.

G2 British Officer, drill order, 1931 This officer is in drill order, except that he is carrying a pistol slung from a leather strap with loops for pistol ammunition. Although never specifically authorized, this method of carrying a pistol was widely practised when travelling on the Frontier. It was unusual to carry the pistol on the right-hand side unless the person concerned was left-handed. Both British and Indian officers wore the standard British Army khaki drill jacket and

39

brown boots, but British officers differed from Indian in wearing the light-coloured Fox's puttees, while Indian officers wore the dark issue. Also, British officers wore a khaki drill shirt, collar and tie. The red flash of the 30th can be clearly seen under the shoulder titles of this figure, and of G1 and G3. The illustration is based on a photograph of the Afridi campaign, 1931, in the possession of Colonel E. C. Spencer. G3 Indian Officer, 1933 This Indian officer wears a cardigan over his greybacked shirt, as was normal cold-weather dress for all but ceremonial parades during the 1930s. Most cardigans were of the pullover type, but those worn by Sikhs buttoned down the front so that they could be put on without having to be pulled over the safa. He wears Sam Browne equipment identical with that of the British officer. During the early 1930s the Regiment introduced a cut-down version of the unpopular puttees, tied round the ankle only, and this became standard wear for all but ceremonial occasions. H1 Subedar, 1940 Dressed as an orderly officer of the day, this Punjabi Mohammedan subedar wears khaki drill pantaloons instead of shorts; this was normal after dark as an anti-malaria precaution. He is wearing the long ceremonial safa, the normal safa with a shamla standing up being only half its length. The safa itself is khaki drill with a gold kullah on top and gold fringe edged with red. From Regimental photographs taken in Kohat, 1942. H2 Naik, review order, 1942 As a junior grade of N.C.O., the rank of naik corresponded to the British Army corporal. This figure is in review order, and again wears the ceremonial safa. The badges on his upper arm are sergeant's stripes, while those on the lower part of his right arm are good conduct stripes. As an N.C.O., his boots are black leather instead of brown. From Regimental photographs taken in Kohat, 1942.

40

A British officer in m e s s dress, 1937. The jacket w a s scarlet with white facings, the waistcoat w a s white and the overalls dark blue with a thin red stripe. In hot weather a white monkey jacket which hooked at the neck, white overalls and a red sash were worn. (Photographed by R. B. H o l m e s of Peshawar)

H3 Sepoy, fighting order, 1943 This Sikh sepoy is in fighting order for the Frontier. He is in shirt-sleeves with the khaki drill shirt worn outside his shorts as was customary in the Regiment. The buttons on this shirt are of brown bone. The short puttees have replaced the long, and are worn here with a pair of 'chaplis' or Indian sandals. These are of brown leather, have no heel but a leather thong in its place. His equipment is webbing, as that issued to the Regiment in 1941, and consists of large pouches suitable for carrying Bren magazines and a carrier for the water-bottle. The bayonet scabbard is covered in khaki drill cloth. From Regimental photographs taken in Kohat in 1942.

MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES EDITOR: MARTIN WINDROW ALBAN BOOK SERVICES

The Gurkha Rifles Text by J. B. R. N I C H O L S O N Color plates by M I C H A E L R O F F E

HIPPOCRENE BOOKS, INC.

© Copyright 1974 Osprey Publishing Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior information of the publisher. For information write to: Hippocrene Books, Inc. 171 Madison Avenue New York, N.Y. 10016 First published in the United States 1974 First published in Great Britain in 1974 by Osprey Publishing Ltd, P . O . Box 25, 707 Oxford Road, Reading, Berkshire I am grateful to all those who have helped me compile this brief and inadequate account of some outstanding soldiers. It is not possible to mention them all - they range from the unknown artist of our first illustration to the men who compiled regimental histories, from those who took or carefully kept old photographs to the compilers of dress regulations. Amongst the living I would like to thank the National Army Museum for their patient assistance, notably Mr W. Y. C a r m a n for his book Indian Army Uniforms; Messrs R. J. Marrion a n d D. S. V. Fosten who, in their special number of the magazine Tradition, blazed a p a t h ; Mr A. Caton for invaluable assistance in ferreting in general; Mr J o h n Gaylor of the Military Historical Society, who brought useful material to my notice, and of course those who have permitted the use of illustrative material. My greatest debt is to the officers and men of those Gurkha regiments alongside w h o m I had the honour to serve, whose kindness I remember with gratitude and whose efficiency and invariable cheerfulness I recollect with admiration.

Printed in Great Britain

The Gurkha Rifles

Introduction

from languages which are purely phonetic. Spellings have changed over the years, as English usage has changed - e.g. kukri, kukerie, khukri, Gurkha, Goorkha, etc. I have tried to be consistently inconsistent, by following the spelling of the period in question.)

In present-day language the term 'Gurkha' is applied indiscriminately and inaccurately to the entire population of Nepal, although ethnographically the name should be applied only to the members of the old state of Goorkha which forms only a small part of the kingdom of Nepal. The Nepalese are divided into various clans and religions, as varied as any European country in their variety of accents and local dialects. There are In northern India the plains at the foot of the the Aryan and Rajput clans which spread to Nepal mountains between the Rivers Teesta and Sutlej during the fighting to suppress the Mongolians, had been occupied by a number of petty rulers bringing with them the Hinduism which sup- who, during the course of the eighteenth century planted Buddhism. Of the Mongolian tribes became nominal tributaries of the Mogul Emperor remaining in Nepal, the two major clans, the and received an equally nominal protection from Magar and the Gurung, were both subdivided aggression. From time immemorial it has been into many subclans or sects. In eastern Nepal two the custom for hill tribes to raid the peoples of the further tribes of Mongolian origin resided, the plains, and this area was no exception. Many of Limbos and the Rais. Those Nepalese of Aryan the hill tribes had managed to retain their instock claiming Rajput descent are generally known dependence both during and after the great as Khas Gurkhas, and include the Khas and expansion of the Mogul Empire, and the ruler of T h a k u r tribes. one of these tribes was the first to take note of and Nepal itself is an independent kingdom sand- apply the lessons of the early British victories in wiched between the north-eastern border of India Bengal. Prithi Narayan Sah was ruler of a small and the mountains of Tibet. It occupies some 5,500 state situated to the north-west of Nepal, and, square miles along the Himalayas - a mountainous impressed by British success, he raised and discicountry with few roads. This terrain has affected plined a body of troops after the European fashion. the physical characteristics of the people, giving T h e name of his little principality was Goorka. them the sturdy build and muscular legs developed When his troops were ready for action he by all hill peoples; and the Mongolian cast of proceeded to wage war upon his neighbours with features is unmistakable. remarkable success, and in 1762 had the satisThe Gurkhas have always got on extremely well faction of trouncing the Nabob of Moorshedabad, with British troops and especially with Scottish Mir Cossim Ali, who had taken up the cudgels on Highlanders, with whom they seem to have a behalf of some of the weaker local chiefs. An natural affinity. Their good humour is proverbial; expedition mounted by the government of Bengal and it is not without significance that it is said to assist the Rajah of Nepal was no more successful. Prithi Narayan Sah died in 1771, but his policies there are no locks in a Gurkha village. (A note on spelling: many words which crop up and methods were continued with equal success repeatedly in this text are English transliterations by his successors. The Gogra River was crossed

Early History

3

Group of Gurkhas in native dress, 1815; they are dressed a l m o s t entirely in white. The m a i n interest lies in the variety of headgear, s o m e of which appear a shade bizarre. The kukri is prominent among the weapons; note

also the shield, which appeared as late as 1858 in the newly raised Hazara Battalion, later the 5th Gurkha Rifles. (India Office Library)

and the state of Kumaon seized, and attempts were even made to occupy Kashmir. When the kingdom of Oude finally came under British control, minor chieftains were left in undisturbed possession of their domains on payment of a fixed tribute. The method of the Gurkhas was slightly different. As each state was conquered the ruling family was exterminated and the Gurkhas usurped all rights and claims of the former rulers. It was inevitable that sooner or later they should come into contact with rulers who were in point of fact subjects of the British or under their protection. Thus endless complaints were made to the government, complaints treated with some degree of circumspection, since it was considered desirable to conciliate the Gurkhas. Their ruler was at this time a minor and the power of the state was in the hands of a powerful military clique of which the core was a family called Thappa. One member of the family, Bheem Sein, held the office of Prime Minister, while his brother, U m u r Sing, was Commanderin-Chief of the army.

The Gurkhas were supremely self-confident. They themselves were unbeatable and their mountain fastnesses impregnable. T h e British presence caused them no qualms, and they saw no reason to abate their policy of expansion.

4

The Nepal War It was during the second administration of Lord Cornwallis that the Gurkha tribes achieved wellnigh complete dominance over the territories bordering the frontiers of Nepal. Many of the local chiefs had, for a variety of reasons, become feudatories of the British, while the pacific attitude of the British virtually encouraged aggression. The Gurkhas raided at will and seized Bhootwal, an area on the borders of the kingdom of Oude. In 1813 the lion roared - the British demanded the immediate restoration of all occupied territories. The reply was a flat refusal. The new Governor-

General, Lord Moira, who had recently replaced Lord Minto, endeavoured to avoid conflict by further negotiation. The talks were abruptly terminated and the British envoys ordered to return, and a detachment of troops was dispatched from Goruchpoor to occupy the disputed territories. The force stayed for only a short period, during which native officials were appointed to administer the area, and then withdrew. As they withdrew the Gurkhas returned, and in Bhootwal surrounded three police stations, killed or wounded twenty-four of the defenders and murdered the local British officer. This was more than enough, and in November 1814 the Governor-General issued a declaration of war. Some four divisions were assembled for the invasion numbering 22,000 men. A small detachment of 2,700 was provided for the defence of the frontier to the east of the Goosy River. The campaign opened with the Siege of Kalunga, a small hill fortress garrisoned by about 600 men.

Early Gurkha sepoy, c. 1816. The green uniform has black facings and lace, and the trousers are blue. The headgear seems to be a small round black cap with a small neat puggree, also black. Note the kukri, still worn in front as in civilian dress, and the gurgabis - native shoes. The musket s e e m s to be a sawn-off Brown Bess. (National Army Museum)

An attempt at a frontal attack was repulsed with the serious loss of Major-General Rollo Gilespie, a notable soldier. After a prolonged artillery bombardment the garrison were compelled to evacuate, but not before inflicting heavy casualties on the besiegers. The stout resistance of this force seems to have affected all but one of the remaining British commanders with a degree of caution approaching timidity. The exception was General Ochterlony. Ochterlony was cautious but thorough in his dealings with wavering chieftains, ruthless and thorough in dealing with the enemy. Several forts were reduced, and U m u r Sing, Gurkha Commander-in-Chief, and brother of the Prime Minister, was forced to withdraw to a position at Maloun. This position was one flank of a line of fortified posts set upon a ridge which projected into the River Sutlej, and all the peaks intervening between the two flanks of this position, with the exception of two only, were occupied by strong stockades. The first position, the Ryla peak, Ochterlony seized without opposition, but the second, the Deothul, was taken only after a violent action on 15 April 1815. The following morning the Gurkhas threw in a ferocious counter-attack in a determined effort to recapture the peak, and despite the strengthening earthworks that the British had immediately dug, they succeeded in penetrating the defences in a number of places, although none proved decisive. The British artillery were subjected to a heavy volume of fire, so heavy that at one time there were no more than one bombardier and three British officers left to serve the guns. Fortunately for the British, reinforcements arrived from Ryla peak in time to turn the scales, and the Gurkhas were dispersed. They left behind some 500 dead. The British casualties were 213. Meanwhile, other British columns were penetrating the state of Kumaon, still under Gurkha domination. A number of actions ended with the capture of the Setoli Heights, and the entire province was surrendered. The Gurkhas retired east of the Kalee River. The news of this victory most certainly contributed to the fall of Maloun, and the majority of the Gurkha officers and men surrendered despite all the efforts of U m u r Sing. Left with no more than 250 followers, he realized

5

Excellent contemporary painting of the 1st Nasiri (Sabathu) Battalion in the 1820s. The uniform is rifle green with black collar, cuffs, and lace. The Gurkha officer appears to have silver-fringed wings; his trousers are grey-blue, his sash crimson, and his sword furniture and belt-plate brass. The shakos are black with black lace, cockades, etc. The belts, and the brush-and-picker cords, are black. The kukri is presumably w o r n on the right hip behind the pouch. (National Army Museum)

the hopelessness of his situation, and prudently surrendered. Territories were now restored to their rightful owners, and the whole region declared to be under British protection. But the war was not yet over. The terms of peace proposed by Lord Hastings, now GovernorGeneral, were refused, and General Ochterlony, now Sir David, took the field again with some 17,000 men in January 1816. He was in no way dismayed by the fact that the Gurkhas had fortified every recognized pass through the first range of hills. A deep ravine was found through which the British force wound its way to turn the enemy's position. The British marched up the valley of the Raptie and advanced upon Mukwanpoor, fighting a series of skirmishes en route which culminated in a general action in which the Gurkhas were defeated. At the news of this defeat the rejected treaty was accepted. The war was over, and from this travail the Gurkha regiments were born.

Early Years Following the fall of Maloun in 1815 many of the Gurkha prisoners opted to enter the British

6

service, and three battalions were formed - the First and Second Nasiri Battalions, and the Sirmoor Battalion. A fourth battalion was formed from the Gorakkpur hill regiments and was restyled the Kumaon Provincial Battalion. The Sirmoor Battalion had the distinction of being the first of these new units to see action in the British service, during the Mahratta War of 1817. In 1824 the units received new and rather less interesting titles, the 1st and 2nd Nasiri Battalions becoming the 5th and 6th Local Battalions, and the Sirmoor and Kumaon Battalions becoming the 8th and 9th Local Battalions. In 1825 Baldeo Sing, Rajah of Bhurtpore, died, leaving the throne to his young son, Balwant Sing, under the guidance of his uncle and guardian. Within a few weeks there was an uprising inspired by a nephew of the late Rajah, by name Doorjun Sal, which resulted in the murder of the uncle and his retinue and the imprisonment of the young Prince. The British Government, who had recognized the sovereignty of the young Prince, considered this as open defiance, and proceeded to take practical steps to restore him to his throne. Sir David Ochterlony immediately commenced preparations to march on Bhurtpore, but was restrained by Lord Amherst, the Governor-

General, who was alarmed at the already heavy expenditure caused by the Burmese War, and the memory of the galling defeat sustained at the last attempt upon the fortress of Bhurtpore. Doorjun Sal viewed this hesitation with some satisfaction, interpreting it as a sign of fear. He adopted a yet more truculent and intransigent posture, and, all attempts to negotiate having failed, a force of 21,000 men and 100 guns under the command of the Waterloo veteran, Lord Combermere, was dispatched to reduce the redoutable fortress. With the force were 100 men each of the Nasiri and the Sirmoor or 8th Local Battalion. The town was besieged, the walls mined and breached, and the" garrison dispersed at bayonet point. This last operation was ably assisted by the 8th. The British force suffered some 6oo casualties, while the enemy losses were estimated at 14,000. Doorjun Sal was cast into prison, and the young Rajah duly reinstated. In the following year the 5th and 6th Local Battalions were re-formed as a single unit with the new title of 4th Local Battalion. By way of simplifying the historian's task the reshuffling permitted the 8th Local Battalion to become the 6th (Sirmoor) Local Battalion and the 9th to become the 7th (Kumaon) Local Battalion. For the next twenty years there were few happenings of note, but in 1845 Sikhs of the Punjab, who had long constituted a threat, finally boiled over into British territory. Ranjit Singh, the 'Lion of the Punjab', had established and ruled over a strong Sikh kingdom, maintaining it by sheer force of character. When he died the kingdom wallowed in a wave of intrigue and assassination. His successor, Kurruck Singh, was murdered, and scarcely were the funeral rites over when his son, No Nehal Singh, was deliberately crushed under a pile of bricks. As death followed upon death the entire Punjab sank into chaos, the divers factions having only one idea in common hatred of the British. However, unified by this common hatred and with fears of British expansion by no means reduced by the widely reported views of Sir Charles Napier on the possibilities of war in the Punjab, a large Sikh army prepared for the passage of the Sutlej River, the border with British territory. These preparations were not unnoticed by the British command, and a force of 32,000 men

with sixty-eight guns was assembled at Ferozepoor, Ludhiana, and Umbala. The Sikh Army crossed the river on 11 December 1845. The British held two positions, one at Ferozepoor, the other at Ferozshah, and at both earthworks were thrown up and every preparation for action set afoot. The Sikh passage of the Sutlej was greeted by an official declaration of war, and a column of troops dispatched from Bussean to Ferozepoor. This column reached Mudki, where reports were received that a Sikh encampment was close by. The column set off and after three miles' march came under artillery fire which was smartly returned. The Sikhs were then engaged with musketry and finally by the bayonet. The Sikhs withdrew, leaving some seventeen guns in British hands. But casualties were very heavy - 864 out of a total force of 1,200, and since no pursuit was possible, the Sikhs withdrew in reasonable comfort. Three days later the Sikh encampment at Ferozshah was attacked, a force of 18,000 men and sixty-five guns attacking a Sikh force estimated at 35,000 and eighty-eight guns. After an initial artillery bombardment an infantry attack was launched, which had to be prematurely halted by nightfall. The Sikhs continued their bombardment, but the batteries were charged and the guns spiked. On the following day the attack was resumed with such success that seventy-six guns were captured and the enemy was forced to retire. Again heavy casualties made pursuit impossible, and the. enemy were able to retire unmolested. British casualties are given as 2,400. Such heavy casualties in two engagements prevented a close pursuit to Lahore, and the

The belt-plate of the Sirmur Battalion, later 2nd Gurkha Rifles; of brass, this w a s worn on the right shoulder-belt.

7

enemy made full use of the lull while the British awaited reinforcements. A bridge of boats was thrown across the Sutlej and a fortified bridgehead established at Sobraon. Another force established itself in position at Aliwal near Ludhiana. A British force, which included men of the Sirmoor and Nasiri Battalions, marched off under the redoubtable Sir Harry Smith to the relief of Ludhiana; which accomplished, they set out for Aliwal. Following a brief bombardment, a charge was made by the 16th Lancers supported by the infantry. Some hard fighting followed in which the Sirmoors lost their colours temporarily. The Sikhs were finally driven back across the river and Sir Harry marched back to Ferozepoor and thence to Sobraon. (Curiously, I have read a report of the existence of a medal for Aliwal issued to a 5th Goorkha, a pretty problem to be unravelled.) At Sobraon the Sikhs were entrenched in a truly formidable position - massive earthworks, a force estimated at 54,000 men, and seventy guns. The British force amounted to no more than 16,000 and ninety-nine guns. Battle was joined, and the assaulting forces beaten back again and again, but eventually the lines were cleared and a final cavalry charge threw the Sikhs back across the

British officer, c. 1850 - this s h o w s the typical Rifles dress of a British officer in the years before the Great Mutiny. It is first described in 1829 - see text - and the m a i n changes since were in the head-dress and the cut of the trousers. Note the tassels of the crimson sash fastened at the left breast. The black ball tuft is not worn here.

8

The black regimental colour of the (later) 1st Gurkha Rifles. This dates from before 1850 when the regiment b e c a m e the 66th or Goorkha Regiment, Bengal Native Infantry. (National Army Museum)

river. The British losses amounted to 2,383. Both Goorkha battalions were engaged in this fierce action, accompanying the force to Lahore, where finally the peace terms were agreed. In 1848 the Second Sikh War, set off by the murder of two British officers, saw the British badly mauled at Chilianwala, but the final defeat of the Sikhs at Gujerat led to the annexation of the Punjab. Whilst the Goorkhas did not take part in the Second Sikh War, the annexation of the Punjab led eventually to the formation of the Punjab Frontier Force of which one regiment, the Hazara Goorkha Battalion, was to become the 5th Gurkha Rifles. A typical piece of Treasury chalarchi was demonstrated with the annexation of the Punjab - the extra allowance formerly given to troops serving there was discontinued on the grounds that the country was no longer foreign duty. Needless to say, this miserable action caused great discontent, and there were rumours that the twenty-five regiments earmarked for service there were close to mutiny. Mutiny was avoided for a time, but some time later the 66th Bengal Native Infantry broke out and attempted to seize the fortress of Govidghur in which treasure to the tune of £100,000 was supposedly held. The mutiny was put down by the 1st Native Cavalry and the mutinous regiment packed off to Ambala where it was dis-

missed from the service of the Honourable East India Company, and the 4th Local Battalion, now known as the 4th (or Nasiri) Rifle Battalion, who had escorted the mutineers from Ambala, was taken into the Line as the 66th or Goorkha Regiment, Bengal Native Infantry. This announcement is said to have caused scenes of great festivity and gratification since their pay as irregulars of four rupees eight annas per month was increased to the regular scale, the princely sum of seven rupees per month, plus the increased prestige of being Regulars. After this mutiny, which took place in 1849, the new 66th settled down to normal peacetime soldiering. But this incident had been a warning. The hurricane was to come.

The Great Mutiny The new Enfield rifle displeased nobody, but the greased cartridge was a different matter. Rumour had it that the cartridges were greased with a mixture of animals fats abhorrent to both Hindu and Muslim. By using it the Hindu would lose caste, and have to endure and pay for costly purification rites, while the Muslim would be seriously defiled. A perfect spark, whether true or not, to ignite the explosive situation which had been accumulating for years past, but this is not the place to try to unravel the twisted threads of this débâcle, when the great Bengal Army with its fine traditions dissolved in chaos. First blood was drawn at Barrackpore on 29 March 1857 when Sepoy Mangal Pandy, whose name became the synonym for a mutinous sepoy as Tommy Atkins was to become that of a British soldier, wounded an officer and a sergeant who attempted to arrest him while he was exhorting other men to mutiny. The other sepoys refused to help. Pandy was sentenced and hanged, but the growing signs of unrest were unmistakable and the 19th Native Infantry were actually disbanded. But incendiary incidents and riots multiplied apace. On 3 May the 7th Native Infantry refused point-blank to use the new cartridges, and were disarmed. On 10 May the Meerut garrison broke into open revolt and were joined by the rabble

from the native bazaar in burning, looting, and pillaging. By the following evening Delhi was in the hands of the mutineers and the aged puppet Mogul Emperor became the symbol to whom the mutineers gave their allegiance. Too late now for the British to regret the shortsighted policy of not replacing the British troops dispatched to the Crimea. The Gurkha regiments appeared unaffected, although some doubts were entertained. District Commissioner Greathead is quoted as having stated: 'We feel quite safe about the Gurkhas; their grog-drinking propensities are a great bond with the British soldier!' But despite this curious testimonial strong doubts were indeed entertained. A report that the Nasiri Battalion at Jutogh were in open mutiny started a panic at Simla, and even when the reports were proved unfounded the Gurkha guards were removed from the Treasury

This havildar of the Sirmoor Battalion wears a doublebreasted coatee with black collar, cuffs, and buttons. Equipment appears to be white, and crossed belts are still worn. The regimental history states that on transfer to the Regular line in 1849 the corps w a s rearmed with a two-groove Brunswick rifle in place of the old s m o o t h bore. For s o m e reason the left shoulder-wing is omitted here. The sketch w a s published in 1857. {Illustrated London News)

9

and the entire battalion marched down to the plains, an action which infuriated the men. They demanded that as a gesture of confidence they should be put on guard at the bank, and some caustic remarks were made anent the safety precautions that the British residents were taking. But trouble did in fact break out at Kussowlie, where a party of Gurkhas robbed the Treasury and ran riot. A party of the 75th Foot were awaiting orders to proceed against them under a Captain Blackall when Mr Taylor, the Assistant Commissioner, succeeded in preventing precipitate action on the grounds that the safety of the community at Simla depended entirely upon preventing an escalation of the incident. Blackall contented himself with adopting purely defensive measures and ignoring the provocation. When the news reached General Anson, the Commanderin-Chief, the failure of the policy of disbanding disaffected regiments was painfully obvious. He selected an officer well versed in the habits and customs of the Gurkhas, and dispatched him to reason with them and to recall them to their allegiance. This officer, a Captain Briggs, was Superintendent of Roads. He was given plenary powers to secure his object at no matter what price. The price was a complete pardon, and this accorded, the result was complete success. There were no more signs of disaffection. The hundredth anniversary of the famous Battle of Plassey was on 23 J u n e 1857, an anniversary which, according to the strange rumours circulating throughout India was to mark the end of British rule. On that very anniversary the Gurkhas were in action on the famous Hindoo Rao ridge. The mutineers attacked from the Subzee Mundee suburb in an engagement lasting the better part of eleven hours. It was here, on the ridge before Delhi, that the lasting friendship between the 2nd Goorkhas and the 60th (the King's Royal Rifle Corps) was formed, and which led to the uniform of the 2nd Goorkhas being as similar as possible to that of the British regiment. The regimental history of the 2nd gives many curious and interesting anecdotes, including one by General Lyte of the Royal Artillery who served at Delhi. The General relates that he was in conversation with Ensigns Wheatley and Foster near to where the colours of the Sirmoor Battalion

10

stood against the wall with a sentry in. front of them, when a round shot came through the veranda and cut the sentry in two. The next moment, before they had recovered from their astonishment and horror, the corporal of the guard stepped out and quietly posted another Gurkha sentry over the body of the dead one, which was then removed. Incidentally, a short time afterwards another round shot came through the wall, killing Wheatley and cutting the staff of the Sirmoor regimental colour in two. On the final capture of Delhi, the Sirmoor Battalion, the only regiment of the entire force which was under fire and unrelieved for three months and eight days, was given the honour, together with the 60th, of garrisoning the Red Fort. As a further honour, a third colour was authorized and permission granted for three to be

Rifleman (left) of the Bengal Army, 1857, in typical Rifle costume of the period; note, however, the epaulettes worn instead of wings. The right-hand figure is a typical scarlet-coated sepoy of the Bengal infantry, with his brass lota or water- and cooking-pot on top of his pack. White linen covers are w o r n on the Kilmarnock caps. {Illustrated London News)

carried, contrary to the normal rule that Rifles carry no colours. The Kumaon Battalion also served with distinction at Delhi, notably at the storming of the Kashmir Gate under Sir Colin Campbell, when John Nicholson received his mortal wound. The Relief of Lucknow was notable for the presence in the force of no less than six battalions of Gurkhas; they distinguished themselves in that action, as well as serving in numerous minor engagements.

the officers' mess until 1876 when they were made over to Sir Charles Reid, in whose possession they remained until presented to the Royal United Services Institute in 1893. It is interesting to note that these ancient colours (there were two sets) were carried by special permission by the Coronation contingent in 1902, His Majesty King Edward V I I being Honorary Colonel of the regiment. The Daily Telegraph reported this unusual event as follows:

Post-Mutiny Expansion From the Mutiny onwards the Gurkhas steadily expanded. The first new unit - the Extra Goorkha Regiment - was raised by Lieutenant MacIntyre in 1857, to become the 19th Bengal Native Infantry in 1861 when India was taken over by the Crown, at which time irregular units were taken into the line in replacement of the now vanished regiments which had mutinied or been disbanded. In 1858 the Sirmoor Battalion received official recognition of its services at Delhi - the third colour, to be inscribed 'Delhi' in English, Persian, and Hindi, with special dispensation to carry colours in spite of the new designation of' 'Sirmoor Rifle Regiment'. The Gurkha units were now removed from the normal numbering of infantry of the line, and were placed in a separate category (1861) adding yet further confusion in following the regiments' careers; e.g. the 1st, who rejoiced in no less than ten changes of title between 1858 and 1936. (The various changes of designation are given in the Appendix at the end of this section.) We have noted the extra colour of the Sirmoor Rifle Regiment. When the regiment was taken on the regular strength as a Rifle regiment it became subject to the rule that Rifles should not carry colours. The Queen, however, sent as an especial mark of favour, the silver truncheon, a unique trophy carried by the extra native officer formerly authorized for the third honorary colour, and accorded the same honours as the Queen's colour in line regiments. The old colours were kept in

Then was seen for the first time that the Goorkhas were carrying once more their battered and bloodstained colours, which for almost forty years have reposed in the care of the Royal United Service Institute, but were now brought forth again by permission of the King. Faded and dim were these battle standards, but round them cling traditions that thrill the hearts of the heroic Goorkhas, of whom none of the present generation ever beheld the flags, which waved above their predecessors at Aliwal and Sobraon. There were two set of colours carried, the officers in charge being Captains H. D. Watson, A. B. Lindsay, D. M. Watt, and Subadar-Major Hastbir Gharte, Bahadur. The first set was carried by the 2nd Goorkhas from 1844 to 1850, and through the campaign on the Sutlej, 1845-46. Both were perforated with bullets and stained with blood. They were present when the Regiment saved the cantonment and city of Loodhiana, and in the subsequent defence of that city. They were carried at the battles of Bhuddiwal, Aliwal and Sobraon. At the latter battle the Regiment lost 145 killed and wounded - a quarter of its strength. In this action the colours were almost shot to pieces, and the shaft of the King's colour was cut in half by a cannonball; it was spliced on the field and still supports the colour. On the same day the Goorkha officer carrying the black Regimental colour was killed and the colour temporarily captured, and was recovered by the Goorkhas who cut their way into the midst of the enemy with great gallantry. The staff, which was not recovered, was immediately replaced by a bamboo cut on the field, and that bamboo is the one on which the remains of the colour are now attached. The second set, replacing the above worn-out ones, were carried by the Regiment from 1850 to 1863, and all through the Mutiny Campaign of 1857-59, when the Regiment lost more heavily than any other corps engaged. These colours were carried throughout the

II

with lines of communication threatened. Their position was on a small plateau protected by pickets stationed on two flanking heights, of which one, known as the Crag, was a key position. The Crag was the scene of constant and bitter fighting, and on 13 November it was taken by the enemy and recovered only after two unsuccessful counterattacks. On the 20th the Crag was again lost, to be recovered by Chamberlain himself at the head of the 71st Highland Light Infantry and the 4th Goorkhas. The Crag was recovered with a loss of twenty-seven dead and 110 wounded, Chamberlain himself receiving the ninth wound of his career. For the Pathan hill tribes warfare and feuding is In December, reinforcements arrived and an a way of life involving raids, the burning of advance was made through the pass. The tribes villages, and the elimination of enemies. Raids fell back and made a stand on a range of hills in were normally short sharp actions, but in 1863 a front of the village of Umbeyla in the Chalma sect known as the 'Sitana Fanatics' had grown so Valley, and were there defeated, and the village large, and their depredations so extensive that the fired. This was enough, and the Bunerwalis sued government was forced into full-scale operations for peace. The terms were agreeable - no less than against them. During the Mutiny they had har- to carry out the object of the British expedition boured many of the mutineers, and over a long and disperse the Sitana Fanatics and destroy period indulged themselves in guerrilla warfare Malka. This they accomplished in the presence of against the British. The Yusafzai Field Force was a small party of British officers sent as 'umpires' organized and dispatched against them under the to this curious arrangement. command of Sir Neville Chamberlain. The objecIn 1866 the 2nd were again in action at Bhootan, tive was to reach and destroy the main head- as were the 4th, but in the meantime a most quarters at a village called Malka to the north of important decision had been made. Representathe M a h a b a n mountain. tions had been made to the Commander-in-Chief In order to reach the proposed base of opera- that the Gurkha soldiers were in effect aliens from tions for the expedition it was necessary to their own country, and after a lifetime of service, negotiate a range of mountains which had only seldom returned to the land of their birth. Hence one practicable pass. The pass was controlled by it was most desirable that the Gurkhas should be Bunerwal tribesmen, hostile to the Sitana Fanatics allotted some permanent home in the land of their and from whom, in consequence, no opposition to adoption where their families and a depot could the march through their territory was anticipated. be established during their absences on service. One detail was overlooked - the little formality of This was finally approved and in 1864 the 2nd informing the Bunerwalis. This proved a serious were allotted permanently the lines occupied at mistake, and the Sitana Fanatics had little Dehra Dun, while the 1st settled at Dhumsalla, difficulty in persuading them that the British the 3rd at Almorah, and the 4th at Bakloh. The advance was aimed equally at the permanent 5th, part of the Frontier Force, finally settled at Abbottabad. occupation of Bunerwal territory. In 1871 the Black Mountain and Looshai operaOn 20 October 1863 Chamberlain entered the pass with his force which included the 4th tions engaged the 2nd and 4th in further tribal Goorkhas. The first skirmish occurred two days warfare. later, and within a few days the whole of the Swat In 1875 the first Gurkha force to serve overseas, Valley was in arms. The British position was the 1st, embarked for the Malay States where the dangerous, stuck in a pass, unable to proceed and British Resident had been murdered. Their siege of Delhi, where the Regiment sustained and defeated twenty-six separate attacks on their post on the right of the Ridge, and in which they lost eight British officers killed and wounded out of nine engaged, and 327 out of 490 in the Goorkha ranks. Both colours are shot through and are bloodstained. The staff of the black Regimental flag was cut clean through by a 32-pounder shot, which killed and wounded one officer and nine men.

The Umbeyla Campaign

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Subadar-Major carrying the Queen's Truncheon, c. 1863. This m a y be Singbir Thapa, senior Native officer of the 2nd Goorkha Regiment, one of the first Sirmoor Battalion enlistees in 1815. In 1814 he had been one of the garrison of Kalunga fort, which so gallantly resisted the British assaults until the last 80 survivors of the 700-man garrison cut their way out and escaped. In this picture the uniform is the rifle-green tunic and trousers and the Kilmarnock with red and black diced band. It is not possible to distinguish red piping down the front, but the General Order of 1858 authorizing uniforms the s a m e as the 60th King's Royal Rifle Corps suggests this feature. The collar should thus be scarlet with black-laced edge, and the cuffs should have a three-point flap piped scarlet, and black lace edgings all round. Buttons appear bright metal here, but m a y have been blackened horn or metal which s o m e t i m e s appear light in old photographs. Note the rank badges, crossed kukris edges downward, on the collar. The black shoulderbelt has bronze fittings, and the sword-belt probably had bronze m o u n t s instead of the silver of other regiments. The medal ribbons are not clear, but the neck ribbon s e e m s to be that of the Indian Order of Merit. No sword-knot is visible, but it should have been black. (Courtesy, R. G. Harris)

example was followed in 1878 by the 2nd who were posted to Malta in the Mediterranean during the Russo-Turkish War. They returned home just in time to participate in the Third Afghan War.

The 3rd Afghan War Throughout the nineteenth century the British had an almost pathological fear of Russian expansion. Over the years the Russian frontier had

steadily advanced towards India's northern borders. The Crimean War had cost Russia a great deal in terms of money and lost prestige, while suspected Russian influence in the Mutiny caused the British to eye with distrust every move or rumour in the north. Both sides took an active interest in the countries on their boundaries, Persia and Afghanistan in particular. When in 1878 a Russian envoy was received with every courtesy while the British envoy, Sir Neville Chamberlain, was rebuffed at the frontier, and

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British and Native officers of the 44th (Sylhet) Regiment of Bengal Native (Light) Infantry, c. 1870. This group s h o w s four British officers and five Native officers, with a general officer (or possibly a colonel on the staff) and a staff officer. The general (or colonel) wears the staff's dark blue patrol jacket with black braid and cord, and wide scarlet stripes on the overalls; the sword has a gold knot, and the slings two lines of gold embroidery. The blue cap has gold buttons, a gold lace band, and a goldembroidered peak. The staff officer sitting on his right has a cap with gold-embroidered peak and black band, and a badge which is unfortunately not clear. His scarletwelted trousers add to the mystery. The regimental officers, Nos. 3 and 4 f r o m left, are distinguished by shoulder-belts. No. 3 w e a r s the patrol jacket edged with

black braid and with hip pockets, No. 4 the dress tunic. Belt fittings are silver. Nos. 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, and 10 wear riflegreen dress uniform with black facings including the false waistcoat to the Zouave jacket; note three-point, three-buttoned cuff flaps. Puttees are black, swords steel with steel scabbards; note that all waist-belts are worn under the tunic. Native officers' rank insignia, crossed kukris for subadars and single kukris for j e m a dars, are embroidered in silver on the right breast, as the Zouave jacket is collarless. The India General Service Medal is worn with the bar for Bhootan, December 1864February 1866. Note that at this t i m e only one company of the regiment w a s composed of Gurkhas; the bearded Native officers in the background are Hindustani Muss u l m e n (c/f. Plate C3). (Courtesy, R. G. Harris)

repeated requests for an audience were ignored, British troops moved in to Afghanistan. The forces were divided into three columns - the Peshawur Valley Field Force under Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel Browne, V.C.; the Kurrum Valley Field Force under Major-General Sir Frederick Roberts, V.C.; and the Kandahar Field Force under Lieutenant-General Donald Stewart. The Peshawur Force crossed the border at J a m r u d on 21 November, capturing Ali Masjid fort the following day. The 4th Goorkhas were with this column. The K u r r a m Force approached Peiwar Kotal to find the enemy had fortified the position in some depth and were manning it in force. Roberts attempted a most difficult manoeuvre - a night flanking march, leaving a small force working on gun positions to give the impression that a full-scale frontal attack was to be made. His

main force attacked at daybreak on 2 December, supported by those left in position, and after some heavy fighting in which Captain J o h n Cook of the 5th gained his V.C., the Afghans fled. British casualties were very light, ninety-eight, of whom ten only were killed. Roberts annexed the Kurram Valley, and Shere Ali hastened to Tashkent to enlist Russian aid. He got none, and his son, Yakoob Khan, negotiated a peace by which he accepted a British Resident at Kabul, the British were to occupy the Khyber Pass, the Kurram and Pisheen Valleys, and the Amir was to receive an annual subsidy of £60,000 and the promise of assistance in the event of aggression by another power. The Resident, Sir Louis Cavagnari, reached Kabul on 24 July 1879 with an escort of Guides. On 3 September Sir Louis, his escort and all the

14

other British residents of Kabul were murdered. (The escort received posthumous Orders of Merit to a man.) Roberts was dispatched to Kabul, which he reached on 8 October, having defeated an Afghan force on the way at Charasia on the 6th, the 5th Goorkhas being present, and in company with the 92nd mounting the main assault on the right flank. Remembering, perhaps, the débâcle of the First Afghan War, Roberts commenced to fortify a large area to the north of the city called Sherpur, a most prudent action, for in December he found himself under siege, supported by the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Goorkhas. T h e siege was soon lifted, and all was quiet awaiting a political decision. Before this was reached the storm broke. Ayub K h a n seized power in Kandahar with the avowed intention of ousting the British, and, gathering a strong force of tribesmen, marched on the city. A British brigade under General Burrows engaged him with unfortunate results at Maiwand, and after losing a third of their strength were forced back to Kandahar which was immediately besieged by the elated tribesmen. Roberts wasted no time, but set off and in

twenty-one days covered the 313 miles to Kandahar. This was no agreeable jaunt, but 313 miles with the Afghans lurking to cut off stragglers and sniping into the column, through mountainous country with temperatures veering between 110° and freezing, and at last some thousand men being carried along racked with fever. On 1 September Roberts attacked, a flanking movement capturing the entire Afghan artillery, while the 2nd Goorkhas and the Gordon Highlanders contributed a magnificent head-on bayonet charge which nothing could withstand.

In the years following, new formations of Goorkhas were raised. In 1886 the 42nd (Assam) Regiment of Bengal Light Infantry was redesignated as the 42nd Regiment Goorkha Light Infantry. This regiment had a long and honourable history from its foundation as the Cuttack Legion in 1817 at Orissa. When it was moved to north Bengal in 1823 its title was changed to Rangpur Light

Group from the 44th (Sylhet) Regiment, later the 8th Gurkha Rifles, c. 1875. A wide variety of costumes is shown here, ranging from the regimental mufti or civvies, to full dress. Nos. 1, 6, 7, and 13 f r o m the left wear mufti - white shirt and trousers, white sash with the kukri tucked under it, blade edge uppermost, black civilian caps, and footwear which is not clear. Service dress or khaki drill, with black puttees and black leather equipment, is worn by Nos. 2, 17, and 19. It appears to have breast-pockets but no shoulder-straps or button,

except in the case of the Native officer, No. 20. Full-dress rifle-green faced black is worn by the remainder, except for No. 10, a British officer in a patrol jacket. For Native officers the black false waistcoat w a s edged at the front, but not at the top and bottom, with black braid. The three-point cuff flaps are also laced round w i t h black braid - see Nos. 3 and 13. British and Native officers wear no cap badges, but other ranks wear a white metal '44'. The Enfield rifle w a s issued to the regiment in 1865. (Courtesy, R. G. Harris)

Burma 2nd Assam

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Infantry Battalion, and in 1828 to the 8th (or Assam) Local Light Infantry Battalion; and having taken an active part in the First Burma War it was engaged in constant guerrilla warfare as a part of the permanent garrison of Assam. In 1886 two further regiments, the 42nd and 43rd of the Bengal establishment, were redesignated as Goorkha Light Infantry. The 43rd, raised as the Assam Sebundy Corps in 1835, had been transferred to the Bengal establishment in 1861 as the 47th Bengal Native Infantry, and almost immediately changed to 43rd. The 44th, raised as the 16th or Sylhet Local Battalion in 1824, became in 1861 the 48th Regiment Bengal Native Infantry, in the same year altered to 44th. Both regiments served in the Bhutan campaign of 1864-5. The 43rd had an interesting adventure in 1891 when a detachment of the regiment was stationed on the North-eastern Frontier at Manipur, between Burma and Assam. During the previous autumn the Rajah had been overthrown and the British decided to intervene. Thus, in March 1891, some 400 Gurkhas marched with Assam's Chief Commissioner, J. W. Quintan, to reinforce a detachment of the 43rd who were employed as escort to the Political Officer, Mr F. Grimmond. The objective was the capture of the usurper, the commander of the Manipuri Army. In effect it was the Gurkhas who came under heavy attack. An attempt was made to parley, and the officer commanding the Gurkhas, the Commissioner, and the Political Officer proceeded to the palace at Imphal. They were seized and instantly killed. The Gurkhas, with whom was the unfortunate Political Officer's wife, succeeded in withdrawing, and retired towards Assam, falling in with another Gurkha detachment en route for Manipur. In the spring a strong British force marched on Imphal. It met with little opposition, and the rebel leader was captured, tried and hanged.

Chitral died in 1882 and the intrigues and assassinations which normally accompany such an event in that part of the world were in progress, U m r a K h a n of Jandol moved his army into Chitral. The British ordered him out, and dispatched a small force to make their point. T h e officer in charge of this force, Sir George Robertson, deposed the new ruler and replaced him by his younger brother. This failed to evoke any perceptible signs of satisfaction, and the force found themselves besieged in Chitral. News of this predicament had fortunately got through, and a relief force which included the second battalions of the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Gurkhas, was mounted. On arrival it was found that a small column had already relieved the garrison, having fought their way through from Gilgit. A fort and garrison were established at Malakand, and this very fort was garrisoned by the 4th Gurkhas in the mid-1930s.

The Tirah Campaign

The year 1897 saw the North-west Frontier in a serious and widespread state of unrest, and in J u n e and July there were fanatical outbreaks among the Waziris which culminated in a serious attack upon the local Political Officer and his escort in the Tochi Valley, while Malakand was attacked by the M o h m a n d and Swati tribes. In August the Afridis and the Orakzaies between Peshawur and Kohat became restless, and by the end of the month control of the vital Khyber Pass had been lost. The government was forced to act. The forces assembled to deal with this serious situation included the Tirah Expeditionary Force, with the 2nd battalion 1st Gurkhas in the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division, and the 2nd battalion of the 4th in No. 6 Brigade, while the 1st battalion of the 3rd was with the 2nd Division. The Kurram Column included the 1st battalion of the 5th, while the 9th were with the Peshawur Column and the 2nd battalion of the 2nd were with the line of communication troops. Altogether an Next to require attention was the State of Chitral. impressive turnout. Probably the most celebrated This small state was bordered to the south by engagement of this expedition was the attack on Jandol, a small state whose ruler was somewhat the heights of Dargai in which the 3rd Gurkhas less than friendly to the British. When the ruler of and the King's O w n Scottish Borderers cleared a

Chitral

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The 2nd Goorkhas disembarking in Malta, 1878. An Illustrated London News engraving, interesting for the number of errors! The 'tourie' on the Kilmarnock has shrunk alarmingly: the jacket has acquired red piping, and a pointed cuff in place of the three-point flap: Native officers' rank-badges have been mistaken for regimental collar-badges and awarded to all ranks: and one havildar - sergeant - has reversed chevrons. Trouser-welts and button-spacing are equally fictitious. Red shoulder-straps have been recorded, but they had disappeared by the 1884 Regulations. (illustrated London News)

strongly held ridge which the enemy were then allowed to reoccupy. T h e second attack met with yet stiffer opposition from an estimated 12,000 tribesmen, but the ridge was once more taken, and the Gordon Highlanders added one more honour to their proud history. The first man into the enemy position was in fact Subahdar Kirparam Thapa of the 2nd Goorkhas. The 2nd and the Gordons had established a most friendly relationship during the Afghan War, a friendship rendered yet firmer by the fact that, the 2nd being detailed to hold the ridge, their dead and wounded were carried back by the Highlanders. Briefly, the force advanced into the Maidan Valley, the very centre of the Tirah; the fertile lands were devastated and everything destroyed, for the force had to be withdrawn before the onset of the first snows. Before leaving the Maidan Valley, a sad little incident took place - in the words of the historian of the 2nd: 'Poor Wylie (Lieutenant, 2nd Goorkhas) and Lewarne, 15th Sikhs, who were brought in by the stretcher bearers of the Gordons, were buried at Maidan in the same grave, the last remaining piper of the Gordons playing a lament and Sir William Lockhart, with all available officers, being present. The signs of the grave were afterwards obliterated to avoid any possible desecration by the enemy, but bearings were taken for future identification.' The withdrawal was not without incident. On 24 November the 2nd reached camp late in eighteen degrees of frost to find that the Gordons

had already pitched their tents for them and were taking over their night duties. The troops settled down for a winter of minor incidents, but with the taking of the Khyber, the force was dispersed. As the train containing the 2nd stopped at Rawalpindi, they were greeted by the Gordons who had assembled there to bid them farewell. On arrival home at Dehra Dun a pair of handsome kukries were ordered from Nepal and dispatched to the Gordons, one each for the officers' mess and the sergeants' mess. This handsome gesture was greatly appreciated, and the Gordons, not to be outdone in courtesy, returned the compliment by presenting the 2nd with a fine silver shield and statuette to serve as a musketry trophy. T h e last years of the century saw much minor action in the Chin Hills, Chitral, and Waziristan and during the Boxer Rebellion in China, but the shape of the Indian Army was being changed. Hitherto the armies of India had been separate armies, each pertaining to one of the three great presidencies, Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, together with some additional formations such as the Punjab Frontier Force - a small army of all arms. This was now considered archaic, inefficient, and wasteful, for while some units knew no peace, others mouldered away for generations without ever seeing more activity than a field day. In 1901, therefore, all regiments were placed on a single list and the old Presidency commands were replaced by a more practical tactical organization.

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In 1903 there were further changes in numbering from which the Gurkha regiments, all now styled 'Rifles', appeared as a coherent organization outside the normal numbering of line infantry. There were now ten regiments: 1st Gurkha Rifles (the Malaun Regiment) 2nd (the Prince of Wales's Own) Gurkha Rifles (the Simoor Rifles) 3rd Gurkha Rifles 4th Gurkha Rifles 5th Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) 6th, 7th, 8th, gth, and 10th Gurkha Rifles The 6th was the former 42nd Bengal Native Infantry which had been designated Gurkha Rifles in 1901 and renumbered in 1903. Similarly the 7th and 8th had been the 43rd and 44th who had undergone the same process. The 9th had first appeared as the Fatehgarh and Manupuri Levies, raised in 1817 and 1819, and had been taken on the strength of the Bengal Army in 1823, forming the nucleus for the 1st Battalion of the 32nd Bengal Native Infantry. In 1824 they had become the 63rd Regiment. They had performed nobly at Sobraon, capturing a standard. But at the time of the great Mutiny, the regiment was stood down despite a petition declaring their unshakable loyalty to the Raj. The regiment was reconstituted in 1861, and then renumbered as the 9th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, and first saw service in the Bhutan campaign of 1864. They played a minor part in the Third Afghan War, acquitting themselves with credit, and in 1888-9 took part in the Chin Lushai Expedition. Hitherto the regiment had been a mixed-class regiment of which one company only were Gurkhas. But in 1893 it was decided to have some single-class regiments and the 9th was composed of one class only - Khas Gurkhas. Newly formed, they took part in the Tirah campaign, and in 1901 were redesignated the 9th Gurkha Rifles. The 10th had begun their career as the Kubo Valley Police Battalion, part of a force raised to guard the borders of Upper Burma in 1887. T h e unit was formed from volunteers from the Indian Army, including a considerable proportion of Gurkhas. In 1890 it was redesignated the 1st Regiment of Burma Infantry but changed in the following year to 10th Regiment (1st Burma

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Battalion) of Madras Infantry, under which title it also took part in the Chin Lushai Expedition. In 1901 the regiment became the 10th Gurkha Rifles.

Tibet 1903 At the turn of the century there were persistent rumours of increasing Russian influence in Tibet. So dangerous a situation could not be allowed to persist, and a mission of four diplomats with a small military escort set out for K h a m b a Jone just inside Tibet, and there settled down to await the arrival of Tibetan and Chinese delegates. They waited in vain and the mission was fruitless. In the autumn the Tibetans arrested two alleged spies in the province of Sikkim, which, being Indian territory, was at the least illegal. The authorities took advantage of this situation to dispatch a small force into Tibet, albeit no further than Gyantse, some 100 miles short of the capital, Lhasa. By December the troops, including the 8th Gurkhas, were advancing through the Jelap La Pass under fearful conditions. T h e oil on the riflebolts froze, many of the pack-mules died, and despite the issue of special warm clothing, a number of the men were seriously affected by frostbite. The crossing of the border had been unopposed and no Tibetan forces were encountered until 31 March 1904 when a force of some 2,000 was found to have blocked and fortified the road at a village called Guru. The British commander, Colonel Younghusband, ordered his troops forward; the Tibetan commander replied by ordering them back. The British and Indian troops advanced slowly to within touching distance of the Tibetans. Younghusband ordered his men to disarm the enemy. When this had been partially accomplished the Tibetan commander ordered his troops to fire and a general engagement ensued. The British had two machine-guns, and in a short space of time the Tibetans had suffered some 900 casualties, while the British had six men wounded only. The advance continued to Gyantze, where the force settled down to await delegates. Again none appeared, but a considerable Tibetan force did, and attacked with great vigour. During the subse-

quent action Lieutenant Grant of the 8th earned a V.C. Wounded while scaling a precipitous rockface, down which he fell, he returned to the assault and so encouraged his men that the position was taken. The Tibetans were beaten off, and Younghusband was given grudging permission to advance on Lhasa. The force marched on and reached Lhasa on 2 August, and settled down to await the results of negotiations. In September terms were agreed, and considerable trading concessions made to the British. No evidence of the much-discussed Russian influence was to be found, and it appears that the rumours were the result of an innocent friendship between the Dalai Lhama and a Russian national. In 1911 the 8th returned to the land of their (regimental) birth, Assam, there to operate against the Abor tribesmen. This was the year of the great

So vast is the scope of the First World War that no more than the briefest mention can be made of the great events which were to occupy the years 1914 to 1918. The 1st served in France, enduring the mud of Flanders trenches, excelling in no-man's-land patrols, and spreading the legend of the kukri abroad. In contrast the 3rd, who fought also in France, provided Lawrence of Arabia with mounted infantry, riding after the Turks on camels. The 2nd sent one battalion to France,

Interesting group of officers of the 4th Gurkha Regiment in hot-weather kit, 1878. The light khaki uniform, probably drill, is cut like a Norfolk jacket with pleats on either side of the breast; that on the left conceals a pocket which was apparently large enough for a revolver. Some have five visible buttons, s o m e are concealed. Note the variety of gaiters, f r o m short leather British infantrystyle to suspiciously civilian-looking canvas, worn even with spurs by mounted officers. The black Sam Browne belt is worn in a number of ways; the sword, with leathercovered and steel-mounted scabbard, hangs in a frog,

apparently without a knot. White shirt collars are visible above the jacket collar, on which there is a suspicion of s o m e piping. Revolver lanyards are worn. The officer standing on the right wears an entirely different patrol jacket of quite m o d e r n pattern; the tight lanyard m a k e s it difficult to be certain but the collar m a y be of another colour. This garment is clearly of heavier material. The head-dress is the pillbox, stiff to the crown but with a soft top on which is a braided figure and a netted button; one officer wears the Glengarry. It is notable that no badges of rank are to be seen. (Courtesy, R. G. Harris)

Delhi Durbar of H . I . M . King George V, and only three years from the great conflagration that was to alter the face of the world.

The World Wars

19

and a second to Mesopotamia. After the Russian Revolution the latter went as far north as the Caspian Sea with a view to keeping the revolution out of Persia. The 4th fought in the Dardanelles alongside the 5th; in fact an officer and twentyfive men of the 5th were the last men to evacuate the Gallipoli Peninsula. The 1st/6th held the Suez Canal in 1914, and this became the setting for a famous anecdote. A British warship was steaming slowly through the canal on a dark night. 'Halt! Who goes there?' challenged a lone Gurkha sentry, undismayed by the sheer bulk of the battleship. It is said that the ship obligingly stopped while an officer was found to explain to the sentry that the warship was entitled to sail through the canal. 'Pass, friend,' shouted the sentry, and the Royal Navy was permitted to carry on with the war. . . . After service in Gallopoli the 6th went on to Mesopotamia and thence to the Caspian Sea, while the 2nd battalion went yet further to south Russia and the Caucasus, and thence to Greece via the Black Sea. The 1/7th remained as a training unit in India, while the 2nd battalion went via the Suez Canal to Mesopotamia where they had the ill-fortune to be taken at the fall of Kut. They did, however, receive the honour of marching out under arms. Curiously enough a newly raised replacement battalion took part in the recapture of Kut-alAmara. The 8th extended yet further the ground covered by the Gurkhas by going to Palestine, while the 2nd battalion went to France, where on 25 September 1914 the battalion lost all but 150 men. The 9th fought in France and had two battalions in Mesopotamia, and the 10th saw action in Mesopotamia, Suez, and Gallipoli. Perhaps the easiest way to see the services rendered by the Gurkhas during the First World War would be to read the regimental battle honours given below. THE BATTLE HONOURS OF THE GURKHA RIFLE REGIMENTS IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR 1st. 'Givenchy, 1914', 'Neuve Chapelle', 'Ypres, 1915', 'St Julien', 'Festubert, 1915', 'Loos', 'France and Flanders, 1914-15', 'Megiddo', 'Sharon', 'Palestine,

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1918','Tigris, 1916','Kut-al-Amara, 1917','Baghdad', 'Mesopotamia, 1916-18'. 2nd. 'La Bassee, 1914', 'Festubert, 1914-15', 'Givenchy, 1914', 'Neuve Chapelle', 'Aubers', 'Loos', 'France and Flanders, 1914-15', 'Egypt, 1915', 'Tigris, 1916', 'Kut-al-Amara, 1917', 'Baghdad', 'Mesopotamia, 1916-18', 'Persia, 1918'. 3rd. 'La Bassee, 1914', 'Armentieres, 1914', 'Festubert, 1914-15', 'Givenchy, 1914', 'Neuve Chapelle', 'Aubers', 'France and Flanders, 1914-15', 'Egypt, 1915—16'. 'Gaza', 'El Mughar', 'Nebi Samwil', 'Jerusalem', 'Tell-Asur', 'Megiddo', 'Sharon', 'Mesopotamia, 1917-18'. 4th. 'Givenchy, 1914', 'Neuve Chapelle', 'Ypres, 1915', 'St Julien', 'Aubers', 'Festubert, 1915', 'France and Flanders, 1914-15', 'Gallipoli, 1915', 'Egypt, 1916', 'Tigris, 1916', 'Kut-al-Amara, 1917', 'Baghdad', 'Mesopotamia, 1916-18'. 5th. 'Helles', 'Krithia', 'Suvla', 'Sari Bair', 'Gallipoli, 1915', 'Suez Canal', 'Egypt, 1915-16', 'Khan Bagdadi', 'Mesopotamia, 1916-18', 6th. 'Helles', 'Krithia', 'Suvla', 'Sari Bair', 'Gallipoli, 1915', 'Suez Canal', 'Egypt, 1916-18', 'Khan Bagdadi', 'Mesopotamia, 1916-18', 'Persia, 1918'. 7th. 'Suez Canal', 'Egypt, 1915', 'Megiddo', 'Sharon', 'Palestine, 1918', 'Shaiba', 'Kut-al-Amara, 1915-17', 'Ctesiphon', 'Defence of Kut-al-Amara', 'Baghdad', 'Sharqat', 'Mesopotamia, 1915-18'. 8th. 'La Bassee, 1914', 'Festubert, 1914-15', 'Givenchy, 1914', 'Neuve Chapelle', 'Aubers', 'France and Flanders, 1914-15', 'Egypt, 1915-16', 'Megiddo', 'Sharon', 'Palestine, 1918', 'Tigris, 1916', 'Kut-alAmara, 1917', 'Baghdad', 'Mesopotamia, 1916-18', 9th. 'La Bassee, 1914', 'Armentieres, 1914', 'Festubert, 1914, 1915', 'Givenchy, 1914', 'Neuve Chapelle', 'Aubers', 'Loos', 'France and Flanders, 1914-15', 'Tigris, 1916', 'Kut-al-Amara, 1917', 'Baghdad', 'Mesopotamia, 1916—18'. 10th. 'Helles', 'Krithia', 'Suvla', 'Sari Bair', 'Gallipoli, 1915', 'Suez Canal', 'Egypt, 1915', 'Sharqat', 'Mesopotamia, 1916-18'. The years between the two world wars were no peaceful period of rest and tranquillity. While European armies were being demobilized in 1919, all ten Gurkha regiments were engaged on the North-west Frontier of India, as were three battalions of the n t h who, raised for the war, did not

The 3rd Goorkhas leaving Bareilly for Afghanistan, 1878. Despite the source of the sketch this should not be taken as accurate reference. The 3rd did not wear a diced cap, and the white gaiters are suspect, though possible. The officers appear to be wearing khaki helmets. (Illustrated London News)

Lebanon, and Palestine, training as a special mountain unit. It fought in the Battle of Monte Cassino and was thereafter stationed in Greece. The 8th served in Italy and Burma, while the 9th were present at Monte Cassino, as well as operating with the Chindits in Burma. The 10th expanded to four battalions, serving in Syria, Iraq, Italy, Palestine, and, of course, Burma. Two further regiments which were raised for the duration of the war, the 25th and 26th, were disbanded shortly after peace was declared.

Partition

long survive it. In Waziristan in 1919, on the Malabar coast in .1921-2, Waziristan again in In 1947 Pakistan and India opted to go their 1925 and Burma in 1930-2, there was little time separate ways and the Labour Government of the to relax. The face of war was changing. Aircraft day, in a gesture of unparalleled irresponsibility, and armour and other new weapons had to be gave India and Pakistan their freedom without assimilated into the traditional methods of frontier adequate arrangements having been made for the warfare in which the Gurkhas so excelled. By the protection of minorities. The total count of casualtime that the newly joined subalterns of the First ties will never be known, but a reasonable estimate World War rejoiced in field rank, command of is of the order of two million deaths in Hinduregiments, or enjoyed their well-earned retire- Moslem conflicts marked by medieval cruelty. At the same time the Indian princes, who had treaties ment, the Second World War broke out. with the British Government guaranteeing their The complexities of this great conflict make it rights and status, were abandoned to their fate. impossible to follow in any detail the activities of The division of the subcontinent meant the the ten regiments of Gurkha Rifles, and only a division of the armed forces. Four of the Gurkha brief mention can be made of the more important regiments went to the British Army, namely the events. The 1st served in Burma, as did the 2nd, which 2nd, 6th, 7th, and 10th. T h e remaining regiments raised no less than five battalions which saw joined the new Indian Army. Those regiments service in Persia, the Western Desert, North Africa, who took service with the British were designated the Brigade of Gurkhas on 1 J a n u a r y 1948. Italy, Greece, and Malaya. They were soon in action again in Malaya, since The 3rd were in Burma and also in Italy, in common with the 4th and 5th, the latter excelling which time they have served in Borneo, Sarawak, themselves in earning no less than four V.C.s - Brunei, and on the borders of Hong Kong. three in Italy and one in Burma. The 6th expanded to four battalions of which the 1st, 3rd, and 4th operated in Burma with the famous Chindits, while the 2nd went to Persia, Iraq, and Palestine and finally to Italy. Of the 7th, the 1st battalion fought throughout Since their new status as part of the British Army, in Burma, while the ill-fated 2nd battalion the Gurkhas have formed new units designed to repeated its First World War misfortune when make them a self-contained force. These include taken prisoner at the fall of Tobruk. A replacement a short-lived experiment in which, during the battalion which was raised served in Syria, emergency in Malaya, the 7th second battalion

New Formations

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A number of cold-weather uniforms displayed by officers of the 5th Goorkha Regiment (Hazara Goorkha Battalion), c. 1880. These vary from the full-dress rifle-green tunic faced with black velvet, to the undress rifle-green patrol, and the poshteen or Afghan coat: this latter is of goatskin, with the hair inside, and embroidered with yellow silk. All wear the undress forage cap or pillbox. Rank-badges are worn on the collar, and no shoulder-straps are visible. The patrol s e e m s to lack outside pockets, but the edges appear to be braided. There are no pointed cuffs or cuff buttons on these. Overalls and breeches have wide black lace stripes. Note the long black gaiters worn by the seated officer in patrol; and the half-Wellingtons with swan-neck spurs of the adjutant on the right. The belts are black with silver m o u n t s , the sword-knots black, and the scabbards leather with steel mounts. Note, that at this early date the binocular case on the dress pouch-belt w a s a d u m m y - the records of M e s s r s Ranken, military tailors, read: 'Binocular Case Black patent leather, very small and flat (not to hold glasses).'

was recognized as 102 Field Regiment Royal Artillery (7th Gurkha Rifles). In 1961 men from the 7th and 10th were trained as parachutists, these forming the nucleus of the Gurkha Independent Parachute Company which was formed the following year when trouble broke out with Indonesia. For a time these men trained and worked with the Border Scouts, a police unit formed to cover the border area between Sarawak, Sabah, and Indonesia. Later the unit was trained on the lines of the S.A.S. In 1948 an Engineer Field Squadron was raised from Gurkha infantrymen, attached to the Royal Engineers, and given the number 67. Two years later a second squadron was formed with the number 68, and in the following year Regimental Headquarters of the 50th Field Engineer Regiment was formed in Hong Kong. In 1958 the regiment became an integral part of the Gurkha Brigade, with the title Gurkha Engineers, in 1960. No infantry brigade would be complete without adequate signal facilities and so in 1948 training was commenced to form a new Gurkha Independent Signal Squadron. By 1954 the unit had increased in size and was restyled the Gurkha Signals.. The Gurkha Transport Regiment originated in two companies formed in Malaya in July 1958.

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The first title was the Gurkha Army Service Corps, but this was changed in 1965 to the Gurkha Transport Regiment. Wherever Gurkhas are found their transport unit is present. The Gurkha Military Police were formed in 1955 as part of the Brigade of Gurkhas, and affiliated to the Corps of Military Police. In 1966 they were amalgamated with the Dog Company, a unit raised to guard installations. Gurkha personnel were trained in dog-handling and established as 5 (Gurkha) Dog Company in 1963. Amalgamated in 1966 with the other Gurkha military police units under the title of 5 Gurkha Dog Company, the unit was finally disbanded in 1969. PROGRESSIVE TITLE CHANGES THE GURKHA REGIMENTS

OF

1st King George V's Own Gurkha Rifles (the Malaun Regiment) 1815 1st Nasiri Battalion; 1823 5th, 6th, or 1st Nasiri Local Battalion; 1826 4th, or Nasiri Local Battalion; 1843 4th or Nasiri (Rifle Battalion); 1850 66th or Goorkha Regiment, Bengal Native Infantry; 1858 66th or Goorkha Light Infantry Regiment, Bengal Native Infantry; 1861 n t h Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry; 1861 1st Goorkha Regiment (Light Infantry); 1886 1st Goorkha Regiment (Light Infantry); 1891 1st Gurkha (Rifle) Regiment; 1901 1st Gurkha Rifles; 1903 1st Gurkha Rifles (the Malaun

Regiment); 1906 1st Prince of Wales O w n G u r k h a Rifles; 1910 1st K i n g George's O w n Gurkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment); 1937 1st King George V's Own Gurkha Rifles (the M a l a u n Regiment); 1947 left the British service. 2nd King E d w a r d V I I ' s O w n G o o r k h a s ( t h e S i r m o o r Rifles) 1815 Sirmoor Battalion; 1823 8th (or Sirmoor) Local Battalion; 1826 6th (or Sirmoor) Local Battalion; 1850 Sirmoor Battalion; 1858 Sirmoor Rifle Regiment; 1861 17th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry; 1861 2nd Goorkha Regiment; 1864 2nd Goorkha (the Sirmoor Rifles) Regiment; 1876 2nd (Prince of Wales's Own) Goorkha Regiment (the Sirmoor Rifles); 1886 2nd (the Prince of Wales's Own) Goorkha Regiment (The Sirmoor Rifles); 1891 2nd (the Prince of Wales's own) Gurkha (Rifles) Regiment (the Sirmoor Rifles); 1901 2nd (the Prince of Wales's Own) G u r k h a Rifles (the Sirmoor Rifles); 1 J a n . 1906 2nd K i n g Edward's O w n Gurkha Rifles (the Sirmoor Rifles), 1936 2nd King E d w a r d V I I ' s Own Goorkhas (the Sirmoor Rifles); 1947 to British Army. 3rd Q u e e n A l e x a n d r a ' s O w n G u r k h a Rifles 1815 K u m a o n Battalion; 1816 K u m a o n Provincial Battalion; 1823 9th (or K u m a o n ) Local Battalion; 1826 7th (or K u m a o n ) Local Battalion; 1860 K u m a o n Battalion; 1861 18th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry; 1861 3rd Goorkha Regiment; 1864 3rd (the K u m a o n ) Goorkha Regiment; 1887 3rd Goorkha Regiment; 1891 3rd Goorkha (Rifle) Regiment; 1901 3rd Gurkha Rifles; 1907 3rd T h e Queen's O w n Gurkha Rifles; 1908 3rd Q u e e n Alexandra's O w n Gurkha Rifles; 1947 left the British service. 4th P r i n c e o f W a l e s ' s O w n G u r k h a Rifles 1857 Extra Goorhka Regiment; 1861 19th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry; 1861 4th Goorkha Regiment; 1891 4th Gurkha (Rifle) Regiment; 1901 4th Gurkha Rifles; 1924 4th Prince of W r ales's O w n Gurkha Rifles; 1947 left the British service. 5th R o y a l G u r k h a Rifles ( F r o n t i e r Force) 1858 25th Punjab Infantry, or H a z a r a Goorkha Battalion; 1861 7th Regiment of Infantry (or H a z a r a Goorkha Battalion), Punjab Irregular Force; 1861 5th Goorkha Regiment, or H a z a r a Goorkha Battalion; 1886 5th Goorkha Regiment, the H a z a r a Goorkha Battalion; 1887 5th Goorkha Regiment; 1891 5th Gurkha (Rifle) Regiment; 1901 5th Gurkha Rifles; 1903 5th Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force); 1923 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force); 1947 left the British service.

6th Q u e e n E l i z a b e t h ' s O w n G u r k h a R i f l e s 1817 Cuttack Legion; 1823 R a n g p u r Light Infantry Battalion; 1826 8th (or R a n g p u r ) Local Light Infantry Battalion; .1828 8th (or Assam) Local Light Infantry Battalion; 1844 1st Assam Light Infantry; 1861 46th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry; 1861 42nd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry; 1864 42nd (Assam) Regiment of Bengal Native (Light) Infantry; 1885 42nd (Assam) Regiment of Bengal (Light) Infantry; 1886 42nd Regiment Goorkha Light Infantry; 1889 42nd (Goorkha) Regiment of Bengal (Light) Infantry; 1891 42nd Gurkha (Rifle) Regiment of Bengal Infantry; 1901 42nd Gurkha Rifles; 1903 6th Gurkha Rifles; 1947 to British Army; 1959 6th Q u e e n Elizabeth's O w n G u r k h a Rifles. 7th D u k e o f E d i n b u r g h ' s O w n G u r k h a Rifles 1902 8th G u r k h a Rifles; 1903 2nd Battalion, 10th G u r k h a Rifles; 1907 7th G u r k h a Rifles; 1947 to British Army; 1 J a n . 1959 7th Duke of Edinburgh's O w n G u r k h a Rifles. 8th G u r k h a R i f l e s 1824 16th or Sylhet Local Battalion; 1826 n t h or Sylhet Local (Light) Infantry Battalion; 1861 48th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry; 1861 44th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry; 1864 44th (Sylhet) Regiment of Bengal Native (Light) Infantry; 1885 44th (Sylhet) R e g i m e n t o f Bengal (Light) Infantry; 1886 44th Regiment, Goorkha (Light) Infantry; 1889 44th (Goorkha) Regiment of Bengal (Light) Infantry; 1891 44th Gurkha (Rifle) Regiment of Bengal Infantry; 1901 44th Gurkha Rifles; 1903 8th Gurkha Rifles; 1907 became the 1st Battalion. 2nd Battalion, raised at G a u h a t i : 1835 Assam Sebundy Corps; 1839 Lower Assam Sebundy Corps; 1839 1st Assam Sebundy Corps; 1844 2nd Assam Light infantry; 1861 47th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry; 1861 43rd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry; 1884 43rd (Assam) Regiment of Bengal Native (Light) Infantry; 1865 43rd (Assam) Regiment of Bengal (Light) Infantry; 1886 43rd Regiment Goorka Light Infantry; 1889 43rd (Goorkha) Regiment of Bengal (Light) Infantry; 1891 43rd Gurkha (Rifle) Regiment of Bengal Infantry; 1901 43rd G u r k h a Rifles; 1903 7th G u r k h a Rifles; 1907 became the 2nd Battalion, 8th Gurkha Rifles; 1947 left the British service. 9th G u r k h a R i f l e s 1817 Fatehgarh Levy; 1819 M a n i p u r i Levy; 1823 1st Battalion, 32nd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry; 1824 63rd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry; 1861 9th R e g i m e n t of Bengal Native Infantry;

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1885 9th Regiment of Bengal Infantry; 1894 9th (Gurkha Rifles) Regiment of Bengal Infantry; 1901 9th Gurkha Rifles; 1947 left the British service. 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles 1890 1st Regiment of Burma Infantry; 1891 10th Regiment (1st Burma Battalion) of Madras Infantry; 1892 10th Regiment (1st Burma Rifles) Madras Infantry; 1895 10th Regiment (1st Burma Gurkha Rifles) Madras Infantry; 1901 10th Gurkha Rifles; 1947 to British Army; 1949 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles.

Notes on Uniforms The colour plates in this book have been prepared by reference to surviving prints, sketches, paintings, photographs, written descriptions, and uniform regulations; many of the illustrations from which they have been drawn are reproduced in the body of the text. While space forbids the quotation of all relevant uniform regulations concerning the dress of British officers of Gurkha units, and while the paucity of available documentation on many aspects of other ranks' dress must be admitted, the author nevertheless trusts that the following notes on certain aspects of these uniforms may be helpful. 1815-1882

Since the original formations which were later to develop into the Gurkha regiments were not part of the Regular Army at the time of raising, some

variation between their dress and that of the Regulars is not surprising, and unfortunately there is very little detail available. There are, however, a few regulations which are to be found assembled in Bengal Military Regulations, 1817, which were supposed to be in force at that date, and which were 'inserted for the information, and guidance of those officers of the Company's Army, to whom they are applicable'. Thus item 187 gives the uniform of four Provincial battalions as red with green facings. This probably applied at least to the Kumaon Provincial Battalion raised in 1816. As a general guide-line, item 115 specified that the uniform of Provincial battalions was 'to correspond as nearly as possible with the uniform of the regular Native Corps', according to a proclamation of the Governor-General of 25 August and 3 October 1803. A general order by the GovernorGeneral of 8 December 1809 stated that the uniform of Hill Rangers was 'to remain, as at present, with green facings, white buttons and lace'. T h e Regular Bengal line infantry was to wear red, with yellow facings, and lace, striped red, blue, and white. European officers and N.C.O.s posted to Native regiments were to wear round black hats, 'the ornaments for the hats to be left to the Commanding Officer of the Regiment; the Buttons to be the lion Button, bearing the number of the Regiment'. The lion was the heraldic beast of the Honourable East India Company. Officers of light companies were to have 'suitable wings to their jackets' (95). Native commissioned officers were to wear white

The 5th Goorkha Regiment in s u m m e r dress, 1882. This hotweather uniform consists of a khaki drill jacket and dark trousers. Possibly the khaki w a s not the m o d e r n version, for in the 2nd the so-called khaki w a s a 'slatey grey', and w a s adopted in 1882 in lieu of the previously w o r n 'black serge'. The Kilmarnock has the crossed kukri badge; N.C.O. chevrons are black. The Gurkha officers wear their dress shoulder-belts, and their sword-belts under their jackets. Note the rolled haversack on the nearest figure. (National A r m y Museum)

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MICHAEL ROFFE

A

B

MICHAEL ROFFE

MICHAEL ROFFE

c

D

MICHAEL ROFFE

MICHAEL ROFFE

E

F

MICHAEL ROFFE

MICHAEL ROFFE

G

H

MICHAEL ROFFE

pantaloons and half-boots, and their swords and belts to be the same as those of British officers, with the number only upon the plate (97). The 'kummerbund (waist sash worn by Native other ranks) is to be of blue linen and six inches in breadth to be girt round the loins and fastened behind, in whatever manner may be found most convenient, the Cross to be of white linen.' Native commissioned officers and havildars (sergeants) wore sashes. This was confirmed by an order of the G.O.C.C. in November 1809. The standard nether wear for naiks (corporals) and sepoys were 'Jangheas' or shorts, white with a zigzag border of black or dark blue. An order had permitted havildars to wear pantaloons instead of the jangheas - entirely at their own request (and, of course, expense). The turban was made more bearable by an order of 1806: 'The frame of the turban directed to be worn by the Native Infantry of the Army by General Order, dated the 26th July, 1805, is to be made of rattan instead of iron work, whenever it is necessary to make new turbans; and the hair of the men is to be worn turned up and fastened in a knot on the crown of the head, as before, instead of being cut and turned down loose as practised by some Corps, and of which the Commander-in-Chief disapproves.' Officers of flank companies, as in the British service were to wear sabres of an approved regimental pattern (123), and all infantry officers when on duty were to wear gorgets, gilt, engraved with the arms of the Honourable East India Company, and suspended by ribbons of the colour of the regimental facings (September 1813). The wearing, or not, as the case may be, of pantaloons, took up an inordinate amount of wording. There appeared to be no uniformity of concept among the regiments, a grave matter disturbing to the C.-in-C. No pressure to adopt the pantaloon was to be applied to the men, especially as they were to have the privilege of paying for them from their own pockets. But 'when in compliance with the general desire of a Corps it may be resolved to wear Pantaloons such shall be in the shape of Trowsers, of a moderate width, and reaching fully down to the ancle, but never made tight to fit the limbs, which besides imposing constraint upon the Sepoy, His Excellency has

Painting by A. C. Lovett of a soldier of the 4th Goorkha Regiment in 1885. Lovett illustrated Major G. F. MacMunn's f a m o u s Armies of India, published in 1911. Note long triangular-bladed bayonet, white linen haversack, linen waterbottle sling, and kukri frog. The long gaiters were s o m e t i m e s worn by British officers. (National Army Museum)

had opportunities of observing, is particularly unfavourable to the Appearance of the Corps. Naiks and Sepoys are to wear only their trowsers, Havildars to be distinguished by the addition of gaiters.' (167). 'Pantaloons are only to be worn between the 1st October and the 1st April annually', said No. 168, but this was speedily altered by an order of a month later, J u n e 1813, extending the use of pantaloons throughout the year. It is unfortunate that no mention is made of any Rifle Corps, and so details of the early rifle uniform are missing. The 1st Nasiri Battalion would apparently have worn the scarlet, and the historian of the 2nd, Colonel L. Shakespeare, says that not until 1816 did the Sirmoor Battalion have leisure to provide itself with anything like a uniform. This took the form of a dark green coatee, black facings and wings, five rows of black and white braid on the breast, and their own black native head-dress. In the 1820s the previously worn white trousers were replaced by blue drill, and the lace on the coatee changed to red. A shako was now taken into (unpopular) use, and the buglers were put into

25

red coatees with green facings. The arms were the 'Brown Bess' and bayonet and the kukri. In the early 1830s the facings were changed to black and the musket replaced by a 'fusil'. In 1849 the regiment was taken on to the Regular establishment, and rearmed with the two-grooved Brunswick rifle. The uniform was now all rifle green; the white trousers and the black and white or red lace all disappeared. There seems to be little available to show the uniform of British officers at this period. However, it seems reasonable to assume that they followed closely the costume worn by British Rifle officers, wearing the braided dolman, though possibly the astrakhan-edged pelisse might not have appeared in the tropics. But the temperature even in summer can fall somewhat low in hill stations such as Dehra Dun, so it may have been adopted, as was done in the Madras Army. The earliest detailed information on the dress of officers of Local Hill Corps is given in an adjutant-general's circular of 9 J a n u a r y 1829. These instructions are repeated exactly in the Bengal Army Regulations of 1841: ORDERS RELATIVE TO THE U N I F O R M AND A P P O I N T M E N T S O F T H E A R M Y , 1841 The dress uniform is to be worn at divine service, at levees, public field days, general inspections, funeral parties, grand guard mounting, general, district, and garrison courts martial, public parties, places of public resort, and visits of ceremony. The undress is for general use, and to be worn on all occasions not specified above.

The frock-coat is only intended to be worn on certain duties off parade; viz. inspection of barracks and hospitals, courts of inquiry, committees, private inspection parades, working parties, fatigue duties, and on the march. The sash and undress sword-belt are always to be worn with the frock-coat when on duty. The shell-jacket is always to be hooked or buttoned when worn on duty; when used as an undress, on occasions not connected with duty, it may be left open; but the waistcoat worn with it must be of the authorized pattern. A white linen uniform jacket, with ten small regimental buttons, set on by twos in front and two on the collar, may be worn when the men are permitted to wear their white dress, but this indulgence is restricted to ordinary duties and parades. Ensigns, until finally posted, are only required to provide themselves with the undress uniform of the regiment with which they may be doing duty. LOCAL HILL CORPS AND LIGHT INFANTRY BATTALIONS DRESS

Jacket - Dark green cloth, hussar style; Prussian collar, full three inches deep, ornament with black mohair braid; collar and cuffs of regimental facings; single-breasted, with three rows of ballbuttons, and Russia braid loops, very close together all the way down the front; pointed cuffs, three inches deep at the point, ornamented with braid; figured on the sleeves, side seams, welts, and hips; no wings or epaulettes are worn. Cap - Black beaver, bell-shaped, seven inches and a half deep; black, sunk glazed top, eleven

The Goorkhas, 1885. It is difficult to be more specific about this group. The uniform pattern is correct, but the only regiment in which Gurkha officers wore the tunic w a s the 2nd, w h o also wore the red/black diced cap-band, absent here. The 1st also adopted red facings, as here, but their badge had the kukri blades downwards. The officer's white helmet also poses a puzzle at this date. For all its inconsistencies, it is a pleasing and spirited picture. (Author's collection)

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inches in diameter; a black silk band round the top, two inches and three quarters wide; a patent leather band round the bottom, one inch wide; a black lace double circle in the centre (of the front), communicating by a black bullion loop and button to a bullion rosette at the top; black lines and acorn tassels; bronzed scales and lions' heads, black stamped peak. Tuft - A round black ball (or tuft) to be worn, in place of a feather. Trousers - Dark green, with a double stripe of black Russia braid down the outward seam. Boots were described as 'ankle', and the regulation infantry sabre was specified. The black leather scabbard had steel mounts and a plain black leather sword-knot was worn. A black leather waist-belt with a snake fastening was described; the black pouch-belt was ornamented with an engraved plate and a lion's head, a whistle and a chain. The pouch-flap bore a bugle device. A black silk net sash was worn. For undress wear a jacket 'similar to dress, only with a less proportion of trimming' was specified, with straight-cut, rather loose dark green trousers without ornament of any kind, and a 'plain light shako, with an oilskin cover'. All other items were as for full dress. A forage cap was described, of 'plain green cloth welted with the colour of the facings; a black leather peak, and a band of black silk lace or mohair two inches broad, and a black silk knob at the top'. Commanding officers, seconds in command, and adjutants were also to wear plain black patent leather sabretaches on three slings from the waist-belt, and steel screw spurs; their scabbards were of steel. Note that at this date all Gurkha regiments dressed in green wore black facings and lace. The terrible conditions encountered in the Crimean War had demonstrated the impractical aspects of contemporary British military costume in most forceful manner, and uniforms were in process of drastic alteration when the great Mutiny of the Bengal Army exploded in 1857. T h e change had already started in the British Army, and in January 1857 the General Officer Commandingin-Chief in India issued an order applicable to all presidency armies (those of Madras, Bengal, and Bombay) authorizing 'tunics being worn by all officers who are at present without dress coatees

. . . to be of the patterns prescribed for the royal army in the dress regulations issued from Horse Guards'. (Note that 'Horse Guards' refers to the headquarters of the British Army housed in the building of that name in Whitehall, London, and not to the regiment of that name.) In J u n e 1858 infantry officers were peremptorily ordered to 'provide themselves with new pattern uniforms as laid down in HM regulations at once'. Evidently little notice had been taken of the previous order. In 1859 official sanction was accorded to the already existing practice: 'All regimental officers are to provide themselves with light wicker or felt helmets of the description established for staff officers . . . to be worn on all occasions on which the forage cap covered is now worn.' Troubled times are not conducive to uniform clothing, and the fearful sartorial follies of irregular troops tended to exercise a baneful influence. The newly raised 25th Punjab Infantry or Hazara Goorkha was an example to all. T h e officers appeared in helmets with cocks'-feather plumes, a green silk puggree intertwined with chain, loose light green frogged tunics, a shield, and a red silk sash. The last two items proved too much for the commander of the Punjab Irregular Force, Brigadier Neville Chamberlain, and he ordered their abolition. In J a n u a r y 1858 the G.O.C.-in-C. found it necessary to issue a general 'raspberry' about slackness in general and the absence of shakos in particular. The widespread introduction of informal khaki clothing had proved so popular that all were loath to return to more formal attire. Khaki was blamed for 'the introduction of slovenly habits at variance with the proverbial correct and neat appearance of the officers and soldiers of the British Army'. After the Mutiny many changes from the old costume were introduced. Of these the earliest regulations to hand are those of the Punjab Frontier Force for 1865, which force included the 5th Goorkha Battalion with their black facings. These regulations describe a costume which includes the hussar type of braided tunic to be seen in later photographs, and a grey felt helmet, which Colonel Shakespeare states was adopted in the 2nd in 1859. The description is as follows: 'Drab felt,

27

low and well-shaped, with silver bars, binding and spike. Chin-straps of silver chain lined with drab patent leather, fastening on each side to a lion's head. A silver device in front of the helmet similar to the regimental breastplate.' No turban or puggree was worn in dress uniform. The black steel-mounted sword scabbard is described as 'donkey skin'. The undress coat is described as 'single-breasted, the collar rounded in front, to fasten with hooks and eyes down to the waist, edged all round with drab braid three-quarters inch wide. The sleeve regulation size, ornamented with drab [black for 5th?] Austrian knot. This coat can be lined with black lamb's wool for winter wear when the Privates wear the Posteen, or the Posteen itself can be worn by officers as well as men.' This can be seen in the group of officers, c. 1880. The turban or puggree was never popular with the Gurkhas. The 2nd adopted it for a time, and the regimental history states that permission was obtained to wear a khaki puggree in service dress in lieu of the khaki-covered Kilmarnock, the regiment first parading in this innovation on 3 J a n u a r y 1898.

straps of Hussar pattern in black. Badges of rank in bronze on shoulder-straps. Note: Badges of rank, which had been worn on the collar from 1857 to 1880, were as follows: Colonel Lieutenant-Colonel Major Captain Lieutenant Second Lieutenant

Crown and two stars below Crown and one star below Crown Two stars One star No badges

The tunic edged all round (except the collar) with black square cord. On the back seams a single cord, forming three eyes at the top, passing under a netted button at the waist, below which it is doubled and terminating in a knot at the bottom of the skirt. The skirt, nine inches deep for an officer five feet nine inches in height, with the variation of an eighth of an inch for every inch of difference in height, lined with black and rounded in front.

Trousers - Rifle-green cloth, with a braid of black mohair two inches wide down the outward seam. Boots - Wellington or ankle. Spurs - Steel, crane-neck, two inches long. Pantaloons - Rifle-green cloth, with outward seam * * * braid as in trousers. Scabbard- Steel {brass for field officers). U N I F O R M O F B R I T I S H O F F I C E R S Sword-knot - Black leather strap and acorn. SERVING WITH REGIMENTS Sword-belt - Black patent leather, one and a half DRESSED IN GREEN, inches wide, with slings one inch wide, silver snake B E N G A L A R M Y , 1882 clasp, and mountings; to be worn under the tunic. Sword - Same as prescribed for officers dressed in DISTINCTIONS OF RANK red, except that the hilt is of steel, and the device Field officers — Collar laced all round with black lace, figured braiding within the lace; sleeve ornament, is a crown and bugle. Sabretache - Black leather, perfectly plain without lace and figured braiding eleven inches deep. Captains - Collar laced round the top with black lace, device or badge, with black leather slings. [This with figured braiding below the lace; sleeve orna- item was abolished in 1884.) ment, knot of square cord with figured braiding eight Pouch - Black leather, with a silver bugle on the inches deep. flap. The 2nd Prince of Wales's Own Sirmoor Lieutenants - Collar laced round the top with black Rifles has a special bronze badge of ostrich lace and plain edging of braid; sleeve ornament, knot feathers. of square cord and braid seven inches deep. Pouch-belt - Black patent leather, three inches wide, Tunic - Rifle green, with collar and cuffs of regi- with silver regimental plate, whistle and chain. In mental facings, single-breasted; the collar rounded the 2nd Goorkhas the plate is of bronze. in front; on each side of the breast, five loops of Gloves - Black leather. black square cord, with netted caps and drops, Patrol Jacket - Rifle-green cloth, of sufficient length fastening with worked olivets, the top loop eight to just clear the saddle when mounted, with collar inches long, the bottom four inches; shoulder- and cuffs of regimental facing and rounded off in

28

Band of the 1st Battalion, 5th Goorkha Regiment, 1888. The rifle-green uniform has black facings and lace and black puttees and equipment. Note the European bandm a s t e r in civilian c o s t u m e - European bandmasters

were still to be seen in s o m e Gurkha units until at l e a s t 1939. The instrument on the extreme right w a s not carried on the line of march. (National Army Museum)

front; one-inch mohair braid all round and up open slits at side; five double drop loops with eyes in centre, § inch flat plait up the front; top loop eight and a half inches, and bottom loop six inches long. One row of knitted olivets. The sleeve will be braided with one inch mohair braid, six inches high, with a tracing of mohair braid above and below, forming three eyes at the upper and three eyes at the lower point. Crow's-feet of flat plait at top and bottom of curved side seams, with two eyes at equal distances, lower eyes one inch apart, hooks and eyes up front to neck, stand-up collar, with one inch mohair braid round the upper edge. Pockets fitted with flap in and out. Shoulderstraps and badges of rank as with tunic. Forage Cap - Rifle-green cloth, plain black silk band, black button and braid on top, black leather chin-strap. Active Service and Peace Manoeuvre Cap - Green cloth of special pattern, ornamented in front with a silver bugle placed on a scarlet cord boss for the 2nd Goorkhas, and on black cord boss for other regiments. (An amendment of July 1884 ordered the bugle in the 2nd to be of bronze, not silver.) Helmet and Spike - Same as prescribed for officers dressed in red, but covered with rifle-green cloth, with a bronze curb chain chin-strap and spike. Helmets - A cork helmet, covered with cloth and bound about with a puggree, will be the universal

day-time dress for all (British) arms. The helmet is covered with white cloth except where otherwise specified, in six seams, bound with buff leather at the bottom; and above the peak and going round the helmet a buff leather band one inch wide, stitched top and bottom. The headpiece is to be let in with zigzag ventilation, giltside hooks, gilt hook near top on right side to fasten up chin-strap; gilt curb chain chin-strap, the links f of an inch wide, the strap lined with white leather. At top of helmet a gilt collet rivetted on to a gilt collar, 3 / 8 th of an inch wide, to receive spike or ball and cup, and base. A zinc button covered with white cloth is inserted when the spike, or ball and cup, is not used. White muslin puggrees are worn universally, unless otherwise directed. (Section VI directed that the spike be worn in - Review order, Marching order, Field Day order.) Puggree - Regimental pattern and colour. NATIVE OFFICERS

Coat - Rifle-green Zouave jacket with regimental facings, laced with \ inch black lace round the collar and down the front. Black worsted cord on the shoulders, buttons regimental pattern, eight on the front, one on each shoulder, three on each cuff. Cuffs slashed with three Vandykes formed

29

with black lace. Distinctive badges - kookries in­ stead of swords on the collar according to rank.* (Subadars - crossed kookries, J e m a d a r - single kookrie.) Forage Cap - Kilmarnock except in the 42nd and 43rd Native Infantry, who wear turbans and glengarries respectively. γ T h e number is worn by the 44th Native Infantry. Paijamahs - Green serge without piping. Swords, Scabbard, and Belt - As for British officers. Sword-knot - Black leather. Pouch and Pouch-belt - As for British officers. Boots - Regimental pattern. These regulations are the last to give the scarlet uniform for the 1st Goorkha Regiment (Light Infantry - late 66th or Goorkha Light Infantry Regiment). UNIFORM OF OFFICERS SERVING WITH NATIVE INFANTRY R E G I M E N T S OF THE BENGAL ARMY DRESSED IN RED Tunic - Scarlet cloth, single-breasted, eight buttons in front at equal distances, with a fly one and three quarters wide, thus buttoning well over, collar and cuffs of the regimental facing; the collar rounded

This interesting picture s h o w s the colour party of the 2nd escorting the f a m o u s silver truncheon presented by Queen Victoria. Note the fairly tight breeches. The Gurkha officer carrying the truncheon h a s the rank insignia of a jemadar on his collar, and those on the left and right the crossed kukris of subadars. The havildar's stripes are not visible in this picture. (National Army M u s e u m ) * The 2nd Goorkhas wear a tunic, according to an amendment of July 1884. γ The 2nd Goorkhas wear a diced border and a bronze badge of ostrich feathers.

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in front; the cuffs pointed; for Lieutenants, laced with one bar of gold lace, half an inch wide, up to a point, seven and a half inches in height; traced outside with gold Russia braid, finishing with an Austrian knot at top making it nine and a half inches high, and showing a light of 3 / 16 of an inch of scarlet cloth between the lace and the braid, also traced inside with gold Russia braid finishing down the cuff with crow's-foot and eye, showing light of 3 / 16 of an inch of the facing cloth between the lace and the braid. Captains to have two bars of lace showing a 1 / 4 inch light of the facing cloth between each, the top bar coming to a point 8 inches high, traced and finished at top and bottom of the lace bars as the Lieutenant's, the top tracing and knot extending 10 inches high. Majors with round eyes on top of the lace showing 3 / 1 6 of scarlet cloth between the lace and the eyes. Colonels and Lieutenant-Colonels have the eyes also below the lower bar of lace, showing 3 / 16 of the facing cloth between the braid and the lace; the skirt ten inches deep for an officer five feet nine inches in height, with a variation of 1 / 8 inch longer or shorter for every inch difference in height of the wearer; two plaits on skirt behind edged white, with two buttons at waist; the skirts closed behind; the collar and front of coat edged with white a quarter inch wide; the skirts lined with white, shoulder-straps universal pattern, twisted gold cord, lined with scarlet; badges of rank in silver on shoulder-straps; the collar not to exceed two inches high, laced round top with gold lace and gold braid on the collar seam. (Gold-braided eyes inside the lace for Field Officers only; size of 1 1 eyes / 2 inch exterior measurement, / 1 6 inch apart.) Lace - Gold, half an inch wide, vellum pattern. Buttons - Gilt, of uniform size, except on the shoulder, which is to be small. Trousers - Blue cloth, with a scarlet welt down the outward seam, quarter inch broad. Boots - Wellington or ankle. Spurs - For field officers, yellow metal with crane necks, two inches long; for other officers, steel of similar pattern. Pantaloons - Blue cloth with same scarlet welt as trousers, to be worn with the high boots. Helmet - As in Section V I , with puggree of regi­ mental pattern, the spike to be worn as therein directed.

Colonel Begbie, 2nd Gurkha Regiment: this clear portrait shows in detail the dress uniform of an officer at the turn of the century. Note bronze mounts on the pouch-belt, and the peculiar ram's-head distinction. The Prince of Wales's plumes were adopted when Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, became Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment in 1876. (National Army Museum)

The 1st Goorkha Light Infantry wear a badge in gilt metal of crossed kukries, edges downward, the numeral of the regiment in the upper angle, and a bugle in the lower. Sword - As described. Scabbard - For field officers, brass; for all other officers, steel. Sword-knot - Brown leather. Sword-belt - Of brown leather, one inch and a half wide, with slings and flap and a gilt hook; the sword when hooked up to rest upon the flap, the edge to the rear and the back to the front, to be worn over the tunic and under the patrol jacket. Sabretache - Brown leather with brown leather slings - perfectly plain without a device or badge. Waist-plate - A round gilt clasp, having on the centrepiece the number of the regiment, surmounted by a crown, both in silver, and on the outer circle a gilt wreath. Sash - Crimson silk net, with fringe ends, united by a crimson runner. Worn diagonally over the

left shoulder, and over the sword-belt, the ends of the fringe not to hang below the bottom of the coat. T h e sash is to be worn in review order whether in cloth or summer clothing, and with the scarlet patrol jacket in marching or field day order; also by the orderly officer. Gloves - White buckskin leather. Puggree - Regimental pattern, of the colour of the head-dress worn by the regiment. Forage Cap - Blue cloth, green for Light Infantry, straight up, three inches high with black patent leather drooping peak and chin strap. Peaks ornamented with half inch full gold embroidery, band of black silk oakleaf lace, with the regimental number in gold embroidery, one inch and a half high, placed on the band in front, black button and trimming on top. Blue cloth* (field officers gold French braid) welt round crown. Royal regiments wear scarlet bands 1 1 / 2 inches wide. Active Service and Peace Manoeuvre Cap - Blue glengarry bound an inch wide with black silk riband, with riband ends 1 3 / 8 inches wide. Black silk cockade on left side, numbers or badges to be worn on the cockade, with a scarlet edging. Tuft Blue, except in Light Infantry, who wear green, and Royal regiments, who wear scarlet. (This refers to the spherical 'tourie' on top of the cap.) Patrol Jacket - Scarlet serge as in Section I. Section I - Patrol jackets, except those otherwise specified, will be made according to the following description: Blue cloth, twenty-eight inches long from the bottom of the collar behind, for an officer five feet nine inches in height, with a proportionate variation for any difference in height, rounded in front, and edged with inch black mohair braid all round and up the openings at the sides. On each side in front, four double drop loops of 1 / 4 inch flat plait, with eyes in the centre of each loop, the top loop reaching to the sleeve seams, and the bottom ones four inches long; four netted olivets on the right side, to fasten through the loops on the left. On each sleeve, an Austrian knot of flat plait seven inches high from the bottom of the cuff. Double flat plait on each back seam, with crow's-foot at top and bottom, and two double eyes at equal distances. Pockets fitted with flaps in and out. Hooks and eyes in front. Shoulder-straps of blue * This would be green for light infantry.

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cloth edged, except at the base, with half inch black mohair braid, with black netted button at top. Badges of rank in gold on shoulder-straps. Officers of line regiments in India wearing red are not obliged to provide themselves with blue patrol jackets, but will wear the scarlet patrol jacket instead. Forage Cap - The 1st Goorkha Light Infantry wear a badge in gold embroidery, same device as on helmet. NATIVE OFFICERS

Coat- Zouave jackets, scarlet cloth, facings according to the regiment, piped all round with white cloth, laced under the collar and down the front with f inch gold lace, eight buttons down the front, one on the shoulder, scarlet worsted shoulder-cord, slashed cuffs, three buttons on each cuff, three Vandykes formed with gold lace. Distinctive Badges on Collars - Subadars - crossed gold swords; Jemadars - single swords. Native officers in 1st Goorkha Light Infantry wear kookries as collar-badges instead of swords. Paijamahs - Black serge, with a piping down the side of f inch scarlet lace. Scarlet piping for the 1st Goorkha Light Infantry. Sword-knot and belt - Brown leather as for British officers. Sword - As for British officers. Sash - As for British officers. Turban - Regimental pattern. Boots - Regimental pattern. T h e Regulations published in 1899 give somewhat more detail, although there is not a great deal of change. The sabretache has now been abolished for mounted officers of Native Infantry regiments, although still retained in the British service for a year or two. The 3rd and 9th Gurkha Rifles have their belts specified as 'black enamelled seal leather', while the remainder have black patent leather. The mountings and badges of the 2nd are given as bronze, while all others have silver. For Native officers the special British officers' pattern tunic is no longer given for the 2nd, and all have a simple green tunic with regimental facing with black lace on collar and cuffs. T h e cuffs are pointed for all except the 1st and 2nd who have the former slashed cuff piped in scarlet.

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Pouch-belt of the 3rd Gurkha Rifles, black with silver m o u n t s . Note the form of the crown and the method of intertwining the battle honours with a laurel wreath. (National Army Museum)

The 1899 Regulations laid down exact patterns for the design, and wear, of the various badges and devices of the Gurkha regiments, on buttons, helmets, waist-plates, forage caps, field caps, pouches, and belts. Lack of space precludes quotation here, but the following is an extract from the section, 'Uniform of British Officers serving with Regiments dressed in Green' in the volume dealing with the Punjab Frontier Force, and thus referring to the 5th Goorkha Regiment at t h a t date: 'Officers belonging to regiments dressed in green wear green uniforms of the pattern prescribed for regiments dressed in drab with regimental facings. Shoulder straps of Hussar pattern in black, with badges of rank in bronze; lace, black.' Note: Punjab Frontier Force regiments dressed in drab had the hussar-type tunic with loops of square cord as described for Bengal regiments in green. The facings and lace of the 5th Goorkha Regiment were black and ornaments silver. T h e following variations were sanctioned: Trousers and Pàntaloons - In the 5th Goorkha regiment the lace down the side seams is 2 inches wide. Dress Spurs - In the 5th Goorkhas are flat, straight and silver-plated. Patrol Jacket - In the 5th Goorkha regiment has plain pockets, and a fern leaf pattern in mohair braid down the back from the bottom of collar. Active Service Cap - Green cloth, with silver bugle on black cord boss. Helmet - In the 5th Goorkhas covered with riflegreen cloth, with silver spike, dome and chin-strap. *

*

*

There are in the 1913 Regulations some interesting additional details of the dress of Native officers. Hot weather and service dress is given as

khaki, regimental pattern. The tunic is thus described: Gurkha and Garhwal Rifle Regiments with black facingsCloth green superfine, with a piping of facing cloth 1 / 4 inch wide down the left front, skirts, pleats, and centre of back, and from bottom button to the bottom of tunic on the right front. Collar 1 1 / 2 inches in depth made of facing cloth, slightly rounded at front, and fastened with one hook and eye with half inch black silk lace all round. The cuffs are rounded off at hind arm seam and the lace carried down each side of the seam, finishing off inside cuff. Eight large horn buttons, Rifle pattern, down front, two at skirt behind, and two small horn buttons Rifle pattern, for shoulderstraps. T h e sleeves and fronts are lined with white cotton; waist-hook in seam both sides. A pocket up and down inside left breast. Gurkha Rifle Regiments, with scarlet facings: 1st Gurkha Rifles - Instead of tunic the patrol jacket as for the King's Royal Rifle Corps. 2nd Gurkha Rifles - As for British officers. Trousers - Gurkha and Garhwal Rifles: Serge, green, dark. Indian officers - Fly-fronted, one small fob pocket on right side, side seam plain. 2nd Gurkha Rifles - As for British officers. The helmet worn by British officers was no longer the same shape as the home service spiked helmet of the British infantry officer, but was now 'Wolseley' pattern, having a wider and more horizontal brim. Lines were now specified of black cord - 'Gurkha regiments and 55th Rifles, as for British Rifle regiments. Hooked on the right breast 2 inches from the seam of the sleeve.' For the 2nd all was to be as for the King's Royal Rifle Corps. During the First World War uniform was worn according to the theatre; thus shorts and long puttees and shirt-sleeves or drill jackets were worn in the tropics, while warmer woollen clothing had to be issued for wear in France. The slouch hat turned up on the left side was widely worn, with sometimes a distinctive flash and/or badge on the upturned brim. Thus a rifleman of the 1st is shown in a painting with a red flash upon which is a crossed-kukries badge; the 1 /8th appear to have worn a red hackle above a scarlet patch, while the 2nd battalion had a red pompon. Some regiments did not turn up the brim.

The equipment worn is of some interest; certain regiments, e.g. the 7th, wearing cavalry leather bandoliers, and two additional cavalry-pattern pouches as worn on the bandolier, one on each side of the waist-belt. The slouch hat had been introduced some time prior to the First World War (Carman states in 1907) and one of the superb paintings by Lovett in MacMunn's Armies of India shows Gurkhas of the 4th in action on the frontier wearing the slouch hat, bandolier equipment, khaki shorts, jacket of drill, and long khaki puttees. A British officer wears the same except for a khaki Wolseley helmet. He also appears to be wearing an ammunition bandolier. This was the dress worn to France in 1914, and in the Middle East. *

*

*

Between the two world wars khaki was the general wear for all occasions both hot weather and cold, with few exceptions. The introduction of the grey flannel shirt for drill and service wear introduced a new colour and a most comfortable garment, the colour varying slightly but on the

King's Indian Orderly Officers, 1905. From left: Major A. P. Bateman-Champion, 1/3rd; Subadar Jab Lai Rai, 2/10th; Subadar Nawal Singh Rawa, I.O.M., 8th; Subadar Kirpa R a m Thapa, O.B.I., I.O.M., 1/2nd; and SubadarMajor Karin Sing Gurung, 1/1st. (Courtesy, Colonel Frank Wilson)

33

whole a silver or blue-grey. This was worn summer The 1932 Regulations are the last to give deand winter. Review order was well-starched drill tailed descriptions of the various regimental shorts. Some regimental bands returned to full badges before the Second World War and subsedress; e.g. the 7th or the 8th, I do not recall which quent partition, so it is worth noting these in detail: for certain, in Razmak in the 1930s, whose band had rifle-green Highland doublets with white 1ST K.G.O. GURKHA RIFLES (THE MALAUN REGIMENT) piping round the edge and edging the double Buttons - In black horn, crossed khukris, edge 'castellated' wings. The Pipe-Major wore a silver downwards with ' i ' in the upper angle and a gorget, the last to be worn in the British Empire. stringed bugle in the lower angle. The reason had long been forgotten. Officers were On collar of tunic and mess-jacket - Nil. allowed to wear full dress at levees, or on suitable On collar of service dress - Nil. occasions if serving as A.D.C. or King's Orderly On head-dress (helmet, or felt hat) - On helmet - in Officer, and of course, officers had the pre-war oxidized silver, crossed khukris with the plume of mess kit. the Prince of Wales in the upper angle; in the Bodyguards, bands, and personal staff to the lower angle a stringed bugle surmounted by the Viceroy and governors were to continue wearing figure ' 1 ' . (Note: An amendment of April 1938 full dress, and the Resident to Nepal's bodyguard. specified 'on the white full dress helmet'.) It should be remembered that in peacetime On cap - In silver, on a red boss, crossed khukris British officers or Gurkha officers may appear in with the plume of the Prince of Wales in the upper costumes which seem most unusual, and which angle; on the lower angle a stringed bugle surcan usually be accounted for if the complex and mounted by the figure ' 1 ' . detailed regulations pertaining to staff officers are On Kilmarnock cap - In silver, crossed khukris, edge consulted, since A.D.C.s to various dignitaries downwards with the plume of the Prince of Wales and officers of the General Staff were authorized in the upper angle. The figure ' 1 ' below the centre numerous orders of dress not worn with their of the coronet. (Note: An amendment of April 1938 regiments such as dress helmets and accoutre- altered this to be the same as that worn 'on the ments, frock-coats, white drill summer patrols, etc. cap' above.)

1st Battalion, 8th Gurkha Rifles, 1914. This group s h o w s various ranks in assorted costumes. On the left the d r u m m e r and piper and the Native officer wear full dress of rifle-green faced black, with black puttees and belts and silver or white metal buttons. The Highland jackets are piped white, the pipe-tassels and cords are dark green. The Gurkha officer in the centre wears light khaki drill service dress with black buttons and boots and Sam Browne belt, the latter with both braces, and a khaki

34

haversack. The revolver on the right is almost invisible but the ammunition-pouch on the left is clear. The drill havildar w e a r s guard order. The naik (corporal) wears light khaki drill service dress, cut in pullover style, with buttons to the mid-chest and side vents at the bottom. His brown leather equipment is of cavalry pattern, with b r a s s buckles. The last figure is in regimental mufti plain clothes - with an undress Kilmarnock, black stockings, and regimental boots. (National Army Museum)

Centre of officer's pouch-belt badge, 1st King George's Own Gurkha Rifles, 1913 Badge on buttons from 1913 - 2nd King Edward's Own Gurkha Rifles Helmet badge, 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles, 1911. Today the Lions of Asoka and a star replace the crown and As, since the regiment is in Indian service Helmet and cap badge, 4th Prince of Wales's O w n Gurkha Rifles - silver from 1839. No plumes now worn Buttons, helmet, and waist-plate (Gurkha officers only) and forage cap - 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force). The Lions of Asoka have now been added

2ND KING EDWARD'S OWN GURKHA RIFLES SIRMOOR RIFLES)

(THE

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles, badge worn since 1956 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles, badge worn since 1959 Officer's pouch-belt badge, 8th Gurkha Rifles, 1911 Buttons, forage cap and field cap, 9th Gurkha Rifles, 1911. Crown now replaced by Lions of Asoka 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles, 1949 Staff Band, current cap badge Gurkha Engineers, cap badge Gurkha Military Police, cap badge Gurkha Army Transport Corps cap badge Gurkha Signals cap badge

On cap - The plume of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, in silver on a red boss. On Kilmarnock cap for Gurkha ranks - The plume of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in bronze.

On buttons - In black horn crossed khukris edge downwards surmounted by the Royal and Imperial cipher of King Edward V I I . On collar of white summer mess-jacket (only) - In 3RD QUEEN ALEXANDRA'S OWN GURKHA RIFLES silver the plume of His Royal Highness the Prince On the buttons - In black horn, crossed khukris, of Wales. edge upwards with ' 3 ' in the upper angle. On collar of mess-jacket only - The cipher of Queen On collar of service dress - Nil. On head-dress - on white full-dress helmet - In silver Alexandra ensigned with the Imperial Crown. On collar of service jacket - Nil. the plume of H . R . H . the Prince of Wales.

35

On felt hat - In black metal, the cipher of Queen Alexandra ensigned with the Imperial Crown. On cap - In silver, the cipher of Queen Alexandra ensigned with the Imperial Crown. (On buttons in front, two crossed khukris enclosing a ' 3 ' in silver.)* 4.TH PRINCE OF WALES'S OWN GURKHAS

On buttons - In black horn, crossed khukris surmounted by the plume of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. In the lower angle of the khukris, the f i g u r e ' I V . On collar of tunic and mess-jacket - In silver the plume of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. On collar of service dress - Nil. On head-dress (amendment of April 1939 adds 'on white full dress helmet') - In bronze, crossed khukris, surmounted by the plume of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. In the lower angle of the khukris, the figure '4'. (Note: The same amendment alters 'silver' to 'bronze'.) On cap - In silver, as on collar of tunic and messjacket. (Note: The boss was black.)

On collar of tunic and mess-jacket - In silver, crossed khukris with ' 5 ' in the upper angle, surmounted by the Royal Crest. On the collar of service jacket - Nil. On head-dress - As in column 3 (e.g. collar) to be worn on white full-dress helmet. On cap - As in column 3 (e.g. collar). (Note: The boss was black.) 6TH GURKHA RIFLES

On buttons - In black horn, crossed khukris, edge downwards and '6' between the handles. On collar of tunic and mess-jacket - In silver, crossed khukris, edge downwards and '6' between the handles. On collar of service jacket - Nil. On helmet - Nil. On cap - In silver, crossed khukris, edge downwards and '6' between the handles below a scroll inscribed 'GURKHA RIFLES'. (Note: Amendment No. 25 of November 1932 deleted the reference to a scroll inscribed Gurkha Rifles, while a later amendment, No. 33 of April 1938 added, after the word 'handles', 'on a black boss'.)

5TH ROYAL GURKHA RIFLES (FRONTIER FORCE)

On buttons - In black horn, crossed khukris with ' 5 ' in the upper angle, surmounted by the Royal Crest.

7TH GURKHA RIFLES

* On Kilmarnock cap - In white metal, crossed khukris, edge upwards with ' 3 ' in upper angle surmounted by the cipher of Queen Alexandra ensigned with the Imperial Crown.

On buttons - In black horn crossed khukris, edge upwards with '7' in upper angle. On collars - Nil. On helmet - In silver, crossed khukris, edge upwards with '7' in the upper angle.

This fine Caton Woodville sketch shows Gurkhas in action during the First World War. It has an unusual central figure - the havildar-major is not often the centrepiece of a picture. Note that he has two miniature

kukris attached to his fighting weapon, while the bugler behind h i m has only one and other ranks have none: the significance of this feature is not clear. (National Army Museum)

36

On officers' forage cap - As above (in miniature) mounted on a red silk cord boss. 9TH

British officer in review order, 1920s; a sketch by Colonel Borrowman of the 1/4th Gurkhas. The khaki helmet has a narrow leather binding at the edge. A khaki shirt and tie is worn under a barathea jacket. The Sam Browne belt is black with white metal mounts, and boots, gaiters, and spur-straps are all black. The swordknot is black, and the revolver lanyard probably the same, although the 5th had red. The scabbard is black leather with steel m o u n t s and the spurs steel. Shoulder-titles and rankbadges are black. (National Army Museum)

8TH

GURKHA

RIFLES

On buttons - In black horn, crossed khukris with '8' in upper angle. On collar of tunic and mess-jacket - In silver crossed khukris with '8' in the upper angle. {Note: Altered by amendment No. 35 of 1938 to 'Nil'.) On collar of service dress - Nil. On head-dress - Nil. On cap - In silver on a black bar as on collar of mess-jacket. {Note: Amendment No. 35 of 1938 adds 'On Kilmarnock cap - In silver, crossed khukries with " 8 " in upper angle.'

RIFLES

On buttons - In black horn, crossed khukris, edge downwards with '9' in lower angle. On collar of tunic and mess-jacket — In silver, crossed khukris, with a crown in the upper angle, and '9' in lower angle. On collar of service dress - Nil. On helmet - In silver, crossed khukris edge downwards with '9' in lower angle. On cap - In silver on a black bar as on helmet. Note: The original entries for this regiment were so full of misprints as to be almost meaningless. An order, No. 50 of October 1938, finally made sense of them. Collar badges were worn on messjackets only, the head-dress badge was to be worn on helmet and Kilmarnock, in white metal, and the silver cap badge was to be worn on a 'black boss' not 'bar'. 10TH

On cap - In silver, as on helmet. (Note: The field cap had a black boss for the badge.) Note: An amendment No. 34 of April 1938 altered the entry about the head-dress to read: 'On felt hat, 1st Battalion - In black metal crossed khukries, edge uppermost with " 7 " in the upper angle. 2nd Battalion - In silver, crossed khukries, edge uppermost with " 7 " in the upper angle.' To the column 6 (the cap) was added: 'On Kilmarnock cap - In silver, crossed khukries edge uppermost with " 7 " in the upper angle.'

GURKHA

G U R K H A RIFLES

On buttons - In black horn, a bugle suspended by knotted strings crossed by a khukri, edge downwards. On collar openners, jacket only - In silver, a bugle suspended by knotted strings crossed by a khukri edge downwards. (What collar openners are eludes me.) On collar of service dress - Nil. On helmet - Crossed khukris, edge downwards and '15' in upper angle. (The printer had evidently run amuck, and an order No. 20 of September 1937 stated the helmet badge was to be the same as on collars. On forage cap - Gurkha officers, Kilmarnock cap - In silver as on collar, on a black boss. {Note: The boss was worn only on the forage cap, not on the Kilmarnock.)

In wartime it is every man for himself, and regulations tend to be forgotten if not deliberately flouted while each man looks to his own comfort and each C O . to the practical clothing of his unit. But even in war some line must be drawn, and in a Special Indian Army Order No. 7/S of October

37

1942 Lord Wavell endeavoured to draw it. The object was to 'reduce the number of variations in patterns of uniforms' and to 'eliminate' such monstrosities as suede shoes and boots, shortsleeved shirts (mosquitoes liked these), corduroy trousers (which wore remarkably well) and 'irregular garters, flashes, e t c ' As usual the wearing of unauthorized items was forbidden, and as usual they flourished. But there is a particularly interesting para (5): 'b. When travelling by air. Except when expressly authorized by G . H . Q . uniform will NOT be worn by serving personnel of H . M . Forces travelling on any journey by air which entails passage through a neutral country (Egypt and Iraq excepted).' Further puzzle: Shorts were not to be worn in Lisbon, but the provisions of this order did not apply to W.A.C.(I)! Briefly the dress laid down was as follows: In hot climate for all ranks: cellular bush-shirts, trousers or shorts (the former after sunset, because of mosquitoes), anklets or short puttees with hosetops. In cold climate: battledress with boots and

A Gurkha havildar, 1945 - instantly recognizable as the work of Colonel Borrowman, and typifying the archetypal Gurkha r e m e m b e r e d by all who served alongside t h e m in the Second World War. The khaki battledress w a s often manufactured in Australia. The camouflage net fitted over the bush hat is interesting. (National Army Museum) Gurkha orderly, 1945, in the dress which might be worn by the colonel's stick orderly of the day, possibly at the depot: another fine sketch by Colonel Borrowman of the 1/4th. The rifleman w e a r s light khaki drill bush-shirt and slacks, with the usual khaki webbing belt and gaiters; the buckle, dull by regulation, w a s often polished bright. The regimental badge in silver is worn on a black cloth patch on the khaki serge beret; the black cane is silvermounted. (National Army Museum)

King's Indian orderly officers, 1938. F r o m left: SubadarMajor and Honorary Lieutenant Shamsheh Sing Boima, O.B.I., 2nd; Subadar Bal Bahadur Khattri, I.D.S.M., 2/9th; Major C. M. H. Wingfield, 1/2nd; Subadar Bhawar Sing Rai, O.B.I., I.O.M., 1/10th; and Subadar Major Dalbur Chand, O.B.I., I.D.S.M., 1/5th. The outstanding feature of this picture is Major Wingfield's head-dress, an astrakhan cap of the s a m e pattern as worn by the 60th. The p l u m e w a s red over black, and the s m a l l silver regimental badge on the b o s s is as worn on the forage cap. Note how clear the dicing now appears on the left-hand cap. (Courtesy, Colonel Frank Wilson) "

38

anklets or short puttees (on parade); or heavy flannel shirts, pullover jerseys, shorts or trousers and anklets, or short puttees with hosetops. When full equipment was not worn on duty, the belt alone must be worn, and trousers must not have turnups, under pain of death! There was much latitude for officers and other ranks on static staff or garrison duties, such as the wearing of stockings and shoes with shorts when not on parade. Divisional signs were to be worn by all ranks, also on the greatcoat, and new badges of rank for Indian officers were introduced: Risaldar and Subadar-Majors - Khaki detachable shoulder-strap with three braid bands, each band

consisting of three strands of braid, red, yellow, red, with a miniature silver crown on each band. Risaldar and Subadar - Two braids with a miniature silver star on each. Jemadar - One braid band as above with a miniature silver star. After the Second World War full-dress uniforms as hitherto understood virtually vanished, and an outfit known as No. 1 dress (based, one is tempted to believe, upon the London Transport model) became almost universal throughout the British Army of which those Gurkhas remaining outside the Partition of India now formed a part. Service dress followed the current fashions and exigencies of the service, proving practical and serviceable, which is all that should be asked of service dress. PIPE BANNERS

Mr W. Y. Carman of the National Army Museum gives some details, writing in the Bulletin of the Military Historical Society in November 1962. He gives no date but states that the 6th had a dark green banner with the crowned kukris over a '6' in red, while the 7th had a similar banner with the regimental badge and battle-honour scrolls, and the 10th their bugle-horn badge also between battle honours. All these were guidon or split-tail pattern. The new banners presented to the 6th at about the date of Mr Carman's article were exceptionally fine and were far more like regimental colours than is usual. One was green, the other blue. Both are guidon-shaped, that is to say have a double-pointed bottom, and each has a crown and rose, and a thistle-and-shamrock wreath embroidered in coloured silk after the time-honoured design of British infantry colours. Both are fringed. In the centre of one, all upon scarlet, is 'E II R' within a garter bearing the title, VI QUEEN ELIZABETH'S OWN GURKHA RIFLES. The second or blue banner has the centre regimental motif of crossed kukris, edge downwards, ensigned with a crown, and '6' in the lower angle, and the battalion number T' in the top corner. The 7th, who became the Duke of Edinburgh's Own in 1959, were given a banner with the Duke's coat of arms emblazoned thereon, the obverse being green with the regimental badge between

two columns of battle honours, and green and white fringe. The 10th had recently a guidon-pattern banner with the full regimental badge and fringed with a mixed fringe of metal and a colour in true cavalry guidon style. The Engineers' banner is described as on a dark ground a gilt grenade over silver kukris and a dark red (?) fringe. Finally, the 2/6th have a banner with the regimental crest on one side, b u t upon the other appears the Prussian eagle and title upon a scroll of the 14/20th Hussars, commemorating the Battle of Medecina in Italy, when in 1945 the 14/20th's armoured carriers took the 2/6th into action. From a photograph the badge upon the pipe-major's black sword-belt is exactly of the pattern described for officers' pouch-belts in the 1914 Regulations.

Drum-major of the Gurkha Signals, in white full-dress patrol jacket worn with white shorts and black boots and puttees. The black sash is embroidered in gold and silver, the crown in silk of 'proper' colours. The silver-topped staff does not have twisted chains. The gold-on-black chevrons can be seen on the right forearm. (Army Public Relations)

39

THE TARTANS USED BY GURKHA PIPE BANDS*

The 8th Gurkhas use a 'Universal' tartan that appears to be a variation on the Black Watch or the Sutherland tartan, on bagpipes (covers) and as ribbons. The 9th use none. T h e 1st Battalion of the 1st use 'Childers' - a transposed Mackintosh tartan. The 2nd Battalion use MacKenzie, both battalions using the tartan as plaids, pipe-bag covers and ribbons. Neither the 1st nor 2nd Battalions of the 4th use tartan. T h e 2nd Battalion of the 5th use Black Watch for plaid, bag, and ribbons, and the 6th Gurkha Rifles use Black Watch for bags and ribbons only. THE KUKRI

The kukri knife, the national weapon of the Gurkhas, has attracted myths in proportion to its fame. T w o may be mentioned: that the kukri may be thrown, and returns to its owner's hand like a boomerang after filleting an enemy; and that for 'religious reasons' the kukri may be drawn only to spill blood, and that the owner must therefore nick his finger each time he draws it to clean the blade. The truth is less colourful, for which the Gurkhas must be thankful - one can pass a heavy, razor-sharp blade across one's finger only a limited number of times without running a severe risk of digital amputation. * From Clans, Septs and Regiments of the Scottish Highlands, Frank Adams, 1934.

T h e kukri is produced in many sizes for many types of task, but the unique 'dog-leg' shape is constant. The blade swells from a narrow neck into a very broad, down-swept leaf shape, which tapers again to a sharp point. The back edge is unsharpened and very thick and the lower or cutting edge is razor-sharp. The steel is of excellent temper, and the great weight imparted by the thick back edge makes the kukri a terrifyingly effective chopping-knife. Its balance is such that throwing is quite impossible. It is used for all the dozen and one tasks which crop up in camp and in the field - clearing undergrowth, chopping firewood, and so forth. It is also the Gurkha soldier's preferred hand-to-hand weapon in combat. From the earliest days of the Gurkha battalions in British service up to the present day, the kukri has been carried in a sheath on the waist-belt alongside the soldier's regulation weapons and equipment. At close quarters, especially in jungle or other thickly wooded country, a skilled man can wield the kukri with greater ease and more devastating effect than a rifle and fixed bayonet. For all his small stature the Gurkha has immense wiry strength, and there are numerous reliable accounts of enemy heads struck off at a single blow. The enemies against whom the Gurkha has been sent, especially in recent generations, have tended to find this more than a little unnerving.

Pipe-major of the Gurkha Signals. The magnificent pipe-banner bears the a r m s of the Princess Royal, at that t i m e the Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Corps of Signals to which the Gurkha unit is affiliated. The tartan is Grant, and the 'tourie' on the Kilmarnock light blue. The corps has a second banner, dark red with a gilt crown over a silver Mercury above crossed kukris edge upwards. (Army Public Relations)

40

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NAPOLEON'S POLISH T R O O P S Otto von Pivka

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LIEUTENANT-COLONEL J. B. R. NICHOLSON (Retd.) was educated at Beaumont, followed by the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He served with the 18th King Edward V I I ' s Own Cavalry and was invalided out at the end of the Second World War. He is now editor of the military history magazine, Tradition, and has written prolifically on military costume, weapons and allied subjects. He is a prominent member of the Sealed Knot, the society of Cavaliers and Roundheads.

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LES GUIDES DU PENDJAB 12.12.1846 : Levée du Corps des guides 1 peloton de cavalerie et 2 compagnies d’infanterie par H Lumsden 1849 : Dans une lettre au Major W S R Hodson, son adjoint et commandant en 2nd, il annonce que l’ensemble des effets du personnel sera « in mud color », couleur de boue. Ce qui sera transcrit par le terme de « kaki » ou « poussière ». Un troisième terme est utilisé en anglais : « drab », sale 1876 : Queen’s Own Corps of Guides. 1879 : Q’s O.C of guides Pendjab F.F 1903 : Queen’s Own Corps of Guides (Frontier Force) 1911 : Queen Victoria’s Own Corps of Guides Frontier Force ( Lumsden ‘s) 1922 : 10th Queen Victoria’s own Corps of guides Cavalry (F.F) 5th Bn Queen Victoria’s Own Corps of Guides - 12th Frontier Force Regiment et 10th Bn 1927 : The Guides Cavalry (10th) (Queen Victoria’s Own Frontier Force) L’unité revient au Pakistan à la partition, ayant conservé son uniforme couleur kaki avec C.D rouge depuis les débuts. Garnison : PESCHAWAR Honneurs de bataille : PUNJAB – MOOLTAN – GOOJERAT – DELHI – ALIMASJID – KABUL 1879 – AFGANISTAN 1878/80 – CHITRAL –PUNJAB FRONTIER – MALAKAND NB :

le commandant en 2nd du Corps des Guides, William Stephen Raikes Hodson ancien des fusiliers du Bengale, lève plusieurs petites unités lors de la mutinerie ( révolte des Cipayes). En 1847, elles forment le «Hodson‘s horse (régiment de cavalerie de Hodson), numéroté 1er en 1858. Il est alors habillé de kaki, avec la C.D rouge (turban et « cummerbund » et écharpe sur les épaules). À la mort de Hodson, le major Daly des guides commande l’unité, dont il est formé 3 régiments : 1er, 2ème, et 3ème Régiments de Cavalerie de Hodson, le 3ème Régiment est licencié en 1860. En 1861 le 1er Régiment est numéroté 9ème R.C du Bengale, le 2ème Régiment ; 10ème R.C.B. Ils finiront « Lanciers ». SUR LA FRONTIÈRE DU NORD-OUEST LE COL DE LA RIVIÈRE KHYBER Autrement dit « khyber pass » Il s’agit d’une vallée encaissée qui permet la liaison entre Peshawra à l’est (versant indien) et Kaboul à l’ouest (versant afgan). La route est dominée par les forts de Jamrud- Maude, Ali Masjid et Landi Kotal (d’est en ouest). Ils sont défendus par un contingent indigène d’origine locale : les tirailleurs de Khyber « Khyber Rifles ». L’effectif de chaque fort est modeste 370h pour celui de Landi Kotal. L’officier commandant est le capitaine Barton du Corps des Guides de Cavalerie, il se doute de ce que l’avenir lui réserve quand il apprend que près de 10 000 guerriers Afridis avancent vers le col. La seconde guerre afghane s’est terminée en 1895. Mais les opérations continuent dans ce secteur. Il se trouve alors prés de 12000h de toutes armes et services à Peshawar, sous le commandement de Sir Richard Vony, le commissaire pour la région (commisioner)lequel prévenu, ne lèvera pas le petit doigt pour envoyer quelque renfort que ce soit au secours des garnisons des forts.

Les Afridis arrivent de l’ouest… Le paysage ? La montagne…

Le capitaine ne doute pas du futur : il reste seul … 23.08.1897 : Le fort Ai Masjid tombe presque sans résistance Fort maude : ils sont quarante défenseurs à moins de 6 km de Jamrud et quelques uns réussissent à s’échapper à la horde déferlante 24.08.1897 : Landi Khotal est attaquée à midi : la garnison tient un jour et une nuit sous les ordres des officiers indigènes. Quelques-uns rejoindront Jamrud L’Angleterre vient de perdre le contrôle du Col de la Khyber, de l’autre côté il y a l’Afghanistan mais aussi derrière la Russie impériale qui pousse son avantage. La reine Victoria aussi impératrice des Indes manifeste son mécontentement. C’est alors la troisième guerre afghane : 1919 le col est réoccupé, mais les opérations se poursuivent. Enfin en 1939, la frontière est relativement calme. Été 1947 « Finis Indea » avec la partition Inde - Pakistan Aujourd’hui 2000, ces 2 états se disputent le Cachemire. Et les Khyber Rifles d’aujourd’hui ne sont plus que les gardiens d’une histoire devenue légende. (D’après : W.Y Carman B Mollo, M Barthiorp et R Wilkinson-Lothan)

LE RÉGIMENT DE LA FRONTIERE « FRONTIER FORCE » LES RÉGIMENTS « KAKI » Visez mon capitaine, ce sont nos oiseaux d’argile ! crie un canonnier (=artilleur) à son officier qui s’apprêtait à ouvrir le feu pendant l’une des premières expéditions jamais montées contre les bubus hostiles sur la frontière du nord-ouest de l’Inde britanniques. Les hommes que la vue perçante de l’artilleur a reconnu juste à temps, ne sont pas des hommes des tribus mais appartiennent à une unité destinée à devenir dans le futur l’un des fameux régiments de la vieille armée indienne le Corps des Guides récemment levé contre les éléments de la force irrégulière du Pendjab, futur force de la frontière pour contrôler les diverses tribus de Pathans qui habitaient cette frontière montagneuse et « hors la loi » ; ce qui ressortait de la responsabilité britannique à la suite de la conquête et de l’annexion du royaume Sikh du Pendjab en 1849. Les oiseaux d’argile faisaient allusion aux Guides à leur uniforme nouveau et particulière de couleur de la poussière ou kaki pour se confondre avec le sol. Ce furent les premières troupes à porter une telle tenue à une époque où les autres soldats en Inde et ailleurs combattaient dans leurs uniformes traditionnels rouges, bleus, verts ou blancs. Cinquante ans plus tard et après quelques quarante expéditions, toutes les troupes engagées sur

la frontière britannique (=anglaise), indienne ou Gourkha (Gourkhalies) étaient habillées de kaki. (Introduction à « The frontier Ablaze » par M. Barthorp - traduction original de C.J.M Londres 1996) (Mudlarh : oiseau d’argile / oiseau de boue / presque « tas de boue » dans la bouche du lilitaire, avec une nuance d’incrédulité ou d’agacement) Seulement voilà une autre version à la fois semblable mais plus précise sur la suggestion du colonel H Lawrence Agent du Gouverneur Général pour la frontière du nord-ouest et qui prévoit la création de 2 compagnies d’infanterie des guides de 100 hommes chacune, et d’un peloton de 100 sabres. Le Corps des Guides est levé le 14.12.1846 avec le Lieutenant H.B Lumsden comme commandant. Ce que nous savons déjà mais l’auteur du texte ajoute « ils furent les premiers soldats d’entre toutes les armées du monde à porter le kaki, kaki signifiant poussière en persan. La couleur d’origine était un gris bleu clair mais non la teinte marron d’aujourd’hui. Un autre auteur dit « chocolat » qui ressemblait fort avant 1947 à un brun rouge conservé par certaines unités de l’actuelle armée indienne et pakistanaise. À noter que ce gris bleu est celui des tenues d’outre-mer de l’armée impériale allemande (1914) (Tradition n°73 Belmont Maitland 1974) Pour avoir essayé d’y voir clair quant à la couleur correspondante au kaki des textes, en se reportant aux oeuvres des artistes comtemporain ou des illustrateurs en matière d’uniformes des troupes britanniques tant métropolitaines qu’indigènes (indienne, africaine) il est possible d’en arriver aux définitions suivantes :

autres.

- Couleur gris- bleu des deux ou trois premières années : « poussière » « dust » - Couleur beige clair presque blanc des années suivantes dite aussi beige colonial (des effets modernes récents) boue, argile mud - Couleur ocre (jaune) des tenues des années 1899.1900 plus ou moins claire ou foncée : drab. En particulier pour celle des unités engagées dans la guerre des Boers - Cette dernière est alors teintée de vert (1900) pour les tenue de certaines unités ce qui explique les couleurs kaki : celle à dominante ocres jaune ou beige( sable) colonial et à celle nuancée de vert plus ou moins profondément . Laquelle aboutira au vert jungle au lendemain de 1945 (armée américaine ) La nuance brun rouge / chocolat d’un des auteurs paraît singulière aux unités indiennes et pakistanaises. En France, nous aurons la nuance réséda et la nuance moutarde (jaune) sans compter toutes les Mais le sujet est inépuisable. TENUES DU CORPS DES GUIDES

Remarque préliminaire : Deux effets militaires européens sans compter le dolman du style hussard de la cavalerie légère ou de l’artillerie se retrouve à l’armée des Indes : -Le dolman des chasseurs d’Afrique à cinq brandebourgs (voir croquis) -La litewka des Hussards prussiens semblable à la tunique des Hussards anglais, avec 5 brandebourgs sur 3 rangs de boutons ou d’olives (voir croquis)

CAVALERIE 1890 – Officier : Tenue kaki - passepoils rouges - galons du fond C.D velours rouge - galons soie kaki - cuir marron - ornements : métal d’argent 1901 - Tunique du modèle des Hussards 5 brandebourgs du fond - Colet parements rouges - Insignes de grade argent – Cuirs marrons – Mêmes ornements - Pantalon à bande latérale rouge entre 2 galons du fond - Turban : jaune rayé de bleu – Casque couvert en blanc – Bottes ou souliers noirs 1906-1908 Tenue : kaki - C.D velours rouges – Galons soie kaki – Casque blanc - ornement argent - turban (pugri) jaune, bleu clair et bleu foncé à filets intercalaires blancs - Col et parements : rouges - galonnage kaki : cf croquis – Bottes cuir noir - Gants blancs - Cuir marron – galonnage argent monogramme de la reine Victoria avec couronne Tudor, entouré de la jarretière ; à l’intérieur d’une banderole portant « Queen’s Own Corps of Guides » - Bélières avec bord en chainette argent - dragonne avec passant et gland argent – sabre : garde et monture argent INFANTERIE 1895 Troupe et sergent. Tenue kaki - col et parements rouges – Mètal argent – Cuirs marrons ornement argent – pas de C.D à la troupe – Fusil Martini-Henry mod 1871 avec baïonnette à douille L’un des soldats a revetu le pushteen en peau de mouton Subedar – Lieutenant : tunique foncée 1908 L’ensemble a déjà été décrit, sauf la coupe de la tunique semblable à celle des tuniques de Hussards britaniques CAVALERIE 1897 –1898 (d’après Douglas N Anderson) Kullah rouge - turban bleu foncé et blanc rayé de bleu Kurta beige - sable clair - métal argent - pattes d’épaules en chaînette sur fond rouge – Cummerbund rouge - métal argent et cuir marron - monogramme jaune - sous plaque argent - harnachement cuir marron 10th Queen Victoria’s own Corps of guides Cavalry (Frontier force) 1914 Major : casque blanc turban jaune et bleu jugulaire chaînettes argent - Tunique kaki nuance chocolat - col et parements rouges avec galonnage or - épaulette et brandebourg or olives or - épaulettes dressées or - cuir noir - ornement argent - sabre monté et fourreau argent - dragonnes cuir marron rayé argent. Risaldar Pathan : Kulla rouge turban jaune et bleu Lieutenant : 2 clous or – Même ensemble : sauf bord en chainette au col renversé – Epaulettes en chainette sur fond rouge - broderie or s/devant et s/parement et manches - cummerbund rouge - sabre réglementaire comme ci-dessus - banderole de giberne avec ornements argents - ensemble …….« Sam Browne belt » avec plaque argent et monogramme or - bottes noires - éperons blancs REGIMENT DE CEYLAN - NAIK 1840

Tenue des « Rifles » Coiffure noire - ornements verts Tenue verte -En noir : passepoil du col -des devant -des pattes de parement -parements et épaulettes - franges et passepoil - pattes d’épaule verte - ceinture rouge à trois filets noirs - boutons noirs - cordonnets noirs sandales - banderole blanche - giberne noire fusil : Baker modèles 1800 avec sabre-baïonette (porte-baïonnette sous la ceinture)on trouve aussi col noir passepoil vert Pas d’indication sur l’historique du corps. En 1944 il existait une unité du « Ceylan Light Infantry » Cavalerie du corps des guides Harnachements de cuir marron - dispositions particulières du sabre (ici modèle réglementaire les officiers et indigènes dispose parfois d’armes locales)- Soulier à tige montante avec éperon « Puttees » ou bande molletière, une originalité de l’armée des Indes. Mais apparue à quelle date ? Vers 1850 … Officier de la cavalerie du corps des guides

Pas d’indications particulières (cf : cavalerie) Tapis de selle fourrure noire galonné argent - tenue kaki nuance ocre sable - harnachement cuir avec corde dressée blanche. NB : Pour le ceinturon plaque rectangulaire (cavalerie) ou circulaire modèle 1854 (infanterie) toujours en usage dans la garde à pied (1999) et à l’origine de la plaque du ceinturon des boys-scouts du Lieutenant Général RSS Baden-Powell, réglementaire après 1854…puis remplacée

Kulla

Alkhalak : une kurka plus étroite arrêtée aux genoux ( plus droite)

Cummerbund

Plaque

Kurka

Chainette en patte d’épaule

Lungi (safa)

Boucle serpentine Col

Parement

CAVALERIE

CORPS DES GUIDES INFANTERIE

10th Queen Victoria’s Own Corps of Guides Cavalry (Frontier force)

1895 GUIDES INFANTERIE

CAVALERIE

CEYLON Rgt NAIK 1840