The Lahore Division first appears in the Indian Army List in 1852, when the short-lived Cis-Jhelum Division was renamed (at the same time the Trans-Jhelum Division at Peshawar was renamed the Punjab Division). The Cis-Jhelum Division in turn had previously been the Saugor Division, a longstanding formation of the Bengal Army.[2] At this period Divisions were primarily administrative organisations controlling the brigades and stations in their area, rather than field formations, but they did provide field forces when required. The Lahore Division absorbed the Lahore Field Force under Brigadier Sir James Tennant, which had formed part of the Army of the Punjab since 1847.[3]Lahore Fort was occupied by the British after the First Anglo-Sikh War and the city of Lahore was annexed in 1849 at the conclusion of the Second Anglo-Sikh War. In 1852 a military cantonment (known until 1906 as Mian Mir) was established outside the city.[4]
Composition 1852
'Policemen Indiens de la Division de Lahore et l'A.P.M Locon', November 19143rd (Lahore Division) in camp at Cercottes near Orléans in France.Study of a sepoy, standing beside a limber, with diagrams and dimensions of the limber, Estaires, France, 5 June 1915
HQ, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Companies, 2nd (European) Battalion, Bengal Foot Artillery (1st Company and O Company Ordnance Drivers manning No 7 Light Field Battery (horsedrawn))
2nd Company, 8th (Native) Battalion, Bengal Foot Artillery, and D Company Ordnance drivers, manning No 2 Light Field Battery (bullock drawn)
During the 'Indian Mutiny' (or 'First War of Independence') some Indian regiments at the Mian Mir cantonments plotted to mutiny but were disarmed under the guns of a British horse artillery battery and infantry battalion to prevent them seizing Lahore Fort. Later the 26th Bengal Native Infantry at Mian Mir did mutiny, murder some of their officers and escape under cover of a dust storm, but Lahore was held for the remainder of the conflict by British troops and Indians troops loyal to the government.[7]
Post-Mutiny
Over succeeding decades, the stations controlled by Lahore Division varied, and the forces under command were regularly rotated. For example:
Under the reforms introduced by Lord Roberts as Commander-in-Chief (CinC) India, the Divisions were renamed 1st Class Districts in 1890. In the next round of reforms inaugurated by Lord Kitchener as CinC, they became numbered divisions with their territorial affiliation as a subsidiary title. The title 3rd (Lahore) Division first appears in the Army List between 30 September and 31 December 1904, as part of Northern Command, with the Jullunder, Sirhind and Ambala brigades under command. Lahore District/3rd (Lahore) Division at this time was under the command of Major General Walter Kitchener, the CinC's younger brother, who commanded it at the Rawalpindi Parade 1905. In 1914 the division, with headquarters at Dalhousie, consisted of the Ferozepore, Jullunder (based at Dalhousie) and Sirhind (based at Kasauli) infantry brigades, and the Ambala cavalry brigade (based at Kasauli).[10]
World War I
Western Front 1914
Indian reinforcements who fought at Givenchy in December 1914Major General Philip M. Carnegy, Commander of Jullundur Brigade
In 1914 the 3rd (Lahore) Division was part of Indian Expeditionary Force A sent to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) fighting in France. The bulk constituted an infantry division as part of Indian Corps, while the Ambala Cavalry Brigade was detached to form part of 1st Indian Cavalry Division in the Indian Cavalry Corps. While in France the division was known as the Lahore Division, and its brigades by their names, to avoid confusion with the 3rd British Division. Despatch from India was delayed by the activities of the German raiders Emden and Konigsberg operating in the Indian Ocean, and by the slow speed of the transport vessels. The first two brigades landed at Marseilles on 26 September 1914, but there were further delays while the troops were re-armed with the latest pattern rifle, and the supply train could be improvised, using tradesmen's vans procured locally.[11]
The 3rd Lahore Divisional Area was formed in late 1914 to take over the garrison duties of the 3rd Division when it left for France. The 3rd Lahore Divisional Area was disbanded in May 1917, the responsibilities of the area being taken over by the 16th Division.
The division finally got into action piecemeal at the simultaneous Battles of La Bassee, 1st Messines and Armentieres along the British part of the Western Front in October–November 1914. The degree to which the division was broken up can be gauged by the 29 October entry in the diary kept by the Indian corps' commander, Lt-Gen Sir James Willcocks:
"Where is my Lahore Division? Sirhind Brigade detained in Egypt. Ferozepore Brigade: somewhere in the north, split up into three or four bits. Jullunder Brigade: Manchesters gone south to (British) 5 Division (this disposes of only British unit) 47th Sikhs: Half fighting with some British division; half somewhere else! 59th Rifles and 15th Sikhs: In trenches 34th Pioneers (divisional troops) also in trenches 15th Lancers: In trenches. Two companies of Sappers and Miners fighting as infantry with British divisions. Divisional Headquarters: Somewhere? Thank heaven the Meerut Division will get a better chance."[14]
When the troops were relieved in November 1914, the reassembled division defended a section of the front in Indian Corps' sector.
Western Front 1915
After winter operations (in which the Indian soldiers suffered badly) the division next took part in the Battles of Neuve Chapelle, Aubers Ridge, Festubert and Loos in 1915.[1]
Divisional Troops:
As before, with addition of XLIII (Howitzer Bde, RA (40th & 57th Batteries)
Mesopotamia
On 13 August 1915, General Sir John Nixon, commanding Indian Expeditionary Force D in Mesopotamia, requested one of the Indian infantry divisions in France as reinforcements for his advance on Baghdad. Coincidentally, on the same day, the Secretary of State for India, Austen Chamberlain, told the Viceroy of India that he was anxious for the Indian infantry to be withdrawn from France before they had to endure another winter. The system for supplying drafts had broken down and the Indian battalions were becoming very weak after the heavy casualties they had suffered. Although the Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, objected to their withdrawal from the Western Front, orders were issued on 31 October for the two divisions of Indian Corps (3rd (Lahore) and 7th (Meerut) Division) to embark at Marseilles for Mesopotamia. They were to leave behind their attached Territorial Force and Special Reserve battalions, and the three RFA brigades of 18-pounder guns of 3rd (Lahore) Division.[16] The two divisions were relieved in the front line on 6 November and were due at Basra in December, but their departure from Marseilles was delayed because of fear of submarine attack.[17] 3rd (Lahore) Division finally arrived in Mesopotamia in April 1916 and joined Tigris Corps, too late to relieve 6th (Poona) Division at Kut-al-Amara.[18]
(372, 373 and 374 were new six-gun 18-pounder batteries formed in 64th (2nd Highland) Division's billeting area round Norwich, England, in December 1916[23] and shipped to Mesopotamia.[24])
Army Council Instructions Issued During December 1916, London: HM Stationery Office.
Bullock, David L. (1988). Allenby's War: the Palestine-Arabian Campaigns 1916–1918. London: Blandford. ISBN0-7137-1869-2.
Corrigan, Gordon (1999). Sepoys in the Trenches: the Indian Corps on the Western Front, 1914-1915. Staplehurst: Spellmount. ISBN1-86227-054-6.
Edmonds, Sir James E. (1995) [1925]. France and Belgium, 1914: Antwerp, La Bassee, Armentieres, Messines, and Ypres, October–November 1914. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. II (facs. repr. Imperial War Museum and Battery Press ed.). London: Macmillan. ISBN1-870423-55-0.
Edmonds, Sir James Edward; Wynne, Graeme Chamley (1928). Military Operations, France and Belgium, 1915: Battle of Aubers Ridge, Festubert, and Loos. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. II. London: Macmillan. OCLC911247753.
Kempton, Chris (1997). A Register of Titles of the Units of the H.E.I.C. and Indian Armies 1666–1947. British Empire and Commonwealth Museum Research Paper No 1. ISBN0-9530174-0-0.
Moberly, Frederick James (1924). Military Operations: The Campaign in Mesopotamia. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. II. London: HMSO.
Moberly, Frederick James (1927). Military Operations: The Campaign in Mesopotamia. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. IV. London: HMSO.
Perry, F. W. (1993). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 5B. Indian Army Divisions. Newport: Ray Westlake Military Books. ISBN1-871167-23-X.
External links
British Empire has list of all Indian Army regiments with pictures of their regimental badges.
Imperial Gazetteer of India 1908–30, gives complete list of Indian towns and their history and establishment.
India
British Indian Army
