1.
Presidencies and provinces of British India
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Provinces of India, earlier Presidencies of British India and still earlier, Presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in the subcontinent. Collectively, they were called British India, in one form or other they existed between 1612 and 1947, conventionally divided into three historical periods. During 1612–1757, the East India Company set up factories in several locations, mostly in coastal India and its rivals were the merchant trading companies of Holland and France. By the mid-18th century, three Presidency towns, Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta had grown in size, during the period of Company rule in India, 1757–1858, the Company gradually acquired sovereignty over large parts of India, now called Presidencies. However, it increasingly came under British government oversight, in effect sharing sovereignty with the Crown. At the same time it gradually lost its mercantile privileges, following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Companys remaining powers were transferred to the Crown. In the new British Raj, sovereignty extended to a few new regions, increasingly, however, unwieldy presidencies were broken up into Provinces. In 1608, the English East India Company established a settlement at Surat, and it was followed in 1611 by a permanent factory at Machilipatnam on the Coromandel Coast, and in 1612 the company joined other already established European trading companies in Bengal. Company rule in Bengal, however, ended with the Government of India Act 1858 following the events of the Bengal Rebellion of 1857 and these rulers were allowed a measure of internal autonomy in exchange for British suzerainty. British India constituted a significant portion of India both in area and population, in 1910, for example, it covered approximately 54% of the area, in addition, there were Portuguese and French exclaves in India. Independence from British rule was achieved in 1947 with the formation of two nations, the Dominions of India and Pakistan, the latter also including East Bengal, present-day Bangladesh. The term British India also applied to Burma for a time period, starting in 1824, a small part of Burma. This arrangement lasted until 1937, when Burma commenced being administered as a separate British colony, British India did not apply to other countries in the region, such as Sri Lanka, which was a British Crown colony, or the Maldive Islands, which were a British protectorate. It also included the Colony of Aden in the Arabian Peninsula, the original seat of government was at Allahabad, then at Agra from 1834 to 1868. Bombay Presidency, East India Companys headquarters moved from Surat to Bombay in 1687, the East India Company, which was incorporated on 31 December 1600, established trade relations with Indian rulers in Masulipatam on the east coast in 1611 and Surat on the west coast in 1612. The company rented a trading outpost in Madras in 1639, meanwhile, in eastern India, after obtaining permission from the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to trade with Bengal, the Company established its first factory at Hoogly in 1640. Almost a half-century later, after Emperor Aurengzeb forced the Company out of Hooghly, by the mid-18th century the three principal trading settlements, now called the Madras Presidency, the Bombay Presidency, and the Bengal Presidency were each administered by a Governor. After Robert Clives victory in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, in 1772, the Company also obtained the Nizāmat of Bengal and thereby full sovereignty of the expanded Bengal Presidency
2.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice
3.
Mardan
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Mardan is a city and the headquarters of Mardan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. The name Mardan was given to an area after the name of Pir Mardan Shah. Gradually, a surrounding area came to be known as Mardan. The area constituting Mardan district is a part of the Peshawar valley, until 1937, Mardan district was a part of Peshawar district. In 1937, Mardan was set up as an independent district after the name of its headquarters town, Mardan is the 19th largest city of Pakistan. It is the de facto headquarters of the Yousafzai tribe, although a significant number of Momands have settled there over the past years. It is the second most populous city in the province, located in the south west of the district at 34°120N 72°160E, the villages are divided into Kandis. Each kandi is further divided into sub-sections, the divisions of Kandis are on the pattern of agricultural lands. Their houses generally consist of two or three rooms and a court-yard known locally as ghollai and varandah, the cattle and poultry are also accommodated beside the shelter for family. Each Kandi of the village has its own mosque and its own Maulvi, in most cases it is the property of elders of the Kandi, who are expected to feed and give shelter to visitors/travelers. Nowadays, the people in service abroad have accumulated sufficient wealth which brought a change in the life of the villagers who construct pacca houses of cement, bricks. A Tandoor is also found for baking bread in many houses and sometimes women of three or four houses use one tandoor for baking bread turn by turn, the houses have huge compound walls along with gates. Chairs and tables are used in the houses of well-to-do people whereas others use the ordinary cot, the city of Mardan is featured in the novel The Far Pavilions by M. M. Kaye. Baghdada Sawal Dher Bakhshali mardan. com website
4.
Sialkot
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Sialkot is a city in, and the administrative headquarters for, Sialkot District, located in the north-east of the Punjab, Pakistan. Sialkot is Pakistans 12th most populous city, Sialkot is 5000 years old city. Sialkot was the capital of ancient Indo-Greek empire. Menander one of the Indo-Greek kings made his capital to Sialkot after the victory of Alexander the Great, Sialkot became a part of the Muslim Sultanate of Delhi when the Afghan noble Sultan Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Ghauri conquered Punjab in 1185. He was unable to conquer Lahore but left a garrison in Sialkot, later Sultan Khusro Malik tried to capture the city but failed to do so. Sialkot then became a part of the Muslim Mughal Empire, the Mughal commander Usman Ghani Raza, advanced towards Delhi by way of Sialkot which capitulated to his armies. Zaheer-ud-Din Muhammad Babur records, At the end of the Mughal dynasty the suburbs, Sialkot itself was appropriated by powerful families of Pashtuns from Multan, Afghanistan and Swat, the Kakayzai and Sherwani, and another family from Quetta. In 1748 the four districts of Sialkot, Sambrial, Pasrur and Daska were given to the Afghan Pashtun ruler Ahmed Shah Durrani, after 1751 Ahmed Shah Durrani left his son Taimur to rule Lahore and the surrounding districts. During that time Raja Ranjit Deo of Jammu expanded his dominion over the peripheral areas but not the city of Sialkot. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Sikh invaded and occupied Sialkot for about 40 years, the predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and the Pakistan Movement. After independence in 1947 the Hindu and Sikh minorities migrated to India, while Muslim refugees from India settled in the Sialkot district, Sialkot has become one of the major industrial centres of Pakistan. During the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965, when Pakistani troops arrived in Kashmir, the Pakistan Army successfully defended the city and the people of Sialkot came out in full force to support the troops. In 1966 the Government of Pakistan awarded the Hilal-i-Istaqlal to the citizens of Sialkot, Lahore and Sargodha for their courage, the armoured battles in the Sialkot sector like the Battle of Chawinda were the most intense since the Second World War. Sialkot features a subtropical climate under the Köppen climate classification. The post-monsoon season from mid-September to mid-November remains hot during the daytime but nights cool down substantially, in the winter from mid-November to March, days are pleasantly mild to warm and occasionally heavy rainfalls occur from the passage of frontal cloudbands. There is a child labour ban, the Atlanta Agreement. As of 2015, Sialkot exported US$2 billion worth of goods which is equal to 9% of Pakistans total exports, during the colonial era British Indias first bagpipe works opened in the city, today there are 20 pipe bands in the city. The 2014 FIFA World Cups soccer balls were made by Forward Sports, sialkot’s airport, funded by local businesses, is the only private one in Pakistan
5.
Military history of the North-West Frontier
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The North-West Frontier region of the British Indian Empire was the most difficult area to conquer in South Asia, strategically and militarily. The borderline between is known as the Durand Line and divides Pashtun inhabitants of these provinces from Pashtuns in eastern Afghanistan. The two main gateways on the North West Frontier are the Khyber and Bolan Passes, since ancient times, the Indian subcontinent has been repeatedly invaded through these northwestern routes. With the expansion of the Russian Empire into Central Asia in the century, stability of the Frontier. Much of the Frontier was occupied by Ranjit Singh in the early 19th century, between 1849 and 1947 the military history of the frontier was a succession of punitive expeditions against offending Pashtun tribes, punctuated by three wars against Afghanistan. Many British officers who went on to distinguished command in the First and Second World Wars learnt their soldiering on the North-West Frontier, which they called the Grim. In 1747 when Ahmad Khān Abdālī seized control of Kandahar, Kabul, and Peshawar and he went on to conquer Herat and Khorassan, and established an empire from the Oxus to the Indus. On his death in 1773, the Afghan domain included Baluchistan, Sindh, the Punjab, Ahmad Shah was succeeded by his son Timur Shah Durrani, whose rule of twenty years saw the Afghan tide begin to ebb. Timur left many sons but no heir, and the resultant internecine struggles for the throne lasted more than thirty years, during this period the Punjab was effectively ceded to its erstwhile governor Ranjit Singh, Iran recovered Khorassan, and Sindh broke away. In 1813 Sikh forces from the Punjab crossed the Indus and seized the old Mughal fort at Attock, in 1819 Kashmir was lost, and west of the Indus Derajat also. Four years later the capital at Peshawar came under attack. In 1826 Dost Mohammad Khan emerged as undisputed ruler in Kabul and he defeated a further attempt to oust him by his exiled rival Shuja Shah Durrani in 1833, however the Sikhs seized all of Peshawar the following year. In 1837 Dost Mohammad launched a counter-attack through the Khyber, Dost Mohammad had sought assistance from the East India Company against the resurgent Punjab, but was rebuffed. So Dost Mohammad turned to Imperial Russia for help, maharaja Ranjit Singh, also called Sher-e-Punjab was a Sikh ruler of the sovereign country of Punjab and the Sikh Empire. His Samadhi is located in Lahore, Pakistan and he then spent the following years fighting the Afghans, driving them out of western Punjab, taking opportunity of the Afghans being embroiled in civil war. The deposed Afghan king Shah Shuja rallied a significant number of tribes, the civil war in Afghanistan coupled with a British backed assault meant that the Sikhs could virtually walk into Peshawar. They managed to capture Pashtun territory including Peshawar which was under direct British supervision, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the East India Company controlled southern India, Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. Dominance was gained at the expense of its French equivalent, the Compagnie des Indes, by 1819 only Sindh and the Sikh Empire remained outside the Companys control
6.
Second Anglo-Sikh War
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The Second Anglo-Sikh War took place in 1848 and 1849, between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company. It resulted in the subjugation of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what became the North-West Frontier Province. He also foresaw the spread of the rebellion, and the necessity that must arise, not merely for the capture of Multan and he therefore resolutely delayed to strike, organized a strong army for operations in November, and himself proceeded to the Punjab. At length, on January 22, the Multan fortress was taken by General Whish, here a complete victory was won on the February 21 at the Battle of Gujarat, the Sikh army surrendered at Rawalpindi, and their Afghan allies were chased out of India. After the victory at Gujarat, Lord Dalhousie annexed the Punjab for the East India Company in 1849, for his services the Earl of Dalhousie received the thanks of the British parliament and a step in the peerage, as marquess. The Sikh Wars gave the two sides a mutual respect for each others fighting prowess, the Sikhs would fight loyally for the British in the Indian Mutiny and in many other campaigns and wars up until Indian Independence in 1947. The Sikh kingdom of the Punjab was consolidated and expanded by Maharaja Ranjit Singh during the years of the nineteenth century. During the same period, the British East India Companys territories had been expanded until they were adjacent to the Punjab, when Ranjit Singh died in 1839, the Sikh Empire began to fall into disorder. There was a succession of short-lived rulers at the central Durbar, the East India Company began to build up its military strength on the borders of the Punjab. Eventually, the increasing tension goaded the Sikh Army to invade British territory, under weak, the hard-fought First Anglo-Sikh War ended in defeat for the Sikh Army. Some of the Sikh Army were forced to make an expedition to oust the ruling Maharajah of Kashmir in favour of Gulab Singh. The infant Maharaja Duleep Singh of the Sikh Empire was allowed to retain his throne, Duleep Singhs mother, Maharani Jind Kaur, continually tried to regain some of her former influence as Regent and was eventually exiled by Lawrence. While some Sikh generals and courtiers welcomed her dismissal, others resented Lawrences action, the British were unwilling to incur the financial and manpower costs of using large numbers of British or Bengal Army units for this task. To the contrary, the Governor-General of India, Viscount Hardinge sought to make economies after the war by reducing the size of the Bengal Army by 50,000 men, the Sardars of the Sikh Army naturally resented carrying out the orders of comparatively junior British officers and administrators. Early in 1848, Sir Henry Lawrence, who was ill, although it was assumed that his younger brother John Lawrence would be appointed in his place, Lord Dalhousie, who had replaced Hardinge as Governor-General, appointed Sir Frederick Currie instead. Currie was a legalist, based in Calcutta, who was unfamiliar with military matters, the city of Multan was part of the Sikh kingdom, having been captured by Ranjit Singh in 1818. In 1848, it was governed by a Hindu viceroy, Dewan Mulraj, after the end of the First Anglo-Sikh war, Mulraj had behaved independently. Currie instead imposed a Sikh governor, Sardar Kahan Singh, with a British Political Agent, Lieutenant Patrick Vans Agnew, on 18 April 1848, Vans Agnew arrived at Multan with another officer, Lieutenant William Anderson, and a small escort
7.
Indian Rebellion of 1857
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The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major, but ultimately unsuccessful, uprising in India in 1857–58 against British rule. For nearly 100 years, that rule had been presided over by the British East India Company, the rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form of a mutiny of sepoys of the Companys army in the garrison town of Meerut,40 miles northeast of Delhi. It then erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions chiefly in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, though incidents of revolt also occurred farther north and east. The rebellion posed a threat to British power in that region. On 1 November 1858, the British granted amnesty to all rebels not involved in murder, though they did not declare the hostilities formally to have ended until 8 July 1859. The rebellion is known by names, including the Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian Mutiny, the Great Rebellion, the Revolt of 1857, the Indian Insurrection. Many Indians did rise against the British, however, very many also fought for the British, after the outbreak of the mutiny in Meerut, the rebels very quickly reached Delhi, whose 81-year-old Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar, they declared the Emperor of Hindustan. Soon, the rebels had captured large tracts of the North-Western Provinces. The East India Companys response came rapidly as well, with help from reinforcements, Kanpur was retaken by mid-July 1857, and Delhi by the end of September. However, it took the remainder of 1857 and the better part of 1858 for the rebellion to be suppressed in Jhansi, Lucknow. Other regions of Company controlled India—Bengal province, the Bombay Presidency, in the Punjab, the Sikh princes crucially helped the British by providing both soldiers and support. In some regions, most notably in Awadh, the took on the attributes of a patriotic revolt against European presence. However, the rebel leaders proclaimed no articles of faith that presaged a new political system, even so, the rebellion proved to be an important watershed in Indian- and British Empire history. India was thereafter administered directly by the British government in the new British Raj, on 1 November 1858, Queen Victoria issued a proclamation to Indians, which while lacking the authority of a constitutional provision, promised rights similar to those of other British subjects. In the following decades, when admission to these rights was not always forthcoming, the victory was consolidated in 1764 at the Battle of Buxar, when the East India Company army defeated Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. After his defeat, the granted the Company the right to the collection of Revenue in the provinces of Bengal, Bihar. The Company soon expanded its territories around its bases in Bombay and Madras, later, the Anglo-Mysore Wars, in 1806, the Vellore Mutiny was sparked by new uniform regulations that created resentment amongst both Hindu and Muslim sepoys. After the turn of the 19th century, Governor-General Wellesley began what became two decades of accelerated expansion of Company territories and this was achieved either by subsidiary alliances between the Company and local rulers or by direct military annexation
8.
Sikkim
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Sikkim is a northeastern state of India. It borders China in its north and east, Bhutan in its east, Nepal in its west, Sikkim is also located close to the Siliguri Corridor near Bangladesh. Sikkim is the least populous and second smallest among the Indian states, Sikkims capital and largest city is Gangtok. Almost 25% of the state is covered by the Khangchendzonga National Park, the Kingdom of Sikkim was founded on the Silk Road by the Namgyal dynasty in the 17th century. It was ruled by a Buddhist priest-king known as the Chogyal, once a vassal state of Qing China, it became a princely state of British India in 1890. After the Peoples Republic of China invaded Tibet, Sikkim continued its status with the dominion. It enjoyed the highest literacy rate and per capita income among Himalayan states, in 1975, the Indian military deposed the Sikkimese monarchy. A referendum in 1975 led to Sikkim joining India as its 22nd state, modern Sikkim is a multiethnic and multilingual Indian state. Sikkim has 11 official languages, Nepali, Sikkimese, Lepcha, Tamang, Limbu, Newari, Rai, Gurung, Magar, Sunwar, English is taught in schools and used in government documents. The predominant religions are Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism, Sikkims economy is largely dependent on agriculture and tourism, and as of 2014 the state had the third-smallest GDP among Indian states, although it is also among the fastest-growing. Sikkim accounts for the largest share of production in India. It is the most organic farming state in India and it is also among Indias most environmentally conscious states, having banned plastic water bottles and styrofoam products. The most widely accepted theory of the name Sikkim is that it is a combination of two Limbu words, su, which means new, and khyim, which means palace or house. The name is believed to be a reference to the built by the states first ruler. The Tibetan name for Sikkim is Drenjong, which means valley of rice, while the Bhutias call it Beyul Demazong, the Lepcha people, the original inhabitants of Sikkim, called it Nye-mae-el, meaning paradise. In History, Sikkim is known as Indrakil, the garden of the war god Indra, little is known about Sikkims ancient history, beyond the fact that its original inhabitants were the Lepcha. The earliest historical mention of Sikkim is a record of the passage of the Buddhist saint Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, the Guru is reported to have blessed the land, introduced Buddhism, and foretold the era of monarchy that would arrive in Sikkim centuries later. According to legend, Khye Bumsa, a 14th-century prince from the Minyak House in Kham in eastern Tibet, Phuntsog Namgyal was succeeded in 1670 by his son, Tensung Namgyal, who moved the capital from Yuksom to Rabdentse
9.
Second Anglo-Afghan War
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This was the second time British India invaded Afghanistan. The war ended after the British emerged victorious against the Afghan rebels, most of the British and Indian soldiers withdrew from Afghanistan. This was aimed to thwart expansion by the Russian Empire into India, after tension between Russia and Britain in Europe ended with the June 1878 Congress of Berlin, Russia turned its attention to Central Asia. That same summer, Russia sent a diplomatic mission to Kabul. Sher Ali Khan, the Amir of Afghanistan, tried unsuccessfully to keep them out, Russian envoys arrived in Kabul on 22 July 1878, and on 14 August, the British demanded that Sher Ali accept a British mission too. The Amir not only refused to receive a British mission under Neville Bowles Chamberlain, a British force of about 50,000 fighting men, mostly Indians, was distributed into military columns which penetrated Afghanistan at three different points. An alarmed Sher Ali attempted to appeal in person to the Russian Tsar for assistance, but unable to do so, he returned to Mazar-i-Sharif, where he died on 21 February 1879. According to this agreement and in return for a subsidy and vague assurances of assistance in case of foreign aggression. Ghazi Mohammad Jan Khan Wardak, and a force of 10,000 Afghans, staged an uprising, despite besieging the British garrison there, he failed to maintain the Siege of Sherpur, instead shifting focus to Roberts force, and this resulted in the collapse of this rebellion. Yaqub Khan, suspected of complicity in the massacre of Cavagnari, Ayub Khan, who had been serving as governor of Herat, rose in revolt, defeated a British detachment at the Battle of Maiwand in July 1880 and besieged Kandahar. Roberts then led the main British force from Kabul and decisively defeated Ayub Khan on 1 September at the Battle of Kandahar, abandoning the provocative policy of maintaining a British resident in Kabul, but having achieved all their other objectives, the British withdrew. They also used a method involving urine, Pathan women urinated into prisoners mouths. Captured British soldiers were out and fastened with restraints to the ground, then a stick. Pathan women then squatted and urinated directly into the mouth of the man until he drowned in the urine, there were several decisive actions in the Second Anglo–Afghan War, from 1878 to 1880. Here are the battles and actions in chronological order, an asterisk indicates a clasp was awarded for that particular battle with the Afghanistan Medal. Afghan Wars and the North-West Frontier 1839–1947, westminster, National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations. Afghanistan, A Short Account of Afghanistan, Its History, and Our Dealings with It
10.
Boxer Rebellion
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The Boxer Rebellion, Boxer Uprising or Yihequan Movement a violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty. The uprising took place against a background of severe drought and the disruption caused by the growth of foreign spheres of influence, Foreigners and Chinese Christians sought refuge in the Legation Quarter. Diplomats, foreign civilians and soldiers as well as Chinese Christians in the Legation Quarter were placed under siege by the Imperial Army of China, Chinese officialdom was split between those supporting the Boxers and those favoring conciliation, led by Prince Qing. The supreme commander of the Chinese forces, the Manchu General Ronglu, the Eight-Nation Alliance, after being initially turned back, brought 20,000 armed troops to China, defeated the Imperial Army, and captured Beijing on August 14, lifting the siege of the Legations. Uncontrolled plunder of the capital and the surrounding countryside ensued, along with the execution of those suspected of being Boxers. The Empress Dowager then sponsored a set of institutional and fiscal changes in an attempt to save the dynasty by reforming it. The Righteous and Harmonious Fists arose in the sections of the northern coastal province of Shandong long known for social unrest, religious sects. American Christian missionaries were probably the first to refer to the well-trained, athletic men as Boxers, because of the martial arts. Their primary practice was a type of possession which involved the whirling of swords, violent prostrations. The opportunities to fight back Western encroachment and colonization were especially attractive to unemployed village men, the tradition of possession and invulnerability went back several hundred years but took on special meaning against the powerful new weapons of the West. The Boxers, armed with rifles and swords, claimed supernatural invulnerability towards blows of cannon, rifle shots, furthermore, the Boxer groups popularly claimed that millions of soldiers of Heaven would descend to assist them in purifying China of foreign oppression. The Big Swords, emboldened by this support, also attacked their local Catholic village rivals. The Big Swords responded by attacking Catholic churches and burning them, the line between Christians and bandits, remarks one recent historian, became increasingly indistinct. As a result of pressure in the capital, Yuxian executed several Big Sword leaders. More martial secret societies started emerging after this, the early years saw a variety of village activities, not a broad movement or a united purpose. Martial folk religious societies such as the Baguadao prepared the way for the Boxers, like the Red Boxing school or the Plum Flower Boxers, the Boxers of Shandong were more concerned with traditional social and moral values, such as filial piety, than with foreign influences. One leader, for instance, Zhu Hongdeng, started as a healer, specializing in skin ulcers. Zhu claimed descent from Ming dynasty emperors, since his surname was the surname of the Ming imperial family and he announced that his goal was to Revive the Qing and destroy the foreigners
11.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
12.
Third Anglo-Afghan War
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The Third Anglo-Afghan War, also referred to as the Third Afghan War, began on 6 May 1919 and ended with an armistice on 8 August 1919. The Afghans were able to resume the right to conduct their own affairs as a fully independent state. The root cause of the Third Anglo-Afghan War lies many years before the fighting commenced. For the British in India, Afghanistan was long seen as a source of threat. For a long time the British worried about Russian intentions in the region and this period became known as the Great Game. Ostensibly, the country remained independent, however under the Treaty of Gandamak it accepted that in external matters it would. have no windows looking on the outside world, the death in 1901 of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan led indirectly to the war that began 18 years later. His successor, Habibullah, was a leader who sided with Britain or Russia. Notwithstanding these outbreaks, the frontier generally remained settled at a time when Britain could ill afford trouble, a Turco-German mission left Kabul in 1916. By that time, however, it had successfully convinced Habibullah that Afghanistan was an independent nation, with the end of the First World War, Habibullah sought to gain reward from the British government for his assistance during the war. Looking for British recognition of Afghanistans independence in foreign affairs, he demanded a seat at the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919 and this request was denied by the Viceroy, Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford, on the grounds that attendance at the conference was confined to the belligerents. Further negotiations were scheduled, but before they could begin Habibullah was assassinated on 19 February 1919 and this resulted in a power struggle as Habibullahs brother Nasrullah Khan proclaimed himself as Habibullahs successor, while in Kabul Amanullah, Habibullahs third son, had also proclaimed himself Amir. However, the Afghan army suspected Amanullahs complicity in the death of his father, needing a way of cementing his power, upon seizing the throne in April 1919 Amanullah posed as a man of democratic ideals, promising reforms in the system of government. He stated that there should be no forced labour, tyranny or oppression, upon seizing the throne, Amanullah had his uncle Nasrullah arrested for Habibullahs murder and had him sentenced to life imprisonment. Nasrullah had been the leader of a conservative element in Afghanistan. By April 1919 he realised that if he could not find a way to placate the conservatives he would be unlikely to maintain his hold on power. In 1919 the Afghan regular army was not a formidable force. These men were organised into 21 cavalry regiments and 75 infantry battalions, with about 280 modern artillery pieces, organised into 70 batteries, in reality, the Afghan regular army was not ready for war. As in past years, the levels of the officer corps were riddled with political intrigue
13.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
14.
Harry Burnett Lumsden
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Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Burnett Joe Lumsden KCSI, CB was a British military officer active in India. Lumsden was born aboard the East India Company’s ship Rose in the Bay of Bengal and he spent the first six years of his life in Bengal, where his father Colonel Thomas Lumsden was serving as an Artillery officer. His father Thomas entered the Bengal Army in 1808 and served in the Anglo-Nepalese War, Third Anglo-Maratha War and his first cousin once removed was the orientalist Matthew Lumsden. He had six brothers, three of which emigrated to Canada, whilst his younger brother Peter followed his path to India and he was sent to Scotland at age six, where he was cared for by his grandmother in Aberdeenshire. At the age of 16, he was nominated by John Shepherd, a fellow Aberdeenshire man and he travelled to India in 1838 commissioned into the 59th Bengal Native Infantry. During the First Anglo-Afghan War he was appointed as interpreter and quartermaster to the 33rd Bengal Native Infantry and he was present at the forcing of the Khyber Pass in 1842. During the war he would become friends with two fellow officers who would also achieve distinction John Nicholson and Neville Bowles Chamberlain. Following the war he returned to base in Ferozepur, having earned a campagin medal, in early 1843, he rejoined the 59th Bengal Native Infantry stationed in Ludhiana, indulging in his passion for shikar with hunting expeditions throughout the Punjab. During this time he explored the region, learning near perfect Punjabi and growing accustomed to local customs, during the First Anglo-Sikh War, Lumsden served as a commander of a company in his regiment. At the Battle of Sobraon he was part of the division on Hugh Goughs left flank. During the escape of the Sikh cavalry, Lumsden was shot in the foot which left him with a slight but permanent limp for the rest of his life. At the conclusion of the war, Lumsden was hand-picked by Sir Henry Lawrence to become one of his assistants, a number of these assistants had been brought to Lawrences attention on the battlefield at Sobraon, including John Nicholson, William Hodson and Herbert Edwardes. Lawrence had been a friend of Thomas Lumsden, serving him as an artillery officers earlier in his career. A servant smuggled them a pencil and paper allowing them to call for help, help coming in the form of a cavalry led by Lawrence that same evening, lumsdens first posting was to Kangra in 1846, where he served out the summer. He was thereafter summoned to Lahore, whilst in Lahore, he became privy to the politics of the Lahore Durbar, at the time dominated by the Maharani Jind Kaur and her lover Lal Singh. In response to the instability, like many fellow offers. The sale of Kashmir to Gulab Singh had created considerable unrest amongst Kashmiri locals, in late 1846, Lumsden accompanied an expedition led by Lawrence to dispose the incumbent governor Imam ud-Din, who had the backing of Lal Singh and support the new rule of Gulab Singh. On his return to Lahore, Lumsden was given a mission to command a force of Sikh infantry to reconnoitre the hills of Hazara, lumsdens mission was a success and he received the thanks of the government, and what he prized more, the approbation of Henry Lawrence
15.
Charles Egerton (Indian Army officer)
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Field Marshal Sir Charles Comyn Egerton GCB, DSO was a senior Indian Army officer from the Egerton family. Early in his career he took part in the Second Anglo-Afghan War and he went on to command the Bannu column during operations in Waziristan in 1894 and to serve as senior staff officer for the Tochi Expedition in 1897. His last appointment was as General Officer Commanding Secunderabad District in 1904 before retiring in 1907 and he immediately transferred to the 76th Regiment of Foot in India. Promoted to lieutenant on 19 October 1869, he joined the Indian Staff Corps on 11 December 1872 before being promoted to captain on 8 June 1879 on appointment to a squadron in the 3rd Punjab Cavalry. Egerton served with his regiment in the Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1879 and was mentioned in despatches and he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath and then promoted to colonel on 1 September 1895. He was senior officer and Commander of the 1st Brigade for the Tochi Expedition in 1897 before becoming Commander-in-Chief Punjab Command with local promotion to major-general on 1 April 1899. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general on 3 April 1900. Egerton took command of the troops in British Somaliland fighting the Somalis under Mohammed Abdullah Hassan on 27 June 1903, promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant general on 28 October 1903, he became Commander-in-Chief Madras Command. He had a significant success at Jidbali in January 1904 killing 1,000 of Hassans men, however in March 1904 questions were still being asked in the British Parliament as to whether Hassan understood that operations would only end when he was captured or killed. Egerton became colonel of the 23rd Punjab Cavalry in 1904 and he was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 24 June 1904 and promoted to full general on 28 October 1906. After retiring on 5 February 1907, he became a member of the Council of India from which post he stood down in 1917, in recognition of his long service he was promoted to field marshal on 16 March 1917. In retirement Egerton wrote about his experiences and was the author of a book entitled Hill Warfare on the North-West frontier of India. He died on 20 February 1921 and was buried at St Marks Churchyard at Highcliffe in Dorset, in 1877 Egerton married Anna Wellwood and they went on to have three sons. London, Pen & Sword Books Ltd, Hill Warfare on the North-West frontier of India
16.
William Lockhart (Indian Army officer)
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General Sir William Stephen Alexander Lockhart GCB KCSI was a British General. Lockhart was born at the Manse in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland, lockharts uncle was John Gibson Lockhart, eminent writer, poet and biographer of Sir Walter Scott. His mother Louisa was a daughter of David Blair, a manufacturer in Glasgow and Janet Muir and he entered the Indian Army in 1858, in the 44th Bengal Native Infantry. He served in the last months of the Indian Mutiny, the Bhutan Campaign, under Napier in the Abyssinian Expedition, from 1869 to 1879 he acted as Deputy Assistant and Assistant Quartermaster General in Bengal. In 1877 he was military attaché with the Dutch Army in Acheen, here he saw active service and received the Dutch Expedition Cross. He commanded a brigade in the Third Burmese War, and was made KCB and CSI and he set up his home in Abbottabad and for five years was engaged in various expeditions against the hill tribes. After the Waziristan Campaign in 1894–95 he was made KCSI and he became a full general in 1896, and in 1897 he was given the command against the Afridis and Mohmands, and conducted the difficult Tirah Expedition with great skill. He returned to England in 1898 and was made GCB, and was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India and, after a visit to Scotland. He took up residence in Treasury Gate, Fort William, India and he died of malaria whilst serving in office in Calcutta on 18 March 1900. His funeral occurred the day and the service was taken by James Welldon the Bishop of Calcutta. Lockharts good friend Lord Curzon attended the funeral, Lockhart married twice, and had five children, only two of whom were alive at the time of his death. No memorial to Lockhart was ever erected in London, a private collection funded a fine memorial in St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh and soldiers and their families paid for the construction of an obelisk in Roomi Park, Rawalpindi. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. General Sir William Stephen Alexander Lockhart Soldier of the Queen Empress by Martin Smith ISBN 978-0-9570154-0-1
17.
British Indian Army
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The Indian Army was the principal army of India before independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of both British India and the Princely states, which could also have their own armies. The Indian Army was an important part of the British Empires forces, the term Indian Army appears to have been first used informally, as a collective description of the Presidency armies of the Presidencies of British India, particularly after the Indian Rebellion. The first army officially called the Indian Army was raised by the government of India in 1895, however, in 1903 the Indian Army absorbed these three armies. The Indian Army should not be confused with the Army of India which was the Indian Army itself plus the British Army in India, before 1858, the precursor units of the Indian Army were units controlled by the Company and were paid for by their profits. These operated alongside units of the British Army, funded by the British government in London. Many of these took part in the Indian Mutiny, with the aim of reinstating the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II at Delhi. The meaning of the term Indian Army has changed over time, The officer commanding the Army of India was the Commander-in-Chief, the title was used before the creation of a unified British Indian Army, the first holder was Major General Stringer Lawrence in 1748. By the early 1900s the Commander-in-Chief and his staff were based at GHQ India, Indian Army postings were less prestigious than British Army positions, but the pay was significantly greater so that officers could live on their salaries instead of having to have a private income. Accordingly, vacancies in the Indian Army were much sought after and generally reserved for the higher placed officer-cadets graduating from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. British officers in the Indian Army were expected to learn to speak the Indian languages of their men, prominent British Indian Army officers included Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, Claude Auchinleck and William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim. Commissioned officers, British and Indian, held identical ranks to commissioned officers of the British Army, Kings Commissioned Indian Officers, created from the 1920s, held equal powers to British officers. Viceroys Commissioned Officers were Indians holding officer ranks and they were treated in almost all respects as commissioned officers, but had authority over Indian troops only, and were subordinate to all British Kings Commissioned Officers and KCIOs. They included Subedar Major or Risaldar-Major, equivalents to a British Major, Subedar or Risaldar equivalents to Captain, recruitment was entirely voluntary, about 1.75 million men served in the First World War, many on the Western Front and 2.5 million in the Second. Soldier ranks included Sepoys or Sowars, equivalent to a British private, British Army ranks such as gunner and sapper were used by other corps. In the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny. The three Presidency armies remained separate forces, each with its own Commander-in-Chief, overall operational control was exercised by the Commander-in-Chief of the Bengal Army, who was formally the Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies. From 1861, most of the manpower was pooled in the three Presidential Staff Corps
18.
Pakistan Movement
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The first organised political movements were in Aligarh where another literary movement was led by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan that built the genesis of the Pakistan movement. During the initial stages of the movement, it adopted the vision of philosopher Iqbal after addressing at the convention of the AIMLs annual session, Muhammad Ali Jinnahs constitutional struggle further helped gaining public support for the movement in the four provinces. Urdu poets such as Iqbal and Faiz used literature, poetry, feminists such as Sheila Pant and Fatima Jinnah championed the emancipation of Pakistans women and their participation in national politics. The Pakistan Movement was the result of a series of social, political, and intellectual transformations in Pakistani society, government, efforts and struggles of the Founding Fathers resulted in the creation of the democratic and independent government. In the following years, another nationally–minded subset went on to established a strong government, grievousness and unbalanced economic distribution caused an upheaval which led East Pakistan to declare independence as the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh in 1971. As the Mughal Empire quickly declined in power, the British Empire expanded quick to gain control of the subcontinent in the 1700s. The economic, social, public, and political influence of East India Company, the defeat of Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore, proved to be an event which led to the fall of Mysore Kingdom under the direct or indirect rule of the East India Company. All over the subcontinent, the British government took over the machinery, bureaucracy, universities, schools. During this time, Lord Macaulays radical and influential educational reforms led to the changes to the introduction and teaching of Western languages, history. Religious studies and the Arabic, Turkish, and Persian languages were completely barred from the state universities, traditional Hindu and Islamic studies were no longer supported by the British Crown, and nearly all of the madrasahs lost their waqf. Noting the sensitivity of this issue, Queen Victoria removed the East India Company and this tendency, had it continued for long, would have proven disastrous for the Muslim community. In justifying these actions, Macaulay argued that Sanskrit and Arabic were wholly inadequate for studying history, science. He stated, We have to educate people who cannot at present be educated by means of their mother-tongue and we must teach them some foreign language. The solution was to teach English, eventually, many Muslims barred their children to be educated at English universities which had proved to be disastrous for the Muslim communities. Very few Muslim families had their children sent at the English universities, during this time, Muslim reformer and educationist Sir Syed Ahmad Khan began to argue for the importance of the British education. Sir Syed was a jurist and a scholar who was knighted by the British Crown for his services to British Empire, witnessing this atmosphere of despair and despondency, Sir Syed launched his attempts to revive the spirit of progress within the Muslim community of British India. Despite harsh criticism from the Islamic orthodoxy, he helped convince many Muslim communities to realise that the fact was the source of progress. Therefore, modern education became the pivot of his movement for regeneration of the Indian Muslims and he tried to transform the Muslim outlook from a medieval one to a modern one
19.
Frontier Force Regiment
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The Frontier Force Regiment is one of six infantry regiments of the Pakistan Army. They are popularly known as the Piffers (a reference to the former PIF or as the FF, the regiment takes its name from the historic North-West Frontier. Most ancestor units of the regiment are Punjabi or Pathan infantry regiments, however the oldest ancestor unit is the Scinde Camel Corps raised in 1843. Another ancestor unit is the component of the celebrated Corps of Guides of the British Indian Army. Despite being a Pakistani regiment, the Frontier Force Regiment is also the successor to several Sikh regiments because Sikh units were used on the North-West Frontier during the British Raj, at present, the regiment consists of 67 battalions and has its regimental depot at Abbottabad in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. For that reason Abbottabad is also known as the Home of Piffers, currently the regiment includes both mechanised and motorised infantry battalions. There are also some armoured and artillery battalions which were raised from the strength of the Frontier Force or one of its predecessor regiments, the Frontier Force Regiment is Pakistans third oldest regiment, in terms of the date of most recent amalgamation, after the Punjab and Baloch. These two regiments were the Frontier Force Regiment and the Frontier Force Rifles, the third component, the Pathan Regiment, had been raised after independence from elements of the former two. The merger took place when a reorganisation of regiments was carried out in the Pakistan Army. The FF battalions have fought in wars along Pakistans borders. The battalions are divided under independent formations and are commanded by their formation commander, training and record keeping is undertaken by the regimental depot, which is usually commanded by a brigadier. The regiments highest-ranking officer is given the title of Colonel Commandant and Colonel-in-Chief. The Pathan Regiment was raised after independence from the 4th Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment, initially the regimental depot was at Dera Ismail Khan but it relocated to Kohat in 1949 and was later merged into the Frontier Force Regiment with its regimental depot at Abbottabad. Fifteen of the modern Frontier Force Regiments 52 battalions trace their origins back to British Indian Army units, at present the Frontier Force Regiment musters 67 infantry battalions, some of which are mechanised or motorised with the remainder known colloquially as foot infantry. Each battalion is subdivided into four companies, normally named Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, the regiment also includes armoured and artillery units, established from among its strength. The regiment recruits mostly from the Pashtun tribes of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, although officers and other ranks from all over Pakistan have served and this measure was intended to diminish segregation within the Army. The regiment is based in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwas city of Abbottabad, which also houses the depots of the Baloch Regiment. The city was originally the headquarters of the Frontier Force Rifles prior to their merger with the Frontier Force Regiment, the Abbottabad depot is responsible for the regiments basic recruit training
20.
Pakistan
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Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a federal parliamentary republic in South Asia on the crossroads of Central Asia and Western Asia. It is the sixth-most populous country with a population exceeding 200 million people, in terms of area, it is the 33rd-largest country in the world with an area covering 881,913 square kilometres. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistans narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, Pakistan is unique among Muslim countries in that it is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and it is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with a similarly diverse geography and wildlife. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic, an ethnic civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh. The new constitution stipulated that all laws were to conform to the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran. Pakistan has an economy with a well-integrated agriculture sector. The Pakistani economy is the 24th-largest in the world in terms of purchasing power and it is ranked among the emerging and growth-leading economies of the world, and is backed by one of the worlds largest and fastest-growing middle classes. The post-independence history of Pakistan has been characterised by periods of military rule, the country continues to face challenging problems such as illiteracy, healthcare, and corruption, but has substantially reduced poverty and terrorism and expanded per capita income. It is also a member of CERN. Pakistan is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, the name Pakistan literally means land of the pure in Urdu and Persian. It is a play on the word pāk meaning pure in Persian and Pashto, the letter i was incorporated to ease pronunciation and form the linguistically correct and meaningful name. Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan, the earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic, of whom stone tools have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab. The Vedic Civilization, characterised by Indo-Aryan culture, laid the foundations of Hinduism, Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre. The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, the Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander, prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region. Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of education in the world. At its zenith, the Rai Dynasty of Sindh ruled this region, the Pala Dynasty was the last Buddhist empire, which, under Dharampala and Devapala, stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan. The Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Indus valley from Sindh to Multan in southern Punjab in 711 AD, the Pakistan governments official chronology identifies this as the time when the foundation of Pakistan was laid
21.
Henry Montgomery Lawrence
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Brigadier-General Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence KCB was a British soldier and statesman in India, who died in the Siege of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion. He is remembered in the Indian subcontinent as founder of the four Lawrence Military Asylums, Lawrence was born in 1806 into an Irish family at Matara, British Ceylon. His father, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander William Lawrence hailed from Derry and achieved distinction in the Seige of Seringapatnam and he had two brothers who would go on to achieve fame in their own right, George Lawrence and John Lawrence. He was educated at Foyle College, Derry and the East India Company Military Seminary in Addiscombe, in 1822 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Bengal Artillery, arriving in India the following year. He was based at the Calcutta suburb of Dum Dum, where Henry Havelock was also stationed about the same time and he soon saw action in the First Anglo-Burmese War. Lawrence and his battery formed part of the Chittagong column which General Joseph Morrison led over the hills of Arakan. The expedition was decimated by fever, and Lawrence nearly perished to the illness and he was sent first to Penang, and then Canton to convalesce, before being invalided back to England. Back in the United Kingdom, he assisted in the survey in Ireland. He returned to India in 1829, rejoining his regiment in Karnal where his brother George was stationed, in 1832 he passed examinations in Hindustani and Persian with the aim of earning a civil service posting. The following year he was appointed an assistant to the Revenue Survey of India by Lord William Bentinck based at Gorakhpur and he spent some years in camp, during which he married his cousin Honoria Marshall. In 1839, with the outbreak of the First Anglo-Afghan War he initially joined Alexander Burness Horse Artillery, when it was ordered to stand fast, he instead became assistant to Sir George Russell Clerk, adding to his political experience in the management of the district of Ferozepore. When news of disaster came from Kabul in November 1841 he was sent to Peshawar in order to push up supports for the relief of Sir Robert Sale and the garrison of Jalalabad. He was often unpopular with higher authorities due to his insistence that government should pay most attention to the welfare of the Indian population and he served with Sir George Pollock in the Kabul Expedition in 1842, managing a contingent to the Afghan capital. Following the war, he continued as a assistant in Peshawar somewhat disappointed by his lack of recognition for his contribution in the war. In 1843 he was elevated to the rank of Major and appointed to the well-salaried, whilst in Kathmandu, Lawrence devoted much of his time to literary pursuits, ably assisted by his wife. In 1845, instability in the Sikh Empire led to growing tensions with neighbouring provinces, Lawrences articles in the Calcutta Review had caught the attention of Henry Hardinge, the new Governor-General of India, who was impressed by his knowledge of the region. Hardinge appointed Lawrence as his political assistant following the death of Major George Broadfoot at the start of the First Anglo-Sikh War and he was present at the decisive Battle of Sobraon which brought the war to a conclusion. Following Sobraon, Lawrence counselled the Governor-General not to annex the Punjab but instead reconstruct the Sikh Empire, fenced in and this was provided for in the Treaty of Lahore, whereby a British garrison was to be based in Lahore to further this purpose
22.
Punjab
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The Punjab, also spelled Panjab, panj-āb, land of five rivers, is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of South Asia, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northern India. Not being a unit, the extent of the region is the subject of debate. The foreign invaders mainly targeted the most productive region of the Punjab known as the Majha region. The people of the Punjab today are called Punjabis and their language is called Punjabi. The main religions of the Punjab region are Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism, other religious groups are Christianity, Jainism and Buddhism. The name of the region is a compound of two Persian words Panj and āb and was introduced to the region by the Turko-Persian conquerors of India, Punjab literally means Five Waters referring to the rivers, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas. All are tributaries of the Indus River, the Chenab being the largest, there are two main definitions of the Punjab region, the 1947 definition and the older 1846–1849 definition. The third definition incorporates both the 1947 and the definitions but also includes northern Rajasthan on a linguistic basis. 1947 definition The 1947 definition defines the Punjab region with reference to the dissolution of British India whereby the then British Punjab Province was partitioned between India and Pakistan, in Pakistan, the region now includes the Punjab province and Islamabad Capital Territory. In India, it includes the Punjab state, Chandigarh, Haryana, Using the 1947 definition, the Punjab region borders Kashmir to the north, Sindh and Rajasthan to the south, the Pashtun region and Balochistan to the west, and the Hindi belt to the east. Accordingly, the Punjab region is diverse and stretches from the hills of the Kangra Valley to the plains. Present day maps Major cities Using the 1947 definition of the Punjab region, some of the cities of the area include Lahore, Faisalabad. Older 1846–1849 definition The older definition of the Punjab region focuses on the collapse of the Sikh Empire, According to this definition, the Punjab region incorporates, in Pakistan, Azad Kashmir including Bhimber and Mirpur and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In India the wider definition includes parts of Delhi and Jammu Division, the formation of the Himalayan Range of mountains to the east and north-east of the Punjab is the result of a collision between the north-moving Indo-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The plates are moving together, and the Himalayas are rising by about 5 millimetres per year. The upper regions are snow-covered the whole year, Lower ranges of hills run parallel to the mountains. The Lower Himalayan Range runs from north of Rawalpindi through Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, the mountains are relatively young, and are eroding rapidly. The Indus and the five rivers of the Punjab have their sources in the range and carry loam, minerals and silt down to the rich alluvial plains
23.
John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence
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Lawrence came from Richmond, North Yorkshire. Lawrence spent his years in Derry, part of the Province of Ulster in the northern part of Ireland. After attending the East India Company College, Lawrence went to India in 1829 along with his older brother, Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence. He soon became a magistrate and tax collector in Delhi, where he was known for his concern for the plight of the peasantry as long as they did not question British rule. In that role he was known for his reforms, for subduing the hill tribes. For this, he was created a baronet and received a pension from the East India Company of £2,000. He returned to Britain in 1859, but was sent back to India in 1863 to become Viceroy to succeed Lord Elgin, as Viceroy, Lawrence pursued a cautious policy, avoiding entanglement in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf. In domestic affairs, he increased educational opportunities for Indians, and he was raised to the peerage as Baron Lawrence, of the Punjaub and of Grateley in the County of Southampton, on his return to England in 1869. Arthur Munby as quoted in Mundy, Man of Two Worlds, wrote, Thursday, passing through Kensington Tuesday, I saw a man of all others worth seeing-Sir John Lawrence. He was riding down the street alone--without even a groom, and he all unnoticed, and still a commoner, while Vernon Smith is a peer. But idiots are proverbially the favourites of fortune, Lord Lawrence died in June 1879, aged 68. He had married Harriette Katherine, daughter of The Reverend Richard Hamilton and he was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son, John. Their second son, Henry Arnold, was a rugby player. Sir Herbert became a First World War general and a banker and their younger son Charles was a businessman and was created Baron Lawrence of Kingsgate in 1923. Lady Lawrence died in December 1917, a boarding house at the East India Company College and a house at Foyle College was subsequently named after him. Lawrence is also a Senior Wing House at St Pauls School, Darjeeling, in India, a statue of him stands at Foyle and Londonderry College. Another statue of Lawrence stands in Waterloo Place in central London, attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Lawrence, John Laird Mair Lawrence, 1st Baron. Mundy, Man of Two Worlds. Derek Hudson. The Life and Diaries of Arthur Munby, 1828-1910. Abacus Edition,1974, John Laird Mair Lawrence, a viceroy of India
24.
First Anglo-Sikh War
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The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company between 1845 and 1846. It resulted in partial subjugation of the Sikh kingdom and he hired American and European mercenary soldiers to train his artillery, and also incorporated contingents of Hindus and Muslims into his army. Aided by disunity among the Afghans, the Sikhs conquered the cities and provinces of Peshawar and Multan from them and this move had Sikh support, in return for the formal cessation of Peshawar to the Sikhs by Shuja Shah. The British finally withdrew from Afghanistan, and from Peshawar which they held as an advance base, almost immediately, his kingdom began to fall into disorder. Ranjits unpopular legitimate son, Kharak Singh, was removed from power within a few months and it was widely believed that he was poisoned. There were at the two major factions within the Punjab contending for power and influence, the Sikh Sindhanwalias and the Hindu Dogras. The Dogras succeeded in raising Sher Singh, the eldest illegitimate son of Ranjit Singh, the most prominent Sindhanwalias took refuge on British territory, but had many adherents among the Army of the Punjab. The army was expanding rapidly in the aftermath of Ranjit Singhs death, from 29,000 in 1839 to over 80,000 in 1845 as landlords and it proclaimed itself to be the embodiment of the Sikh nation. Maharajah Sher Singh was unable to meet the pay demands of the army, in September 1843 he was murdered by his cousin, an officer of the army, Ajit Singh Sindhanwalia. The Dogras took their revenge on those responsible, and Jind Kaur, Ranjit Singhs youngest widow, in 1845 he arranged the assassination of Peshaura Singh, who presented a threat to Duleep Singh. For this, he was called to account by the army, despite attempts to bribe the army he was butchered in September 1845 in the presence of Jind Kaur and Duleep Singh. Jind Kaur publicly vowed revenge against her brothers murderers, Lal Singh became vizier, and Tej Singh became commander of the army. Sikh historians have stressed that both men were prominent in the Dogra faction. Originally high caste Hindus from outside the Punjab, both had converted to Sikhism in 1818, in 1843, they conquered and annexed Sindh, to the south of the Punjab, in a move which many British people regarded as cynical and ignoble. This did not gain the British any respect in the Punjab, the actions and attitudes of the British, under Governor General Lord Ellenborough and his successor, Sir Henry Hardinge, are disputed. By most British accounts, their concern was that the Sikh army. The kingdom was also renowned for being the wealthiest, the Koh-i-Noor being, nevertheless, the unconcealed and seemingly aggressive British military build-up at the borders had the effect of increasing tension within the Punjab and the Sikh Army. After mutual demands and accusations between the Sikh Durbar and the East India Company, diplomatic relations were broken, an East India Company army began marching towards Ferozepur, where a division was already stationed
25.
Cavalry
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Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms, an individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman, horseman, dragoon or trooper. The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used animals, such as camels. Cavalry had the advantage of improved mobility, and a man fighting from horseback also had the advantages of greater height, speed, another element of horse mounted warfare is the psychological impact a mounted soldier can inflict on an opponent. In Europe cavalry became increasingly armoured, and eventually became known for the mounted knights, in the period between the World Wars, many cavalry units were converted into motorized infantry and mechanized infantry units, or reformed as tank troops. Most cavalry units that are horse-mounted in modern armies serve in purely ceremonial roles, modern usage of the term generally refers to specialist units equipped with tanks or aircraft. The shock role, traditionally filled by heavy cavalry, is filled by units with the armored designation. Before the Iron Age, the role of cavalry on the battlefield was largely performed by light chariots, the chariot originated with the Sintashta-Petrovka culture in Central Asia and spread by nomadic or semi-nomadic Indo-Iranians. The power of mobility given by mounted units was recognized early on, Cavalry techniques were an innovation of equestrian nomads of the Central Asian and Iranian steppe and pastoralist tribes such as the Persian Parthians and Sarmatians. The photograph above left shows Assyrian cavalry from reliefs of 865–860 BC, at this time, the men had no spurs, saddles, saddle cloths, or stirrups. Fighting from the back of a horse was more difficult than mere riding. The cavalry acted in pairs, the reins of the archer were controlled by his neighbours hand. Even at this time, cavalry used swords, shields. The sculpture implies two types of cavalry, but this might be a simplification by the artist, Later images of Assyrian cavalry show saddle cloths as primitive saddles, allowing each archer to control his own horse. As early as 490 BC a breed of horses was bred in the Nisaean plain in Media to carry men with increasing amounts of armour. However, chariots remained in use for purposes such as carrying the victorious general in a Roman triumph. The southern Britons met Julius Caesar with chariots in 55 and 54 BC, the last mention of chariot use in battle was by the Caledonians at the Mons Graupius, in 84 AD. During the classical Greek period cavalry were usually limited to citizens who could afford expensive war-horses
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Corps of Guides (India)
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The Corps of Guides was a regiment of the British Indian Army which served in the North West Frontier and had a unique composition of being part infantry and part cavalry. It evolved through the 20th century to become the Guides Cavalry and it is now a regiment of the modern Pakistan Army. The brainchild of Sir Henry Lawrence, the Corps had Lt. Harry Lumsden as its commandant, on 6 February 1847 Lumsden wrote to his father I have just been nominated to raise the corps of Guides. It will be the finest appointment in the country, a few months later, on 16 September 1847 Hodson wrote to his brother. of my good fortune. I am to be the Second-in-Command with the Corps of Guides, when it was raised at Kalu Khan, on the Yusufzai Plain, in the Peshawar Valley region by Lt. Lumsden in December 1846, it comprised just one troop of cavalry and two companies of infantry. The first action was at Mughdara, in the Panitar Hills, within two years, the small force of Guides had established a name for itself, under Lumsden, its founder, and Hodson. When the Second Sikh War broke out in 1848, the unit was given authorisation for an increase in size, to six companies of infantry. The Guides maintained the quirky cavalry and infantry combined in the same regiment format for many years, the Corps of Guides became the garrison unit of a key post on the frontier, the new fort of Mardan. The building of the fort in 1854 was organised and supervised by Hodson who had been promoted commandant of the regiment in 1852, in 1857 the unit was called urgently to help relieve the Siege of Delhi. In just over three weeks the Guides marched nearly six hundred miles during the hottest month of the year, crossing five great rivers, the march coincided with the month of Ramadan meaning that the muslim soldiers in the force could neither eat nor drink during the hours of daylight. On arrival at Delhi, the force of 600 Guides were almost immediately called upon to join the defence of the city. Men who had just completed a march of some 580 miles were thrown into a battle of such intensity that no fewer than 350 of the 600 became casualties within an hour of their arrival in Delhi. The Corps of Guides was part of the Frontier Force brigade and they were the first unit in the Indian or British Armies to dress in khaki uniform, first introduced in 1848. Typically, the Guides were often used in small detachments, usually supported by other Frontier Force troops, in 1911 the cavalry and infantry components were designated as such. The cavalry regiment was allocated to Pakistan and was renamed the Guides Cavalry. In 1957, the Frontier Force Rifles and The Pathan Regiment were amalgamated with the Frontier Force Regiment to form a new Frontier Force Regiment, the Guides battalion became the 2nd battalion of the new regiment. The Guides wore scarlet facings on the collars and cuffs of their uniforms from their establishment in 1846. Accordingly both The 10th Guides Cavalry and the 2nd Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment of the Pakistan Army still wear red piping on the collars of their dress uniforms
27.
Guides Cavalry
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The Guides Cavalry is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army which was raised in 1846 as The Corps of Guides. During more than a hundred and fifty years of military service, initially composed of a troop of cavalry and two companies of infantry mounted on camels, the Guides were organized as a highly mobile force. These were qualities that would become the hallmark of the Guides, although the corps recruited men from all over the country and even beyond the Frontier of India, Pathans, Punjabi Muslims, Sikhs and Dogras later formed the bulk of their manpower. Lumsden upheld the principle that the greatest and best school for war is war itself and he believed in the elasticity which begets individual self-confidence, and preferred a body of men taught to act and fight with personal intelligence. Lumsden left an imprint on the Guides, who soon showed their mettle in numerous frontier operations. In 1851, the Guides established themselves at Mardan, which would remain their home until 1938. In 1851, The Corps of Guides became part of the Punjab Irregular Force, the Piffers consisted of five regiments of cavalry, eleven regiments of infantry and five batteries of artillery besides the Corps of Guides. Their mission was to order on the Punjab Frontier, a task they performed with great aplomb during the next fifty years. In 1876, Queen Victoria rewarded the Guides by granting them the use of the Royal Cypher, during the First World War, the cavalry and infantry of the Guides fought separately. The new class composition of Guides Cavalry was Punjabi Muslims, Sikhs, the regiment retained its drab uniform with red facings. Their badge consisted of the VR Cypher of Queen Victoria within the Garter, Victorian crown above, in 1927, the regiments designation was changed to The Guides Cavalry. On the Partition of India in 1947, Guides Cavalry was allotted to Pakistan, the Dogras were exchanged with Punjabi Muslims of the Hodsons Horse, while the Sikhs were exchanged with the Kaimkhanis of the Poona Horse. The regiment also received a squadron of Ranghars from the Scinde Horse, in 1956, when Pakistan became a republic, all titles pertaining to British royalty were dropped, and the regiment was redesignated as Guides Cavalry. On 14 February 1981, the Corps of Guides was resurrected with the re-unification of the Guides Infantry and Cavalry in a ceremony at Multan. General Muhammad Iqbal Khan, CJSC, was appointed Colonel of the Corps of Guides, the intrepid Guides quickly made a name for themselves on the North West Frontier of India in numerous operations against the turbulent frontier tribes. Between 1847 and 1878, the participated in fifteen major frontier expeditions and operations. Their formidable reputation soon spread far and wide, and was immortalized by Rudyard Kipling in several of his works such as The Ballad of East and West. Following their victory in the First Sikh War of 1845-46, the British posted a Resident at the Sikh Durbar at Lahore to control the affairs of the Sikh state, however, the Sikhs resented British interference in their affairs and began planning a revolt
28.
Bannu
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Bannu, is the principal city of the Bannu District in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Bannu was once a British military base used for action against Afghan border tribes, inhabitants of Bannu are known as Banuchi, and speak a specific dialect of Pashto. The town was founded in 1848 by Herbert Benjamin Edwardes, a Lieutenant in the 1st Bengal European Fusiliers Regiment of the East India Companys private army and he ordered the construction of the fort – named Dhulipgarh in honour of the Maharajah of Lahore – at the same time. At the time of its founding the town was named Dhulipnagar and its name was later changed to Edwardesabad in 1869. In 1903, it received its current name, Bannu, Bannu formed the base of operations for all punitive expeditions undertaken by troops of the British empire to the Tochi Valley and the Waziristan frontier. A military road led from the town of Bannu toward Dera Ismail Khan and this road was built by military engineers under the supervision of a Bannu engineer, Ram N. Mullick. Mullick, graduated from Banaras Engineering College had served in Iraq, the Imperial British Gazetteer described Bannu as,14,291, including cantonment and civil lines. It was founded in 1848 by Lieutenant Edwardes, who selected the site for political reasons, the fort, erected at the same time, bore the name of Dhulipgarh, in honour of the Maharaja of Lahore, and the bazar was also known as Dhulipnagar. A town gradually grew up around the bazar, and many Hindko speaking Hindu traders moved there from Bazar Ahmad Khan, the Church Missionary Society supports a small church and a high school founded in 1865. The cantonment centers in the fort of Dhulipgarh and its garrison consists of a mountain battery, a regiment of native cavalry, and two regiments of infantry. The municipality was constituted in 1867, the municipal receipts and expenditure during the ten years ending 1903–1904 averaged Rs.46,000. In 1903–1904 the income was Rs.47,000 chiefly derived from octroi, the receipts and expenditure of cantonment funds during the ten years ending 1902–3 averaged Rs.4,200 and Rs.3,700. The profuse irrigation and insufficient drainage of the surrounding fields render Bannu an unhealthy station, the town has a considerable trade, including fish guts and butts. Also, embracing the whole traffic in local produce of the Bannu valley, the nearest railway station is at Kohat on the Khushalgarh-Thal branch of the North-Western Railway,79 miles distant by road. A weekly fair collects a number of 8,000 buyers and sellers. The chief articles of trade are cloth, live-stock, wool, cotton, tobacco, Bannu possesses a dispensary and two high schools, a public library and a town hall known as the Nicholson Memorial
29.
8th Infantry Division (India)
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The 8th Indian Infantry Division is a division of the Indian Army which specialises in tactics and operations in mountainous territory. The 8th was formed as a division in Meerut on 25 October 1940 under Major-General Charles Harvey. It served in the Middle East in the garrisoning of Iraq, a brigade was detached to the Western Desert to reinforce the British Eighth Army as it withdrew before the Axis forces. Following training in the Near East, the division entered the Italian Campaign landing at Taranto on mainland Italy, the division was disbanded at the end of World War II but re-formed again in 1962 as a specialist mountain division. Despite its relatively late introduction into the mainstream of battle its members won nearly 600 awards, during the war the 8th Indian Division sustained casualties totalling 2,012 dead,8,189 wounded and 749 missing. When originally formed the main fighting formations were 17th, 18th and 19th Indian Infantry Brigades. On 9 June 1941 17th Brigade arrived in Basra and joined Iraqforce and these oilfields were perceived to be threatened when a coup détat brought into power Rashid Ali al-Kaylani who was sympathetic to the Axis powers. By the second half of June the brigade had moved to Mosul to defend British-owned oilfields from an anticipated thrust by Axis forces south through the Caucasus and this was achieved without a shot being fired as the Vichy French forces retired westwards. On 17 July Major-General Charles Harvey and the divisional HQ arrived in Basra and had 24th Indian Infantry Brigade assigned to the division, 18th Indian Infantry Brigade arrived in Iraq on 26 July. Meanwhile, 18th Brigade had crossed into Persia between Basra and Abadan to take Khorramshahr and became part of a three brigade advance towards Ahwaz,75 miles north east of Basra, the fighting ended on 28 August when the Shah ordered his forces to cease hostilities. In the process, however, they gained valuable time for the British Eighth Army to organise the defences for what was to be the First Battle of El Alamein, halting Rommels advance towards Egypt. From August 1942 the division, still a short, became part of Paiforce when Persia. It spent the winter in intensive training, the 8th Indian Division moved in March 1943 to Damascus and continued to spend much of its time training, notably in mountain warfare and combined operations. In June 1943 the division was selected to participate in the anticipated Dodecanese Campaign, and seize the Italian-occupied island of Rhodes, on 24 September 1943 the 8th Indian Division landed in Taranto, to take its part in the Italian Campaign. For 19 months the division was almost continuously in action, advancing through mountainous country, the formation later adopted the motto One more river. This involved opposed river crossings of the Biferno, Trigno, Sangro and Moro, when the spring came the 8th Indian Division was switched in great secrecy 60 miles west across the Apennine Mountains to concentrate as part of Lieutenant-General Sidney C. Following this, the division advanced some 240 miles in June across mountainous country, fighting many actions against rearguards, in late June they had reached Assisi and the division was rested. It was during the fighting on the Gari that Kamal Ram of the 3rd Battalion, at 19 years of age, he was one of the youngest recipients of the VC during the Second World War
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Iraq
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The capital, and largest city, is Baghdad. The main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds, others include Assyrians, Turkmen, Shabakis, Yazidis, Armenians, Mandeans, Circassians, around 95% of the countrys 36 million citizens are Muslims, with Christianity, Yarsan, Yezidism, and Mandeanism also present. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish, two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation. It was here that mankind first began to read, write, create laws, the area has been home to successive civilisations since the 6th millennium BC. Iraq was the centre of the Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian and it was also part of the Median, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Ayyubid, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires. Iraqs modern borders were mostly demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations when the Ottoman Empire was divided by the Treaty of Sèvres, Iraq was placed under the authority of the United Kingdom as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. A monarchy was established in 1921 and the Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from Britain in 1932, in 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Iraqi Republic created. Iraq was controlled by the Arab Socialist Baath Party from 1968 until 2003, after an invasion by the United States and its allies in 2003, Saddam Husseins Baath Party was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in 2005. The American presence in Iraq ended in 2011, but the Iraqi insurgency continued and intensified as fighters from the Syrian Civil War spilled into the country, the Arabic name العراق al-ʿIrāq has been in use since before the 6th century. There are several suggested origins for the name, one dates to the Sumerian city of Uruk and is thus ultimately of Sumerian origin, as Uruk was the Akkadian name for the Sumerian city of Urug, containing the Sumerian word for city, UR. An Arabic folk etymology for the name is rooted, well-watered. During the medieval period, there was a region called ʿIrāq ʿArabī for Lower Mesopotamia and ʿIrāq ʿajamī, for the region now situated in Central and Western Iran. The term historically included the south of the Hamrin Mountains. The term Sawad was also used in early Islamic times for the region of the plain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In English, it is either /ɪˈrɑːk/ or /ɪˈræk/, the American Heritage Dictionary, the pronunciation /aɪˈræk/ is frequently heard in U. S. media. Since approximately 10,000 BC, Iraq was one of centres of a Caucasoid Neolithic culture where agriculture, the following Neolithic period is represented by rectangular houses. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gypsum, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations
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Syria
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Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam
32.
Italian Campaign (World War II)
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The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. It is estimated that between September 1943 and April 1945, some 60, 000–70,000 Allied and 60, overall Allied casualties during the campaign totaled about 320,000 and the corresponding German figure was well over 600,000. Fascist Italy, prior to its collapse, suffered about 200,000 casualties, mostly POWs taken in the Allied invasion of Sicily, including more than 40,000 killed or missing. Besides them, over 150,000 Italian civilians died, as did 15,197 anti-Fascist partisans and 13,021 troops of the Italian Social Republic. The campaign ended when Army Group C surrendered unconditionally to the Allies on May 2,1945, the independent states of San Marino and the Vatican, both surrounded by Italian territory, also suffered damage during the campaign. Even prior to victory in the North African Campaign in May 1943, the British, especially the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, advocated their traditional naval-based peripheral strategy. The United States, with a larger army, favoured a more direct method of fighting the main force of the German Army in Northern Europe. The ability to such a campaign depended on first winning the Battle of the Atlantic. There was even pressure from some Latin American countries to stage an invasion of Spain, the British argued that the presence of large numbers of troops trained for amphibious landings in the Mediterranean made a limited-scale invasion possible and useful. A contributing factor was Franklin D. Roosevelts desire to keep US troops active in the European theatre during 1943 and it was hoped that an invasion might knock Italy out of the conflict, or at least increase the pressure on them and weaken them further. A combined Allied invasion of Sicily began on 10 July 1943 with both amphibious and airborne landings at the Gulf of Gela, the land forces involved were the U. S. Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, the original plan contemplated a strong advance by the British northwards along the east coast to Messina, with the Americans in a supporting role along their left flank. The defending German and Italian forces were unable to prevent the Allied capture of the island, but succeeded in evacuating most of their troops to the mainland, the Allied forces gained experience in opposed amphibious operations, coalition warfare and mass airborne drops. Forces of the British Eighth Army, still under Montgomery, landed in the toe of Italy on 3 September 1943 in Operation Baytown, the armistice was publicly announced on 8 September by two broadcasts, first by General Eisenhower and then by a proclamation by Marshal Badoglio. Although the German forces prepared to defend without Italian assistance, only two of their divisions opposite the Eighth Army and one at Salerno were not tied up disarming the Royal Italian Army, on 9 September, forces of the U. S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W, although none of the northern reserves were made available to the German 10th Army, it nevertheless came close to repelling the Salerno landing, due mainly to the cautious command of Clark. As the Allies advanced, they encountered increasingly difficult terrain, the Apennine Mountains form a spine along the Italian peninsula offset somewhat to the east, the rivers were subject to sudden and unexpected flooding, which constantly thwarted the Allied commanders plans. This would make the most of the natural geography of Central Italy, whilst denying the Allies the easy capture of a succession of airfields
33.
British Malaya
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The term British Malaya loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries. Before the formation of Malayan Union in 1946, the territories were not placed under a unified administration. Instead, British Malaya comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States, under British rule, Malaya was one of the most profitable territories of the Empire, being the worlds largest producer of tin and later rubber. The Malayan Union was dissolved and replaced by the Federation of Malaya in 1948, on 16 September 1963, the federation, along with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore, formed into a larger federation of Malaysia. The British first became involved with Malay politics formally in 1771, the British colonised Singapore in 1819 and were in complete control of the state at that time. In the mid-18th century, British firms could be found trading in the Malay Peninsula, Light was also a captain in the service of the East India Company. The Sultan faced multiple external threats during this period, Siam, which was at war with Burma and which saw Kedah as its vassal state, frequently demanded that Kedah send reinforcements. Kedah, in cases, was a reluctant ally to Siam. Through negotiation between the Sultan and Light, the Sultan agreed to allow the firm to build a trading post and to operate in Kedah, Light conveyed this message to his superiors in India. The British, however, decided against the proposal, two years later, Sultan Muhammad Jiwa died and was succeeded by Sultan Abdullah Mahrum Shah. The new Sultan offered Light the island of Penang in return for assistance for Kedah. Light informed the East India Company of the Sultans offer, the Company, however, ordered Light to take over Penang and gave him no guarantee of the military aid that the Sultan had asked for earlier. Light later took over Penang and assured the Sultan of military assistance, soon the Company made up its mind and told Light that they would not give any military aid to Kedah. In June 1788, Light informed the Sultan of the Companys decision, feeling cheated, the Sultan ordered Light to leave Penang, but Light refused. Lights refusal caused the Sultan to strengthen Kedahs military forces and to fortify Prai, recognising this threat, the British moved in and razed the fort in Prai. The British thereby forced the Sultan to sign an agreement that gave the British the right to occupy Penang, in return, on 1 May 1791 the Union Flag was officially raised in Penang for the first time. In 1800, Kedah ceded Prai to the British and the Sultan received an increase of 4,000 pesos in his annual rent, Penang was later named Prince of Wales Island, while Perai was renamed Province Wellesley. In 1821, Siam invaded Kedah, sacked the capital of Alor Star, before the late 19th century, the British largely practised a non-interventionist policy
34.
Malayan Campaign
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The Malayan Campaign was fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 –31 January 1942 during the Second World War. The Japanese had air and naval supremacy from the days of the campaign. For the British, Indian, Australian and Malayan forces defending the colony, the operation is notable for the Japanese use of bicycle infantry, which allowed troops to carry more equipment and swiftly move through thick jungle terrain. Royal Engineers, equipped with demolition charges, destroyed over a hundred bridges during the retreat, by the time the Japanese had captured Singapore, they had suffered 9,800 casualties, Allied losses totaled 138,708, including 130,000 captured. By 1941 the Japanese had been engaged for four years in trying to subjugate China and they were heavily reliant on imported materials for their military forces, particularly oil from the United States. From 1940 to 1941, the United States, the United Kingdom, the object of the embargoes was to assist the Chinese and encourage the Japanese to halt military action in China. The Japanese considered that pulling out of China would result in a loss of face and decided instead to take action against US, British. The Japanese forces for the invasion were assembled in 1941 on Hainan Island and this troop build-up was noticed by the Allies and, when asked, the Japanese advised that it related to its operations in China. When the Japanese invaded, they had over 200 tanks, consisting of the Type 95 Ha-Go, Type 97 Chi-Ha, Type 89 I-Go, in addition, they had over 500 combat aircraft available. They had just over 250 combat aircraft, but half of these were destroyed inside the first few days of combat, between the wars, the British military strategy in the Far East was undermined by a lack of attention and funding. He predicted that landings could be made at Songkhla and Pattani in Siam and he recommended large reinforcements to be sent immediately. His predictions turned out to be correct, but his recommendations were ignored, a strong naval presence was also thought to act as a deterrent against possible aggressors. By late 1941, after Lieutenant-General Arthur E. Percival had taken over as GOC Malaya, in addition, Churchill and Roosevelt had agreed that in the event of war breaking out in the east, priority would be given to finishing the war in the west. The east, until that time, would be a secondary priority, containment was considered the primary strategy in the east. Planning for this offensive was undertaken by the Japanese Military Affairs Bureaus Unit 82 based in Taiwan, intelligence on Malaya was gathered through a network of agents which included Japanese embassy staff, disaffected Malayans, and Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese business people and tourists. Japanese spies, which included a British intelligence officer, Captain Patrick Stanley Vaughan Heenan, in November 1941 the British became aware of the large scale buildup of Japanese troops in French Indo-China. Thailand was seen to be under threat from this build-up as well as Malaya, British strategists had foreseen the possibility of Thailands Kra isthmus being used by the Japanese to invade Malaya. To counteract this threat, plans for a pre-emptive invasion of southern Thailand
35.
Arthur Edward Cumming
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Cumming was 45 years old, and a lieutenant colonel commanding the 2/12th Frontier Force Regiment, in the Indian Army during World War II. Lt. Col Cumming and his battalion were defending an airfield during the Battle of Malaya when the deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 3 January 1942 near Kuantan, Malaya, the Japanese made an attack on the battalion. Later he drove in a carrier, under heavy fire. His gallant actions helped the brigade to withdraw safely, Cumming was one of a small number of officers and men who were ordered to be evacuated from Singapore before the island was surrendered on 15 February 1942. Cumming commanded a battalion of the 9th Jat Regiment before his promotion to brigadier, from 1944 to his retirement in 1947 Brigadier Cumming was in command of the Dehra Dun District in India. His VC is on display at the National Army Museum, Chelsea
36.
Victoria Cross
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The Victoria Cross is the highest award of the United Kingdom honours system. It is awarded for gallantry in the face of the enemy to members of the British armed forces and it was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857 and these investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War, since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals,11 to members of the British Army, the traditional explanation of the source of the metal from which the medals are struck is that it derives from Russian cannon captured at the Siege of Sevastopol. Some research has suggested a variety of origins for the material, research has established that the metal for most of the medals made since December 1914 came from two Chinese cannons that were captured from the Russians in 1855. Owing to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal has fetched over £400,000 at auction, a number of public and private collections are devoted to the Victoria Cross. The private collection of Lord Ashcroft, amassed since 1986, contains over one-tenth of all VCs awarded, following a 2008 donation to the Imperial War Museum, the Ashcroft collection went on public display alongside the museums Victoria and George Cross collection in November 2010. These are unique awards of honours system, recommended, assessed, gazetted and presented by each country. In 1854, after 39 years of peace, Britain found itself fighting a war against Russia. The Crimean War was one of the first wars with modern reporting, before the Crimean War, there was no official standardised system for recognition of gallantry within the British armed forces. This structure was limited, in practice awards of the Order of the Bath were confined to officers of field rank. Brevet promotions or Mentions in Despatches were largely confined to those who were under the notice of the commanders in the field. Other European countries had awards that did not discriminate against class or rank, France awarded the Légion dhonneur and The Netherlands gave the Order of William. There was a feeling among the public and in the Royal Court that a new award was needed to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a mans lengthy or meritorious service. Queen Victoria issued a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual on 29 January 1856 that officially constituted the VC, the order was backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War. Queen Victoria had instructed the War Office to strike a new medal that would not recognise birth or class, the medal was meant to be a simple decoration that would be highly prized and eagerly sought after by those in the military services
37.
5th Infantry Division (India)
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The 5th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II that fought in several theatres of war and was nicknamed the Ball of Fire. It was one of the few Allied divisions to three major enemy armies, Italian, German, and Japanese. The division was raised in 1939 in Secunderabad with two brigades under command, in 1940, the 5th Indian Division moved to Sudan and took under command three British infantry battalions stationed there and was reorganised into three brigades of three battalions each. The division fought in the East African Campaign in Eritrea and Ethiopia during 1940 and 1941, thence moving to Egypt, Cyprus, in 1942, the division was heavily engaged in the Western Desert Campaign and the First Battle of El Alamein. From late 1943 to the Japanese surrender in August 1945, it continuously from India through the length of Burma. After the end of the war, it was the first unit into Singapore, the Division was raised at Secunderabad in India from the Deccan District Headquarters, with two brigades of three Indian infantry battalions each. It moved to the Sudan in 1940 and was joined by three British infantry battalions already there, the division was reorganised into three brigades each with one British and two Indian battalions. Between 1940 and 1941, the 5th Division was involved in the campaign in East Africa, after periods in Egypt, Cyprus and Syria, by 1942 it was involved in the fighting in the Western Desert of North Africa and the withdrawal of the Allied troops to El Alamein. By late 1943, the 5th Division had been shipped to India and took part in the campaign in Burma, initially deployed to the Arakan front. After the Japanese had been defeated in the Battle of the Admin Box, the division was airlifted north to take part in the Battle of Imphal and the Battle of Kohima. Thereafter, the division was almost constantly involved in the advance through central Burma until fighting ended with the Japanese surrender in August 1945. On 10 June 1940, before the arrival of the 5th Division, the 5th Division started to arrive in the Sudan in early September 1940 and absorbed Platts three British infantry battalions and formed a third infantry brigade. After these rearrangements, the division consisted of the 9th, 10th and 29th Indian Infantry Brigades, for the next three months, the division was involved in a series of aggressive skirmishing operations to keep the Italian forces off balance and confused as to Platts longer-term intentions. The climax of the campaign was the Battle of Keren, a fiercely fought series of engagements against superior numbers,9 and 10 Brigades of 5 Indian Division were newly stationed around Tobruk when Rommels offensive against the Gazala Line commenced at the end of May 1942. Fresh to the desert, just recently equipped with obsolete anti tank guns and poor transport, after the Battle of Alam Halfa in August, they were withdrawn to garrison duties in Iraq before being shipped to Burma in mid-1943. At the end of 1943, the division began to part in the Burma Campaign. It was facing the Japanese 55th Division on the flank of the Arakan front. From the victory in the Arakan sector, the Indian 5th Infantry Division was air-lifted to the central front
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East African Campaign (World War II)
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Ethiopian irregulars, the Free French and Belgian troops of the Force Publique also participated. The East African Campaign was the first Allied strategic victory in the war but was overshadowed by the British defeats in Greece and Crete. Italian belligerence also closed the Mediterranean to Allied merchant ships and endangered British supply routes along the coast of East Africa, the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Egypt, the Suez Canal, French Somaliland and British Somaliland were also vulnerable to invasion, in the summer of 1940 Italy was far from ready for a long war or for the occupation large areas of Africa. Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, was appointed Viceroy and Governor-General of the AOI in November 1937, with a headquarters in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. On 1 June 1940, as the commander in chief of Comando Forze Armate dellAfrica Orientale Italiana and Generale dArmata Aerea, Aosta had about 290,476 local, by 1 August, mobilisation had increased the number to 371,053 troops. About 70 percent of Italian troops were locally recruited Askari, the regular Eritrean battalions and the Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali were among the best Italian units in the AOI and included Eritrean cavalry Penne di Falco. Most colonial troops were recruited, trained and equipped for colonial repression, although the Somali Dubats from the borderlands were useful light infantry and skirmishers. Irregular bandes were hardy and mobile, knew the country and were effective scouts and saboteurs, although confused with Shifta. Due to the isolation of the AOI from the Mediterranean, the Italians had very little opportunity for reinforcements or supply, leading to severe shortages, especially of ammunition. On occasion, foreign merchant vessels captured by German merchant raiders in the Indian Ocean were brought to Somali ports, there were 183 first line aircraft and another 140 in reserve, of which 59 were operational and 81 were unserviceable. On the outbreak of war, the CAAOI had 10,700 t of fuel,5,300 t of bombs and 8,620,000 rounds of ammunition. The Italians had reserves for 75% of their strength, but lacked spare parts. The quality of the units varied, the SM.79 was the only modern bomber and the CR.32 fighter was obsolete, but the Regia Aeronautica in East Africa had a cadre of highly experienced Spanish Civil War veterans. The Regia Marina maintained the Red Sea Flotilla at Massawa in Eritrea on the Red Sea, the port was a link between Axis-occupied Europe and the naval facilities in the Italian concession zone in Tientsin in China. There were also limited port facilities at Assab, in Eritrea, the flotilla also had two local defence destroyers, the Orsini and Acerbi, a squadron of five Motoscafo Armato Silurante and eight submarines. When the Mediterranean route was closed to Allied merchant ships in April 1940, Allied convoys had to sail via the Cape and up the east coast of Africa, as Italian fuel supplies in Massawa dwindled, opportunities for the Red Sea Flotilla to attack Allied shipping declined. The British had based forces in Egypt since 1882 but these were reduced by the terms of the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936
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Western Desert Campaign
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The Western Desert Campaign, took place in the deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main theatre in the North African Campaign during the Second World War. The campaign began in September 1940 with the Italian invasion of Egypt, Operation Compass, Benito Mussolini sought help from Adolf Hitler, who responded with a small German force sent to Tripoli under Directive 22. The German Afrika Korps was under nominal Italian command but Italian dependency on Nazi Germany made it the dominant partner. In the spring of 1941, Axis forces under Rommel pushed the British back to Egypt except for the port of Tobruk, the Axis forces were forced to retire to where they had started by the end of the year. In 1942 Axis forces drove the British back again and captured Tobruk after the Battle of Gazala, on the final Axis push to Egypt, the British retreated to El Alamein, where at the Second Battle of El Alamein the Eighth Army defeated the Axis forces. They were driven out of Libya to Tunisia, where they were defeated in the Tunisian Campaign, for Hitler the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union dwarfed the desert war, which was a holding action of secondary importance. The Axis never had sufficient resources or the means to deliver them, the British missed several opportunities to finish the campaign by diverting resources to Greece and the Levant in 1941 and the Far East in 1942. Cyrenaica had been an Italian colony since the Italo-Turkish War, supreme Headquarters had the 5th Army and the 10th Army which in mid-1940 had nine metropolitan divisions of about 13,000 men each, three Blackshirt and two Libyan divisions with 8,000 men each. Italian army divisions had been reorganised in the late 1930s, from three regiments each to two and reservists were recalled in 1939, along with the usual call-up of conscripts, morale was considered to be high and the army had recent experience of military operations. The Italian navy had prospered under the Fascist regime, which had paid for fast, well-built and well-armed ships and a large submarine fleet but the navy lacked experience and training. The air force had been ready for war in 1936 but had stagnated by 1939 and was not considered by the British to be capable of maintaining a high rate of operations. The 5th Army with eight divisions was based in Tripolitania, the half of Libya opposite Tunisia. When war was declared, the 10th Army deployed the 1st Libyan Division Sibelle on the frontier from Giarabub to Sidi Omar and XXI Corps from Sidi Omar to the coast, Bardia, the XXII Corps moved south-west of Tobruk, to act as a counter-attack force. The British had based forces in Egypt since 1882 but these were reduced by the terms of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936. The small British and Commonwealth force garrisoned the Suez Canal and the Red Sea route, the canal was vital to British communications with its Far Eastern and Indian Ocean territories. In mid-1939, Lieutenant-General Archibald Wavell was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the new Middle East Command, over the Mediterranean, until the Franco-Axis armistice, the French divisions in Tunisia faced the Italian 5th Army on the western Libyan border. In Libya, the Royal Army had about 215,000 men and in Egypt, British forces included the Mobile Division, one of only two British armoured training formations, which in mid-1939 was renamed Armoured Division. The HQ of the 6th Infantry Division, which lacked complete, Italian land and air forces in Libya, greatly outnumbered the British in Egypt but suffered from poor morale and were handicapped by some inferior equipment
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4th Infantry Division (India)
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The 4th Indian Infantry Division, also known as the Red Eagle Division, is an infantry division of the Indian Army. The division was formed in Egypt in 1939 and was the first Indian formation to go overseas during the Second World War, as with all formations in the Indian Army prior to independence, it primarily had British officers and Indian other ranks. However, it did include Indian officer with ranks as high as Captain, during World War II, it took part in campaigns in East Africa, Syria, North Africa and Italy. During World War II, the 4th Indian Division was in the vanguard during nine campaigns in the Mediterranean theatre, gerald Scarlett appears to have been the divisions first commander, from October 1939 to January 1940. The British 14th Infantry Brigade was attached to the division from 1 June to 20 July 1940, in the first of Archibald Wavells operations in Egypt, as part of the Western Desert Force, it took part in Operation Compass in December 1940. The Division was involved in the battles of that campaign in the camps around Sidi Barrani. Along with the 7th Royal Tank Regiment, the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade of the 4th Indian Infantry Division destroyed the Italian Maletti Group at the Nibiewa Camp. The East African campaign culminated in March 1941 with the battles at Keren in Eritrea and it was at Keren that Subadar Richhpal Ram of the 4/6th Rajputana Rifles, 5th Indian Infantry Brigade, 4th Division was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. In April 1941, Beresford-Peirse was promoted to command the Western Desert Force, having returned to Egypt, part of the division was hurried across to Syria and was heavily involved in the advance on Damascus. From 14 to 17 June 1941, the British 4th Armoured Brigade was attached to the division, by May 1942,11 Brigade was back in the fighting at Tobruk. 11th Brigade was caught in the siege of Tobruk which fell on 21 June, 5th Brigade was rushed to the desert in June 1942–after escaping from Mersa Matruh, the brigade held the vital Ruweisat Ridge during the First Battle of El Alamein in July–August 1942. The situation had become so confused that General Erwin Rommel, also known as the Desert Fox, with the dawn came the realization that he was in the company of 4th Division. With a sigh of relief, he slipped away, undetected, the division had the honour of capturing General von Arnim in Tunisia, bringing an end to the war in North Africa. Its major battles in North Africa were Benghazi, Tobruk, Wadi Akarit, Enfidaville, the division then moved in January 1944 to Italy, where it took part in the Italian Campaign. It took a role in the second Battle of Monte Cassino. During the battle, the Division was to attack in an arc towards the south and southwest, taking Point 593 and then moving southeast, up the heights towards the Abbey. The Indian Division would only advance on the Abbey, once the 2nd New Zealand Division had attacked south, however, the 28th Battalion attack failed, and so had the 4th Indian Division attack on Point 593. As part of the attachments and detachments for the campaign, the British 9th Armoured Brigade was attached to the division from 8 July 1944 to 19 July 1944, in November 1944, the division was shipped to Greece to help stabilise the country after the Axis withdrawal
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Burma Campaign
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The Burmese Independence Army was trained by the Japanese and spearheaded the initial attacks against British Empire forces. The campaign had a number of notable features, the geographical characteristics of the region meant that factors like weather, disease and terrain had a major effect on operations. The lack of transport infrastructure placed an emphasis on engineering and air transport to move and supply troops. The campaign was politically complex, with the British, the United States. It was also the land campaign by the Western Allies in the Pacific Theatre which proceeded continuously from the start of hostilities to the end of the war. This was due to its geographical location, the climate of the region is dominated by the seasonal monsoon rains, which allowed effective campaigning for only just over half of each year. Japanese objectives in Burma were initially limited to the capture of Rangoon and this would close the overland supply line to China and provide a strategic bulwark to defend Japanese gains in British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies. The Japanese successfully attacked over the Kawkareik Pass, and captured the port of Moulmein at the mouth of the Salween River after overcoming stiff resistance and they then advanced northwards, outflanking successive British defensive positions. Troops of the 17th Indian Infantry Division tried to retreat over the Sittaung River, on 22 February, the bridge was demolished to prevent its capture, a decision that has since been extremely contentious. The loss of two brigades of 17th Indian Division meant that Rangoon could not be defended, although some units arrived, counterattacks failed and the new commander of Burma Army, ordered the city to be evacuated on 7 March after its port and oil refinery had been destroyed. The remnants of Burma Army broke out to the north, narrowly escaping encirclement, with the effective collapse of the entire defensive line, there was little choice left other than an overland retreat to India or to Yunnan. After the fall of Rangoon in March 1942, the Allies attempted to make a stand in the north of the country, having been reinforced by a Chinese Expeditionary Force. The Japanese had also reinforced by two divisions made available by the capture of Singapore, and defeated both the newly organised Burma Corps and the Chinese force. The Allies were also faced with growing numbers of Burmese insurgents, with their forces cut off from almost all sources of supply, the Allied commanders finally decided to evacuate their forces from Burma. The retreat was conducted in very difficult circumstances, starving refugees, disorganised stragglers, and the sick and wounded clogged the primitive roads and tracks leading to India. Burma Corps managed to make it most of the way to Imphal, in Manipur in India just before the monsoon broke in May 1942, having lost most of their equipment, there, they found themselves living out in the open under torrential rains in extremely unhealthy circumstances. The army and civil authorities in India were very slow to respond to the needs of the troops, due to lack of communication, when the British retreated from Burma, almost none of the Chinese knew about the retreat. After recuperating they were re-equipped and retrained by American instructors, the rest of the Chinese troops tried to return to Yunnan through remote mountainous forests and out of these, at least half died
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13th Frontier Force Rifles
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The 13th Frontier Force Rifles was part of the British Indian Army, and after 1947, Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by amalgamation of five existing regiments, the regiments were named the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Punjab Infantry Regiments and became part of the Transfrontier Brigade. A sixth regiment was added in 1865 on re-designation of the Scinde Rifle Corps, in 1882 the 3rd Punjab Infantry Regiment was disbanded. 4th Punjab Infantry Regiment became 57th Wildes Rifles, 5th Punjab Infantry Regiment became 58th Vaughans Rifles 6th Punjab Infantry Regiment became 59th Scinde Rifles. In 1921 the regiment became 59th Royal Scinde Rifles, in the 1922 reorganisation of the British Indian Army the five regiments became the five regular battalions of the newly formed 13th Frontier Force Rifles. The battalion numbering omitted a 3rd battalion so that the numbering reflected that of the original antecedent Punjab Infantry Regiments, in 1945 the regiment was renamed The Frontier Force Rifles when all the regiments of the British Indian Army dropped their prenominal numbers. On independence in 1947 the regiment was allocated to Pakistan, in 1956, The Frontier Force Rifles, The Pathan Regiment and the Frontier Force Regiment were amalgamated to form the new Frontier Force Regiment. Frontier Force Regiment Punjab Irregular Force Condon, Brig WEH, Regimental History of the 13th Frontier Force Rifles. History of the 2nd Battalion 13th Frontier Force Rifles, bury St Edmunds, Groom and Son. History of the 4th Battalion 13th Frontier Force Rifles, the Historical Record of the 5th Punjab Infantry, Punjab Frontier Force. History of the 5th Battalion, 13th Frontier Force Rifles, 1849–1926, History of the 59th Rifles FF, Regimental History of the 6th Royal Battalion, 13th Frontier Force Rifles, 1843–1923. Regimental History of the 6th Royal Battalion, 13th Frontier Force Rifles, bunbury, NL St P. Regimental History of the 6th Royal Battalion, 13th Frontier Force Rifles, 1934–1947. The Punjab Frontier Force, A Brief Record of Their Services 1846–1924, one Hundred Glorious Years, A History of the Punjab Frontier Force, 1849–1949. Lahore, Civil and Military Gazette Press, a Brief Account of the Late Punjab Frontier Force, From its Organization in 1849 to its Re-distribution on 31 March 1903. The Wardens of the Marches – A History of the Piffers 1947–71, abbottabad, The Frontier Force Regimental Centre. Sons of John Company, The Indian and Pakistan Armies 1903–1991, ISBN 978-0-946771-98-1 Barthorp, M, and Burn, J. Indian Infantry Regiments 1860–1914. ISBN 1-84176-196-6 13th Frontier Force Rifles, archived from the original on 11 August 2007
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