The 124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry was an

infantry regiment Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

of the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

raised in 1820 as the 2nd (Marine) Battalion 12th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry. It was designated as the 124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry in 1903 and became 1st Battalion

10th Baluch Regiment The 10th Baluch or Baluch Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. After Partition of India, independence, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was amalgamated with the 8th Punjab Regiment, 8th Punja ...

in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

, where it continues to exist as 6th Battalion of The

Baloch Regiment The Baloch Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army. The modern regiment was formed in May 1956 by the merger of 8th Punjab Regiment, 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments with the 10th Baluch Regiment, Baluch Regiment. Since then, furt ...

.Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.

Early history

The regiment was raised in June 1820 at

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

as the 2nd (Marine) Battalion 12th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry by Captain Deschamps. In 1824, it was designated as the 24th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry. On 19 January 1839, it stormed and captured the city of

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

as part of a punitive expedition sent to rid the area of pirates. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857-58, the regiment, under the command of Major WG Duncan, operated in

Central India Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in alm ...

against the

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

led by

Tatya Tope Tantia Tope (also spelled Tatya Tope, : ̪aːt̪ʲa ʈoːpe 6 January 1814 – 18 April 1859) was a general in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and one of its notable leaders. Despite lacking formal military training, Tantia Tope is widely consi ...

and the

Rani of Jhansi Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi (; 19 November 1828 — 18 June 1858),Though the day of the month is regarded as certain historians disagree about the year: among those suggested are 1827 and 1835. was an Indian queen, the Maharani consort of ...

. In December 1857, it joined the Central India Field Force and during the next six months, fought in several major engagements, including the storming of the fortress of Rahatgarh, the Relief of

Saugor Sagar is a city, municipal corporation and administrative headquarter in Sagar district of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Situated on a spur of the Vindhya Range, above sea-level. The city is around northeast of state capital ...

, the capture of

Jhansi Jhansi (; Hindi: झांसी, Urdu: ) is a historic city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It lies in the region of Bundelkhand on the banks of the Pahuj River, in the extreme south of Uttar Pradesh. Jhansi is the administrative hea ...

and the Battle of

Kalpi Kalpi is a historical city and municipal board in Jalaun district in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is on the right bank of the Yamuna. Once Kalpi was more important Than Orai It is situated 78 kilometres south-west of Kanpur from which it is con ...

, where the Mahratta Army was decisively defeated. It remained employed in mopping up operations till 15 December 1858. During the campaign, it suffered a total of 52 casualties. In 1879-80, it participated in the

Second Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the ...

, where it was deployed on the line of communication.Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin. (1998). ''History of the Baloch Regiment 1820-1939''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.Chaldecott, Lt Col OA. (1935). ''The First Battalion (DCO) and the Tenth Battalion, the Tenth Baluch Regiment''. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.Cadell, Sir Patrick. (1938). ''History of the Bombay Army''. London: Longmans & Green. In 1891, the regiment was localized to the Province of

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

and reconstituted with

Balochis The Baloch or Baluch ( bal, بلۏچ, Balòc) are an Iranian people who live mainly in the Balochistan region, located at the southeasternmost edge of the Iranian plateau, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. There ar ...

, Brahuis,

Pathan Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

s and Punjabi Muslims. It adopted uniform of drab colour with red trousers and its designation was changed to 24th (Baluchistan) Regiment of Bombay Infantry. In 1895, the

Duchess of Connaught Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia (Louise Margaret Alexandra Victoria Agnes; 25 July 1860 – 14 March 1917), later Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, VA Order of the Crown of India, CI Royal Red Cross, RRC ...

was appointed the Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment. In 1896, it was dispatched to

British East Africa East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Britai ...

under the command of Lieutenant Colonel AA Pearson to suppress a rebellion in areas now forming

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. In 1901, the regiment's designation was changed to 24th (Duchess of Connaught's Own) Baluchistan Infantry. 124th Baluchistan Infantry, watercolour by Maj AC lovett, 1910 2

124th Baluchistan Infantry, watercolour by Maj AC lovett, 1910 2

124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry

Subsequent to the

reforms Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

brought about in the Indian Army by Lord Kitchener in 1903, all former

Bombay Army The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three presidencies of Presidencies and provinces of British India, British India. It was established in 1662 and governed by the East India Company until the Government of India A ...

units had 100 added to their numbers. Consequently, the regiment's designation was changed to 124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry and it was delocalized from Baluchistan. On the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the regiment was sent to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in 1916, where it raised a second battalion later that year. The 2nd Battalion served with great gallantry in the

Mesopotamian Campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Powe ...

, where it fought in the Battles of Khudaira Bend, Jebel Hamrin and Tikrit. In 1918, it proceeded to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

and took part in the Battle of Megiddo, which led to the defeat of

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the ...

. In the meantime, a third battalion was raised in 1917, which served in South Persia and later, in the

Third Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War; fa, جنگ سوم افغان-انگلیس), also known as the Third Afghan War, the British-Afghan War of 1919, or in Afghanistan as the War of Independence, began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan inv ...

of 1919 and during the Arab uprising in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

in 1920. The 1st Battalion also served in the Third Afghan War. During the First World War, the three battalions of 124th DCO Baluchistan Infantry suffered a total of 1179 casualties including 459 killed or died of disease.

Subsequent History

In 1921, the 3/124th DCO Baluchistan Infantry was disbanded, while the remaining two battalions were grouped with four other Baluch battalions:

126th Baluchistan Infantry The 126th Baluchistan Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1825 as the 2nd Extra Battalion of Bombay Native Infantry. It was designated as the 126th Baluchistan Infantry in 1903 and became 2nd Battalion 10th Baluch ...

127th Queen Mary's Own Baluch Light Infantry The 127th Queen Mary's Own Baluch Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1844 as The Scinde Bellochee Corps. It was designated as the 127th Baluch Light Infantry in 1903 and became 3rd Battalion (Queen Mary's O ...

129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis The 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1846 as the 2nd Bellochee Battalion. It was designated as the 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis in 1903, and became 4th Battalion (Duke ...

and the 130th King George's Own Baluchis (Jacob's Rifles), to form the 10th Baluch Regiment in 1922. The 1/124th DCO Baluchistan Infantry became the 1st Battalion and 2/124th DCO Baluchistan Infantry the 10th (Training) Battalion of the new regiment. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 1/10th Baluch (DCO) served in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. In 1943, the 10th Battalion became the 10th Baluch Regimental Centre. In 1945, the 10th Baluch Regiment lost its number and became The Baluch Regiment. On the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in 1947, it was allocated to

. In 1956, on the merger of 8th Punjab and

Bahawalpur Regiment The Bahawalpur Regiment was a regiment of Pakistan Army. The regiment was formed in 1952 from the infantry battalions of the erstwhile Princely State of Bahawalpur (princely state), Bahawalpur, which had acceded to Pakistan in 1947. In 1956, the Ba ...

s with the Baluch Regiment, 1 Baluch was redesignated as 6 Baluch (now 6 Baloch). During the

Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

, the battalion served in the

Rann of Kutch The Rann of Kutch (alternately spelled as Kuchchh) is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan. It is located in Gujarat (primarily the Kutch district), India, and in Sindh, Pakistan. It is divided into t ...

and

Kasur Kasur (Urdu and pa, ; also Romanization of Urdu, romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. The city serves as th ...

Sectors.

Genealogy

*1820 - 2nd (Marine) Battalion 12th Regiment Bombay Native Infantry *1823 - 2nd Battalion 12th Regiment Bombay Native Infantry *1824 - 24th Regiment Bombay Native Infantry *1885 - 24th Regiment Bombay Infantry *1891 - 24th (Baluchistan) Regiment Bombay Infantry *1895 - 24th (Baluchistan) (Duchess of Connaught's Own) Regiment of Bombay Infantry *1901 - 24th (Duchess of Connaught's Own) Baluchistan Infantry *1903 - 124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry *1917 - 1st Battalion 124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry *1922 - 1st Battalion (Duchess of Connaught's Own) 10th Baluch Regiment or 1/10th Baluch *1945 - 1st Battalion (Duchess of Connaught's Own) The Baluch Regiment or 1 Baluch *1956 - 6th Battalion The Baluch Regiment or 6 Baluch *1991 - 6th Battalion The Baloch Regiment or 6 Baloch

References

External links

*''History of the Baloch Regiment 1820–1939 the Colonial Period'', text o
pages 1 to 15
available online as download preview {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Baloch Regiment British Indian Army infantry regiments Military units and formations established in 1820 Military units and formations disestablished in 1922