The 13th Lancers is an armoured regiment of

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the 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 British India, which occurred as a result ...

. It was formed in 1923 as 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers by the amalgamation of

31st Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers The 13th Lancers is an armoured regiment of Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1923 as 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers by the amalgamation of 31st Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers and 32nd Lancers. On Partition of India in 1947, the regiment wa ...

and

32nd Lancers The 13th Lancers is an armoured regiment of Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1923 as 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers by the amalgamation of 31st Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers and 32nd Lancers. On Partition of India in 1947, the regiment was ...

. On

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

in 1947, the regiment was allotted to

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 ...

.Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre. It is the senior-most armoured regiment of Pakistan Army.

Formation

The two parent regiments of 13th Lancers had a common origin in the old Bombay Squadron of Cavalry, raised for service in the

Second Anglo-Maratha War } The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) was the second conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. Background The British had supported the "fugitive" Peshwa Raghunathrao in the First Anglo-Maratha War ...

. The squadron was split to form the 1st and 2nd Regiments of Bombay Light Cavalry in 1817. More than a hundred years later, they were reunited to form the 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Bombay Lancers in 1923.Cadell, Sir Patrick. (1938). ''History of the Bombay Army''. London: Longmans & Green.

31st Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers

The 1st Bombay Light Cavalry served in the

First Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Afghanistan, Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking si ...

in 1839 when they fought in the

Battle of Ghazni The Battle of Ghazni (or Ghuznee) took place in the city of Ghazni in central Afghanistan on Tuesday, July 23, 1839, during the First Anglo-Afghan War. Prelude In the 1830s, the British were firmly entrenched in India but by 1837, feared a Rus ...

and took part in the march to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...

. During the Second Sikh War of 1848-49 the regiment took part in the

Siege of Multan The siege of Multan began on 19 April 1848 and lasted until 22 January 1849, and saw fighting around Multan (in present-day Pakistan) between the British East India Company and the Sikh Empire. It began with a rebellion against a ruler imposed ...

, where they remained as the garrison for the remainder of the campaign. At the start of the Great Mutiny of 1857, the regiment was stationed at Nasirabad, where they were the only ones to remain loyal. Artillery and infantrymen urged them to go over to them but the sowars refused and, under their officers, charged in an attempt to take the guns. They failed to do so but successfully disengaged and took part in the campaign of pacification in Central India. Burma was their next overseas posting in 1885, where they fought in the

Third Anglo-Burmese War The Third Anglo-Burmese War ( my, တတိယ အင်္ဂလိပ် – မြန်မာစစ်, Tatiya Anggalip–Mran cac), also known as the Third Burma War, took place during 7–29 November 1885, with sporadic resistance conti ...

. The

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also ...

(

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (Arthur William Patrick Albert; 1 May 185016 January 1942), was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He served as G ...

(1850-1942), the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria), then Commander-in-Chief of the

Bombay Army The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India. It was established in 1662 and governed by the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 transferred all presidencies to the ...

, became their Colonel-in-Chief in 1890. He still held the appointment in the 13th DCO Lancers on his death in January 1942. During the Kitchener reorganisation of the Indian Army of 1903, the Bombay cavalry had thirty added to their numbers and, the 1st (Duke of Connaught's Own) Bombay Lancers became the 31st Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers. During the Great War, the 31st Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers remained on the North West Frontier of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. In 1919, they served 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 ...

and then went to perform garrison duties in Palestine. 1ST BOMBAY LANCERS, FIELD SERVICE KIT 1885

* 1804 Native Troop of Cavalry * 1816 1st Native Troop of Cavalry * 1817 1st Regiment of Bombay Light Cavalry * 1842 1st Regiment of Bombay Light Cavalry (Lancers) * 1861 1st Regiment of Bombay Silladar Light Cavalry * 1861 1st Regiment of Bombay Light Cavalry * 1880 1st Bombay Lancers * 1890 1st (Duke of Connaught's Own) Bombay Lancers * 1903 31st Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers

32nd Lancers

The 2nd Bombay Light Cavalry were stationed at

Neemuch Neemuch or Nimach is a town in the malwa region. Neemuch crowns the north western part of MP. It has been also referred to city of Nature and Peace. The town shares its northwestern border with the state of Rajasthan and is the administrati ...

in 1857 and took part in the pacification of Central India. One of its officers, Captain James Blair, won the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

during these operations. Under Kitchener's Reforms, the 2nd Bombay Lancers was redesignated as the 32nd Lancers.

During the Great War, the 32nd went to

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

late in 1916 and from 1 January to 3 March 1917 two squadrons of the regiment formed part of III (Tigris) Corps Cavalry Regiment, which were the first British troops to Capture Baghdad. In April 1917, at the Battle of Istabulat, a detachment led by the commanding officer, charged an entrenched Turkish position resulting in all the officers and most of the men becoming casualties. * 1816 2nd Native Troop of Cavalry * 1817 2nd Regiment of Bombay Light Cavalry * 1861 2nd Regiment of Bombay Silladar Light Cavalry * 1861 2nd Regiment of Bombay Light Cavalry * 1883 2nd Bombay Lancers * 1903 32nd Lancers

13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers

After the First World War, the number of Indian cavalry regiments was reduced from thirty-nine to twenty-one. However, instead of disbanding the surplus units, it was decided to amalgamate them in pairs. This resulted in the renumbering and renaming of the entire cavalry line. In September 1923, the 31st Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers were amalgamated with the 32nd Lancers to form the 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Bombay Lancers. This particular merger was a reunion of two regiments separated more than a hundred years before. The new badge was crossed lances with '13' on the intersection; a crown above and a scroll below, reading 'Duke of Connaught's Own.' Their uniform was blue with scarlet facings, and the new class composition was one squadron each of Pathans, Muslim Rajputs and Sikhs. In 1927, the regiment was redesignated as the

13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers The 13th Lancers is an armoured regiment of Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1923 as 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers by the amalgamation of 31st Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers and 32nd Lancers. On Partition of India in 1947, the regiment wa ...

. The 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers were one of the first two Indian cavalry regiments nominated for mechanisation. One squadron was equipped with the

Vickers Medium Mark I The Vickers Medium Mark I was a British tank of the Inter-war period built by Vickers from 1924. Background After the First World War Britain disbanded most of its tank units leaving only five tank battalions equipped with the Mark V and the Me ...

tank and two squadrons with armoured cars. They were deployed on frontier duties but in April 1941, left for

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 ...

with the

10th Indian Division The 10th Indian Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army during World War I. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914 with three infantry brigades of Indian Expeditionary Force F. After taking part in the Actions on th ...

. They saw action against the

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

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 also served in

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 ...

and

before joining the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Force ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. In October 1942, they moved back to Persia and then to India. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the regiment moved to

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, whic ...

in support of the

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

and

23rd Indian Division The 23rd Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. It fought in the Burma Campaign. It was then reformed as a division of the independent Indian Army in 1959. History The division was raised on 1 ...

s, who were engaged in suppressing a revolt by the Indonesians. In August 1946 the regiment returned to

Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South Central Railway ...

and on Partition of India in August 1947, the 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers were allotted to the

. * 1923 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Bombay Lancers (amalgamation of 31st and 32nd Lancers) * 1927 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers * 1956 13th Lancers In 1956, Pakistan became a Republic and all titles pertaining to British royalty were dropped. The regiment was now designated as 13th Lancers. During the

Indo-Pakistani 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 regiment spearheaded the advance of the Pakistan Army towards

Akhnoor Akhnoor is a city and municipal committee, near city of Jammu in Jammu district of Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It lies 28 km away from Jammu city. Akhnoor is on the bank of the Chenab River, just before it enters the ...

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. Fighting with ''elan'', it penetrated 23 miles inside enemy territory. During the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...

, the 13th Lancers launched a counter-attack against invading Indian forces at Barapind near Zafarwal and suffered heavy casualties. Between 1996 and 1997, the regiment served as part of the UN peacekeeping force of

UNTAES The United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) was a UN peacebuilding transitional administration in the Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia in the eastern parts of Croatia ...

in former Yugoslavia.

Battle honours

Ghuznee 1839, Afghanistan 1839, Mooltan, Punjaub, Central India, Afghanistan 1879–80, Burma 1885–87, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Sharqat, Mesopotamia 1916–18, NW Frontier, India 1917, Afghanistan 1919, Damascus, Deir ez Zor, Raqaa, Syria 1941, Gazala, Bir Hacheim, El Adem, Sidi Rezegh 1942, Gambut, Tobruk 1942, Fuka, North Africa 1940–43, Dewa-Chamb 1965, Jaurian 1965, Zafarwal 1971.

Notable officers

* General James Blair, VC, CB (Victoria Cross recipient; Resident at

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 peopl ...

1882-85) * General Sir Robert Cassels, GCB,

GCSI The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India, GCSI) # ...

, DSO (Commander-in-Chief in India 1935-41) * General Sir Frank Messervy, KCSI, KBE, CB, DSO &

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

(World War II Commander & First Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army 1947-48) * General Sir Francis Robert Roy Bucher, KBE, CB, MC (Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army 1948-49) *

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...

(President 1978-88 and Chief of Army Staff 1976-88) *

General Jehangir Karamat General Jehangir Karamat ( ur, ; born 20 February 1941) best known as JK, is a senior Pakistan Army officer who served as the 6th Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army, from 12 January 1996 to 6 October 1998. diplomat, public intellectual, ...

, NI (M), TBt ( Chief of Army Staff 1996-98) *Lt Gen Zarrar Azim *Maj Gen Khurshid Alam *Maj Gen Mian Nadeem Ijaz Ahmad,HI(M),SI(former DGMI Pakistan Army) *Maj Gen Zahid *Maj Gen Shakir ullah Khattak * Brigadier

Mervyn Cardoza Mervyn Adrian Cardoza (1922 – 2010, Toronto) was a one star general in the Pakistan Army. In 1965 Brig. Mervyn Cardoza was awarded the Tamgha-e-Khidmat by President Ayub Khan. Background and family He was first educated at St Patrick's ...

, Tamgha-e-Khidmat, Director Logistics 1971 *Col Shuja Khanzada Shaheed, Tamgha-e-Basalat, Interior Minister Punjab, Pakistan. *Gen

Naveed Mukhtar Naveed Mukhtar is a retired three-star Pakistan Army Lieutenant General and former spymaster who served as the Director General of the ISI in office from 11 December 2016 until his retirement on 25 October 2018. Before his appointment as Direc ...

, DG ISI, Ex-Corps Commander Karachi, Pakistan. * Risaldar Rao Hasan Ali, squadron commander in 13th Lancers, British Indian Army during World War II; participated in 13th Lancers operations in Europe, Egypt, Battle of Al-Alamein, Malaysia. * Honorary Captain Naseem Ahmed, participated in 13 Lancers operations in 1971 IndoPak War. *E. John Jacob, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Kerala, India (1913-1978) * Brigadier Saad Muhammad SI(M) * PA-618 Maj Muhammad Akram Khan Arbab, DOB - 1918, Date Of Commission - 1942, Residence of Tehkal Bala, Peshawar. Fought in Baghdad with 13th Lancers in second world war. Later joined 19 KGVOs Lancers, fought 1948 and 1965 as war reservist as sqn comd of 32 TDU later 32 Cavalry Pak Army.

References

External links

13th Duke of Connaught’s Own Lancers by John Gaylor at The Defence Journal
{{British Indian Army Cavalry Regiments 1903 - 1946 Armoured regiments of Pakistan British Indian Army cavalry regiments Honourable East India Company regiments Military units and formations established in 1804 1804 establishments in Asia