The 38th Dogras were an

infantry 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 mar ...

regiment 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 cou ...

. They could trace their origins to 1858, when they were raised as an irregular unit named the Agra Levy. In 1864 the regiment was incorporated into the regular line infantry of the

Bengal Army The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Gover ...

, under the title of the 38th (Agra) Regiment Bengal Native Infantry. The regiment served at the

Siege of Malakand The siege of Malakand was the 26 July – 2 August 1897 siege of the British garrison in the Malakand region of colonial British India's North West Frontier Province.Nevill p. 232 The British faced a force of Pashtun tribesmen whose tribal lands ...

in 1897. To honour the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to India, they took part in the Rawalpindi Parade 1905. In August 1914 the regiment, then comprising eight companies of Dogras, was stationed at Malakand on the North West Frontier. The 38th Dogras remained in India until late 1917, when it was posted to Aden and then to Suez. The regiment saw active service against the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Megiddo in September 1918. It remained in Egypt performing garrison duties through 1920, before returning to India. After World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments.Sumner p.15 In 1922, the 38th Dogras became the 2nd Battalion,

17th Dogra Regiment The 17th Dogra Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, after the Indian government decided to reform the army moving away from single battalion regiments to multi-battalion regiments. After the partit ...

. In 1947, the regiment was allocated to the new

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

on independence.

Predecessor names

*1864: 38th (Agra) Regiment BNI *1890: 38th (Dogra) Regiment, Bengal Infantry *1901: 38th Dogra Infantry.

References

Untitled

* * British Indian Army infantry regiments Military units and formations established in 1858 1858 establishments in India Military units and formations disestablished in 1922 Bengal Presidency {{mil-unit-stub