The 6th Lancers is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. Previously, it was known as the 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse), and was a regular cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by amalgamation of the 13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers (Watson's Horse) and the 16th Cavalry. The regiment and its predecessors have seen active service on the North West Frontier, in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

during 1882, in China during the Boxer Rebellion, the two World Wars and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. On the Partition of India in 1947, the regiment was allotted to the Pakistan Army, where it remains in service today.

13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers (Watson’s Horse)

The 13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers was originally raised in Sep 1857, at

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

, as the 4th Sikh Irregular Cavalry by Lieutenants H Cattley and John Watson VC. Watson was appointed the commandant but did not join until 1860. He would go on to command the regiment for eleven years and is better known for introducing changes in the riding practices of the cavalry, whereby the rider would rise in the stirrups during the trot instead of bumping along in the saddle. The regiment served 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 ...

of 1878–80 and in Egypt in 1882, where it fought against Arabi Pasha at the

Battle of Tel-el-Kebir The Battle of Tel El Kebir (often spelled Tel-El-Kebir) was fought on 13 September 1882 at Tell El Kebir in Egypt, 110 km north-north-east of Cairo. An entrenched Egyptian force under the command of Ahmed ʻUrabi was defeated by a British a ...

. It so impressed 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 ...

that he requested his mother,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

, to appoint him as their Colonel-in-Chief. In 1897, the regiment was engaged in suppressing the tribal uprisings on the Northwest Frontier. During 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 remained on the Northwest Frontier until July 1916, when it moved 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 ...

for the relief of

Kut-al-Amara Kūt ( ar, ٱلْكُوت, al-Kūt), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare or Kut al-Imara, is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 389,400 people. It ...

. On its return, it served in

Waziristan Waziristan (Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some . ...

during 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 ...

in 1919. *1857 4th Sikh Irregular Cavalry *1861 13th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry *1861 13th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry (Lancers) *1874 13th Regiment of Bengal Lancers *1884 13th (Duke of Connaught's) Regiment of Bengal Lancers *1901 13th (Duke of Connaught's) Bengal Lancers *1903 13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers *1904 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse)

16th Cavalry

The 16th Cavalry was raised as the Rohilcund Horse at Haldwani in 1857 and spent the next two years pacifying the Rohilkhand. In 1864, the regiment was sent to conquer

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

as part of the Bhutan Field Force. It was disbanded in 1882 when three regiments were broken up to provide an additional, fourth squadron for the other regiments. However, fears of a Russian invasion led to the approval for an increase in strength of the cavalry and the 16th Cavalry was reformed in 1885 at

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-are ...

. In 1900, the regiment went to China to relieve the international legations in

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

during the Boxer Rebellion. On relieving the American Legation, the 16th Cavalry was presented with the United States flag, which had flown over the building and, for many years, it had hung in the Officers' Mess. During the First World War, the 16th Cavalry served 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 Po ...

. After the war, it served in the

of 1919.

*1857 Rohilcund Horse *1861 16th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry *1864 16th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry (Lancers) *1874 16th Regiment of Bengal Lancers *1882 Disbanded *1885 16th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry (re-raised) *1901 16th Bengal Lancers *1903 16th Cavalry

6th Duke of Connaught’s Own Lancers (Watson’s Horse)

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 renumbering and renaming of the entire cavalry line. The 13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers (Watson's Horse) and 16th Cavalry were amalgamated at

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

on 1 June 1921 as the 13th/16th Cavalry; becoming the 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers a year later. Their uniform was blue with scarlet facings, while the new badge was to be crossed lances with the figure '6' on the intersection and a scroll below, reading 'The Duke of Connaught's Own'. Their composition was one squadron each of Punjabi Muslims, Sikhs and Dogras. Indian troops at Temple of Heaven Peking 1900

Indian troops at Temple of Heaven Peking 1900

During the Second World War, the 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers, now mounted on armoured cars, served as the Reconnaissance Regiment of the 10th Indian Infantry Division and later with the 8th Indian Infantry Division in the Italian Campaign. The regiment was engaged in a number of actions, most notably the Second Battle of Cassino, Monte Moro, crossing of the Rivers Po and Adige and the race to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. In August 1947, on the Partition of India, the 6th DCO Lancers was allotted to Pakistan. The regiment's Jat Squadron went to the

7th Light Cavalry The 7th Light Cavalry previously the 28th Light Cavalry, was a regular army cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1784 under the East India Company. The regiment later saw service on the North West Frontier and in World Wa ...

in exchange for their Punjabi Mussalman Squadron, while the Sikh Squadron was exchanged with the Punjabi Mussalmans of the

8th King George V's Own Light Cavalry The 8th Light Cavalry traces its origins from the 8th King George's Own Light Cavalry which was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 26th King George's Own Light Cavalry and the 30th Lancers following a re-organisation of the Indian Cavalry C ...

6th DCO Lancers, San Felice, during the advance towards the Sangro

In 1956, Pakistan became a republic and all titles pertaining to the British royalty were dropped. The regiment's new designation was 6 Lancers. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, 6 Lancers spearheaded the Pakistan Army's advance in the

Kasur Kasur (Urdu and pa, ; also 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. The city serves as the headquarters of Kasur District. Kasu ...

Sector and captured the Indian town of Khem Karan under the dynamic leadership of their Commandant, Lieutenant Colonel Sahib Zad Gul, who fell in battle while leading his regiment. *1921 13th/16th Cavalry (amalgamation) *1922 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers *1927 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse) *1956 6 Lancers

Battle honours

Afghanistan 1878–80, Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt 1882, Punjab Frontier, China 1900, Shaiba, Kut al Amara 1915, Ctesiphon, Tigris 1916, Baghdad, Kut al Amara 1917, Sharqat, Mesopotamia 1915–18, NW Frontier, India 1915, Afghanistan 1919, The Trigno, Tuffilo, The Sangro, The Moro, Cassino II, Pignataro, Liri Valley, The Senio, Santerno Crossing, Italy 1943–45, Khem Karan 1965.Rodger, Alexander. (2003). ''Battle Honours of the British Empire and Commonwealth Land Forces 1662–1991''. Ramsbury: The Crowood Press.

Affiliations and alliances

Light Dragoons

Notes

External links

6th Duke of Connaught’s Own Lancers (Watson’s Horse) by John Gaylor at The Defence Journal
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 British Indian Army cavalry regiments Honourable East India Company regiments Armoured regiments of Pakistan Indian World War I regiments Indian World War II regiments Military units and formations established in 1857 1857 establishments in India