The 116th Mahrattas were an infantry regiment of the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

. The regiment traces their origins to 1800, when they were raised as the 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment of

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

Native Infantry. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the regiment was attached to the 18th Indian Division for the Mesopotamia Campaign. They were involved in the Actions at the Fat-ha Gorge and on the

Little Zab The Little Zab or Lower Zab (, ''al-Zāb al-Asfal''; or '; , ''Zâb-e Kuchak''; , ''Zāba Taḥtāya'') is a river that originates in Iran and joins the Tigris just south of Al Zab in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The Little Zab is approximatel ...

and the Battle of Sharqat in October 1918. 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 116th Mahrattas became the 4th Battalion

5th Mahratta Light Infantry The 5th Mahratta Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, when the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. The regiment fought in World War ...

. After independence they were one of the regiments allocated to the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and 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 ...

Predecessor names

*2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry - 1800 *16th Bombay Native Infantry - 1824 *16th Bombay Infantry - 1885 *116th Mahrattas - 1903

References

Sources

* * * * * British Indian Army infantry regiments Bombay Presidency Military units and formations established in 1800 Military units and formations disestablished in 1922 {{WWI-stub