The 15th Punjab Regiment was a

infantry regiment Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947 and of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

from 1947 to 1956. Following its allotment to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

after the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

in 1947, it was amalgamated in 1956 with the 1st Punjab Regiment, the 14th Punjab Regiment, and the 16th Punjab Regiment to form the present-day Punjab Regiment.Rizvi, Brig SHA. (1984). ''Veteran Campaigners – A History of the Punjab Regiment 1759-1981''. Lahore: Wajidalis.

Early history

Sikh officers of the British 15th Punjab Infantry regiment

The regiment was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, and 29th Punjabis into the British Indian Army. All five battalions were raised during the upheaval of the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

by John Lawrence in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. The 27th Punjabis served in

Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty ...

during the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or ''Arrow'' War, was fought between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major ...

in 1860–1862, while the 26th and 29th Punjabis participated in the Bhutan War of 1864–1866. All battalions saw service on the North-West Frontier of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(now

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

) and took part in the Second Anglo-Afghan War of 1878–1880, while the 26th and 27th Punjabis also served in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885–1887. In 1901, the 27th Punjabis were dispatched to

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate (), was a protectorate of the United Kingdom in modern Somaliland. It was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Somali Coast and Ethiopian Empire, Abyssinia (Italian Ethiopia from 1936 ...

to suppress the resistance movement led by Diiriye Guure of the Dervish State.

Formation

When the 15th Punjabis were formed in 1922, it was organized into 5 battalions (including additions until

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

): * 1st Battalion, former 25th Punjabis * 2nd Battalion, former 26th Punjabis * 3rd Battalion, former 27th Punjabis * 4th Battalion, former

28th Punjabis The 28th Punjabis were an infantry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as the 20th Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 28th Punjabis in 1903 and became 4th Battalion 15th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, ...

* 10th (Training) Battalion, former 29th Punjabis * 11th (Territorial) Battalion * 12th (Territorial) Battalion, formed 1939

World War II

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the 15th Punjab Regiment raised ten new battalions. Most of the active battalions were engaged in fighting the Japanese in the Far East except the 3rd Battalion, which fought in

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The performance of the 4th Battalion in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

in particular was outstanding. The battalion suffered 921 casualties and was awarded numerous gallantry awards including two

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

es to Lieutenant Karamjeet Singh Judge and Naik Gian Singh. *1st Battalion - India,

. *2nd Battalion - India,

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. The fighting withdrawal of the regiment is detailed, and they surrendered on 3 April 1942 to the Japanese and. *3rd Battalion - India, Somaliland,

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. Became a Machine-Gun Battalion in 1946. *4th Battalion - India, Burma, Siam, Malaya. *5th Battalion - Raised in 1940. India. Disbanded 1946. *6th Battalion - Raised in 1941. India, Ceylon, Burma. Disbanded 1947. *7th Battalion - Raised in 1941. India, Burma. Disbanded 1946. *8th Battalion - Raised in 1941 by re-designation of the 11th (Territorial) Battalion. India. Disbanded 1946. *9th Battalion - Raised in 1941 by re-designation of the 12th (Territorial) Battalion. India, Burma. Disbanded 1947. *10th (Training) Battalion - Converted into the 15th Punjab Regimental Training Centre in 1943. *11th (Territorial) Battalion - Mobilized in 1939. Re-designated as 8/15th Punjab on conversion to active status in 1941. Disbanded 1946. *12th (Territorial) Battalion - Raised in 1939. Re-designated as 9/15th Punjab on conversion to active status in 1941. *14th Battalion - Raised in 1942. India. Disbanded 1943. *15th Battalion - Raised in 1942. India. Broken up into garrison companies in 1945. *16th Battalion - Raised in 1943 by re-designation of 25th Garrison Battalion on conversion to active status. India. Re-designated as 2/15th Punjab in 1946. *25th Garrison Battalion - Raised in 1941. On conversion to active status, became the 16th Battalion. India. *26th Garrison Battalion - Raised in 1942. India. Abu Atoll. Disbanded 1946. *27th (Jind) Garrison Battalion - Raised in 1943 in Jind State. India. Disbanded 1946. *Machine-Gun Battalion - Raised in 1942. Transferred to the Indian Artillery to form the 15th Punjab Anti-tank Regiment. Disbanded 1944.

Post-independence history

On the

independence Independence is a condition of a 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 status of ...

of Pakistan in 1947, the 15th Punjab Regiment was allotted to Pakistan Army. At the time, the active battalions were 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Sikhs and Jats were transferred to the Indian Army and the regiment's new class composition was fixed as Punjabis and Pathans. The 2nd Battalion was reformed as a Medium Machine Gun battalion, moving to Kohat in early 1946; by the time of Partition in August 1947 all the British and non-Muslim officers had left, except for one Indian officer, the Adjutant and he left once all Indian Army personnel moved to India. The unit helped to escort the 3rd Grenadiers from Kohat to Rawalpindi, after they had been ambushed twice by Pathan tribes. Other references are the books by Kaushik Roy and Frederick Llewellyn Freemantle (listed below). The regiment's badge was also modified and the Sikh quoit was replaced by an Islamic star. In 1948, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions fought in the war with India in

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, 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 P ...

. In 1956, a major reorganization was undertaken in the Pakistan Army and larger infantry groups were created by amalgamating the existing infantry regiments. As a result, the 15th Punjab Regiment was amalgamated with the 1st, 14th and 16th Punjab Regiments to form one large Punjab Regiment. The four regimental centres were also merged and the combined centre moved to Mardan. The line up of the new regiment was: *1 Punjab - 1/1st Punjab *2 Punjab - 2/1st Punjab *3 Punjab - 3/1st Punjab *4 Punjab - 5/1st Punjab *5 Punjab - 1/14th Punjab *6 Punjab - 2/14th Punjab (Duke of Cambridge's Own) *7 Punjab - 3/14th Punjab *8 Punjab - 4/14th Punjab *9 Punjab - 1/15th Punjab *10 Punjab - 2/15th Punjab *11 Punjab - 3/15th Punjab (Al Battaar) (البَتَّار) *12 Punjab - 4/15th Punjab *13 Punjab - 1/16th Punjab *14 Punjab - 2/16th Punjab *15 Punjab - 3/16th Punjab *16 Punjab - 5/14th Punjab (Pathans) *17 Punjab - 4/16th Punjab (Bhopal) *18 Punjab - 7/1st Punjab *19 Punjab - 7/16th Punjab *20 Punjab - 14/1st Punjab

Battle honours

China 1860–62, Ali Masjid, Peiwar Kotal, Charasiah, Kabul 1879, Ahmad Khel, Kandahar 1880, Afghanistan 1878–80, Burma 1885–87, Chitral, Somaliland 1901–04, Loos, France and Flanders 1915, Suez Canal, Egypt 1915, Megiddo, Sharon, Palestine 1918, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1915–18, Persia 1918, NW Frontier, India 1917, Kilimanjaro, East Africa 1914–17, Berbera, Assab, Abyssinia 1940–41, Tug Argan, British Somaliland 1940, The Sangro, The Moro, Cassino II, Gothic Line, The Senio, Italy 1943–45, West Borneo 1941–42, South East Asia 1941–42, Rathedaung, Donbaik, Jail Hill, Naga Village, Kyaukmyaung Bridgehead, Mandalay, Fort Dufferin, Meiktila, Nyaungu Bridgehead, Capture of Meiktila, Taungtha, Myingyan, The Irrawaddy, Yenaungyaung 1945, Kama, Pyawbwe, Toungoo, Pegu 1945, Sittang 1945, Burma 1942–45.Rodger, Alexander. (2003). ''Battle Honours of the British Empire and Commonwealth Land Forces 1662-1991''. Ramsbury: The Crowood Press.

Early history

Formation

World War II

Post-independence history

Battle honours

See also

References

Further reading