The 6th Lancers is an armoured regiment of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, 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 India, Partition of British India, wh ...

. 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 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 co ...

. It was formed in 1921 by amalgamation of the

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

and the 16th Cavalry. The regiment and its predecessors have seen active service on the North West Frontier, in Egypt during 1882, in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

, the two World Wars and 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 ...

. On the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), 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: ...

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, 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 of 1878–80 and in Egypt in 1882, where it fought against Arabi Pasha at the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir. It so impressed the Duke of Connaught that he requested his mother, Queen Victoria, 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, the regiment remained on the Northwest Frontier until July 1916, when it moved to Mesopotamia for the relief of Kut-al-Amara. On its return, it served in Waziristan during the Third Afghan War 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 Rohilkhand (previously Rampur State) is a region in the northwestern part of Uttar Pradesh, India, that is centered on the Rampur, Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. It is part of the upper Ganges Plain, and is named after the Rohilla tribe. Th ...

. In 1864, the regiment was sent to conquer Bhutan 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. In 1900, the regiment went to China to relieve the international legations in Peking during the

. On relieving the

American Legation The Tangier American Legation ( ar, المفوضية الأميركية في طنجة; french: Légation américaine de Tanger), officially the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIMS), is a building in the ''medina'' of ...

, 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. After the war, it served in the Third Afghan War of 1919. 13th Bengal Lancers 1897

*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 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 The 10th Indian Infantry Division was a war formed infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. In four years, the division travelled over from Tehran to Trieste, fought three small wars, and fought two great campaigns: the ...

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 Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. In August 1947, on the

, the 6th DCO Lancers was allotted to Pakistan. The regiment's Jat Squadron went to the 7th Light Cavalry 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

, 6 Lancers spearheaded the Pakistan Army's advance in the Kasur 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