The 4th Cavalry was a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...

(1838-40), 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 ...

(1838-1895) and 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 ...

(1895-1922).

Origin

The 4th Cavalry was raised in 1838 in the service of the

Nawab of Awadh The Nawab of Awadh or Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers of Kingdom of Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in northern India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to an Iranian dynasty''Encyclopædia Iranica'', R. B. B ...

and underwent numerous reorganisations and amalgamations as listed below.

History

In 1840, the regiment was converted to the service of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

as the 6th Bengal Irregular Cavalry. The regiment was granted an Honorary Standard for its service in Sind in 1844, wearing the device of a lion 'passant

regardant In heraldry, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a charge, a supporter, or as a crest. The attitude of a heraldic figure always precedes any reference to the tincture of the figure an ...

'. As part of the 1861 reforms it was add to the regular establishment as the 4th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry. The regiment earned its first battle honour "Afghanistan NWF 1879-80" for service during the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dy ...

. The regiment went through four changes of title between 1900 and 1904, initially owing to the regiment being rearmed with the lance. The regiment was stationed at the Bareilly Cantonment when

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 ...

broke out in 1914. In August 1914, the regiment was mobilised as the divisional cavalry regiment of the

7th (Meerut) Division The 7th (Meerut) Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army and, before 1895, the Bengal Army, that saw active service during World War I. Pre-1857 The Meerut Division first appeared in the Indian Army List in 1829, under the comman ...

, and landed in France in October 1914 In November 1915 they left the front and entrained for

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, however they did not sail until the end of December. They were transferred to Mesopotamia, arriving in January 1916. They were transferred to serve with the

6th Indian Cavalry Brigade The 6th Indian Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service in the Indian Army during the First World War. It took part in the Mesopotamian campaign and was broken up soon after the end of the war. ...

. They left Mesopotamia and returned to India in late 1917. In late 1920 the 4th Cavalry were sent to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

on occupation duties, not returning to

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 ...

, India until January 1922. In April 1922, the 4th was amalgamated with the

2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) The 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) is one of the oldest and most highly decorated armoured regiments of the Indian Army. The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of two of the oldest regiments of the Bengal Army – the 2nd Royal Lancers (Gar ...

to form the 2nd–4th Cavalry. However this title was short-lived and the new unit was retitled 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) by October 1922.

Names

*1837 1st Regiment Oudh Light Auxiliary Force Horse *1840 6th Bengal Irregular Cavalry *1861 4th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry *1900 4th Regiment of Bengal Lancers *1901 4th Bengal Lancers *1903 4th Lancers *1904 4th Cavalry *1922 Amalgamated with 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse), to initially form 2nd-4th Cavalry then

References

Bibliography

* Kempton, C (1996). ''A Register of Titles of the Units of the H.E.I.C. & Indian Armies 1666-1947.'' Bristol: British Empire & Commonwealth Museum. * * Nath, A (2009) ''Izzat. Historical Records and Iconography of Indian Cavalry Regiments 1750-2007''. * * Indian Army List, various dates Military units and formations established in 1838 British Indian Army cavalry regiments Indian World War I regiments Honourable East India Company regiments 1838 establishments in India {{india-mil-stub

Origin

History

Names

See also

References

Bibliography