The 51st Indian Brigade was an

infantry 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 ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

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 ...

that saw active service with the

Indian Army during the First World War The Indian Army, also called the British Indian Army, was involved in World War I as part of the British Empire. More than one million Indian troops served overseas, of whom more than 60,000 died during the war. In World War I the Indian Army ...

. It took part in the

Mesopotamian campaign The Mesopotamian campaign or Mesopotamian front () was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the British Empire, with troops from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain, Australia and the vast major ...

and formed part of the occupation force for Iraq post-war.

History

The 51st Indian Brigade started forming in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

from August 1917 as part of the

17th Indian Division The 17th Indian Division was formed in 1917 from units of the British Indian Army for service in the Mesopotamia Campaign during World War I. After the war, it formed part of the occupation force for Iraq and took part in the Iraq Rebellion i ...

. It was formed from

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s that had already been in Mesopotamia for some months, guarding

lines of communications A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communicat ...

. It remained with the division for the rest of the war, taking part in the action at Fat-ha Gorge 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 ...

(23–26 October 1918) and the

Battle of Sharqat The Battle of Sharqat (October 23–30, 1918) was fought between the British and the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian Campaign in World War I, It was the last battle fought in Mesopotamia during the war and one of the final conflicts between the ...

(28–30 October 1918). At the end of the war, the 17th Division was chosen to form part of the occupation force for Iraq. It took part in the Iraq Rebellion in 1920. In August 1923, the division was reduced to a single brigade; the last British troops left in March 1927 and the Indian ones in November 1928.

Order of battle

The brigade had the following composition in the

First World War 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 ...

: * 1st Battalion,

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First World War, First and World War II, Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 t ...

''(joined from Corps Troops in September 1917)'' * 1st Battalion,

2nd Queen Victoria's Own Rajput Light Infantry The 2nd Queen Victoria's Own Rajput Light Infantry, commonly shortened to 2nd Rajputs, was a regiment of the British Indian Army. Raised in 1798, it was amalgamated with five other Rajput regiments in 1922. History The British East India Company ...

''(joined from Corps Troops in September 1917; left in September 1918 for the 67th Brigade,

British 22nd Division The 22nd Division was an infantry division (military), division of the British Army during World War I, raised in September 1914, from men volunteering for Herbert Kitchener, Lord Kitchener's Kitchener's Army, New Armies. The division moved to We ...

)'' * 14th King George's Own Ferozepore Sikhs ''(joined from

50th Indian Brigade The 50th Indian Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service with the Indian Army during the First World War. It served in the Mesopotamian Campaign on the Euphrates Front throughout its existence. It was ...

15th Indian Division The 15th Indian Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service in the First World War. It served in the Mesopotamian campaign on the Euphrates Front throughout its existence. It did not serve in the Second W ...

in October 1917; to Corps Troops in November 1918)'' * 1st Battalion,

10th Gurkha Rifles The 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles, (abbreviated to 10 GR), was originally a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was formed in 1890, taking its lineage from a police unit and over the course of its existence it had a ...

''(joined from Corps Troops in August 1917)'' * 257th Machine Gun Company * 51st Light Trench Mortar Battery ''(joined in February 1918)''

Commander

The brigade was commanded from formation by Brigadier-General R.J.T. Hildyard.

References

Bibliography

External links