The 53rd 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. 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 53rd 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 November 1917 as part of the 18th Indian Division, joining the division when it was formed on 24 December 1917. The brigade 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 transferred directly from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

so time was needed for them to become acclimatized. 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 (28–30 October 1918). At the end of the war, the 18th Division was chosen to form part of the occupation force for Iraq. It took part in the Iraq Rebellion in 1920. The division, and the brigade, was broken up in the following year.

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 ...

: * 1/9th Battalion, Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) ''(joined in November 1917 from Ambala Brigade, 16th Indian Division)'' * 1st Battalion, 89th Punjabis ''(joined in November 1917 from 2nd (Nowshera) Brigade, 1st (Peshawar) Division; left in September 1918 to join the 81st Brigade, British 27th Division)'' * 1st Battalion,

3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles The 3rd Gorkha Rifles or Third Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 3 GR is an Indian Army infantry regiment. It was originally a Gurkha Gorkha regiments (India), regiment of the British Indian Army formed in 1815. This regiment recruit mainly Magars an ...

''(joined in December 1917 from

Kohat Kohat (; ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century. With a population o ...

)'' * 1st Battalion, 7th Gurkha Rifles ''(joined in December 1917 from the East Persia Cordon where it had been serving as part of the 4th (Quetta) Division)'' * 207th Machine Gun Company * 53rd Light Trench Mortar Battery ''(joined in February 1918)''

Commander

The brigade was commanded from 19 November 1917 by Brigadier-General G.A.F. Sanders.

References

Bibliography

External links