The 80th Carnatic Infantry were 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. They could trace their origins to 1777, when they were raised as the 21st Carnatic Battalion, by enlisting men from the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

, the 6th, the

12th Twelfth can mean: *The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution *The Twelfth, a Protestant celebration originating in Ireland In mathematics: * 12th, an ordinal number; as in the item in an order twelve places from the beginning, follo ...

and the

15th Carnatic Battalion The 75th Carnatic Infantry were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1776, when they were raised as the 15th Carnatic Battalion by enlisting men from the 2nd, 6th and 12th Carnatic Battalions. Their ...

s. The regiment's first action was during the

Battle of Sholinghur The Battle of Sholinghur was fought on 27 September 1781 at Sholinghur, West of Chennai (Madras), between forces of the Kingdom of Mysore led by Hyder Ali and East India Company forces led by General Eyre Coote. Haider Ali's forces were surpri ...

in the

Second Anglo-Mysore War The Second Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company from 1780 to 1784. At the time, Mysore was a key French ally in India, and the conflict between Britain against the French and Dutch in t ...

. They also took part in the campaigns for the

Third Anglo-Mysore War The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792) was a conflict in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company, the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore, the Maratha Empire, Maratha Confederacy, and the Nizam of Hyderabad ...

and were present at the

Battle of Seringapatam The siege of Seringapatam (5 April – 4 May 1799) was the final confrontation of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Mysore. The British, with the allied Nizam Ali Khan, 2nd Nizam of H ...

in the

Fourth Anglo-Mysore War The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore against the British East India Company and the Hyderabad Deccan in 1798–99. This was the last of the four Anglo-Mysore Wars. The British captured the capi ...

in 1798. It was over 100 years before they were next called for active service during

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 ...

. In 1906 the regiment consisted of four companies of Madrassi Musselmans, one of Telegau and one combining Madras Christians and Dadbers. All but two of their officers had been transferred from other Madras units which were in the process of being disbanded. The 80th Carnatic carried four battle honours on its regimental flag and had the unusual distinction of carrying an extra honorary colour to commemorate the capture of an enemy flag during the 18th century. During

they served in the

Mesopotamia 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 a second battalion the 2/80th was formed in the Southern Brigade of the

9th (Secunderabad) Division The 9th (Secunderabad) Division was an infantry division formation of the British Indian Army. It was part of the Southern Army and was formed in 1904 after Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India between 1902 and 1909. He ...

in October 1918, and transferred to the Secunderabad Bde in December 1918. After World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments.Sumner p.15 In 1922, the 80th Carnatic Infantry was disbanded, being one of the remaining nine single battalion regiments.

Predecessor names

*21st Carnatic Battalion - 1777 *21st Madras Battalion - 1784 *2nd Battalion, 2nd Madras Native Infantry - 1796 *20th Madras Native Infantry - 1824 *20th Madras Infantry - 1885 *80th Carnatic Infantry - 1903

References

* * * * *Moberly, F.J. (1923). ''Official History of the War: Mesopotamia Campaign'', Imperial War Museum. British Indian Army infantry regiments Military history of the Madras Presidency Military units and formations established in 1777 Military units and formations disestablished in 1922 {{India-mil-stub