The 88th Carnatic Infantry were an infantry regiment 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 1798, when they were raised as the 2nd Battalion, 14th Madras Native Infantry. The regiment's first action was in the Siege of Nagpore followed by the

Battle of Mahidpur The Battle of Mahidpur was fought during the Third Anglo-Maratha War between the Indore State of the Maratha Confederacy and the British East India Company at Mahidpur, a town in the Malwa region, on 21 December 1817. On 21 December 1817, t ...

during the

Third Anglo-Maratha War The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire, Maratha Confederacy in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an in ...

. They were involved in the

First Burmese War The First Anglo-Burmese War (; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War in English language accounts and First English Invasion War () in Burmese language accounts, was the first of three wars fought between the ...

(1823–26) and in 1900, they were part of the relief force in the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

in China. 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 ...

they were attached to 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 ...

which remained in India on internal security and training duties. Later they took part 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 took part in the fighting in

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

in 1919. A second battalion was raised during the war, it was disbanded in 1921. 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 88th Carnatic Infantry was one of the nine remaining single battalion regiments and was disbanded.

Predecessor names

*2nd Battalion, 14th Madras Native Infantry – 1798 *28th Madras Native Infantry – 1824 *28th Madras Infantry – 1885 *88th 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 1798 Military units and formations disestablished in 1922 Military units and formations of the Boxer Rebellion Indian World War I regiments {{India-mil-stub