MLI Chapter 9 (original) (raw)

THE BATTLE HONOURS OF THE REGIMENT

Mysore�1790-92 (1st and 2nd Battalions)

In November 1790 the Bombay Army, under General Abercrombie, took the field along the Malabar Coast against the forces of Tippoo Sultan, the powerful and aggressive ruler of Mysore, who had invaded Travancore, a State in alliance with the British. The Army, in which were included both the present 1st and 2nd Battalions, cap�tured Cannanore on 19th December and undertook a most laborious ascent of the Pondacherrin Ghat only to abandon the campaign on account of sickness and lack of supplies.

Renewing the campaign in 1791 Abercrombie, on 16th February 1792, joined hands with a Madras Army before Tippoo Sultan�s fortress capital of Seringapatam. On the eve of the delivery of a general assault, however, Tippoo opened peace negotiations and a treaty signed on 19th March ended what is known as the Third Mysore War.

Seedaseer�1799 (1st and 2nd Battalions)

War with the ruler of Mysore again having broken out in 1798, a Bombay Army early in the following year advanced from Cannanore to force the Ghats and converge upon Tippoo Sultan�s capital fortress of Seringapatam in conjunction with a Madras Army advancing from the east. This Bombay Army, about 6,500strong, was divided into three brigades each of three battalions with some artillery. In the Right Brigade were the present 1st and 2nd Battalions together with what was, prior to disbandment, the 1st Bombay Pioneers.

Tippoo Sultan�s plan was to hold with a small force the Madras Army while falling with his main body upon the lesser Bombay force. At 9 a.m. on 6th March 1799 Tippoo�s main body, estimated at 12,000 men, fell upon the Right Brigade at Seedaseer, near the summit of the Ghats, where it was encamped at a distance of some eight miles from the rest of the army.

Throughout the long day the three Battalions, less than 2,000 men in all, gallantly withstood repeated furious assaults from the greatly superior Mysore force, fighting under the eye of Tippoo Sultan himself, until late afternoon brought the Left Brigade to their relief and the enemy withdrew from the field.

In his despatch to the Directors of the East India Company in England, the Governor-General wrote, �I am confident that your most honourable Court will be of the opinion that the conduct and success of the Army of Bombay on that day (Seedaseer Day) has seldom been equalled and never surpassed.�

The anniversary of the Battle, 6th March 1799, has for many years past been celebrated annually by the 1st and 2nd Battalions as �Seedaseer Day.� The celebrations take the form of regimental sports and, in the case of the 2nd Battalion, by a pageant

in the colourful uniforms of the period depicting episodes of the battle. The Regiment may thus, with reason, claim to be the originators in India of the spectacular military Tattoo.

Seringapatam�1799 (1st and 2nd Battalions)

Following his reverse at Seedaseer, Tippoo Sultan withdrew with his forces into his very strong fortress capital of Seringapatam, built upon an island in the River Cauvery. Before Seringapatam the Madras and Bombay columns joined forces early in April and siege was immediately laid to the formidable stronghold.

Despite fierce enemy sorties, and under cover of supporting artillery fire, siege approaches were pushed forward until, a breach having been made in the outer wall, a general assault was ordered on 4th May 1799. The Cauvery being low the stormers, with whom both the 1st and 2nd Battalions were represented, were able to ford the river bed some distance upstream whence they were able to cross the ditch and enter the breach in face of heavy musketry and cannon fire. Enemy resistance was fierce but after an hour�s desperate fighting, in which Tippoo Sultan himself was killed, the fortress of Seringa�patam fell.

Beni-Boo-Ali�1821 (1st and 2nd Battalions)

Towards the end of 1819 an expeditionary force of the Bombay Army, in which the 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion were included, was engaged in operations against Arab pirates along the south-eastern coast of the Persian Gulf. In an assault made by a detachment of this force upon the Arab stronghold of Beni-Boo-Ali the attackers were heavily defeated and practically annihilated so that, in order to avenge this serious reverse, it became necessary, in 1821, to despatch a second and stronger force with the same objective.

Included in this latter force were the 1st Battalion together with the flank companies of the 2nd Battalion and, on 2nd March 1821, the fort of Beni-Boo-Ali was carried by assault, the Arabs disdaining the protection of their defences and rushing sword in hand upon our troops to be practically wiped out in a desperate hand-to-hand fight before the walls in which 203 men of the attacking troops were killed or severely wounded.

Kahun�1840 (2nd Battalion)

The year 1839 witnessed the commencement of the First Afghan War when, forced to action by the yielding to Russian influence of Dost Mahommed the usurper ruler of Afghanistan, the Government of India agreed to extend its armed support to an attempt by Shah Shuja, the deposed Amir, to regain his lost throne.

In accordance with the plan of campaign a Bombay field force occupied Karachi early in 1840 and marched northwards into Sind, its role being to hold in check the turbulent Sindis and the Baluch tribes while the main Bengal force advanced through the Bolan Pass on Kandahar. In the course of these operations a detachment of the 5th Native Infantry (the 2nd Battalion), some 300 strong under Captain Brown, marched upon and occupied, in May 1840, the isolated hill fort of Kahun which was the chief stronghold of the turbulent, and warlike, Marri tribe. Having occupied the fort without much opposi�tion Captain Brown, in accordance with orders, sent back his baggage camels under an escort of 50 men of the Regiment together with a half-squadron of Scinde Horse lent

him for this purpose. Being aware that hostile Marris were assembled in the vicinity, Captain Brown also sent out a party of 80 men under Subedar Bay Jadhao to see the returnparty so far on its way.

The two parties proceeded together for 12 miles when, there being no sign of the enemy, the .Subedar decided to return to Kahun. Shortly afterwards both parties were surrounded by the enemy in overwhelming numbers, the return party as it reached the first water hole at the end of a long day�s march in intense heat and the Subedar�s party in a pass on its way back to Kahun. Against superior numbers of a tribe reckoned the bravest and best swordsmen of Southern Afghanistan both parties displayed the highest attributes of courage and good discipline and fought it out to the inevitable finish. Of the return party 12 men fought their way through to safety. Subedar Baji Jadhao and his gallant 80 died where they stood in their ranks.

Captain Brown�s force, reduced by these losses to 140 men, was immediately besieged in Kahun but from May until September the gallant handful in the notorious heat of the Sind Desert, labouring on the inadequate fortifications by day and by night, suffering from the effects of bad water and half rations, stricken by disease and withouthope of relief, successfully beat off all attempts by the enemy to carry the place by assault.

At length on 27th September 1840 Captain Brown, having received a message from the Officer Commanding in Upper Sind to take what steps he considered advisable for the safety of his men, capitulated with the honours of war accorded him by his respect�ful enemy. These terms were faithfully kept by the Marris and the few survivors of the gallant garrison of Kahun were permitted to march away in possession of their arms, guns, ammunition, and baggage.

On 5th April 1841 General Orders authorized the 5th Native Infantry, which only one month later was accorded the honour of being made �Light Infantry,� to wear upon its Colours and accoutrements the battle honour �Kahun.� This battle honour is particularly noteworthy as being unique to the 5th Mahratta Light Infantry.

Mooltan�1848 (1st Battalion)

During the year 1848 the Sikh Army, led by an insurgent named Mulraj, revolted against the terms of the treaty concluded in 1845 and, eager for another trial of strength with the British, opened hostilities in what is known as the Second Sikh War.

By the end of the year, when the 3rd Native Infantry (the 1st Battalion) marched into the Punjab as part of a Bombay column 7,000 strong, Mulraj was besieged with a large part of his army in the strong fortress city of Multan. On 27th December 1848, the outer defences having already been reduced, a general assault was launched under cover of fire from siege artillery. This assault was entirely successful,, the enemy despite stubborn resistance being driven from the city defences to the final security of the Fort.

The 3rd Native Infantry (1st Battalion) played a conspicuous part in the assault and gained notable distinction in the capture, after fierce fighting, of the Khum Bun, or Bloody Bastion, at the city�s southern gate.

Some days afterwards a chance shell exploded the enemy�s main powder magazine and on 27th January 1849 Mulraj, anticipating an assault ordered for the same day, surrendered with what remained of the garrison.

Goojerat�1849 (1st Battalion)

Following up its victory at Multan the Punjab field force, advanced up the River Chenab against a considerable Sikh Army, estimated at 60,000 men with artillery, in position south of the town of Gujerat.

On 21st February 1849 the two forces met in a hard-fought battle at the end of which the British infantry, greatly assisted by the artillery which did great execution in the enemy�s ranks, drove the Sikh Army from the field.

This battle, in which the 3rd Native Infantry (1st Battalion) fought with distinction, broke Sikh resistance and peace was declared before the end of the year.

Punjaub�1848-49 (1st Battalion)

For its noteworthy service throughout the Second Sikh War, as apart from the major battles of Multan and Gujerat for which individual honours were given, the 3rd Native Infantry (1st Battalion) was awarded the general battle honour �Punjaub.�

Central India�1857-59 (3rd Battalion)

In May 1857 the Indian Mutiny broke out at Meerut. This was essentially a revolt of the Bengal Army and a bright feature of those dark days of cruel massacre and of heroic defence was the almost unimpeachable loyalty of the Bombay Army as a whole and of its Mahratta regiments in particular.

The Bombay Army had at least as much temptation as that of Bengal to be false to its Colours and that it did not do so was due to its higher morale and better standard of discipline. Moreover, the main element of the Bombay Army was Mahratta, soldiers who always have shown loyalty in the highest degree to their regimental traditions and to their officers.

While all battalions of the Regiment performed creditably, either as units or more usually in detachments, in the very varied operations undertaken against the mutineers� the 3rd Native infantry and 5th Native Infantry with the Ahmednagar Field Force in 1858, the 14th Native Infantry, 16th Native Infantry, and 17th Native Infantry in Khandesh and Kathiawar in 1858-59�-it was to the 10th Native Infantry that the battle honour �Central India� was awarded for its particularly meritorious service at this period.

The 10th Native Infantry (3rd Battalion), as part of the Rajputana Field Force commanded by Sir Hugh Rose, marched northwards to the relief of those isolated garri�Sons of Rajputana and Central India besieged by insurgent forces. The forts of Ahwah and Kotah were recaptured and the Battalion earned special distinction at the storming of Gwalior on 19th June 1858. There followed arduous service and hard marching in pursuit of the elusive rebel leader, Tantia Topi, until his capture near Baroda.

China�1860-62 (2nd Battalion)

War having been declared upon the Emperor of China, on account of a series of incidents culminating in the dismissal of the British Ambassador at Pekin, an expedi�tionary force which included the 3rd Native Infantry (1st Battalion) and the 5th Native Light Infantry (2nd Battalion) was despatched to China early in 1860.

To the great disappointment of the two battalions, both were left to garrison Canton and thus were absent from the field force during the operations resulting in the surrender of Pekin. However, the 2nd Battalion embarked at Hong Kong in March 1862 as part of a force sent against the Taepings, or Chinese rebel forces, in the vicinity of Shanghai.

Detachments of the Battalion served with distinction at the capture from the rebels of the walled towns of Tseerpoo, Khading, and Tsingpoo and at the successful defence of Khading during May 1862 against an overwhelming rebel force.

Abyssinia�1867-.68 (1St and 3rd Battalions)

The truculent attitude of the Ruler of Abyssinia, King Theodore, who had imprisoned and ill-treated a number of British subjects including the Consul, compelled the despatch in 1867 of an expeditionary force, commanded by Sir Robert Napier, to that little known country. This force, which was mainly made up of regiments of the Bombay Army, included the 3rd Native Infantry (1st Battalion) and the 10th Native Infantry (3rd Battalion).

The campaign was one of peculiar difficulty in that the force, after having landed on a barren and waterless coast, had to march some 500 miles through most rugged and precipitous country involving an ascent of nearly 11,000 ft. to the rocky plateau on which stood Theodore�s fortress capital of Magdala. The terrain, then practically unexplored, has since become familiar through the Italian campaign of conquest in 1935 and the British expedition of liberation in 1941.

These apparently unsurmountable difficulties were successfully overcome by the indomitable spirit and endurance of the troops, both British and Indian, and on 13th April 1868 Magdala was taken by assault, King Theodore dying by his own hand.

In the advance and final assault the 10th Native Infantry (3rd Battalion) was singled out for special praise. The 3rd Native Infantry (1st Battalion) had to divert its animal transport to other duties and, although a prodigious effort was made by all ranks, just failed to reach Magdala in time to partake in the assault. Nevertheless, in recognition of its fine work on the line of march, it was presented by Sir Robert Napier with a silver Abyssinian drum which is a treasured possession of the Officers� Mess.

It was for their outstanding service in this most difficult campaign that the 1st Battalion and the 3rd Battalion were accorded the title of� Light Infantry.�

Afghanistan�1879-80 (2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions)

In order to avenge the massacre, in 1879, of the British Resident at Kabul and his entire escort, two forces advanced into Afghanistan, the northern force entering through the Khyber and occupying Kabul while the sourthern force advanced through the Bolan and besieged Kandahar.

Following the disastrous defeat of a Brigade of the latter force at Maiwand, on 27th July 1880, the remainder were closely besieged in the citadel of Kandahar until relieved by General Roberts, whose famous march from Kabul to Kandahar is military history, and by a second force hastily sent forward from Quetta. With this latter relieving force marched the 5th and 10th Native Light infantry (2nd and 3rd Battalions) and the 16th Native Infantry (4th Battalion) while the 3rd Native Light Infantry (1st Battalion) also was employed guarding the lines of communication.

The rapid march in extreme heat was very trying and subject to continual harass�ment from hostile tribesmen. The 16th Native Infantry (4th Battalion) gained special distinction by the spirited defence of the outpost fort of Kuch by 3 officers and 314 other ranks of the Battalion together with 150 sick of other Bombay regiments. All through the night of 16th August 1880 this small force, from behind very inadequate defences, stood off the repeated furious assaults of over 2,000 determined tribesmen, and inflicted severe losses upon the enemy.

The official report of the Force Commander records that the successful defence of Kuch undoubtedly saved Quetta from attack and prevented enemy incursion into Sind.

Burma�1885-87 (2nd Battalion)

The Third Burmese War, following the initial success of 1885, when Mandalay was taken within a fortnight and King Theebaw deposed, became a war of subalterns and detachments as for two long years the expeditionary force, in the face of the greatest difficulties of disease and climate, laboured in what was described as a most strenuous and disappointing campaign to subjugate the dacoits and scattered armed bands which infested the country following the dissolution of the Burmese Army.

During three years the 5th Native Light Infantry (2nd Battalion) was engaged, with credit to all ranks, in this very arduous and exacting campaign.

British East Afrlca�1901 (4th Battalion)

An expeditionary force made up from the Aden Camel Corps, part of an Indian Mountain Battery, some companies of the East African Rifles, and the 16th Bombay Infantry (4th Battalion) entered the Jubaland Province of British East Africa in January 1901 in order to chastise the Ogaden Somalis responsible for the murder of the British Sub-Commissioner for that territory.

For six months this force campaigned in this most difficult bush country against an extremely elusive foe. This service entailed frequent exhausting marches in a trying climate in pursuit of an enemy who consistently refused to be brought to decisive action.

There were several sharp engagements with parties of tribesmen and the occupation of their chief villages eventually brought the rebellious chief to submission.

Megiddo, Sharon, Nablus�1918 (2nd and 3rd Battalions)

On 19th September 1918, in the final phase of the campaign in Palestine, General Allenby launched his grand offensive that was to destroy Turkish resistance in that country and herald the beginning of the end of the Great War of 1914-18.

Clever tactical moves having deceived the enemy into erroneous anticipation of an attack upon his left wing in the Jordan Valley, General Allenby launched a surprise assault in great force upon the Turkish right flank lying in the Plain of Sharon between the Judaean Mountains and the sea north of Jaffa.

The initial assault was made at dawn by the 16th Corps, in which was the 105th Mahratta Light Infantry (2nd Battalion) recently arrived from Mesopotamia, and greatly assisted by an efficient artillery barrage proved completely successful. Driving clean through the Turkish defences, the victorious Divisions swept the demoralized enemy before them, marching and fighting without respite until, on 21st September, the vital communications centre of Nablus was seized and the line of retreat to the eastward effectively blocked. Intervention on the part of the considerable Turkish forces east of the Jordan was effectively prevented by the advance of Chaytor�s Force, consisting of Australian and Indian cavalry and the 20th Indian Division, which included the 110th Mahratta Light Infantry (3rd Battalion), from the Jordan Valley to seize Es Salt and Amman on the Hedjaz railway.

Meanwhile, grasping the opportunity afforded by the initial break through, General Allenby launched his cavalry divisions in a boldly conceived and vigorously executed encircling movement which seized Haifa and the lateral railway well to the enemy�s rear. Thus, defeated and cut off from all retreat, the Turkish Seventh and Eighth Armies were destroyed or captured in the Plain of Esdraelon, or Megiddo, and all effective enemy resistance was at an end.

Palestine�1918 (2nd and 3rd Battalions)

Operations in Palestine during the early part of 1918 were in preparation for, and leading up to, General Allenby�s great autumn offensive which opened in September.

During May there arrived in Palestine the 105th Mahratta Light Infantry (2nd Battalion), having come direct from Mesopotamia with the 3rd Indian Division, and the 110th Mahratta Light Infantry (3rd Battalion). The latter was a reconstituted battalion formed and trained in India to take the place of the original 110th lost at Kut in 1916.

At the opening of the general offensive, on 19th September, the 105th attacked with the 9th Brigade on the left of the British line, not far from the coast, while the 110th was with the Desert Force posted in the Jordan Valley well to the eastward.

Success being assured by the initial break through achieved by the infantry on the left�the 105th achieved its objective, Jiyus, at a cost of 121 casualties and took three batteries of Turkish guns on the way�General Allenby passed his cavalry through the gap in a rapid advance up the coast to seize Haifa and the railway communications in the enemy�s rear.

Thus, surrounded and with their retreat to the eastward cut off by the Desert Force advancing from the Jordan Valley, the demoralized remnants of the Turkish Seventh and Eighth Armies were speedily destroyed or captured.

Allowing the harassed enemy no respite, General Allenby�s hard-driven cavalry continued the pursuit northward into Syria until the capture of Damascus and Aleppo induced the Turkish Government, on 31st October, to ask for an armistice.

Basra�1914 (3rd and **5th**Battalions)

On the outbreak of war with Turkey, on 31st October 1914, the 16th Infantry Brigade undertook offensive operations at the head of the Persian Gulf. Included in this Brigade were the 2nd Dorsets and the 117th Mahrattas (Royal Battalion).

On 6th November 1914 a detachment, which included the 117th, effected a landing before, and smartly captured, the Turkish fort of Fao at the mouth of the Shaat-eI-Arab. This success opened the way up the river and on landing at Abadan the Brigade beat off a Turkish attack on the night of 10th/11th November.

The 18th Infantry Brigade, in which were included the 2nd Norfolks and the 110th Mahratta Light Infantry (3rd Battalion), followed on 13th November, the whole force moving forward signally to defeat a superior Turkish force at Sahil on 17th November. This defeat led to the evacuation of Basra by the Turks, this important base being occupied by the 110th on 22nd November 1914.

Shaiba�1915 (3rd and 5th Battalions)

Early in 1915 the Turks in Mesopotamia took the offensive, with the object of retaking Basra, and advancing down the River Euphrates in greatly superior strength heavily attacked, on 12th April, the small British force in position at Shaiba some 20 miles west of the city.

The Shaiba garrison consisted of, in addition to one cavalry brigade and some artillery, the 16th Infantry Brigade, with which were the 2nd Dorsets and the 117th Mahrattas (Royal Battalion), and the 18th Infantry Brigade, including the 2nd Norfolks and the 110th Mahratta Light Infantry (3rd Battalion).

The enemy, with a force estimated at 15,000 as opposed to just over 5,000 defenders, launched his initial attack at daybreak on 12th April and for two whole days the small garrison beat off successive enemy assaults upon its exposed position. On the morning of the third day the British Commander ordered a general attack and the entire force of exhausted defenders, its ammunition almost expended, rose from its battered trenches to advance upon its erstwhile attackers. Throughout the heat of the day a bitter struggle continued before the Turkish lines but at last the enemy broke in a rout that was not checked for 90 miles.

Thus ended what has been called the� Miracle of Shaiba� when the small British force at a cost of 1,050 casualties totally defeated a Turkish force three times its strength, inflicting 6,000 casualties and taking 800 prisoners. Of the Bombay troops who played such a part in this notable victory, Major-General Melliss, V.C., has said, �They have proved on this occasion that they are worthy to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best troops the Empire can produce.�

Kut-el-Amara---1915-17 (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 10th Battalions)

During September 1915 General Townshend�s army in Mesopotamia began its advance up the River Tigris and on the 27th and 28th attacked and captured the Turkish positions at Sanniyat and Es Sinn covering the town of Kut-el-Amara situated in a bend of the river. Included in this force were three battalions of the Regiment�the 103rd Mahratta Light Infantry (1st Battalion), the 110th Mahratta Light Infantry (3rd Battalion), and

the 117th Mahrattas (Royal Battalion) and in the flanking movement which turned the Turkish left the 117th in particular attacked the enemy trenches with great gallantry despite very severe losses.

Of this action, which forced the Turks to evacuate the town, it has been written that, �Both in generalship and in gallantry, the battle of Kut-el-Amara will be remembered as one of the most brilliant, possibly the most brilliant, fought by the Indian Army.�

Two months afterwards, retiring down-river after the failure of its ill-considered advance on Baghdad, the weary remnant of General Townshend�s gallant force was besieged in Kut-el-Amara by superior Turkish forces.

During the 146 days for which the exhausted and standing defenders held out in the hope of relief, successive attempts were made by the relieving force to break through the strong Turkish positions covering the approaches to the town from the south. On 6th January 1916, at a cost of 4,000 casualties to the attacking force, a portion of the Turkish defensive position at Shaik Saud was captured but subsequent successive attacks upon the strongly held enemy positions at Sanniyat�made with the utmost gallantry but in insufficient numbers�failed to achieve the hoped-for break through. The last desperate assault on 22nd April failed, as had the others before it, a composite Mahratta unit of young recruits for the three battalions besieged in Kut fighting with great steadiness and courage, and on the 29th the exhausted garrison was obliged to capitulate.

Attempts to relieve Kut-el-Amara in 1916 had cost more than 30,000 casualties, chiefly due to the necessity for throwing fresh reinforcements piecemeal into the fight as these were brought up, but early in 1917 operations undertaken with adequate forces achieved the desired result.

With the additional forces to reach Mesopotamia in 1916 were the 105th Mahratta Light Infantry (2nd Battalion) and the 114th Mahrattas (~0th Battalion) both of which took part in the successful operations early in the following year. A bitter action was fought in Abu Hassan Bend on 9th January, when the 105th fought with great gallantry, and on 22nd February the Sanmyat lines were carried by assault. Kut-el-Amara fell three days later.

Ctesiphon�1915 (1st, 3rd and 5th Battalions)

Following his capture of Kut-el-Amara at the end of September 1915 General Townshend�s force in Mesopotamia was ordered to advance upon Baghdad.

There had been an unfortunate delay of three weeks, however, in which the Turks had been allowed to reorganize their defence and as the British force continued its advance up the River Tigris it found the strongly fortified positions at Ctesiphon, only 30 miles from Baghdad, occupied by a force of 18,000 fresh Turkish troops.

Although having at his disposal barely 11,000 troops, and these very far from being fresh, General Townshend decided to attack the enemy in his strong defences and, on 22nd November, opened an assault which, after three days� bitter fighting, ended with the capture of the enemy�s first defence line and Turkish orders for a general retreat.

In the assault, and repulse of determined Turkish counter-attacks, three battalions of the Regiment�the 103rd Mahratta Light Infantry (1st Battalion), the 110th Mahratta

Light Infantry (3rd Battalion), and the 117th Mahrattas (Royal Battalion)�creditably played their parts; that of the 117th, which lost one company practically annihilated in gallantly storming & vital enemy strong point, being worthy of particular mention. Such was the cost of victory�nearly fifty per cent. of his infantry being casualties�that his plan for an advance on Baghdad had to be abandoned and on the following day General Townshend began his retreat to Kut-el-Amara.

Defence of Kut-ej-Amara�1915-16 (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th Battalions)

IncludedGeneral Townshend�s little force in Mesopotamia which, following its unsuccessful attempt to reach Baghdad, was besieged in the town of Kut-el-Amara were three battalions of the Regiment�the 103rd Mahratta Light Infantry (1st Battalion), the 110th Mahratta Light Infantry (3rd Battalion), and the 117th Mahrattas (Royal Battalion)�together with two Emergency Companies of the 105th Mahratta Light Infantry (2nd Battalion) despatched from India to reinforce the 103rd and 110th.

By early December 1915 all communications with the town had been cut by a strong Turkish besieging force and defence works, of which there were none when General Townshend�s force arrived, had to be constructed by the defenders under fire. From the first food and ammunition were in short supply and strict rationing was enforced. Under constant shell fire, and subjected to continual fire from enemy snipers, the weary and hungry garrison settled down grimly to defend Kut for as long as possible or until it should be relieved by those forces known to be arriving from India.

Before dawn on Christmas Day 1915 the enemy launched a fierce assault upon the defence sector held by the 110th Mahratta Light Infantry (3rd Battalion). The attack, which was pressed home with determination by a large assaulting force, was repulsed after fierce hand-to-hand fighting but at heavy cost�one Mahratta company losing seventy per cent. in casualties.

On 8th January 1916 the relieving force, in a heavy action at Shaik Saud, drove the enemy back to his defences at Sannayat and the garrison of Kut, having been put on half rations, continued to beat off all enemy assaults. Throughout the siege flooding from the rising River Tigris caused considerable hardship to the much tried defenders and greatly hampered the operations of the relieving force.

Shelled and bombed and frequently attacked, the devoted and gallant garrison held out through February and March while the relieving force fought action after action in vain efforts to force the strong Turkish lines at Sannayat.

April saw the end. Supplies of food within the beleaguered town were at an end and small quantities dropped within the perimeter from aircraft on the 15th and 16th did little to relieve the desperate situation. On 24th April a small steamer, s.s. �Julnar,� made a gallant attempt to run the blockade with supplies but was held up by a chain across the river and captured by the Turks.

Four days later General Townshend, at the end of his resources and after a siege lasting 146 days�a record for the Indian Army~ surrendered unconditionally and on 29th April the Turks entered the town.

Baghdad�1917 (2nd and 10th Battalions)

Following the recapture of. Kut-el-Amara, on 25th February 1917, the British Army in Mesopotamia continued its pursuit of the defeated Turkish forces retiring up the River Tigris in the direction of Baghdad. Serving in General Maude�s Army were two Mahratta units, the 105th Mahratta Light Infantry (2nd Battalion) and the 114th Mabrattas (10th Battalion), both of which had arrived in Mesopotamia from India some months previously.

Advancing up both banks of the Tigris the British force overcame, after heavy fighting, the resistance of a strong enemy rearguard holding the line of the River Dyala flowing into the Tigris south of Baghdad and, without further opposition, entered the city on 11th March 1917.

Sharqat�1918 (4th and 10th Battalions)

With the capture of Baghdad there followed for the British Army in Mesopotamia a lengthy period of consolidation and preparation for future operations. In October 1918, however, there was launched the final successful offensive which brought Turkish resistance in Mesopotamia to an end.

From advanced bases established at Samarra and Tehrit, well to the north of Baghdad, operations were undertaken to destroy the Turkish Divisions entrenched at Sharqat, some distance further up the River Tigris. While one force, in which served the 116th Mahrattas (4th Battalion) recently arrived from India, was engaged in driving the enemy from the hilly Jebel Hamrin on the eastern flank of the line of advance, the main force proceeded up-river to attack the Turkish positions at Sharqat. In the three days of fierce fighting which followed, the 114th Mahrattas (10th Battalion) particularly distinguished themselves, advancing to the assault with great steadiness despite severe casualties and, on the final day, resisting fierce enemy counter-attacks and regaining lost ground.

Despite desperate resistance and gallant counter-attacks the Turks at length were driven from their positions and a daring encircling movement by the British cavalry completed their discomfiture. Unable to hold his ground, and with his line of retreat cut, the Turkish Commander surrendered with his forces on 30th October 1918.

Mesopotamia�1914-18 (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 10th Battalions)

Of the four long years of the campaign in Mesopotamia, with its victories and its failures, its heroism and its misery, and with its ultimate hard won success, it has been written�� In spite of the mistakes made by civilian and soldier alike: in spite of the horrors after Ctesiphon, the misery of the wounded, the heat, the sickness, the desolation of the empty desert, and the 93,000 casualties the campaign cost the troops that fought in Mesopotamia can rest secure in the knowledge that they added imperishable glory to the record of the Imperial Army.�

Of that glory the old Bombay regiments had their full share. A pleasing recognition of their gallantry and steadfastness was the grant of the title �Royal� to the 117th Mahrattas (Royal Battalion) and to the Bombay Sappers and Miners.

Persla�1918 (5th Battalion)

The Bolshevik Revolution which swept Russia during the latter part of 1917 inevitably had its effect upon neighbouring countries. This was particularly the case in Persia, which throughout 1918 remained in a state of considerable unrest. Enemy and Bolshevik agents were industrious in fomenting this wave of political discontent with the result that certain elements in Persia, and especially the unruly mountain tribes, engaged openly in hostile acts calculated to embarrass the British Commands in Iraq and on the North-West Frontier of India.

The Shah of Persia failing to curb the activities of his turbulent subjects, it became necessary for the British Government to take military measures to bring the situation under control.

To this end operations were undertaken in Seistan and in the mountainous country to the east of the Persian Gulf, and included in a force sent against the Tangistani tribes�men of the latter region was the 117th Mahrattas (Royal Battalion) as reconstituted following the loss of the original unit at Kut in 1916. These operations, arduous in the extreme owing to the nature of the country and the harassing tactics of the enemy, were entirely successful and were noteworthy for the gallant stand, in October 1918, of a party of barely 100 Mahrattas who, cut off from their main body and short of ammunition and supplies, successfully resisted for 48 hours all efforts at their destruction.

North-West Frontier of Indla�1914-15, 1917 (3rd, 4th and 10th Battalions)

Always sensitive to the influence of contemporary events in neighbouring countries, the ever-restless North-West Frontier of India reacted in characteristic fashion to the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914 and the subsequent eastward spread of hostilities through Turkey to the ancient land of Mesopotamia. The active efforts of enemy agents to stir up a Jehad, or Holy War, which would raise the Frontier from Baluchistan to the Pamirs in one simultaneous conflagration, failed signally in its main purpose but was so far successful in that it maintained in the Border tribesmen a constant spirit of turbulence and menace ever quick to take advantage of British preoccupation elsewhere.

Raiding increased considerably and in order to meet the ever-present threat to India�s borders considerable forces had to be maintained on Frontier duties during the entire period of the war. Mabratta units took their share in this arduous and little adver�tised service. From the outbreak ot war in 1914 the 114th Mahrattas (10th Battalion) until December 1915, and the 116th Mahrattas (4th Battalion) until April 1917, performed creditable service on the Frontier while the newly raised 2nd/llOth Mahratta Light Infantry (3rd Battalion) had its introduction to field service in punitive operations against Baluch tribesmen early in 1918.

Afghanistan 1919 (1st and 3rd Battalions)

The collapse of the Turkish Khalifate, on the military defeat of Turkey in October 1918, ushered in a period of acute religious unrest and dissension among the Moslem peoples of Mesopotamia, Persia, and Afghanistan. Urged to such action by Russian influence antagonistic to Great Britain, and encouraged thereto alike by the enthusiasm for war of the Border tribes and the apparent weakness of India�s frontier defence forces,

King Ammanullah Khan of Afghanistan was ill-advised enough to attack India�s borders in 1919, in what has come to be known as the Third Afghan War.

That India�s frontier at the time was ill-defended was only too true. British battalions long overdue for relief had been sent Home and the Indian Army expeditionary forces to Mesopotamia and Palestine had not yet returned to India so that, to a dangerous degree, frontier defence had been relegated to inexperienced second-line troops.

In these circumstances King Ammanullah�s Afghan forces met with considerable initial success. Encouraged by British reverses, the tribes took the field and within a few weeks the entire Border was aflame. India was invaded by strong Afghan forces with tribal support and there was much bitter fighting before the enemy was driven back through the passes and peace terms dictated on Afghan soil.

It was not, indeed, until seasoned regiments�some of them but recently returned from overseas service�were hurried to the support of the hard-pressed forces on the Frontier that the tide of war was turned. To this arduous service were diverted the 103rd Mahratta Light Infantry (1st Battalion) and the 110th Mahratta Light Infantry (3rd Battalion).

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CONCLUSION

� THE foregoing is the honourable tale of the battle honours awarded to the Regiment in its long history, from 1768 to the present day, and borne with pride upon its Colours. That the tale of battle honours is not yet completed, and that much regimental history remains to be written, will be plain to the many who have watched with pride the splendid service rendered by Battalions of the Regiment on the far-flung battle fronts of this greatest of all wars so recently brought to a victorious conclusion.

That the gallantry and dogged tenacity which so characterized the Mahratta soldier of past years lives on in his descendant of today has been proved beyond doubt. He, and the officers who have led him to victory, have added glorious pages to the Regiment�s fine record and further battle honours to the emblazoned story of its Colours.

The battle-cry that chilled the hearts of Shivaji�s foes in days long gone by, and echoed exultantly on many a hard won field, will yet be heard, should ever the need arise, o�er future battlefields yet unknown.

�SRI CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ KI JAI�

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