15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade: Difference between revisions

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 In October 1914, under the command of [[Brigadier-General]] William A. Watson of the British Indian Army, the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade, of around 1,700 men, was gathered at [[Deolali]] for service in the First World War.<ref name=hmso3/> The brigade headquarters had an establishment of seven officers and forty-seven men.<ref>Gudmundsson 2005, pp. 52–53</ref> Including the brigade commander there were five British officers on the brigade staff; also attached were [[Pratap Singh of Idar|Sir Pratap Singh]] the Maharaja of [[Idar, Gujarat|Idar]] and [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captain]] Zorawar Singh the [[Colonel Commandant|Commandant]] of the [[Bhavnagar State|Bhavnagar]] Imperial Service Lancers.<ref name=hmso3/>{{#tag:ref|Zorwar Singh was one of the first four Indians to receive a commission in the British forces, as opposed to a commission in the British Indian Army.<ref>{{London Gazette|date=4 July 1905|issue=27813|page=4636}}</ref><ref>Sharma 1996, p. 22</ref>|group=nb}}  The [[Kathiawar]] Imperial Service Signal Troop, commanded by Captain Henry St. George Scott of the [[4th Gurkha Rifles]], were with brigade headquarters, with an establishment of one Indian officer and twenty-seven men of [[Other ranks (UK)|other ranks]], including twelve despatch riders from [[Idar State]]. The brigade also included the [[Field Ambulance|124th Indian Cavalry Field Ambulance]], commanded by Captain T. O'Leary of the [[Indian Army Medical Corps]], with an establishment of five Indian officers, one British and ten Indians of other ranks.<ref name=hmso3/>
-The fighting component of the brigade was formed from three cavalry regiments, each of five [[squadron (army)|squadrons]]:<ref name=hmso18/> the 1st Hyderabad Lancers commanded by Major Mahomed Azmatullah ''[[Rao Bahadur|Bahadur]]'' with twenty-seven officers (one British) and 533 other ranks, the [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore]] Lancers (including two troops of Bhavnagar Lancers and one troop of [[Kashmir and Jammu (princely state)|Kashmir]] Lancers) commanded by [[Regimentdar]] B. Chamraj Urs ''Bahadur'' with thirty-two officers (one British) and 487 other ranks,a company unit of [[Alwar State|Alwar Lancers]] were commanded by Captain Fateh Naseeb Khan with 7 officers and 135 other ranks and the [[Patiala State|Patiala]] Lancers commanded by [[Colonel]] Nand Singh ''Sardar Bahadur'' with twenty-six officers and 528 other ranks. This formation remained the same until May 1916, when the [[Patiala Lancers]] were transferred to serve in the [[Mesopotamia Campaign|campaign in Mesopotamia]]. The brigade regained its own third regiment in May 1918 when the [[Jodhpur State|Jodhpur]] Lancers, commanded by Colonel Thakur Pratap Singh ''Sardar Bahadur'', which had been serving on the [[Western Front (World War One)|Western Front]] in France, arrived [[Middle Eastern theatre of World War I|in the theatre]].<ref name=hmso4/><ref>Roy 2011, p. 213</ref> The final unit assigned to the brigade was the Imperial Service Machine-Gun Squadron formed on 10 June 1918 by amalgamating the three cavalry regiment's machine-gun sections into one unit.<ref>HMSO 1910, p. 21</ref> Some sources refer to the squadron as the 15th Imperial Service Brigade Machine-Gun Squadron.<ref>Sumner 2008, p. 10</ref>
+The fighting component of the brigade was formed from three cavalry regiments, each of five [[squadron (army)|squadrons]]:<ref name=hmso18/> the 1st Hyderabad Lancers commanded by Major Mahomed Azmatullah ''[[Rao Bahadur|Bahadur]]'' with twenty-seven officers (one British) and 533 other ranks, the [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore]] Lancers (including two troops of Bhavnagar Lancers and one troop of [[Kashmir and Jammu (princely state)|Kashmir]] Lancers) commanded by [[Regimentdar]] B. Chamraj Urs ''Bahadur'' with thirty-two officers (one British) and 487 other ranks and the [[Patiala State|Patiala]] Lancers commanded by [[Colonel]] Nand Singh ''Sardar Bahadur'' with twenty-six officers and 528 other ranks. This formation remained the same until May 1916, when the [[Patiala Lancers]] were transferred to serve in the [[Mesopotamia Campaign|campaign in Mesopotamia]]. The brigade regained its own third regiment in May 1918 when the [[Jodhpur State|Jodhpur]] Lancers, commanded by Colonel Thakur Pratap Singh ''Sardar Bahadur'', which had been serving on the [[Western Front (World War One)|Western Front]] in France, arrived [[Middle Eastern theatre of World War I|in the theatre]].<ref name=hmso4/><ref>Roy 2011, p. 213</ref> The final unit assigned to the brigade was the Imperial Service Machine-Gun Squadron formed on 10 June 1918 by amalgamating the three cavalry regiment's machine-gun sections into one unit.<ref>HMSO 1910, p. 21</ref> Some sources refer to the squadron as the 15th Imperial Service Brigade Machine-Gun Squadron.<ref>Sumner 2008, p. 10</ref>
 Even though the brigade was an Imperial Service unit, the cavalry regiments and brigade headquarters included attached British Indian Army Special Service Officers (SSO), but only as advisors.<ref name=hmso3>HMSO 1920, pp. 2–3</ref><ref>Roy 2011, p. 151</ref> In 1914, the three cavalry regiments had two SSOs attached, and Colonel J. Desaraj Urs [[Commander-in-Chief]] of the [[Mysore State Forces]] accompanied the Mysore Lancers as an observer. The Jodhpur Lancers joined the brigade with seven SSOs attached.<ref>HMSO 1920, pp. 2–4</ref> Throughout the war the establishment of British officers assigned to the cavalry regiments was gradually increased; in February 1915 there were four in each regiment, in 1917 another two were assigned and in mid-1918 a full complement of twelve British officers in each of the regiments was reached.<ref name=hmso6/>