The 116th Mahrattas were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army

British Indian Army

The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...

. The regiment traces their origins to 1800, when they were raised as the 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry.

During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 the regiment was attached tp the 18th Indian Division

18th Indian Division

The 18th Indian Division was formed during World War I in 1917 from units of the British Indian Army, for service in Mesopotamia and Persia, in what was called the Mesopotamia Campaign...

 for the Mesopotamia Campaign. They were involved in the Actions at the Fat-ha Gorge and on the Little Zab

Little Zab

The Little Zab , , ) originates in Iran and joins the Tigris in Iraq. The river is approximately long and drains an area of c. . The river is fed by rainfall and snowmelt, resulting in a peak discharge in spring and low water in summer and early fall...

 and the Battle of Sharqat

Battle of Sharqat

The Battle of Sharqat was between the British and the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian Campaign in World War I, which became the final conflict that ended as a result of the signing of armistice....

 in October 1918.

After World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. In 1922, the 116th Mahrattas became the 4th Battalion 5th Mahratta Light Infantry

5th Mahratta Light Infantry

The 5th Mahratta Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, whenthe Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. The regiment fought in World War II and raised 30 battalions...

. After independence they were one of the regiments allocated to the Indian Army

Indian Army

The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...

.

Predecessor names

• 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry - 1800
• 16th Bombay Native Infantry - 1824
• 16th Bombay Infantry - 1885
• 116th Mahrattas - 1903