1st Indian Cavalry Division
Encyclopedia
The 1st Indian Cavalry Division was a regular division of the British Indian Army
. The division sailed for France from Bombay on October 16, 1914 , under the command of Major General H D Fanshawe
. The division was re designated the 4th Cavalry Division in November 1916. During the war the Division served in the trenches as infantry. Due to the difference in troop levels between infantry and cavalry regiments, each cavalry brigade formed one dismounted cavalry regiment.
The high number of officer casualties suffered early on had an effect on its later performance. British officers that understood the language, customs, and psychology of their men could not be quickly replaced, and the alien environment of the Western Front had some effect on the soldiers.
The division served in France and Flanders, held in reserve for the expected breakthrough. It provided dismounted parties for trench duties, but its only battle honour was the Battle of Cambrai, during the German counterattacks of 30 November- 3 December. In March 1918 it was broken up and the Indian regiments combined in Egypt with the Yeomanry Mounted Division to form the 1st Mounted Division.
3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade
8th (Lucknow) Cavalry Brigade
1st Indian Brigade Royal Horse Artillery
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 division sailed for France from Bombay on October 16, 1914 , under the command of Major General H D Fanshawe
Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe
Lieutenant-General Sir Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe, KCB, KCMG, was a British Army general of the First World War, who commanded V Corps on the Western Front and the 18th Indian Division in the Mesopotamian Campaign...
. The division was re designated the 4th Cavalry Division in November 1916. During the war the Division served in the trenches as infantry. Due to the difference in troop levels between infantry and cavalry regiments, each cavalry brigade formed one dismounted cavalry regiment.
The high number of officer casualties suffered early on had an effect on its later performance. British officers that understood the language, customs, and psychology of their men could not be quickly replaced, and the alien environment of the Western Front had some effect on the soldiers.
The division served in France and Flanders, held in reserve for the expected breakthrough. It provided dismounted parties for trench duties, but its only battle honour was the Battle of Cambrai, during the German counterattacks of 30 November- 3 December. In March 1918 it was broken up and the Indian regiments combined in Egypt with the Yeomanry Mounted Division to form the 1st Mounted Division.
Order of battle November 1914
2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade- 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own)
- 6th King Edward's Own Cavalry18th King Edward's Own CavalryThe 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry was a regular cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922 by the amalagamation of the 6th King Edward's Own Cavalry and the 7th Hariana Lancers...
- 19th Lancers (Fane's Horse)
3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade
- 8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars
- 9th Hodson's Horse
- 30th Lancers (Gordon's Horse)
8th (Lucknow) Cavalry Brigade
- 1st (King's) Dragoon Guards
- 29th Lancers (Deccan Horse)
- 36th Jacob's Horse36th Jacob's Horse- Origins :Raised by Lieut. John Jacob of the Bombay Artillery, they served first in Southern Afghanistan and later under Sir Charles Napier in the taking of Scinde....
1st Indian Brigade Royal Horse Artillery
- A Battery Royal Horse ArtilleryRoyal Horse ArtilleryThe regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery , dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army...
- Q Battery Royal Horse Artillery
- U Battery Royal Horse Artillery