Assaye (battle honour)
Encyclopedia
.jpg)
The Assaye battle honour
Battle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....
was awarded by the Governor General
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
of British India to all East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
battalions and British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
regiments that took part of the Battle of Assaye
Battle of Assaye
The Battle of Assaye was a major battle of the Second Anglo-Maratha War fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the British East India Company...
. The battle occurred on 23 September, 1803, near the village of Assaye
Assaye
Assaye is a small village in the Jalna district of the state of Maharashtra in western India. The village was the location of the Battle of Assaye in 1803, fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the British East India Company....
in western India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
where a small force under the command of Major General Arthur Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
defeated a 50,000 strong army of the Maratha Confederacy. The British and native troops (which consisted of Madras Line only) were awarded the battle honour Assaye with the device of Elephant vide General Order of Governor General dated 30 October 1803. The British regiments and Madras battalions involved were also presented with an honorary colour to mark their achievement. The Madras Battalions celebrated the victory for over a century till their disbandment in the 1920s.
Of the sepoy battalions which faced the Maratha line, the only surviving battalion is the 1st Battalion, the Punjab Regiment of the Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
, the erstwhile 1st/1st Madras Infantry http://orbat.com/site/history/open1/pakistan_punjabregt.html.
In the Indian Army only the Madras Sappers have this unique battle honour now but it counts as repugnant
Repugnant battle honours of the Indian Army
Some battle honours earned by Indian Army units, which are descended from erstwhile units of the British East India Company, and later the British Raj, have been declared as repugnant by the Government of India. Indian Army units do not inscribe these battle honours on their colours and do not...
.
The Royal Highland Fusiliers
Royal Highland Fusiliers
The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland....
, a the descendant of the 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot
74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot
The 74th Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment. During the Childers Reforms it was united with the 71st Regiment of Foot to form the Highland Light Infantry.-Service history:...
, are the only British infantry regiment to still carry the battle honour.
The Light Dragoons, a the descendant of the 19th Light Dragoons
19th Light Dragoons
The 19th Light Dragoons was a cavalry regiment of the British Army created in 1781 for service in British India. The regiment served in India until 1806, and in North America during the War of 1812, and was disbanded in Britain in 1821.-Formation:...
, the only British cavalry regiment present, are the only British cavalry regiment to carry the battle honour.
Recipients
The regiments and battalions which were awarded the battle honour were:- Madras Pioneers - Presently the Madras Engineer GroupMadras Engineer GroupMadras Engineer Group are a regiment of the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. The Madras Sappers draw their origin from the erstwhile Madras Presidency army of the British Raj. This regiment has its HQ in Bangalore...
- 1st/2nd and 2nd/12th battalions Madras Infantry - their descendants being the 1st and 10th Battalions, the 1st Punjab Regiment1st Punjab RegimentThe 1st Punjab Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. It was transferred to the Pakistan Army on Partition of India in 1947, and amalgamated with the 14th, 15th and 16th Punjab Regiments in 1956, to form the Punjab Regiment....
which transferred to PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
on partition. - 5th and 7th Madras Cavalry - Disbanded in 1860
- 1st/10th Madras Infantry (10th MI) - Disbanded in 1890
- 1st/8th Madras Infantry (8th MI) - Disbanded in 1902
- 1st/4th Madras Infantry - (2nd Bn Madras Pioneers) - Disbanded in 1933
- 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot74th (Highland) Regiment of FootThe 74th Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment. During the Childers Reforms it was united with the 71st Regiment of Foot to form the Highland Light Infantry.-Service history:...
- Amalgamated with 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot71st (Highland) Regiment of FootThe 71st Regiment of Foot was a Highland regiment in the British Army, which in 1881 became the 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry .- First formation :...
in 1881 forming the Highland Light InfantryHighland Light InfantryThe Highland Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. In 1923 the regimental title was expanded to the Highland Light Infantry ... - 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot - Amalgamated with 72nd Regiment of Foot72nd Regiment of FootThe 72nd Highlanders was a British Army Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line raised in the late 18th Century in Scotland for service against the French...
in 1881 forming the 2nd Battalion of the Seaforth HighlandersSeaforth HighlandersThe Seaforth Highlanders was a historic regiment of the British Army associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The Seaforth Highlanders have varied in size from two battalions to seventeen battalions during the Great War... - 19th Light Dragoons19th Light DragoonsThe 19th Light Dragoons was a cavalry regiment of the British Army created in 1781 for service in British India. The regiment served in India until 1806, and in North America during the War of 1812, and was disbanded in Britain in 1821.-Formation:...
- Disbanded in 1821