11th Gurkha Rifles

Third Anglo-Afghan War The **11th Gurkha Rifles** was a Gurkha regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in Mesopotamia and Palestine in May 1918, saw active service in the First World War and the Third Anglo-Afghan War, and was disbanded in April 1922. ## History ### Background Heavy losses suffered by the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front following the German spring offensive in March 1918 resulted in a major reorganization of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force: - two divisions[52nd (Lowland)](52nd-lowland-division) and [74th (Yeomanry)](74th-yeomanry-division) were transferred to France in April; they were replaced by the [3rd (Lahore)](3rd-lahore-division) and [7th (Meerut) Division](7th-meerut-division)s from Mesopotamia; - nine yeomanry regiments were dismounted, converted to machine gunners and sent to France at the end of the same month; the [4th](4th-cavalry-division-british-indian-army) and [5th Cavalry Divisions](5th-cavalry-division-british-indian-army) were reformed with Indian cavalry regiments withdrawn from France and the [15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade](15th-imperial-service-cavalry-brigade) already in Egypt; - the [10th (Irish)](10th-irish-division), [53rd (Welsh)](53rd-welsh-division), [60th (2/2nd London)](60th-2-2nd-london-division), and [75th Divisions](75th-division-united-kingdom) were reduced to a single British battalion per brigade. They were reformed with nine Indian infantry battalions and an Indian pioneer battalion each. In fact, the 75th Division already had four Indian battalions assigned, so of the 36 battalions needed to reform the divisions, 22 were improvised by taking whole companies from existing units already on active service in Mesopotamia and Palestine to form the [150th Infantry](150th-infantry) (3 battalions), [151st Sikh Infantry](151st-sikh-infantry) (3), [152nd Punjabis](152nd-punjabis) (3), [153rd Punjabis](153rd-punjabis) (3), [154th Infantry](154th-infantry) (3), [155th Pioneers](155th-pioneers) (2), [156th Infantry](156th-infantry) (1) and the **11th Gurkha Rifles** (4). The donor units were then brought back up to strength by drafts. In the event, just 13 of the battalions were assigned to the divisions and the remaining nine were transferred from Mesopotamia to India in June 1918. ### Formation The regiment formed four battalions. The first three were formed in Mesopotamia in May 1918 with companies posted from Gurkha battalions (and the [39th Garhwal Rifles](39th-garhwal-rifles)) serving in the [14th](14th-indian-division), [15th](15th-indian-division), [17th](17th-indian-division), and [18th Indian Division](18th-indian-division)s. They were transferred to Bombay (Mumbai) in June 1918. All three later took part in the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919 as part of the [1st (Peshawar) Division](1st-peshawar-division). They were disbanded in India in 1921 and 1922 with personnel transferred to various regular Gurkha battalions. In contrast, the fourth battalion was formed in Palestine with three companies and two half-companies posted from Gurkha battalions serving in the 3rd (Lahore), 7th (Meerut), and British 75th Divisions. It remained in Palestine until the end of the war, before returning to India. It was disbanded in 1920 with personnel transferred to the other three battalions of the regiment. The badge of the 11th Gurkha Rifles was crossed kukris, points upwards, cutting edge inwards, with "XI" above the intersection. ## Battalions ### {{anchor|1}}1st Battalion The 1st Battalion was formed at Kut-al-Amara on 18 May 1918 - 1st Battalion, [5th Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force)](5th-gurkha-rifles-frontier-force) - 2nd Battalion, 5th Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) - 1st Battalion, [6th Gurkha Rifles](6th-gurkha-rifles) - 2nd Battalion, 6th Gurkha Rifles In June 1918, the battalion arrived at Bombay Brigade, [6th Poona Divisional Area](6th-poona-divisional-area) and in December was transferred to the [2nd (Nowshera) Brigade](2nd-nowshera-brigade), 1st (Peshawar) Division. It served with the brigade and division in the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919. The battalion was disbanded on 20 August 1921 at Abbottabad with the personnel transferring to 2nd Battalion, 5th Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force). ### {{anchor|2}}2nd Battalion The 2nd Battalion was formed at Baghdad on 24 May 1918 by the transfer of complete companies from: - 1st Battalion, [2nd King Edward's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles)](2nd-king-edward-s-own-gurkha-rifles-the-sirmoor-rifles) - 1st Battalion, [3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles](3rd-queen-alexandra-s-own-gurkha-rifles) - 2nd Battalion, [4th Gurkha Rifles](4th-gurkha-rifles) - 1st Battalion, [7th Gurkha Rifles](7th-gurkha-rifles) In June 1918, the battalion arrived at Bombay Brigade, 6th Poona Divisional Area and in December was transferred to the 2nd (Nowshera) Brigade, 1st (Peshawar) Division. It served with the brigade and division in the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919. The battalion was disbanded on 15 August 1921 at Abbottabad with the personnel transferring to 2nd Battalion, 4th Gurkha Rifles and 1st Battalion, 7th Gurkha Rifles. ### {{anchor|3}}3rd Battalion The 3rd Battalion was formed at Baghdad on 25 May 1918 by the transfer of complete companies from: - 1st Battalion, [39th Garhwal Rifles](39th-garhwal-rifles) - 2nd Battalion, 39th Garhwal Rifles - 2nd Battalion, [9th Gurkha Rifles](9th-gurkha-rifles) - 1st Battalion, [10th Gurkha Rifles](10th-gurkha-rifles) In June 1918, the battalion arrived at Bombay Brigade, 6th Poona Divisional Area. It served with the [3rd Indian Brigade](3rd-indian-brigade), 1st (Peshawar) Division in the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919. The battalion was disbanded on 12 April 1922 at Abbottabad with the personnel transferring to 2nd Battalion, 5th Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force), 1st Battalion, 7th Gurhka Rifles and 1st Battalion, 10th Gurkha Rifles. ### {{anchor|4}}4th Battalion The 4th Battalion was formed at Sarafand (now Tzrifin) on 24 May 1918 by the transfer of complete companies from: - 1st Battalion, [1st King George's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment)](1st-king-george-s-own-gurkha-rifles-the-malaun-regiment) - 2nd Battalion, 7th Gurkha Rifles - 1st Battalion, [8th Gurkha Rifles](8th-gurkha-rifles) and half companies of - 2nd Battalion, 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles - 3rd Battalion, 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles The battalion joined the [158th Brigade](158th-infantry-brigade-united-kingdom), [53rd (Welsh) Division](53rd-welsh-division) on 4 June 1918 near Ram Allah. It remained with the division for the rest of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, On 27 October, the division started moving to Alexandria even before the Armistice of Mudros came into effect on 31 October, thereby ending the war against the Ottoman Empire. It completed its concentration at Alexandria on 15 November. The division received demobilization instructions on 20 December 1918. The Indian infantry battalions returned to India as transports became available and the division was reduced to cadre by 7 June 1919. The battalion was disbanded on 1 August 1920 in India with the personnel transferring to 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions of the regiment. ## Notes ## References ## Bibliography - {{cite book - {{cite book - {{cite book - {{cite book - {{cite book ## References 1. {{harvnb. Gaylor. 1996 2. {{harvnb. Becke. 1936 3. {{harvnb. Becke. 1937 4. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 5. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 6. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 7. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 8. {{harvnb. Becke. 1938 9. {{harvnb. Becke. 1936 10. {{harvnb. Becke. 1937 11. {{harvnb. Becke. 1937 12. {{harvnb. Becke. 1936 13. {{harvnb. Becke. 1937 14. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 15. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 16. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 17. Hanafin, James. ["Order of Battle of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, September 1918"](http://orbat.com/site/history/open4/uk_eygptianexpeditionaryforce1918.pdf). *orbat.com*. 18. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 19. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 20. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 21. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 22. {{harvnb. Becke. 1936 23. Gaylor. 1996 24. {{harvnb. Gaylor. 1996 25. Perry. 1993 26. taking part in the [[Battle of Nablus (1918). Becke. 1936 ::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11th_Gurkha_Rifles) and is available under the [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the [article history page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11th_Gurkha_Rifles?action=history). ::