20th Indian Brigade

::Battle of Neuve Chapelle ::Battle of Aubers ::Battle of Festubert ::Battle of Loos :Sinai and Palestine Campaign ::Second Transjordan attack ::Third Transjordan attack ::Second Battle of Amman Maj.-Gen. H.D’U. Keary Br.-Gen. C.G. Blackader The **Garhwal Brigade** was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army formed in 1902 as a result of the Kitchener Reforms. It was mobilized as **20th (Garhwal) Brigade** at the outbreak of the First World War as part of the [7th (Meerut) Division](7th-meerut-division) and departed for France. It served on the Western Front until November 1915. It then moved to Egypt where it joined the [10th Indian Division](10th-indian-division), by now designated as **20th Indian Brigade**. It left the division in March 1916 and thereafter served as an independent brigade in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. It was broken up in 1920. ## History The Kitchener Reforms, carried out during Lord Kitchener's tenure as Commander-in-Chief, India (1902–1909), completed the unification of the three former Presidency armies, the Punjab Frontier Force, the Hyderabad Contingent and other local forces into one Indian Army. Kitchener identified the Indian Army's main task as the defence of the North-West Frontier against foreign aggression (particularly Russian expansion into Afghanistan) with internal security relegated to a secondary role. The Army was organized into divisions and brigades that would act as field formations but also included internal security troops. The **Garhwal Brigade** was formed in November 1902 as a result of the Kitchener Reforms. The brigade formed part of the [7th (Meerut) Division](7th-meerut-division). ### Western Front At the outbreak of the First World War, the Garhwal Brigade was still part of the 7th (Meerut) Division. It was mobilized with the division in August 1914 as the **20th (Garhwal) Brigade** and sailed from Bombay on 20 September for the Western Front. It arrived in Marseille on 12–14 October and moved up to the Front, entering the line on the night of 30/31 Octobertaking part in the Battle of La Bassée (10 October – 2 November). While in France, the brigade was known by its geographical rather than numerical designation so as to avoid confusion with the British [20th Brigade](20th-brigade-united-kingdom) also serving on the Western Front at the same time. The brigade served with the division as part of the Indian Corps on the Western Front until the end of 1915. For the rest of 1914, the brigade took part in the Defence of Festubert (23–24 November) and the Defence of Givenchy (20–21 December). on the same date as that of Sepoy Khudadad Khan, the first Indian VC winner. In 1915, the brigade took part in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle (10–13 March) The brigade then took part in the battles of Aubers (9 May), Festubert (15–25 May) and Loos (25 September – 8 October) The losses suffered by the Indian Corps could not be adequately replaced as the reserve and replacement system essentially broke down. Consequently, on 31 October 1915 orders were received to transfer the [3rd (Lahore)](3rd-lahore-division) and 7th (Meerut) Divisions to Mesopotamia. The last elements were relieved by 9 November and departed for Egypt en route to Mesopotamia. ### Egypt and Palestine The [10th Indian Division](10th-indian-division) was re-formed on 7 January 1916 as part of the Suez Canal Defences with units and formations in Egypt: the 20th (Garwhal) Brigadeby now designated as **20th Indian Brigade**joined the division along with the [29th Indian Brigade](29th-indian-brigade) returned from Gallipoli and [31st Indian Brigade](31st-indian-brigade) formerly with [11th Indian Division](11th-indian-division). The new division was short lived: it was broken up again on 7 March 1916 as the need to reform depleted units from France made this plan unrealistic. The brigade became an independent formation and served as such for the rest of the war in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. The brigade continued to serve on the Suez Canal Defences under command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in 1916 and 1917. In April 1918, it was attached to the Desert Mounted Corps and with it took part in the Second Transjordan attack (30 April – 4 May 1918). Two battalions of the brigadeAlwar Infantry (I.S.) and 1st Battalion, Patiala Infantry (I.S.)were involved in the Battle of Abu Tulul on 15 July. It then helped to occupy the Jordan Valley. In August 1918, the brigade joined Chaytor's Force along with the Anzac Mounted Division and other units under the command of Major-General E.W.C. Chaytor. As part of the Final Offensive in Palestine, the Force operated in the Jordan Valley and hills to the east of the Jordan. The brigade was broken up in 1920. ## Orders of battle ::data[format=table] | Garhwal Brigade in India in August 1914 | |---| | Perry|1993|p=86}} | :: ::data[format=table] | 20th (Garhwal) Brigade, 7th (Meerut) Division on the Western Front | |---| | The brigade's composition on the Western Front included: | :: ::data[format=table] | 20th Indian Brigade, 10th Indian Division in Egypt | |---| | The brigade had the following composition while assigned to the 10th Indian Division in Egypt: | :: ::data[format=table] | 20th Indian Brigade as an independent formation | |---| | The brigade had the following composition while acting as an independent formation in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign: | :: ## Commanders The Garhwal Brigade / 20th (Garhwal) Brigade / 20th Indian Brigade had the following commanders: ::data[format=table] | From | Rank | Name | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | url = https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1907hart#page/100/mode/2up | title = Hart's Annual Army List for 1907 | author = The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart | authorlink = Henry George Hart | publisher = John Murray | location = London | access-date=28 July 2015 }} | Major-General | A.G.F. Browne | | | url = https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1909lond#page/110/mode/2up | title = Hart's Annual Army List for 1909 | author = The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart | authorlink = Henry George Hart | publisher = John Murray | location = London | access-date=28 July 2015 }} | Major-General | C.L. Woollcombe | | | 14 November 1911 | Major-General | H.D’U. Keary | | | 8 January 1915 | Brigadier-General | C.G. Blackader | Appointment vacated on 30 November 1915 | | November 1915 | Major-General | Sir H.V. Cox | | | December 1915 | Brigadier-General | F.A. Smith | | | 3 January 1916 | Brigadier-General | H.D. Watson | | | 17 January 1918 | Brigadier-General | E.R.B. Murray | Until January 1919 | :: ## Notes ## References ## Bibliography - {{cite book - {{cite book - {{cite book - {{cite web |access-date=1 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705211343/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf |archive-date=5 July 2015 - {{cite book ## References 1. {{London Gazette. (4 February 1922) 2. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 3. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 4. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 5. {{harvnb. Haythornthwaite. 1996 6. The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart. ["Hart's Annual Army List for 1906"](https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1906hart#page/103/mode/2up). *John Murray*. 7. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 8. In the former, [[Naik (military rank). Naik]] [[Darwan Singh Negi]] of the 1st Battalion, [[39th Garhwal Rifles]] won the [[Victoria Cross]] (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to [[United Kingdom. British]] and [[Commonwealth of Nations. (7 December 1914) 9. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 10. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 11. {{harvnb. Becke. 1945 12. It took part in the [[Third Transjordan attack]] (19–25 September) leading to the [[Second Battle of Amman. Becke. 1945 13. {{harvnb. Mackie. 2015 14. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 15. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 16. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 17. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 18. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 19. {{harvnb. James. 1978 20. Perry. 1993 21. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 22. The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart. ["Hart's Annual Army List for 1907"](https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1907hart#page/100/mode/2up). *John Murray*. 23. The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart. ["Hart's Annual Army List for 1909"](https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1909lond#page/110/mode/2up). *John Murray*. ::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_Indian_Brigade) 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/20th_Indian_Brigade?action=history). ::