3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade

:::Battle of Bazentin :::Battle of Flers–Courcelette ::Battle of Cambrai (1917) The **Ambala Cavalry Brigade** was a cavalry brigade of the British Indian Army formed in 1904 as a result of the Kitchener Reforms. It was mobilized as **3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade** at the outbreak of the First World War as part of the [1st Indian Cavalry Division](1st-indian-cavalry-division) and departed for France. It served on the Western Front with the 1st and [2nd Indian Cavalry Division](2nd-indian-cavalry-division)s until it was broken up in March 1918. ## History The Kitchener Reforms, carried out during Lord Kitchener's tenure as Commander-in-Chief, India (1902–09), 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 **Ambala Brigade** (also referred to as *Umballa Brigade*) was formed in July 1904 as a result of the Kitchener Reforms. The brigade formed part of the [3rd (Lahore) Division](3rd-lahore-division). ;3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade In August 1914, the brigade was mobilized as the **3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade** and assigned to the [1st Indian Cavalry Division](1st-indian-cavalry-division). A new Ambala Brigade was formed in November 1914 as part of the [3rd Lahore Divisional Area](3rd-lahore-divisional-area) to take over the original brigade's internal security duties. With 1st Indian Cavalry Division, it departed Bombay on 16 October and landed at Marseille on 7 November. It concentrated around Orléans on 16 November and was sent up to the Front on 26 November. While in France, the brigade was known by its geographical rather than numerical designation so as to avoid confusion with the British [3rd Cavalry Brigade](3rd-cavalry-brigade-united-kingdom) also serving on the Western Front at the same time. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Hodsons_Horse_France_1917_IWM_Q_2061.jpg" caption="Vraignes]], France in April 1917"] :: In 1916, the brigade took part in the Battle of the Somme, notably the Battle of Bazentin (1417 July) and the Battle of Flers–Courcelette (1522 September). In 1917, the brigade took part in the Battle of Cambrai, notably the Tank Attack (2021 November) and the German Counter-attacks (30 November3 December). At other times it was held in reserve in case of a breakthrough, although it did send parties to the trenches on a number of occasions. They would hold the line, or act as Pioneers; such parties were designated as the **Ambala Battalion**. ;Dissolved In March 1918, the brigade was broken up in France. The British units ([8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars](8th-king-s-royal-irish-hussars) and X Battery, RHA) remained in France and the Indian elements were sent to Egypt. On 22 July 1918 the 5th Mounted Brigade was redesignated as [13th Cavalry Brigade](13th-cavalry-brigade-british-indian-army) and the division as [5th Cavalry Division](5th-cavalry-division-british-indian-army). ## Orders of battle ::data[format=table] | In India in August 1914 | |---| | Perry|1993|p=49}} | :: ::data[format=table] | Western Front | |---| | The brigade's composition on the Western Front included: | :: ## Commanders The Ambala Brigade / Ambala Cavalry Brigade / 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade had the following commanders: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Gen._C.P._W._Pirie_LCCN2014698934.jpg" caption="Major-General C.P.W. Pirie"] :: ::data[format=table] | From | Rank | Name | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | 18 July 1904 | Brigadier-General | Robert Bellew Adams | | | url = https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1907hart#page/98/mode/2up | title = Hart's Annual Army List for 1907 | author = The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart | author-link = Henry George Hart | publisher = John Murray | location = London | access-date=8 July 2015 }} | Brigadier-General | Edward Henry McSwiney | | | 4 March 1907 | Brigadier-General | Francis Sudlow Garratt | | | July 1909 | Brigadier-General | Ernest Henry Rivett-Carnac | | | url = https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1914lond#page/108/mode/2up | title = Hart's Annual Army List for 1914 | author = The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart | author-link = Henry George Hart | publisher = John Murray | location = London | access-date=8 July 2015 }} | Major-General | Charles Patrick William Pirie | | | Perry|1993|p=17}} | Brigadier-General | Charles Herbert Rankin | Broken up in March 1918 | :: ## Notes ## References ## Bibliography - {{cite book - {{cite book | author-link = Philip Haythornthwaite - {{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. {{harvnb. Haythornthwaite. 1996 2. The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart. ["Hart's Annual Army List for 1906"](https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1906hart#page/101/mode/2up). *John Murray*. 3. The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart. ["Hart's Annual Army List for 1908"](https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1908hart#page/96/mode/2up). *John Murray*. 4. The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart. ["Hart's Annual Army List for 1909"](https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1909lond#page/108/mode/2up). *John Murray*. 5. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 6. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 7. Perry. 1993 8. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 9. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 10. On 24 April 1918, these were merged with the [[5th Mounted Brigade]] and joined the new [[2nd Mounted Division (British Indian Army). Becke. 1936 11. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 12. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 13. Baker, Chris. ["Cavalry units of the Machine Gun Corps"](http://www.1914-1918.net/mgccav.html). *The Long Long Trail*. 14. {{harvnb. Mackie. 2015 15. The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart. ["Hart's Annual Army List for 1907"](https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1907hart#page/98/mode/2up). *John Murray*. 16. The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart. ["Hart's Annual Army List for 1914"](https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1914lond#page/108/mode/2up). *John Murray*. 17. {{harvnb. Perry. 1993 ::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_(Ambala)_Cavalry_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/3rd_(Ambala)_Cavalry_Brigade?action=history). ::