The
2nd Indian Cavalry Division was a regular division of the
British Indian ArmyThe Indian Army , now sometimes called the British Indian Army to distinguish it from the modern army of the Republic of India, was the principal army of the British Raj in India during the last half-century before the partition of India in 1947.The Indian Army served both in India and,...
. The division sailed for
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
from Bombay on October 16 , 1914 , under the command of Major General G A Cookson.
During the war the Division would serve in the trenches as infantry due to the difference on troop levels each Cavalry Brigade once dismounted formed a dismounted regiment.In March 1916 the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division was attached to the British Fourth Army.
On July 1 , 1916 the Secunderabad Cavalry Brigade moved into a reserve position on the
SommeThe Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardie region of France....
, ready to exploit any breakthrough.
The same Brigade was sent up again on July 14 , to
MontaubanMontauban is a town and commune of south-western France, préfecture of the Tarn-et-Garonne département, north of Toulouse....
to support the attack on the
BazentinBazentin is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Situated between Amiens to the southwest and Arras to the north, on the D73 road.-Population:-External links:* * * *...
-
LonguevalLongueval is a commune in the Somme département in the Picardie region of France.-Geography:A farming village located 24 miles northwest of Amiens on the D919 road, at the junction with the D8....
ridge.
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History
The
2nd Indian Cavalry Division was a regular division of the
British Indian ArmyThe Indian Army , now sometimes called the British Indian Army to distinguish it from the modern army of the Republic of India, was the principal army of the British Raj in India during the last half-century before the partition of India in 1947.The Indian Army served both in India and,...
. The division sailed for
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
from Bombay on October 16 , 1914 , under the command of Major General G A Cookson.
During the war the Division would serve in the trenches as infantry due to the difference on troop levels each Cavalry Brigade once dismounted formed a dismounted regiment.In March 1916 the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division was attached to the British Fourth Army.
On July 1 , 1916 the Secunderabad Cavalry Brigade moved into a reserve position on the
SommeThe Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardie region of France....
, ready to exploit any breakthrough.
The same Brigade was sent up again on July 14 , to
MontaubanMontauban is a town and commune of south-western France, préfecture of the Tarn-et-Garonne département, north of Toulouse....
to support the attack on the
BazentinBazentin is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Situated between Amiens to the southwest and Arras to the north, on the D73 road.-Population:-External links:* * * *...
-
LonguevalLongueval is a commune in the Somme département in the Picardie region of France.-Geography:A farming village located 24 miles northwest of Amiens on the D919 road, at the junction with the D8....
ridge. At 17.30 the leading two regiments were ordered to advance between
High WoodHigh Wood is a small forest near Bazentin le Petit in the Somme département of northern France which was the scene of intense fighting for two months from 14 July to 15 September, 1916 during the Battle of the Somme.-Background:...
and
Delville WoodThe Battle of Delville Wood was one of the early engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War. It took place between 14 July and 3 September, between the armies of the German Empire and allied British and South African forces...
.
The British 7th Dragoon Guards and the Indian 20th Deccan Horse galloped forward to a position between the woods. But little could be achieved. At 03.30 on July 15 , they returned to Montauban, having suffered casualties of 74 men and 110 horses. Cavalry units were again brought forward on September 15 , to support the attack on Flers Courcelette , but were not drawn into the fighting and played no further part in the Battle of the Somme, except as labour units in reserve.
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 2nd Indian Cavalry Division was renamed the 5th Cavalry Divisions on 26 November 1916 and attached to the 5th Army.
Formation
right
5th (Mhow) Cavalry Brigade
- 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons
The 6th Dragoons was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into the 5th/6th Dragoons in 1922.The 'Skins' are one of the four ancestor regiments of the Royal Dragoon...
- 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)
The 2nd Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1809. They served in the Nepal War and the First World War...
- 38th King George's Own Central India Horse
- Signal Troop
3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade
- 13th Hussars
- 3rd Skinner's Horse
- 18th King George's Own Lancers
- Signal Troop
9th (Secunderabad) Cavalry Brigade
- 7th (Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards
- 20th Deccan Horse
- 34th Prince Albert Victor's Own Poona Horse
- Signal Troop
Canadian Cavalry Brigade
Joined the Division June 1916
- Royal Canadian Dragoons
- Lord Strathcona's Horse
- Fort Garry Horse
- Canadian Cavalry Brigade Machine Gun Squadron