1st Indian Cavalry Division

The 1st Indian Cavalry Division was a division of the British Indian Army which was formed at the outbreak of World War I. It served on the Western Front, and was renamed the 4th Cavalry Division on 26 November 1916.[1] In March 1918, the 4th Cavalry Division was broken up. The British units remained in France, and the Indian elements were sent to Egypt to help form the 1st Mounted Division.[2]

1st Indian Cavalry Division
ActiveSeptember 1914 – March 1918
CountryBritish India
AllegianceBritish Crown
BranchBritish Indian Army
TypeCavalry
SizeDivision
Part ofIndian Cavalry Corps
EngagementsWestern Front in World War I
Battle of Cambrai
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Henry Peregrine Leader
Michael Rimington

History
Lt. Gen. Michael Rimington, commander of the 1st Indian Cavalry Division and later of the Indian Cavalry Corps, riding with Ratlam maharaja Sajjan Singh and Sir Partab Singh in Linghem, France, on 28 July 1915

The division sailed for France from Bombay on 16 October 1914 under the command of Major General H. D. Fanshawe. The division was re-designated the 4th Cavalry Division in November 1916. During the war, they served in the trenches as infantry.

The large number of early officer casualties affected the division's later performance. British officers who understood the language, customs, and psychology of their men could not be quickly replaced, and the alien environment of the Western Front affected the soldiers.[3] The division served in France and Flanders, held in reserve for the expected breakthrough. It provided dismounted parties for trench duty, but its only battle was the Battle of Cambrai during the German counterattacks of 30 November – 3 December. In March 1918, the division was broken up and the Indian regiments were combined in Egypt with the Yeomanry Mounted Division to form the 1st Mounted Division (later the 4th Cavalry Division).[4]

Order of battle
English and Indian soldiers of the Lucknow Cavalry Brigade's Signal Troop relaxing in a farmyard at brigade headquarters, 28 July 1915
  • XVI Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (from 26 November 1916):
    • A Battery, Royal Horse Artillery (with the 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade, then the 5th (Mhow) Cavalry Brigade)
    • Q Battery, Royal Horse Artillery (with the 2nd [Sialkot] Cavalry Brigade)
    • U Battery, Royal Horse Artillery (with the 8th [Lucknow] Cavalry Brigade)
    • I Indian RHA Brigade Ammunition Column
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See also

References
  1. Perry 1993, p. 14
  2. Perry 1993, p. 16
  3. Haythornthwaite 1996
  4. "Warpath". Archived from the original on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2008.

Bibliography
  • Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1996). The World War One Source Book. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 1-85409-351-7.
  • Perry, F.W. (1993). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 5B. Indian Army Divisions. Newport: Ray Westlake Military Books. ISBN 1-871167-23-X.
  • Preston, R.M.P. (1921). The Desert Mounted Corps: An Account of the Cavalry Operations in Palestine and Syria 1917–1918. London: Constable & Co. OCLC 3900439.
  • Sumner, Ian (2001). The Indian Army 1914–1947. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-196-6.
  • Wavell, Field Marshal Earl (1968) [1933]. "The Palestine Campaigns". In Sheppard, Eric William (ed.). A Short History of the British Army (4th ed.). London: Constable & Co. OCLC 35621223.
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