Brief History |
The Corps
of Guides was the most famous of the Indian Army regiments during the
period of British rule. They had a reputation for bravery and
efficiency that was the envy of all the other units. The North-West
Frontier where they operated was rarely quiet and although many of the
cavalry and infantry regiments saw frequent action there, none was
engaged more than the Guides.
The corps was raised in Peshawar by
Lieutenant Harry Lumsden in December 1846, comprising one troop of
cavalry and two companies of infantry, about 300 men in all. It was the
brainchild of Sir Henry Lawrence perhaps inspired by Napoleon's elite
Guides. Recruitment was made easier by offering a higher rate of pay
than normal. This attracted a large number of applicants so Lumsden
could pick and choose men of high intelligence. One of their first
tasks was a peace-keeping role in Lahore some time after the death of
Maharajah Ranjit Singh. An effort by the Maharani to seize power was
foiled and the Guides escorted her out of the Punjab, a task more
dangerous than it sounds as rescue attempts were expected. |
Second Sikh War 1848 - 49 |
Lord Gough had failed to supress the Sikhs at Chillianwallah (9th
Jan 1849), a battle that did not involve the Guides, but the cavalry
gained a battle honour at Mooltan which fell on 22nd January 1849. A
Risaldar by the name of Fatteh Khan made a name for himself at this
battle. After the seige, Lumsden and Hodson, his second in command,
were involved in an action against a largeforce of Sikhs under Ganda and
Ram Singh. These men had captured a large amount of booty from the
British but it was recaptured by Lumsden's force who wiped out the Sikhs
except for one man. Meanwhile the infantry seized Fort Govindgarh or
Gorindghar at Amritsar and a few other Khalsa strongholds. The story of
how Fort Govindgarh was captured is one of the Guides' legends.
Subadar Rasul Khan, a brother of Fatteh Khan and a force of 140 Guides
Infantry were sent to reconnoitre Fort Govindgarh ahead of the main
army. Rasul Khan managed to trick his way into the fort by tying up
three of his men and pretending that he had prisoners for the Sikhs. He
and a few others were allowed in to stand guard over the 'prisoners' and
lulled the Sikh guards into a false sense of security so that they were
easily overpowered in the eary hours of the morning and the rest of the
Guides let in. A regiment of Sikhs and their commander surrendered to
them and when the British arrived later that morning, the fort was in
the hands of Rasul Khan and his Guides. In February both arms
fought at Goojerat, pursuing the Sikhs to Rawalpindi where they
surrendered. The Guides had proved so useful and heroic that their
strength was increased to 3 troops of cavalry and 6 companies of
infantry. |
1849 - 1857
Nawadand |
The Guides were very
active in the years leading up to the Mutiny. One battle that should be
mentioned here occured in May 1852. Sir Colin Campbell led a punitive
force against the Pathans and arrived at the fortified Utman Khel
village of Nawadand. Some time after Campbell's men had settled in for
the seige, the leader of the Pathans, Ajun Khan decided to take the
fight to the beseigers and advanced on the British stealthily. The
force was caught unawares, but an outlying picket of 20 men of the
Guides Cavalry was the nearest group to the enemy. A young subaltern of
the Guides, Lieutenant G N Hardinge, saw the situation and rode out to
the picket and led them in a desperate charge against the Pathans to
give the rest of the Force time to get into formation. This charge was
such a shock to the enemy that it was entirely successful, and Hardinge,
though wounded managed to return with most of his men and a captured
standard. |
Doctor Lyell
|
Another story illustrates the bravery of
non-combatents when the need arises. The surgeon of the Guides, Dr R
Lyell, when no-one else was available, led the Gurkha company of the
Guides and a company of the 66th Gurkhas to help Lt F Turner who with 30
men of the Guides was pinned down by a group of tribesmen who had taken
up a position on one of the heights. The Gurkhas overran the position,
rescuing Turner and his men, and Lyell went back to his job of tending
the sick and wounded. |
Indian
Mutiny 1857 The March to Delhi |
The years between the Sikh war and the Mutiny were not quiet for
the Guides, they were continuously employed in active service on the
frontier. In March 1857, Lumsden, in his capacity as deputy
commissioner of Peshawar, was sent on a high risk mission to Kandahar
with a detachment of Guides. But on 13th May the regiment was ordered
to go to Delhi to help supress the mutineers. In Lumsden's absence they
were commanded by Captain Henry Daly. They set off from their base at
Hoti Mardan at 6pm. On the way they were required to take punitive
action against a rebel village called Karnal. They were also held up at
Attock and Rawalpindi, these delays amounting to more than 5 days. But
this hardly slowed them down because they arrived at Delhi on the
morning of 9th June, having covered a distance of 580 miles in 26 days.
They started to pitch camp but 3 hours after their arrival they were in
the thick of the fighting resulting in many of them being wounded or
killed, including all the officers. |
Delhi |
They spent 4 months at
Delhi, the infantry holding the main piquet at Hindu Rao's house with
the King's Royal Rifle Corps and the 2nd Gurkhas, and the cavalry
constantly employed around the city. The latter were especially
important in their support of the 9th Lancers against the batteries at
Kishenganj. The 9th were so depleted that the Guides cavalry were
ordered to take their place. They perfomed so well that the commander
of the 9th commented that "they stand like the Lancers". To appreciate
this praise it has to be understood that at that time native units were
not expected to be as commited and disciplined as their European
couterparts. |
Expedition against the
Mahsud Waziri tribe 1860 Pallosin |
This expidition was led by Sir Neville Chamberlain who decided to
split the force and lead the larger group into the Waziri area leaving
1500 men at Pallosin to make camp and guard the stores and heavy
equipment. This camp was commanded by Lumsden and consisted of Guides,
4th Sikhs and 5th Gurkhas. Lumsden prepared the camp for an attack but
when it came, it was a complete surprise. Three thousand tribesmen
poured out of the hills and threw themselves on the camp. There was no
time to employ tactics and hand-to-hand fighting ensued. The tribesmen
fought without any fear and seemed unstoppable, but at one point two
subalterns, Bond and Lewis, managed to draw some of the Guides into line
and this attracted more to join in until there were 200 drawn up as a
disciplined formation. The order was given to "Fix bayonets!" followed
by "Charge!" To a wild shout the Guides rushed forward and drove the
Waziris back, clearing the camp. There were 132 dead tribesmen in the
camp and many more of them left wounded or dying. The Guides lost 33
killed and 74 were wounded. This was Lumsden's last battle as commander
of the Guides. |
Fierce
Loyalty |
Before he left the regiment to
take up his new post as commander of the Hyderabad contingent, Lumsden
was amused by an incident that illustrates the fierce loyalty the men
felt towards him. The corps was due for an inspection by Sir John
Lawrence, Governor of the Punjab and during the course of this
inspection Lawrence lost his temper and made some dispariging remarks
publicly to Lumsden. A while later as Lumsden stood relaxing after the
parade he was approached by one of his men who offered to ambush and
kill Lawrence as he travelled home. |
Umbeyla Campaign 1863 Daffadar Fakira |
One night, a patrol of three Guides infantry under
Daffadar Fakira came across 300 Pathans on their way to attack the
Guides camp. Fakira started shouting a command to fall in to give the
impression of a large force. His men bustled about shouting orders and
the tribesmen were fooled. They started to panic and fled in all
directions. |
The Crag
|
The famous Crag Picquet was the scene of fierce
fighting in this war. The first battle was on 30th October when the
1st Punjab Infantry were forced off the hill, but it was recaptured by
the Guides and Major Brownlow's 20th Punjab Infantry with a loss of 55
men. Another attempt on the Crag was made on 12th November but beaten
off again by the Guides and 20th. But the third fight for the Crag was
the big one involving at fisrt, the Guides and 1st Punjabis who fought
hard but unsuccessfully the regain the height. A big effort was made by
Major Ross who, with a detachment of Guides, 1st and 14th Infantry,
reached a point close to the crest but was beaten back. Chamberlain
then deemed it necessary to send in the 101st Royal Bengal Fusiliers and
20th Punjabis. They succeeded but were also driven off. The final
assault was led by the 71st Highland Light Infantry supported by the
Guides. They won the battle at a cost of 158 men. |
A Tale of Two Rifles |
A
few months before the Second Afghan War the Guides were placed on guard
at the mouth of the Khyber Pass, awaiting orders to advance into the
Pass. A young Afridi soldier of the corps found himself in a painful
dilemma becuase his home village lay in the path of the Guides and he
would be expected to treat friends and family as hostiles. He was
standing guard one night with a soldier from the Gurkha company who
asked him to hold his rifle while he fetched something from his nearby
tent. The Afridi now had two rifles and a dark night to cover his
disappearance. When the Gurkha returned and found his fellow guard gone
along with his rifle, he had to report it to Colonel F H Jenkins.
Furious, Jenkins demanded to know how many more Afridis there were in
the corps. When he was told that there were 17 he ordered them all to
parade in front of him. They were orded to take off every item of
Guides uniform and equipment there and then. The astonished soldiers
obeyed. "Now," said Jenkins, "you can go, and don't let me see your
faces again till you bring back those two rifles." The next day, the
Colonel may have regretted his rash reaction becuase there was no sign
of the 17 men. The next day also saw no return of men or rifles, and
the next. As time went on it became clear that all of them must have
deserted to the enemy. Their places were filled by new recruits and
they were forgotten. Until, that is, two years later, all seventeen men
turned up at Mardan, the Guides depot - with the two rifles. They were
ragged and dirty; they had spent all that time waging their own mini
tribal war against fellow Afridis until they had at last found those two
precious rifles. |
The Second Afghan
War 1878-80 Ali Masjid |
The
Guides were in the division under the command of Sir Sam Browne, the
cavalry under Charles Gough and the Infantry under General Tyler. In
the battle of Ali Musjid the main force was to attack in front while
Tyler's infantry were ordered to make a detour through the mountains to
cut off the enemy's retreat. In the event, the enemy's resistance was
stronger than expected so the arrival of the Guides and 1st Sikhs proved
timely and decisive. |
Fattehabad
2nd April 1879 |
A small force under General
Charles Gough were on the road from Jallalabad to Kabul when they were
threatened by a large force of Aghan tribesmen. With covering fire from
the horse artillery, the Guides cavalry and 10th Hussars were ordered to
attack. The Guides were commanded by Major Wigram Battye but he was
shot in the hip early on and walked his horse as the rest charged on.
He was shot again, this time fatally and the charge, now led by a young
Irishman called Lieutenant Walter Hamilton gathered momentum over
difficult stony ground. The enemy were well placed to recieve a charge
because there was a 9ft deep dry gulley just in front of them, but the
Guides were going too fast to avoid it and plunged down the steep drop
and on towards the tribesmen firing at them from the top of the other
bank. The enemy were unnerved and fell back as Hamilton and his
screaming sowars stormed up the slope and cut through them. In the
fight Hamilton saw a fallen sowar trapped under his horse being set upon
by three tribesmen. He leapt to his rescue, killing the three men and
helping the trapped man. The Guides lost 20 men and 37 horses while
Afghan losses were put at 400. Hamilton won the VC. At the time only
British officers could win that medal, the highest award for Indians was
the Order of Merit which was won by six of them. The dead from the
British and Indian units were normally picked up and taken back in an
ambulance cart but the surviving Guides insisted on carrying Major
Battye's body themselves. He was the second of four members of the
Battye family to be killed whilst serving in the Corps of Guides. |
Sherpur |
Sir Frederick Roberts was under siege in Sherpur in December 1879 from a
vast army of tribesmen. A heliograph message was recieved by
Colonel Jenkins and the Guides who were at the Lataband Pass. Their
task was to cross 36 miles of mountainous terrain and make their way
through the Afghan army to reinforce Sherpur as quickly as possible.
They left all the baggage behind and plodded on with as much ammunition
as they could carry. They hurried through the night and reached the
siege army in the early hours. It was a bitterly cold night and the
Afghans were too preoccupied with staying warm to keep watch. So the
horses and men of the Guides found their way through unscathed to a very
grateful Roberts in Sherpur. |
Asmai Heights |
A few days later
the Guides took part in the assaults on the Takht-i-Shah and the Asmai
Heights with the 72nd and 92nd Highlanders. On the Asmai Heights,
another Battye was dangerously wounded, this time Captain Fred Battye,
and Captain A G Hammond won the VC. The date was 14th December 1879.
Hammond was at the front of the charge up the mountain and reached the
top where things became difficult and they were forced to retire. He
and a few others held on until the last minute to cover the withdrawl.
On the way down he helped a wounded sepoy under heavy fire and assisted
in carrying him to safety. Twelve other soldiers of the Guides won the
Order of Merit. The Guides were not involved in Roberts's famous march
from Kabul to Kandaharor the last battle of the war at Kandahar in
September 1880. They had been fighting incessantly for two years during
which time they had lost 248 men and 142 horses. At the end of the war
they recruited 500 more men. |
North-West Frontier 1895-1902 Panjkora
River |
As part of the Chitral Relief Force,
the Guides infantry were required to cross the Panjkora river in
advance. This river was reached after the Force had crossed the Swat
River and the Saram range of mountains. It had to be bridged first and
the Guides were to cross in the evening and cover the passage of the
main force the next morning. But during the night the river rose 14'
and swept the bridge away, leaving the Guides cut off. Col Fred Battye,
who commanded them decided to stick to his orders and attack the
neighbouring hostile villages. The main Force on the other bank were
commanded by Sir Robert Low. They kept a close eye on what was
happening and observed that the enemy were advancing on the Guides from
the heights. Low sent a heliograph message to Battye to retire to the
bridgehead and keep his five companies together. This withdrawl was
carried out under covering fire and in an orderly fashion so as to avoid
giving the enemy the impression of a panicked retreat. The Derajat
mountin battery on the other bank were able to give covering fire when
the enemy came into range (800 yards) and some reinforcements trickled
across on a makeshift raft, the 4th Sikhs and a Maxim gun team of the
Devonshire Regiment. Fred Battye was killed in the withdrawl and
command fell to Fred Campbell. The fighting continued all day and into
the night, at which point the mountain battery sent up star shells, the
forunners of flares, to illuminate the enemy. This was the turning
point of the battle because the tribesmen were terrified ("What new
devilment is this?") and fled. |
The Relief of Malakand |
On the
26th July 1897 the Corps was ordered to Malakand to reinforce the
garrison which was under attack. This journey involved a distance of 30
miles over flat country, 7 miles uphill and a 2000 ft climb to the
summit of the Malakand Pass, all accomplished in 16 hours. On arrival
they went straight into battle and were kept very busy until 2nd August.
The garrison was commanded by Col W H Meiklejohn (20th Punjabis) who
was anxious to provide relief for the neighbouring fort of Chakdara.
This proved to be impossible after an aborted attempt by the Guides
cavalry and 11th Bengal Lancers to reach them. Both forts were relieved
by Sir Bindon Blood's famed Malakand Relief Force. |
Landaki |
This action as part of Sir Bindon Blood's punitive measures is remembered
for the heroism shown by a few members of the Guides cavalry. Landaki
is in the Swat Valley. The tribemen had been driven from a spur of the
mountains that had a narrow causeway running around it. The cavalry had
to go along this causeway to chase the enemy in their retreat on the
other side. The first two officers to reach the enemy were Lieutenant
Palmer of the Guides and Lieutenant Greaves of the Lancashire Fusiliers.
They were some way ahead of the rest and soon found themselves in
trouble. Palmer was unhorsed and Greaves wounded. Colonel Adams and
Lord Fincastle, an officer in the 16th Lancers, with two sowars manged
to reach them as they were fending off sword blows. Fincastle's horse
was killed and he tried to lift the wounded Greaves onto Adams's horse,
during which Greaves recieved another bullet in the body and Adams's
horse was wounded. The sowars rescued Palmer and took him to safety.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Hector Maclean and 4 sowars came to the help of
the others. Maclean dismounted to get Greaves onto a horse and was shot
dead in the process. Greaves, Adams and Fincastle managed to reach
safety. The VC was awarded to Adams and Maclean of the Guides and to
Lord FIncastle who was attached to the Guides, thus establishing a
record three VCs won by a regiment in one day. The sowars recieved the
Order of Merit. |
World War One
|
The Great War saw the Guide son the Frontier until
November 1917 when they left to join 11 Indian Cavalry Brigade in
Mesopotamia and actions at Sharqat and Khan Baghdadi. A company of
Guides infantry was attached to 57th Wildes Rifles in France in 1914.
The infantry also served in Egypt and Palestine. After the armistice,
the cavalry stayed in Persia to counter a Bolshevik threat, not
returning to India until 1921. They were some of the first to recieve
the new General Service Medal with a clasp for North-West Persia. |
Between the Wars |
The infantry became part of the 12th Frontier Force Regiment in
1922. Although they were the senior of the regiments forming the 6
battalions they kindly allowed the 51st-54th Sikhs to take the first
four number battalions so that they could retain at least the numbers 1
to 4 (ie the 51st Sikhs became the 1st battalion etc.). There were two
battalions of the Guides infantry, so the first battalion became the 5th
battalion of the new regiment and the 2nd bcame the 10th (training)
battalion. In an action in September 1935, an under-stregth Guides
battalion (370 men) faced an overwhelmingly superior force of Mohmands.
All the British officers and most of the Indian offcers were either
killed or wounded. Captain Godfrey Meynell MC, the adjutant, went
forward to encourage his men and was overrun with them. This effort
inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and earned him a posthumous VC.
|
World War Two |
The cavalry, who were now the 10th Queen Victoria's Own Frontier
Force, became mechanised in September 1940 and were sent to Iraq where
they had wheeled carriers and 15cwt trucks. In March 1942 they moved to
Egypt and served on the Eighth Army's desert flank during the withdrawl
from the El Alamein positions. They returned to Paiforce in September
1942 and then to India in November 1943 where they converted to an
armoured car role based at Kohat. In November 1945 they were briefly
equipped with Stuart tanks, then Churchill tanks for service with 2
Armoured Brigade. |
Partition
|
It was natural for the Guides to be allocated to
Pakistan on partition in 1947, but the hindus had to be exchanged for
moslem units in other regiments. A Dogra squadron was swapped for a
Punjabi Musalman squadron in Hodson's Horse and a Sikh squadron was
swapped for a Kaimkhani squadron in the Poona Horse. Similar exchanges
were made in the infantry. |