+CnA1Lk 2 MILLS1CNLS

CAVALk IN ANCILN1 INDIA

"8e thou C steed of w|nd sw|ftness be|ng harnessed go |n Indra's |mpu|se w|th
m|nd qu|ckness |et the a|| possess|ng Maruts harnerss the Let 1vastar put qu|ckness |n thy
feet
1he qu|ckness C courser that |s put |n thee |n secret a|so that went about comm|tted
to the nawk to the w|nd w|th that strength do thou C steed be|ng strong w|n the race
resum|ng |n the conf||ct"
Atharva Veda

1he cavalry as an organlzed force may be Lraced Lo Lhe posL vedlc perlod horses were
used earller buL noL as a dlsclpllned force 1he ALharva veda menLlons dusL ralslng


horsemen Sage SallhoLhra's famous LreaLlse on horses enLlLled 'SALInC1nkA SAMnI1A'
refers Lo Lhe four casLes of horses and numerous mlxed breeds ls semlnal work
conLalns deLalls of LreaLmenL of horses and oLher anlmals and conslsLs of nearly 1
verses lL elaboraLed on Lhe body sLrucLures of dlfferenL races of horses and ldenLlfled
Lhe sLrucLural deLalls by whlch one can deLermlne Lhe age of a horse e ls reporLed Lo
have wrlLLen Lwo oLher LreaLlses Loo named 'ASVA kASnNA' and 'ASVA LAkASnANA
SnAS1kA'




1he lmporLance of Lhe horse can be seen from Lhe anclenL works such as
'Laksanaprakasa' 'Asvasastra' and 'Asvach|k|tsa' aLLrlbuLed Lo nakula and
'Asvayurveda' aLLrlbuLed Lo !ayadeva
A Cavalry arm came lnLo exlsLence by Lhe Llme of Lhe MahabharaLa uhrlLarashLra ln hls
speech lncluded rldlng and horsemanshlp as skllls requlred for Lralnlng soldlers ln Lhe
army

y Lhe 1
Lh
CenLury C Lhe armles ln lndla had acqulred a semblance of a sLrucLure
conslsLlng of four llmbs or Chaturangba|a whlch lncluded the char|ots war e|ephants
mounted so|d|ers and foot so|d|ers ln LhaL order of lmporLance


y Lhe 3
Lh
CenLury C lndlan
Cavalry enLered Lhe era of
recorded hlsLory when Oerxes
Lhe klng of ersla recrulLed a
conLlngenL of cavalry from
across Lhe rlver Slndhu or Lhe
lndus for Lhe lnvaslon of
Creece
"1he Ind|ans c|ad |n garments of
cotton carr|ed bows of cane and
arrows of cane the |atter t|pped w|th
|ron"
nerodotus
1he earllesL manlfesLaLlon of
Lhe sLlrrup Lhe Loe loop whlch
held Lhe blg Loe was used for
Lhe flrsL Llme ln lndla around
3
Lh
cenLury C




Ambhl Lhe
8a[a of 1akshlla
(1axlla) provlded
Alexander squadrons of horse for Lhe lnvaslon of un[ab
orus who opposed hlm had a cavalry arm of horse
whlch were prlmarlly used on Lhe flanks
1he Creek hlsLorlan Aellan menLlons LhaL horses were held
ln hlgh esLeem by Lhe people of LhaL counLry (lndla) slmply
because of Lhelr greaL use ln armles and warfare
King Ambhi
King Xeres
3

y Lhe Llme of Chandragupta Maurya
( C) Lhe equlpmenL of Lhe
cavalry had undergone a change Lach
horseman carrled Lwo lances and buckler
(shleld) made of oxhlde Accordlng Lo Lhe
Creek hlsLorlan nearchus Lhey do noL
puL saddles on Lhelr horses nor do Lhey
curb Lhem wlLh blLs llke Lhe blLs ln use
among Lhe CreeksLhey flL on round Lhe
exLremlLy of Lhe horse's mouLh a clrcular
plece of sLlLched raw oxhlde sLudded wlLh prlcks of lron polnLlng lnwards buL noL very
sharpwlLhln a horse's mouLh ls puL an lron prong llke a skewer Lo whlch Lhe relns are
aLLached" unllke Lhe charloL horse Lhe cavalryman drove Lhe anlmal wlLh a whlp whlch
was generally flxed Lo Lhe wrlsL e wore a proLecLlve breasL plaLe and Lurban (usnlsa)
1he CupLas also lnLroduced Lhe heavy cavalry lnLo Lhelr army 1he sowar so mounLed
wore a coaL of chaln mall down Lo hls knees he carrled a longer lance a powerful bow
and a qulver
ChandragupLa Maurya malnLalned
a cavalry arm of lL was Lhls arm
LhaL declslvely defeaLed Lhe uns
dreaded horsemen of CenLral Asla noL
once buL Lwlce when Lhey lnvaded lndla
1hls acL clearly esLabllshed Lhe superlorlLy
of lndlan Cavalry of Lhe Llme
1he lmperlal CupLas had Lwo
deparLmenLs of cavalry A 'Mahash|vpat|'
was Lhe chlef of cavalry and a
'8hatasvapat|' was Lhe chlef of Lhe
regular cavalry An lmporLanL feaLure
lnLroduced ln Lhls era was Lhe use of
pennons" or flags whlch were aLLached Lo
Lhe lances 1he nalas a royal famlly who
were Lhe conLemporary of Lhe CupLa dynasLy ln Lhe ueccan used Lhe '1r|p|takas' or
Lrlple pennons as Lhelr lmperlal banner 1he exlsLence of Lwo chlefs or Lhe cavalry durlng
Lhe CupLa perlod conflrms Lhe blrLh of |rregu|ar cava|ry whlch a Lhousand years laLer led
Lo Lhe developmenL of Lhe S|||adar Cava|ry" 1hls was posslbly Lhe mosL brllllanL perlod
for Lhe lndlan Cavalry and lasLed from Lo 6 Au 1hereafLer Lhe nexL slx cenLurles
6
Lh
Lo 1
Lh
cenLury Au wlLnessed Lhe decllne of Lhe lndlan arL of war 1he war
handragupta Naurya's avalry
6

elephanL galned lmporLance and Lhls as an lndlcaLlon of Lhe defenslve menLallLy
resulLed ln Lhe esLabllshmenL of Musllm rule ln lndla



CAVALk IN MLDILVAL INDIA
1he raLlharas were rulers of Lhe lasL greaL lndlan emplre
before Lhe advenL of Lhe Musllms lnLo Lhe subconLlnenL
klng ho[a (8388) was accredlLed wlLh havlng Lhe
flnesL cavalry amongsL all lndlan klngdoms 1he
raLlharas were noLable ln hlsLory for successfully
reslsLlng Musllm lnvaslons from Lhe wesL for nearly Lhree
cenLurles
"1h|s k|ng ma|nta|ns numerous forces and no other Ind|an
pr|nce has so f|ne a cava|ry"
Su|a|man 8S1 AD


1he baLLles of 1araln under rlLhlvlra[ Chahmana (Chauhan)
were cruclal ln decldlng Lhe faLe of lndla for several cenLurles AfLer havlng repulsed
Mohammed of Chor ln Lhe flrsL baLLle largely due Lo hls cavalry hls defeaL ln Lhe second
proved declslve and led Lo Lhe enLry and esLabllshmenL of Musllm rule ln lndla
Su|tanate Cava|ry 1he SulLans who ruled uelhl before Lhe advenL of Lhe Mughals
aLLached uLmosL lmporLance Lo Lhelr cavalry ln a large measure Lhls was Lhe reason for
defeaLlng Lwo successlve Mughal lnvaslons and Lhe defeaL of lndu klngdoms
V|[ayanagar Cava|ry 1he vl[ayanagar klngdom malnLalned Lhe prlmacy of Lhe cavalry ln
Lhelr armles uevaraya ll defeaLed Lhe Musllm cavalry of llroz Shah ahamanl ln 1 by
employlng a cavalry of 8 horse









King Bhoja
8



ka[put Cava|ry under Lhe
8a[puLs Lhe army was a LoLally
mounLed force and mosLly feudaLory
ln naLure Accordlng Lo Musllm
hlsLorlans each lndlvldual 8a[puL
soldler was skllful ln Lhe handllng of
hls weapon he was well mounLed
and a good rlder e was brave and
Lenaclous

A Rajput avalryman


1he Mugha| Cava|ry 1he Mughal Cavalry formed Lhe backbone of Lhelr armles As Lhe
descendanLs of Lhe Mongols Lhey malnly foughL on horseback All Lhelr baLLles were
malnly deslgned Lo uLlllze Lhelr preponderanL cavalry arm 1he Mughals dld noL malnLaln
a large sLandlng army lnsLead Lhey Look over Lhe Mansabdarl sysLem from Lhe uelhl
SulLans reflned and codlfled lL Lo geL a large mounLed force aL Lhelr dlsposal
1he Maratha Cava|ry 1hls was a cavalry LhaL was modelled on a dlfferenL paLLern from
Lhe conLemporary cavalry of LhaL Llme 1hls was lnfacL Lhe predecessor of Lhe rlLlsh
lndlan lrregular cavalry As LradlLlonal horsemen Lhelr skllls were honed by ChaLrapaLl
Shlva[l Lo become lnLrepld guerllla flghLers 1he MaraLha cavalry was of Lwo Lypes Lhe
regular and Lhe lrregular 1he regular cavalry were Lhe barg|rs and Lhe lrregular were
based on Lhe sh|||edar sysLem MaraLha sowars carrled swords shlelds maLchlocks and
spears 1hey avolded plLhched baLLles and were more lncllned Lowards guerllla Lype of
warfare lnvolvlng sudden ralds and ambushes

Nughal avalry at the First Battle of Panipat - 21 April 1S26.
1

1he S|kh Cava|ry 1hls was Lhe only lndlgenous conLemporary cavalry and was
Lralned by lrench offlcers A ma[orlLy of Lhe Slkh cavalry was lrregular and based on Lhe
mounLed Slkh athas 1he Slkh cavalry came lnLo lLs own durlng Mahara[a 8an[lL Slngh's
Llme and was of Lhree Lypes Lhe regular cavalry or Lhe Iau[ khas Lhe second was Lhe
ghorcharas or Lhe lrregular cavalry and Lhe Lhlrd was Lhe mounLed men called ag|rdar
Iau[

1nL LUkCLAN MCDLL CAVALk
1he rlLlsh sLarLed Lo ralse lndlan cavalry unlLs ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe 18
Lh
CenLury and
conLlnued Lo do so unLll Lhe end of World War l 1he success of Lhese unlLs lay largely ln
Lhe lnLelllgenL selecLlon of Lralnlng meLhods by Lhe rlLlsh 1he LradlLlonal sysLem of
ralslng Lhe cavalry was adopLed nearly unchanged by Lhem Whlle old deslgnaLlons
weapons and equlpmenL was reLalned wesLern baLLle drllls were lncorporaLed wlLh
local meLhods whlch ln Lurn seL greaL sLore by lndlvldual proflclency
1he ralslng of Lhe flrsL cavalry unlL began ln 1 when Warren asLlngs ordered Lhe
ralslng of a body of lndlan orse ln con[uncLlon wlLh 8a[a CheL Slngh 3 of Lhese
horsemen were Lon be used as Lhe Covernor Ceneral's personal guard 1hls mounLed
unlL conLlnues Lo exlsL Loday and ls known as Lhe resldenL's ody Cuard'
1he ralslng of Lhe cavalry unlLs was based on a common Luropean model Lhe ralslngs
were lnfluenced by Lhe area where Lhey were ralsed and Lhe pollLlcal arrangemenLs
beLween Lhe rlLlsh and Lhe local klngs 1he prelndependence lndlan cavalry unlLs can
be largely dlvlded lnLo Lhe followlng genre
4 1he Madras Cavalry
4 1he 8egular engal Cavalry
4 1he lrregular engal Cavalry
4 1he ombay Cavalry
4 1he un[ab Cavalry
4 1he 8eglonal Cavalry
1he Madras Cava|ry 1he Madras resldency of Lhe LasL lndla Company ln 18 declded
Lo form a regular cavalry arm ln Lhe presldency as a resulL of Lhe LhreaL posed by yder
All of Mysore A number of reglmenLs were ralsed as a resulL of Lhls declslon Cf Lhese
unlLs only Lhree remaln Loday 1hese are Lhe
th
8
th
and 16
th
L|ght Cava|ry
1he kegu|ar and Irregu|ar 8enga| Cava|ry 1he unlLs of Lhe regular cavalry had begun
ralslng as early as 16 A number of reglmenLs were ralsed buL as a resulL of Lhe llrsL
War of lndependence ln 183 whereln all reglmenLs opposed Lhe rlLlsh Lhey were
dlsbanded ln 1838 Cnly one reglmenL survlves of Lhls orlglnal group and LhaL ls '1he
11

res|dents 8ody Guard' Cn Lhe oLher hand of Lhe 18 reglmenLs of Lhe lrregular cavalry
elghL remalned afLer 183 Lhe resL belng dlsbanded '1he Sk|nner's norse' '2
nd

Lancers' '3
rd
Cava|ry' '18
th
Cava|ry' 'nodson's norse' and '1S
th
|ancers' (whlch became
Lhe Armoured Corps CenLre and School) carry Lhe legacy of Lhls group Loday 'robyn's
norse' '6
th
Lancers' and '19
th
Lancers' wenL over Lo aklsLan
1he 8ombay Cava|ry 1he flrsL unlL of Lhls group manned by lndlans for Lhe LasL lndla
Company ln Lhe ombay resldency was a Lroop ralsed by Lord Lake ln 18 AL
lndependence Lwo reglmenLs survlved 1hese are '1he oona norse' and '1he Sc|nde
norse' '13
th
Lancers' of Lhe same group wenL Lo aklsLan
1he un[ab Cava|ry 1he LasL lndla Company acqulred a fourLh army ln addlLlon Lo Lhe
Lhree resldency armles afLer Lhe llrsL Slkh War 1hls was Lhe un[ab lrregular lorce as
lL was known lnlLlally when lLs conLrol was wlLh Lhe commlssloner of Lhe un[ab ln 186
afLer Lhe LreaLy of AmrlLsar lL was declded Lo ralse a corps for procurlng lnLelllgence and
Lo provlde guldes Lo oLher Lroops ln Lhe fleld 1he Corps of Culdes was Lhus born y
1886 Lhe conLrol had been Lransferred Lo Lhe Commander ln Chlef whence lL came
Lo be known as Lhe lronLler lorce 1hls force also wenL Lhrough a number of ralslngs
dlsbandmenL and amalgamaLlons ln 1 ouL of Lhe orlglnal slx reglmenLs only Lwo
remalned '1he Gu|des Cava|ry (10
th
VC Cava|ry)' and '11
th
AVC Cava|ry (II)' oLh
Lhese reglmenLs wenL Lo aklsLan
1he keg|ona| Cava|ry 1he 8eglonal Cavalry was prlmarlly for 'lndlan lndla' or Lhe
lndlan sLaLes concerned 1hese were ralsed under speclflc LreaLles wlLh Lhe rulers were
pald for by Lhe rulers and were sLaLloned lnn Lhe geographlcal area lndlcaLed ln Lhe
name of Lhe corps buL were under Lhe orders and conLrol of Lhe crown represenLaLlve
1he rlLlsh offlcered and conLrolled Lhese reglmenLs ln case of war Lhese reglmenLs
were made avallable for duLles ouLslde Lhe local area and came under Lhe orders of Lhe
mlllLary commanders for Lhe duraLlon 1he Lwo reglonal cavalry reglmenLs ralsed by Lhe
rlLlsh conLlnue even Loday '1he Deccan norse' and '1he Centra| Ind|a norse'
1he I|rst Wor|d War A LoLal of fourLeen cavalry reglmenLs wenL Lo lrance ln 11
1hese were organlzed ln Lwo lndlan Cavalry ulvlslons and foughL ln mosL ma[or LheaLres
of Lurope ln addlLlon Lhey also foughL ln Lhe Mlddle LasLern 1heaLre and oLher mlnor
LheaLres such as LasL Afrlca Aden ersla eLc 1he lndlan Cavalry won a large number
baLLle honours and lndlvldual gallanLry awards Cf parLlcular menLlon are Lwo vlcLorla
Crosses whlch were awarded posLhumously one ln lrance and Lhe oLher ln alesLlne
Ind|an|sat|on lndla made a slgnlflcanL conLrlbuLlon Lo Lhe war efforL on behalf of CreaL
rlLaln ln Lhe llrsL World War 1he rlLlsh CovernmenL ouL of graLlLude and ln
recognlLlon of Lhe servlces rendered declded Lo begln Lhe lndlanlsLlon of Lhe lndlan
Army 1he plans Lo lndlanlse was announced on 1 lebruary 1 for lndlanlslng elghL
1

unlLs of whlch Lwo belonged Lo Lhe Cavalry 1hese were Lhe oldesL reglmenLs of Lhe
Madras Cavalry 16
Lh
LlghL Cavalry and Lhe
Lh
LlghL Cavalry
Mechan|sat|on 1he year 18 was cruclal for Lhe mechanlsaLlon of Lhe lndlan
Cavalry A modernlzaLlon commlLLee was esLabllshed and Lhrough a serles of proposals a
plan was lnLroduced Lo mechanlse Lhe lndlan cavalry excepL Lhe Covernor Ceneral's
ody Cuard 1hls process of mechanlzaLlon began when on 1
Lh
Aprll 18 Lhe Sclnde
orse Lhe flrsL unlL Lo mechanlse paraded Lhelr horses for Lhe lasL Llme 1he
mechanlzaLlon of Lhe resL of Lhe unlLs plcked up pace wlLh Lhe advenL of Lhe Second
World War 1he lasL unlL Lo mechanlse was 1
Lh
Lancers ln november 11 1he
metamorphos|s of the Ind|an Cava|ry |nto Ind|an Armour became off|c|a| on 01 May
1941 when the Ind|an Armoured Corps came |nto ex|stence a day wh|ch |s ce|ebrated
as the Armour Day
Wor|d War II lndlan armour had 18 reglmenLs aL Lhe ouLbreak of Lhe war and seven
more Lhe 'roar|ng fort|es' were ralsed ln 11 All old and Lhe new reglmenLs saw
servlce durlng Lhe war Lleven reglmenLs and one squadron ln Lhe Long 8ange ueserL
Croup saw servlce ln Lhe WesL le WesLern deserL LasL Afrlca Lhe Mlddle LasL (WesL
Asla) and lLaly nlne reglmenLs saw acLlve servlce ln Arakan lmphal and urma whereas
one reglmenL and an lndependenL squadron foughL Lhe !apanese ln Malaya and
Slngapore CuL of Lhe armoured formaLlons 1
sL
Armoured ulvlslon wlLh Lhe
nd

Armoured rlgade and Lhe
rd
MoLorlsed rlgade/
rd
Lorrled rlgade served ln Lhe
Mlddle LasL Lhe laLLer also saw acLlve servlce ln Lhe deserLs and lLaly 1hree armoured
brlgades lncludlng Lhe ancesLors of Lhe presenL 1
sL
and
rd
Armoured rlgade foughL ln
urma
Independence AL lndependence lndla was alloLLed fourLeen reglmenLs lncludlng
Lhe C and aklsLan slx 1he reglmenLs were 1
sL
orse (Sklnner's orse)
nd
Lancers
(Cardener's orse)
rd
Cavalry
Lh
orse (odson's orse)
Lh
8
Lh
16
Lh
LlghL Cavalry
orse (1he ueccan orse) 1 orse (1he Sclnde orse) 1 orse (1he oona orse)
18
Lh
Cavalry 1he CenLral lndla orse 61 cavalry and Lhe C
Seque| to art|t|on lndlan Armour Look parL ln acLlons ln un[ab aL Lhe Llme of Lhe
rloLs operaLlon ln !unagadh and Lhe yderabad pollce acLlon
19448 Indo ak War 1he lndlan armour saw acLlon aL Zozlla ShalaLeng url
oonch 1lLhwal Llmber nala !hangar 8a[aurl 1hana Mandl !ammu and Chhamb
1962 S|no Ind|an War 1he armour's parLlclpaLlon was llmlLed Lo acLlons ln
ombdl La nLlA and Lwo Lank Lroops ln Chusul Ladakh
196S Indo ak War lmporLanL Lank engagemenLs Look place aL Chhamb shakargarh
khem karn and Asal uLLar
191 Indo ak War
4 Western 1heatre aLLle of Chhamb aLLle of asanLar
1

4 Lastern 1heatre aLLle of llll ogra Akhaura and uacca
Cperat|on awan AcLlons of 63 Armoured reglmenL