| Punjab Regiment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 16 September 1759 – present |
| Country |
|
| Branch | |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | 63 battalions |
| Regimental centre | Mardan,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Colours[1] | |
| Anniversaries | Defence Day: 6 September |
| Engagements | See list:
|
| Commanders | |
| Colonel-in-Chief | GeneralKhalid Shameem |
| Colonel Commandant | Lieutenant general Muhammad Munir Afsar HI (M) |
ThePunjab Regiment is aninfantryregiment of thePakistan Army. The regiment takes its name from the historicPunjab region, which is now divided into thePunjab province of Pakistan and theIndian states ofPunjab,Haryana andHimachal Pradesh. It was raised in its current formin 1956, following the amalgamation of the1st,14th,15th and16th Punjab regiments that were inherited by theDominion of Pakistan from theBritish Indian Army upon thePartition of India. Since then, the regiment has expanded in size to63 battalions.
It is the oldest regiment in the Pakistan Army, tracing its lineage to as far back as 1751, during the reign of theMughal Empire.[2] The regiment's battalions have a distinguished record of military service, spanning the rise and decline ofBritish colonial rule inSouth Asia, bothWorld War I andWorld War II, as well as post-independencePakistan.
The Punjab Regiment of Pakistan traces its origins back to theMadras Army of theBritish East India Company. The senior-mostbattalion of the1st Punjab Regiment (which existed separately before1956) was raised in 1759 as the 3rd Battalion of CoastSepoys, and became the oldest-survivinginfantry battalion of the erstwhileBritish Indian Army. Their first major engagement saw a decisive victory at theBattle of Wandiwash in 1760, when the British East India Company, led bySir Eyre Coote, effectively endedFrench colonial ambitions inSouth Asia. All of the regiment's battalions subsequently played an important role in the early military campaigns of the East India Company and were actively engaged in the wars against the French, theKingdom of Mysore and theMaratha Empire.[3]
The numbers and titles of the battalions changed during the successive reorganizations of theMadrasPresidency Army, the British Indian Army and the Indian Army during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The names changed from Coast Sepoys to Carnatic Infantry, Madras Native Infantry, Punjabis and finally to the Punjab Regiment. After theIndian Rebellion of 1857, the new colonial administration applied themartial races concept, following whichnorth Indian soldiers overwhelmingly supplanted thesouth Indians. The regiment was eventually renamed to the Punjab Regiment.
_Bengal_Infantry_(6_Punjab)%2c_Egypt_1882_2.jpg)
Following theBritish Crown's takeover of rule overBritish India from theEast India Company in 1858, the Punjab regiments played a role in numerous conflicts across the world involving theBritish Empire. Variousbattalions were deployed to regions of British interest, ranging from modern-dayChina,Egypt,Burma and erstwhileAbyssinia.
Between 1903 and 1922, theBritish Indian Army included 28 numberedPunjabi Regiments. In 1922, these were amalgamated into six numbered regiments, namely:
These regiments would all play a prominent role duringWorld War II. From the14th Punjab Regiment, the 1st and 5th battalions were deployed inMalaya during the opening stages of theSoutheast Asian theatre. The 1st Battalion, under the command ofLieutenant-Colonel James Fitzpatrick, was overrun byImperial Japanese forces atChanglun during theBattle of Jitra. With only 270 survivors, the 1st Battalion was not reformed during the rest of the campaign. The 5th Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Livesy Lawrence Stokes, performed relatively well in theBritish invasion of Japanese Thailand in early December 1941. However, Stokes died in Japanese captivity on 15 February 1942, following theBattle of Slim River.[4] The 5/14th Punjabis was forced to surrender along with the rest of theBritish Commonwealth forces after theFall of Singapore to theEmpire of Japan on 15 February 1942. However, a number of the Indian troops from both battalions later joined the Japanese-backedIndian National Army, and formed a part of theHindustan Field Force.
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In 1947, theBritish Raj announced theindependence ofBritish India, which would be split into two separate countries: aHindu-majorityIndia and aMuslim-majorityPakistan. Likewise, theBritish Indian Army was also to be divided between the two states. Out of the six existing Punjab Regiments, the 1st Punjab, 8th, 14th, 15th and 16th were allotted to the newly raisedPakistan Army, while the 2nd went to theIndian Army.
The Punjab Regiment of the Pakistan Army was raised in its present formin 1956, when four of the five Punjab Regiments allocated to Pakistan were merged into a unified unit.
The line up for the new regiment was:[2]
The 1st Punjab's regimental centre was located in the city ofJhelum. In early September 1947,Pakistani personnel arrived from the 2nd Punjab's regimental centre inMeerut (present-dayUttar Pradesh, India) andIndian personnel were dispatched to either the 11th Sikhs or the 6th Rajputanas regimental centres depending on whether they wereSikhs orHindu Rajputs.
The Punjab Regiment at its height totalled 58 battalions; however, 11 were transferred in 1980 to the Pakistan Army's newly raisedSind Regiment.
Before thePartition of India in 1947, the ethno-religious composition of the Punjab Regiment consisted of:Punjabi Muslims (50%);Punjabi Hindus (40%);Punjabi Sikhs (10%). Following the regiment's transfer to thePakistan Army, it became largely religiouslyhomogenous, comprising mostlyMuslims with around 20% ethnicPashtuns and 80%Punjabis.
Punjab Regiment distinguished appointments ofcolonel-in-chiefs;
The Punjab Regiment holds the largest number of decorations in Pakistan Army. Following are the details:
The above medals are apart from hundreds of other citations.
Peking 1860-90
Somaliland 1901-1904
Givenchy 1914
Labassee 1914
France and Flanders 1914
Ypres 1915
The Sangro
East Africa 1914-17
Malaya 1941-42
Italy 1943-45
Bourbon
Bhartipore
Keren
Kohima
North Africa 1940-43
Burma 1942-45
Pegu 1945
North Arakan
Cession II
Alam El Halfa
Nagpore
Imphal
El Alamein
Gothic Line
Loss
Omars
The Irrawaddy
Assaye
Nyangao
Singapore Island
China
Meiktila
Kilimanjaro
Abyssinia
AVA
Mandalay
Kashmir 1948-1965
Kasur 1965
Sialkot 1965
Jaurian 1965
Sulemanki 1965
Chawinda 1965
Dewa Chhamb 1965
Rajisthan 1965
Ran of Kutch 1965
Lahore 1965-1971
Chhamb 1971
Pakka 1971
Khem Karan 1971
Hussainiwala
Hajipir 1965
Qaisar I hind 1971
Zafarwal 71
Sabuna 71
Shakargarh 1971
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The Punjab Regiment has lost thefollowing numbers of soldiers:
TheNishan-e-Haider is the highestgallantry award awarded byPakistan to those who show an incredible amount of valour and courage on the battlefield in the face of staunch adversity. To date, only ten soldiers have been awarded this honour, of which five belonged to the Punjab Regiment:
As a form of respect, deceased recipients are given the honorary title ofShaheed (Arabic:شهيد;šahīd), which denotesmartyrdom, whilst living recipients are dubbedGhazi (Arabic:غازي;ġāzī), theIslamic term for warrior.
It is the largest infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army, consisting of 63 battalions.
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An assault party of 12 Punjab Regiment and 15 Baloch Regiment
| Azad Kashmir Regiment |
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| Baloch Regiment |
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| Frontier Force Regiment |
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| Northern Light Infantry |
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| Punjab Regiment |
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| Sindh Regiment |
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| Special Forces | ||||
| Former regiments | ||||
