| The Poona Horse | |
|---|---|
 Current Regimental Cap Badge | |
| Active | 1817 - present |
| Country |  British India India |
| Branch |  British Indian Army Indian Army |
| Type | Cavalry |
| Size | Regiment |
| Part of | Indian Army Armoured Corps |
| Nickname(s) | Poona Horse, Fakhr-e- Hind[1] |
| Motto(s) | रण वीर जय सदा (Ran Vir Jai Sada)[2] |
| Equipment | T-72 tanks[3] |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Lt GenHanut Singh,PVSM,MVC |
ThePoona Horse is an armouredregiment in theArmoured Corps of theIndian Army. The regiment, known before independence as The Poona Horse (17th Queen Victoria's Own Cavalry), was raised as a regular cavalry regiment in theBombay Presidency army of theEast India Company. It was formed from the3rd Regiment of Bombay Light Cavalry, raised in 1820, and thePoona Auxiliary Horse, raised about 1817–18. The latter unit was absorbed into the regular forces about 1860 and the two regiments later became the 33rd Queen Victoria's Own Light Cavalry and the 34th Prince Albert Victor's Own Poona Horse.[4]
These were amalgamated in 1921 into the present regiment, the battle honours of which tell of service in three Afghan wars, in Persia, Abyssinia and China, as well as in the Great War. The regiment has fought with distinction in the1965 and1971Indo-Pakistani wars, with an officer winning India's highest gallantry award, theParam Vir Chakra, in each war.[5]
In accordance with article VI of TheTreaty of Poona between the BritishGovernor-General of IndiaLord Hastings andBaji Rao II (ThePeshwa of theMarathaEmpire), a force known as the Poona Auxiliary Force was to be recruited, which was raised on 15 June 1817. As per the treaty, the force would be maintained by the Maratha Peshwa, but commanded by British Officers and was supposed to be permanently stationed in the territory of Peshwas. The treaty provided authority for the British to use the force against the Peshwa when necessary. The regiment was raised under the order ofMountstuart Elphinstone, theGovernor of Bombay.[4]
Lt. Col J Cunnigham was the first Commandant of the regiment.
The two regiments that would go on to form the Poona Horse were the33rd Queen Victoria's Own Light Cavalry and the34th Prince Albert Victor's Own Poona Horse.[6][7]
Raised atSirur on 4 May 1820 by Major Peter Delamotte. It had 3 squadrons on its establishment, of which one was provided by 1st Regiment of Cavalry and one squadron from the 2nd Regiment of the Cavalry. The rest were inducted from suitable Indian Officers. and NCOs from 1st and 3rd Battalions of Poona Auxiliary Infantry, which were disbanded in 1820.[8]
Raised at Poona (now Pune) on 15 July 1817 as a result of the treaty between theHEIC and the Peshwa Bajee Rao II.[9]
In August 1914, the Poona Horse was stationed atSecunderabad, as part of the9th (Secunderabad) Cavalry Brigade. They were brigaded with the7th Dragoon Guards and the20th Deccan Horse.[10]The Brigade was dispatched toFrance and fought on theWestern Front their first action being theFirst Battle of Ypres.[10]
On 2 November 1914 the regiment was sent to reinforce the2nd Gurkhas in theNeuve Chapelle sector on arrival they discovered that theGurkhas defences had been breached and overrun. The Poona Horse was asked to recapture the position. The Regiment launched a counterattack in daylight and without any artillery support. The Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Swanston, who was leading the attack, was killed.[10]
In France the regiment would be involved in theBattle of Givenchy,Battle of La Basse,Battle of Armentiers,Battle of the Somme (1916),Battle of Flers–Courcelette andBattle of Cambrai (1917).[10]In February 1918, the Poona Horse and all the other Indian cavalry regiments in France were deployed toPalestine to join GeneralAllenby's forces.[10]
The Poona Horse arrived in Egypt in April 1918; they now formed the14th Cavalry Brigade of the5th Cavalry Division with theDeccan Horse and theSherwood Rangers Yeomanry.[10]
The force also consisted of the4th Cavalry Division, theAustralian Mounted Division and theANZAC Mounted Division.[10]
On 19 September 1918, the allied offensive began. The Infantry broke through the Turkish defences and the Desert Mounted Corps followed up. When they reached the Gates ofDamascus, the Poona Horse, along with rest of the 14th Cavalry Brigade, were tasked with patrolling the road from Homs to Damascus Road. When they charged a party of Arabs who ran off leaving a large car behind with aEuropean seated inside the Risaldar Major Hamir Singh, believing him to be a spy, demanded his surrender. The European turned out to be ColonelT. E. Lawrence. "El Aurens" was not amused.[10]
At 10:15 on the morning of 1 October 1918, the Regiment entered Damascus and after the rest of the Brigade. The Regiment was ordered to takeRayak and then march ontoAleppo, which they reached on 25 October just before the Armistice was signed on 30 October in Mudros Harbour, abroad the battleshipHMS Agamemnon.[10]
The 33rd Queen Victoria's Own were sent toMesopotamia as part of the6th (Poona) Division to counter Turkish advances and to protect the oil fields. They were involved in theBattle of Shaiba and theBattle of Ctesiphon.[10]
In 1919, the 33rd Light Cavalry, now part of the1st (Risalpur) Cavalry Brigade, was posted toRisalpur where they were brigaded with the1st Lancers andM Battery, RHA. On 6 May 1919, they received the information that the Afghan Army had attacked the outpost atLandi Khanna, north of theKhyber Pass, and was advancing into India. The infantry attacked the Khyber Pass to push the Afghans back. Once the pass had been cleared the cavalry advanced and after some skirmishing, and two set piece battles, the Afghan Army was dispersed.[10]
In 1920, the decision was made to reduce the number of Indian Cavalry Regiments from 39 to 21. This would leave the army with 18 amalgamated regiments, plus the27th Light Cavalry, the28th Light Cavalry and theGuides Cavalry. This change was promulgated under Indian Army Order No 1257 22 November 1921. Based on this decision, the 33rd Light Cavalry and 34th Poona Horse were amalgamated as the 33rd/34th Cavalry, which was changed in 1922 to the 17th Queen Victoria's Own Poona Horse.[10]The regiment's new organisation was now three sabre squadrons and a headquarters squadron, which would contain all the specialists, i.e., machine gunners, signallers etc., in one squadron.[10]
The Poona Horse was one of two Indian Army cavalry regiments selected to remain horsed while the rest of the cavalry was mechanised. This situation did not last long and just after the start of the war the regiment was mechanised.The Headquarters Squadron now had a mortar troop, signals troop, 'B' echelon administrative troop and light Aid Detachment for forward vehicle recovery and repair. The sabre Squadrons each now comprised a Squadron Headquarters, four armoured carrier troops and one rifle troop. Each troop had fourBren carriers and the rifle troop was mounted in four15 cwt Chevrolet trucks now mechanised they become the Divisional reconnaissance regiment for the6th Indian Division and deployed toIraq.[10]
In 1942, the regiment was ordered to the Middle East to join theBritish Eighth Army. In the closing stages of theFirst Battle of El Alamein, the Poona Horse was the guard force for GeneralClaude Auchinleck, the commander of the 8th Army at the tactical headquarters sited on theRuweisat Ridge, the most prominent tactical feature of the Alamein position. This was the highlight of the Regiment's war for they were then ordered back to Iraq as part of theBritish Tenth Army.[10]In September 1944 the Regiment was sent toCyprus on garrison duties and were still there in May 1945 when Germany surrendered.[10]The Regiment returned to India in October 1945 and were issued their first tanks, theStuart MK IV.[10]
The Regiment with its Sherman tanks was part of the1 Armoured Division and participated inOperation Polo leading to the integration of Hyderabad to the Union of India.[11]
The Poona Horse was part of the 1 Armoured Brigade, which also consisted of the16th Cavalry andHodson's Horse. The brigade was equipped with upgunnedSherman tanks andCenturion tanks. 1 Armoured Brigade was part of the1 Armoured Division (of1 Corps) along with the 43rd Lorried Infantry Brigade.
It participated in Operation Ablaze andOperation Nepal (Indian 1 Corps Offensive in Sialkot Sector).[12] The regiment brought home decisive victories in theBattle of Phillora on 11 September 1965 by sheer gallantry of legendaryLieutenant Colonel Ardeshir B Tarapore. The regiment spearheaded the Indian advance into Pakistan and cleared the stronghold of Phillora after a gruelling close range tank battle against Patton tanks, in which 23 enemy tanks were destroyed.[13] The regiment captured Wazirwali on 13 September 1965 and Jassoran and Butur-Dograndi on 16 September 1965.[14]
The Poona Horse under the command of 47 Infantry Brigade was ordered to establish a bridgehead across the Basantar river in theShakargarh sector. The brigade's engineers were in the process of breaching the enemy minefields and create a safe lane that would allow the induction of the tanks. In view of the alarming activity of Pakistani artillery, the Poona Horse with its Centurion tanks decided to push through the minefield despite it being only partially cleared by that time. En route, while crossing the Basantar River, the tank troops came under fire from Pakistani tanks as well as recoil gun nests that were still holding out. They retaliated fiercely — destroying tanks, capturing gun nests and over-running enemy defences.[15] 2nd LieutenantArun Khetarpal, who was posthumously awarded the prestigious Param Vir Chakra, was responsible for the destruction of 7 Pakistani tanks.
The following days saw Indian troops making massive gains and conducting successive military thrusts deep inside enemy territory, coming threateningly close to the Pakistan Army base at Sialkot. India's resounding victory in the Battle of Basantar resulted in the capture of a significant area ( including nearly 500 villages) under the control of Pakistan in Chhamb sector, apart from cutting off the line of retreat for Pakistani troops.[16][17]
The list ofbattle honours and theatre honours of the Poona Horse are as follows:[22]
Corygaum; Ghuznee 1839; Candahar 1842; Ghuznee 1842; Cabool 1842; Afghanistan 1839; Meeanee; Hyderabad; Reshire; Bushire; Koosh-Ab; Persia; Central India; Abyssinia; Kandahar 1880; Afghanistan 1879–80; China 1900; Afghanistan 1919.
La Bassee 1914; Armentieres 1914; Somme 1916; Bazentin; Flers-Courcelette; Cambrai 1917; France and Flanders 1914–18; Megiddo;Sharon; Damascus; Palestine 1918; Shaiba; Ctesiphon; Tigris 1916; Mesopotamia 1914–16.
North Africa 1940–43.
Phillora; Buttur Dograndi; Punjab 1965.
Basantar River; Punjab 1971.
Members of the Regiment awarded theVictoria Cross.
Since independence two members of the regiment have been awarded theParam Vir Chakra.
Prior to amalgamation, the class composition of the two Regiments was as follows :-
The class composition of the new amalgamated Regiment was to be as follows : (a) Headquarters Wing or Squadron; (b) A Squadron of Rathore Rajputs - purely from 34th Poona Horse; (c) B Squadron of Kaimkhanis - half squadron each from both the Regiments; (d) C Squadron of Jats - purely from 33rd Light Cavalry.Following the partition of India, the Kaimkhanis moved to Pakistan and were replaced by a squadron ofSikhs, which came from the13th Lancers.[10]
Following amalgamation, the sanction for the crest and badge of Poona Horse came on 29 December 1928 vide Gazette of India No 1759. It consisted of the Royal and ImperialCypher ofQueen Victoria within the Garter with the wordsHoni soit qui mal y pense, surmounted by aTudor Crown and having below a scroll with the wordsQueen Victoria's Own Poona Horse.[10]
The present badge consists of an oval belt containing the motto of the regiment in Devanagari script ‘रण वीर जय सदा’ within the oval is the ‘hand of God’; the oval is surmounted by the lions of Ashoka; below oval, and curling up towards its sides, a scroll within which is embossed ‘THE POONA HORSE’.
The ‘hand of God’ comes from 8 February 1857, when the regiment wrote history at the famous 'Battle of Kooshab' against theShah ofPersia and captured the Standard of the 1st Khusgai Regiment of the Fars, acclaimed with courageous and fearless soldiers and Shah's personal bodyguards. The Standard of Persian Army now surmounts the Regiment's Standard, and it is etched in Persian with the words 'Yaad Ullal Fauk Idaheem' (the hand of God is above all things).[4]
The motto of the regiment is ‘रण वीर जय सदा’ (Ran Vir Jai Sada); which translates to ‘the gallant warrior, ever victorious’.
The shoulder title is in brass and consists two crossed swords overlayed by the ‘hand of God’ and a scroll with the words 'Poona Horse'. When combat fatigues are worn, the shoulder title consists of the numeral and letter ‘17H’.