Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Indian Army (contd-4)

The Battles of Sobraon, on the bank of river Sutlej, and thereafter Chillianwalla were decisive in linking up the Gangetic and Indus basin . With the treaty of Lahore in 1846, Punjab became a British Protectorate. The remaining Sikh Empire was thereafter bifurcated into Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, with Gulab singh being the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir.
In Rajputana, during the period 1825-26, the British invaded Bharatpur with a large force to settle a disputed succession . Hitherto consiered impregnable, after a desparate conflict in Jan 1926 the town's defences were assaulted a number of times by British forces which finally emerged triumphant, but the heroic fight put upby the defenders came as a stunning shock to the British, who suffered staggering casualities.   
Colours-Bengal Presidency : In the Bengal army , which formed part of the Bengal Presidency in 1824, the native infantry battalions were separarted into 68 regiments and re-numbered according to their senior  . After the Sikh war two Sikh infantry regiments were raised. In addition, a frontier Brigade consisting of a corps of guides , four regiments of Sikh infantry and the Punjab Frontier Force, comprising five regiments of irregular cavalry, and five regiments of irregular infantry, were raised  in 1846.
In the Madras  Army, coming under the Madras Presidency, there were 8 cavalry regiments, 25 regiments of the native infantry were reorganised into 50 single-battalion regiments. Two more regiments were raised in 1826 and in 130 and Madras rifle Corps was abolished. 
In the Bombay army, now part of the Bombay Presidency, four regiments of irregular cavalry were raised between 1839 and 1850, a camel corps was raised in 1843 and five infantry battalions were also raised. Bombay also had eight local corps battalions. The Hyderabad contingent, which remained a separate entity, comprised five cavalry and eight infantry battalions.
By 1850, the British had overcome all contenders to power and had achieved a territorial definition of India, never achieved before, and which invited a clearer unified  identity.