Bengal Army

Bengal Army
Bengal Army
Active	1756–1895 (as the Bengal Army); 1895–1908 (as the Bengal Command of the British Indian Army)
Type	Command
Size	105,000 (1876)
Part of	Presidency armies
Garrison/HQ	Nainital, Nainital district (1895–1908)

The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire.

The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Government of India Act 1858 directly under Crown, passed in the House of Commons aftermath of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, transferred all three presidencies to the direct authority of the British Crown.

In 1895 all three presidency armies were merged into the British Indian Army.

History

Origins

The Bengal Army originated with the establishment of a European Regiment in 1756.^[3] While the East India Company had previously maintained a small force of Dutch and Eurasian mercenaries in Bengal, this was destroyed when Calcutta was captured by the Nawab of Bengal on 30 June that year.^[4]

Under East India Company

Bengal troops in the 19th century (1840s)

Bengal infantry on the line of march

In 1757 the first locally recruited unit of Bengal sepoys was created in the form of the Lal Paltan battalion. It was recruited from soldiers that had served in the Nawab's Army from Bihar and the Awadh (Oudh) who were collectively called Purbiyas. Drilled and armed along British army lines this force served well at the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and 20 more Indian battalions were raised by 1764. In 1766, the Monghyr Mutiny, quelled by Robert Clive, affected many of the white officers of the Bengal Army.^[5]

In his deposition, Lieutenant General Jasper Nicolls, who was an army commander stationed in India, stated of the Bengal Army's recruitment that:^[6]^[7]

"It may well be said that the whole sepoy army of Bengal is drawn from the Company's province of Bihar and Oudh, with very few exceptions".

The East India Company steadily expanded its Bengal Army and by 1796 the establishment was set at three battalions of European artillery, three regiments of European infantry, ten regiments of Indian cavalry and twelve regiments (each of two battalions) of Indian infantry.^[8]

In 1824 the Bengal Army underwent reorganisation, with the regular infantry being grouped into 68 single battalion regiments numbered according to their date of establishment. Nine additional infantry regiments were subsequently raised, though several existing units were disbanded between 1826 and 1843. On the eve of the First Afghan War (1839–42) the Bengal Army had achieved a dominant role in the forces of the HEIC. There were 74 battalions of Bengal regular infantry against only 52 from Madras, 26 from Bombay and 24 British (Queen's and Company). On average an inch and a half taller and a stone heavier than the southern Indian troops, the Bengal sepoy was highly regarded by a military establishment that tended to evaluate its soldiers by physical appearance.^[9]

A new feature in the Bengal Army was the creation of irregular infantry and cavalry regiments during the 1840s.^[10] Originally designated as "Local Infantry" these were permanently established units but with less formal drill and fewer British officers than the regular Bengal line regiments.^[11]

The main source of recruitment continued to be high caste Brahmins, Bhumihars and Rajputs from Bihar and Oudh,^[12]^[13] although the eight regular cavalry regiments consisted mainly of Muslim sowars from the Indian Muslim biradaris such as the Ranghar (Rajput Muslims), Sheikhs, Sayyids, Mughals, and Hindustani Pathans.^[14]^[15]^[16]

Another innovation introduced prior to 1845 was to designate specific regiments as "Volunteers" – that is recruited for general service, with sepoys who had accepted a commitment for possible overseas duty. Recruits for the Bengal Army who were prepared to travel by ship if required, received a special allowance or batta.^[17] Two of these BNI regiments were serving in China in 1857 and so escaped any involvement in the great rebellion of that year.^[18]

The East India Company's Bengal Army in 1857 consisted of 151,361 men of all ranks, of whom the great majority - 128,663 - were Indians.^[19]

1857

A total of 64 Bengal Army regular infantry and cavalry regiments rebelled during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, or were disbanded after their continued loyalty was considered doubtful.^[1] From 1858 onwards the Chamars(Outcaste)^[20] and the actual high-caste Awadhi and Bihari Hindu presence in the Bengal Army was reduced^[21] because of their perceived primary role as "mutineers" in the 1857 rebellion.^[22] The new and less homogeneous Bengal Army was essentially drawn from Punjabi Muslims, Sikhs, Gurkhas, Baluchis and Pathans, although twelve of the pre-mutiny Bengal line infantry regiments continued in service with the same basis of recruitment, traditions and uniform colours as before.^[23]

A largely unspoken rationale was that an army of diverse origins was unlikely to unite in rebellion.^[24]

Post 1857

End of the separate Bengal Army

Soldiers of the 1st European Bengal Fusiliers, pre-1862

In 1895 the three separate Presidency Armies began a process of unification which was not to be concluded until the Kitchener reforms of eight years later.^[25] As an initial step the Army of India was divided into four commands, each commanded by a lieutenant-general. These comprised Bengal, Bombay (including Aden), Madras (including Burma) and Punjab (including the North West Frontier).^[26] In 1903 the separately numbered regiments of the Bombay, Madras and Bengal Armies were unified in a single organisational sequence and the presidency affiliations disappeared.^[27]

The Bengal infantry units in existence at the end of the Presidency era continued as the senior regiments (1st Brahmans to 48th Pioneers) of the newly unified Indian Army.^[28]

Ethnic composition

The Bengal Army of the East India Company was mainly recruited from high castes living in Bihar and the Awadh.^[29]

Prior to 1857, company military service was most popular in the zamindaris of North and South Bihar with the East India Company signing contracts to raise levies of troops from them.^[30] Recruits from the Brahman and Bhumihar caste ^[12]^[13]^[31]^[32] were common and they would use service in the Bengal Army as an opportunity to raise their wealth and status and for this reason, the Bhumihar zamindaris of Bihar became "prime recruiting grounds" for the Army.^[30] Very few middle castes like Ahirs were in the Bengal Army.^[33]

In the 1780s, the Company maintained a major recruiting station in Buxar with six companies under a Captain Eaton. These recruiting stations in Bihar were kept as "nurseries" which supplied battalions when drafts were made. Other recruiting centres were located in Bhagalpur, Shahabad, Monghyr, Saran and Hajipur.^[30]

Brigadier Troup, who served as the commander of Bareilly, stated of recruitment that the ‘Bengal native Infantry came chiefly from the province of Awadh, Buxar, Bhojpur and Arrah.’^[30] In 1810, Francis Buchanan-Hamilton noted in his account of the districts of Bihar, that the number of men absent from Shahabad to serve in the Army was 4680. The Ujjainiya zamindar of Bhojpur also informed him that 12000 recruits from his district had joined the Bengal Army.^[30]

Writing in The Indian Army (1834), Sir John Malcolm, who had a lifetime's experience of Indian soldiering, wrote: "They consist largely of Rajpoots (Rajput), who are a distinguished race. We may judge the size of these men when we are told that the height below which no recruit is taken is five feet six inches. The great proportion of the Grenadiers are six feet and upwards."^[19]

Both prior to and following 1857, the Bengal Army included what were to become some of the most famous units in India: Skinner's Horse, the Gurkhas from the Himalayas and the Corps of Guides on the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.^[34]

Composition in 1856

Cavalry

Bengal Regular Cavalry

These were:^[35]

1st Regiment of Light Cavalry
2nd Regiment of Light Cavalry
3rd Regiment of Light Cavalry
4th Regiment of Light Cavalry (Lancers)
5th Regiment of Light Cavalry
6th Regiment of Light Cavalry
7th Regiment of Light Cavalry
8th Regiment of Light Cavalry
9th Regiment of Light Cavalry
10th Regiment of Light Cavalry

Bengal Irregular Cavalry

These were:^[36]

1st Irregular Cavalry
2nd Irregular Cavalry
3rd Irregular Cavalry
4th Irregular Cavalry
5th Irregular Cavalry
6th Irregular Cavalry
7th Irregular Cavalry
8th Irregular Cavalry
9th Irregular Cavalry
10th Irregular Cavalry
11th Irregular Cavalry
12th Irregular Cavalry
13th Irregular Cavalry
14th Irregular Cavalry
15th Irregular Cavalry
16th Irregular Cavalry
17th Irregular Cavalry
18th Irregular Cavalry

Artillery

Bengal Horse Artillery

These were:^[37]

1st Brigade
- 3 European Troops
- 2 Native Troops
2nd Brigade
- 3 European Troops
- Native Troop
3rd Brigade
- 3 European Troops
- Native Troop

Bengal European Foot Artillery (4 companies per battalion)

These were:^[37]

1st Battalion
2nd Battalion
3rd Battalion
4th Battalion
5th Battalion
6th Battalion

Bengal Native Foot Artillery (6 companies per battalion)

These were:^[37]

1st Battalion
2nd Battalion
3rd Battalion

Engineers

Corps of Engineers

These were:^[38]

Corps of Bengal Sappers and Miners

These were:^[39]

Infantry

Bengal European Infantry

These were:^[40]

Bengal Native Infantry

These were:^[41]

1st Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
2nd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Grenadiers)
3rd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
4th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
5th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
6th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
7th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
8th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
9th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
10th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
11th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
12th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
13th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
14th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
15th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
16th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Grenadiers)
17th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
18th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
19th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
20th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
21st Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
22nd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
23rd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
24th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
25th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
26th Regiment of Bengal Light Infantry
27th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
28th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
29th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
30th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
31st Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
32nd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
33rd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
35th Regiment of Bengal Light Infantry
36th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Volunteers)
37th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Volunteers)
38th Regiment of Bengal Light Infantry (Volunteers)
39th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Volunteers)
40th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Volunteers)
41st Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
42nd Regiment of Bengal Light Infantry
43rd Regiment of Bengal Light Infantry
44th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
45th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
46th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
47th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Volunteers)
48th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
49th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
50th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
51st Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
52nd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
53rd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
54th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
55th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
56th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
57th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
58th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
59th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
60th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
61st Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
62nd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
63rd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
64th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
65th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Volunteers)
66th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Goorkha Regiment)
67th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Volunteers)
68th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
69th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
70th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
71st Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
72nd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
73rd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
74th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry

Bengal Local Infantry

These were:^[42]

Calcutta Native Militia
Ramghur Light Infantry Battalion
Hill Rangers
New Nusseree (Rifle) Battalion
Pegu Light Infantry Battalion
Sirmoor Rifle Battalion
Kemaoon Battalion
1st Assam Light Infantry
2nd Assam Light Infantry
Mhairwarrah Battalion
Arracan Battalion
Hurrianah Light Infantry Battalion
1st Regiment of Oude Infantry
2nd Regiment of Oude Infantry
Sylhet Light Infantry Battalion

Other Infantry Units

These were:^[43]

Regiment of Kelat-i-Ghilzie
Sikh battalions
- Regiment of Loodianah
- Regiment of Ferozepore

Punjab Irregular Force

These were:^[44]

Punjab Cavalry

Punjab Infantry

Sikh Corps

Other Units

These were:^[45]

Nagpore Irregular Force^[46]
- Cavalry Regiment
- Artillery
- 1st Infantry
- 2nd Infantry
- 3rd Infantry
Malwa Bheel Corps
Meywar Bheel Corps
Sebundy Corps of Sappers and Miners
The Shekhawatee Brigade (Cavalry, Artillery, Infantry)
The Joudpore Legion (Cavalry, Artillery, Infantry)
Gwalior Contingent^[47]
- 1st Cavalry
- 2nd Cavalry
- Artillery
- 1st Infantry
- 2nd Infantry
- 3rd Infantry
- 4th Infantry
- 5th Infantry
- 6th Infantry
- 7th Infantry
Malwa Contingent (Cavalry, Artillery, Infantry)
Bhopal Contingent (Cavalry, Artillery, Infantry)
Hyderabad Contingent^[48]
- 1st Cavalry
- 2nd Cavalry
- 3rd Cavalry
- 4th Cavalry
- Artillery
- 1st Infantry
- 2nd Infantry
- 3rd Infantry
- 4th Infantry
- 5th Infantry
- 6th Infantry
Kotah Contingent (Cavalry, Artillery, Infantry)