12th Cavalry (Frontier Force)


The 12th Cavalry is an armoured regiment of Pakistan Army. It was formed in the British Indian army in 1922 by the amalgamation of 22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry and 25th Cavalry.

22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force)

The 22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry was raised in 1849 at Lahore by Lieutenant Samuel J. Browne as the 2nd Punjab Irregular Cavalry. It was one of five regiments of Punjab Cavalry raised to guard the North West Frontier of India, which soon became famous as part of the legendary Punjab Frontier Force or the "Piffers". Over the next decades, the regiment saw extensive service on the Frontier. During the Indian Mutiny of 1857, the regiment was engaged in the Siege of Delhi, Relief of Lucknow, the Battle of Agra and the Campaign in Rohilkhand. In one of the actions, their commandant, Captain Sam Browne was awarded the Victoria Cross. His citation reads:
It was the loss of his arm that caused Browne to invent the famous Sam Browne belt, still in the use of many of today's armies. The original belt is on display in the India Room at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Meanwhile, Captain Dighton Probyn was also awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry, while serving with the 2nd Punjab Cavalry. His citation reads:
During the Second Afghan War of 1878-80, the 2nd Punjab Cavalry was with the Kandahar Field Force, and fought at the Battle of Ahmad Khel in April 1880. During the First World War, the regiment served in the Mesopotamia Campaign.

Name changes

The 25th Cavalry was raised by Captain Robert Fitzgerald as the 5th Punjab Irregular Cavalry at Multan in 1849, with Risaldar Gurmukh Singh Dhillon of village Bahmaniwala, Sub Division Patti of Amritsar district of Punjab, as the first native Commandant of 5th Punjab Irregular Cavalry. The troops of the Sikh Squadron were mostly taken from the disbanded Khalsa Army which was recently defeated by the British in the Anglo-Sikh War of 1848. During the Indian Mutiny they were part of the besieging army at Delhi and took part in the Relief of Lucknow. The troops of 5th Punjab Irregular Cavalry were now avenging themselves on the mutinous Bengal Army for the defeat of the Khalsa's Sikh Army in the Anglo Sikh Wars. One squadron fought at Bareilly, where two of its Indian officers won the Order of British India and nine other ranks received the Indian Order of Merit. The regiment was involved in a number of small actions on the North West Frontier with the Punjab Frontier Force. In March 1860, 150 men under an Indian officer attacked a 3,000 strong armed force of Mahsuds and Waziris at Tank, killing 300 and dispersing the others. In January 1867, an Indian officer with 27 sowars charged a body of 1,000 tribesmen, killed 150 and captured most of the rest. During the Second Afghan War, the 5th Punjab Cavalry were present at the capture of Charasiah and Frederick Roberts the Commanding General ordered that they and the 9th Lancers should have the honour of escorting him into Kabul. During the attack on the Asmai Heights in December 1879, near Kabul, Captain William John Vousden made repeated charges with a small body of men of the 5th Punjab Cavalry, passing through the ranks of an overwhelming force again and again until the enemy fled. Vousden received a Victoria Cross and his ten surviving men the Indian Order of Merit. For the excellent record in the British reprisal of Indian Mutiny and for valour during the Second Afghan War 5th Punjab Cavalry was among the units that were honoured during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria's Reign at London in June and July 1897. Risaldar Major Kesar Singh Dhillon of Bahmaniwala Dhillons represented the 5th Punjab Cavalry as part of Indian Native Cavalry. The same finds a mention in the London Gazette published on 14 March 1898.For the acts of valour during the Indian Mutiny and during the Second Afghan War, the troops of 5th Punjab Cavalry were awarded grants of agricultural land in Lyallpur District in 1904. Most of the Sikh troops of Kanhayia Misl shifted from Amritsar District to Lyallpur on being granted lands there. During the First World War, it served in German East Africa, followed by service in the Third Afghan War of 1919. of 25th Cavalry. Watercolour by AC Lovett, 1910.|250px

Name changes

After the First World War, the number of Indian cavalry regiments was reduced from thirty-nine to twenty-one. However, instead of disbanding the surplus units, it was decided to amalgamate them in pairs. This resulted in renumbering and renaming of the entire cavalry line. The 22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry and 25th Cavalry were amalgamated in 1921 to form 12th Cavalry. The uniform of 12th Cavalry was scarlet with blue facings. The badge showed a mounted figure within a circle carrying the title 'Sam Browne's Cavalry XII FF' with a crown above. Its class composition was one squadron each of Punjabi Muslims, Sikhs and Dogras. In 1937, 12th Cavalry became the training regiment of 2nd Indian Cavalry Group at Ferozepur. It was converted into a training centre in 1940 by amalgamating it with 15th Lancers.
On the partition of India in 1947, this training centre was transferred to Pakistan. On 15 January 1955, 12th Cavalry was re-raised at Rawalpindi as a Reconnaissance Regiment of Pakistan Armoured Corps. The regiment has a glorious history during the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistani Wars. During the 1965 War, the regiment fought in four different sectors simultaneously when all four squadrons of the regiment operated independently at Chawinda, Bedian, Khem Karan and Sialkot., VC, GCB, KCSI, 1897.|230px