15th Punjab Regiment


The 15th Punjab Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. It was transferred to Pakistan Army on independence in 1947, and amalgamated with the 1st, 14th and 16th Punjab Regiments in 1956 to form the Punjab Regiment.

Early history

The 15th Punjab Regiment was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th Punjabis. All five battalions were raised during the upheaval of the Indian Mutiny in 1857 by John Lawrence in the Punjab. The 27th Punjabis served in China during the Second Opium War in 1860-62, while the 26th and 29th Punjabis participated in the Bhutan War of 1864-66. All battalions saw service on the North West Frontier of India and took part in the Second Afghan War of 1878-80, while the 26th and 27th Punjabis also served in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885-87. In 1901, the 27th Punjabis were dispatched to British Somaliland to suppress the resistance movement led by the Somali religious leader Abdullah Hassan of the Dervish State.

Formation

When the 15th Punjabs were formed in 1922, it was organised into 5 battalions :
During the Second World War, the 15th Punjab Regiment raised ten new battalions. Most of the active battalions were engaged in fighting the Japanese in the Far East except the 3rd Battalion, which fought in Somaliland and Italy. Performance of the 4th Battalion in Burma in particular was outstanding. The battalion suffered 921 casualties and was awarded numerous gallantry awards including two Victoria Crosses to Lieutenant Karamjeet Singh Judge and Naik Gian Singh.
On the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the 15th Punjab Regiment was allotted to Pakistan Army. At the time, the active battalions were 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Sikhs and Jats were transferred to the Indian Army and the regiment's new class composition was fixed as Punjabis and Pathans.
The 2nd Battalion was reformed as a Medium Machine Gun battalion, moving to Kohat in early 1946; by the time of Partition in August 1947 all the British and non-Muslim officers had left, except for one Indian officer, the Adjutant and he left once all Indian Army personnel moved to India. The unit helped to escort the 3rd Grenadiers from Kohat to Rawalpindi, after they had been ambushed twice by Pathan tribes. Other references are the books by Kaushik Roy and Frederick Llewellyn Freemantle.
The regiment's badge was also modified and the Sikh quoit was replaced by an Islamic star. In 1948, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions fought in the war with India in Kashmir. In 1956, a major reorganization was undertaken in the Pakistan Army and larger infantry groups were created by amalgamating the existing infantry regiments. As a result, the 15th Punjab Regiment was amalgamated with the 1st, 14th and 16th Punjab Regiments to form one large Punjab Regiment. The four regimental centres were also merged and the combined centre moved to Mardan. The line up of the new regiment was:
China 1860-62, Ali Masjid, Peiwar Kotal, Charasiah, Kabul 1879, Ahmad Khel, Kandahar 1880, Afghanistan 1878-80, Burma 1885-87, Chitral, Somaliland 1901-04, Loos, France and Flanders 1915, Suez Canal, Egypt 1915, Megiddo, Sharon, Palestine 1918, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1915-18, Persia 1918, NW Frontier, India 1917, Kilimanjaro, East Africa 1914-17, Berbera, Assab, Abyssinia 1940-41, Tug Argan, British Somaliland 1940, The Sangro, The Moro, Cassino II, Gothic Line, The Senio, Italy 1943-45, West Borneo 1941-42, South East Asia 1941-42, Rathedaung, Donbaik, Jail Hill, Naga Village, Kyaukmyaung Bridgehead, Mandalay, Fort Dufferin, Meiktila, Nyaungu Bridgehead, Capture of Meiktila, Taungtha, Myingyan, The Irrawaddy, Yenaungyaung 1945, Kama, Pyawbwe, Toungoo, Pegu 1945, Sittang 1945, Burma 1942-45.