The 5th Horse is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was previously known as the 5th King Edward's Own Probyn's Horse, which was a regular cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by the amalgamation of the 11th King Edward's Own Lancers and the 12th Cavalry.
11th King Edward's Own Lancers (Probyn's Horse)
The regiment known as 11th King Edward's Own Lancers was originally raised on 1 August 1857 by Captain Frederick Wale as Wale's Horse during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and served at Lucknow. Captain Wale was killed in action on 1 March 1858, while leading the regiment in the pursuit of rebels, and was replaced by Major Dighton Probyn, VC. In 1860 the regiment was dispatched to China to take part in the Second Opium War. It participated in the advance on Peking and returned to India in 1861 with a good reputation. The regiment saw service in the Second Afghan War of 1878-80 and then took part in the Black Mountains Expedition; it went to Chitral and formed part of the Malakand Field Force. During the First World War, the regiment served in Mesopotamia.
, 11th King Edward's Own Lancers. Watercolour by AC Lovett, 1910
Uniform
The Lancer's uniform of Probyn's Horse was topped by cap-line worn unattached. Shoulder epaulettes were covered with gilt curb-chains, and plus the Mameluke scimitar. Mussulmans were unique in wearing a kulla, a pointed cap under the puggaree. Made of heavy khaki cloth it gave good protection against the sun, and became popular, even with British officer, who wore puggarees by choice.
Probyn's Horse (5th King Edward VII's Own Lancers)
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 the entire cavalry line. The 11th King Edward's Own Lancers and the 12th Cavalry were amalgamated at Meerut on 28 August 1921 to form 5th King Edward's Own Probyn's Horse. The uniform of Probyn's Horse was blue with scarlet facings. The new regiment's badge consisted of the Prince of Wales's plumes. Its class composition was one squadron each of Punjabi Muslims, Sikhs and Dogras. The regiment was mechanised in 1940. During the Second World War, the regiment served with great distinction in Burma. On the Partition of India in 1947, Probyn's Horse was allotted to Pakistan. In 1956, Pakistan became a republic and all titles pertaining to British royalty were dropped. The regiment's new designation was 5 Horse, although informally, it continues to be known as the Probyn's Horse. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, 5 Horse fought in the Battle of Khem Karan.
