155th Pioneers

October 2015 June 2026 155th Pioneers May 1918 – 1920 British India 23px British Crown British India 23px Pioneers Two battalions 10th (Irish) Division53rd (Welsh) Division First World War Sinai and Palestine Campaign Battle of Nablus The 155th Pioneers was a pioneer regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in Mesopotamia and Palestine in May and June 1918, saw service in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War, and was disbanded in 1920. Background Heavy losses suffered by the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front following the German spring offensive in March 1918 resulted in a major reorganization of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force: two divisions52nd (Lowland)Becke 1936 115 and 74th (Yeomanry)Becke 1937 121 were transferred to France in April; they were replaced by the 3rd (Lahore)Perry 1993 54 and 7th (Meerut) DivisionsPerry 1993 90 from Mesopotamia; nine yeomanry regiments were dismounted, converted to machine gunners and sent to France at the end of the same month; the 4thPerry 1993 21–24 and 5th Cavalry DivisionsPerry 1993 25–28 were reformed with Indian cavalry regiments withdrawn from France and the 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade already in Egypt; the 10th (Irish),Becke 1938 15–16 53rd (Welsh),Becke 1936 120–121 60th (2/2nd London),Becke 1937 29–30 and 75th DivisionsBecke 1937 126–128 were reduced to a single British battalion per brigade. They were reformed with nine Indian infantry battalions and an Indian pioneer battalion each.The remaining infantry division in the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in March 1918the 54th (East Anglian) Divisionremained unaffected by these changes.Becke 1936 128–129 In fact, the 75th Division already had four Indian battalions assigned,In March 1917, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force started forming the 75th Division, originally to be made up of Territorial Force battalions arriving from India. In May 1917, to speed up the formation of the division, it was decided to incorporate Indian battalions.Becke 1937 129 To this end, the independent 29th Indian Brigade was broken up in June 1917 and its battalions posted to 75th Division.Perry 1993 167 so of the 36 battalions needed to reform the divisions, 22 were improvisedPerry 1993 174 by taking whole companies from existing units already on active service in Mesopotamia and Palestine to form the 150th Infantry (3 battalions), 151st Sikh Infantry (3), 152nd Punjabis (3), 153rd Punjabis (3), 154th Infantry (3), 155th Pioneers (2), 156th Infantry (1) and the 11th Gurkha Rifles (4).Perry 1993 177–178 The donor units were then brought back up to strength by drafts. In the event, just 13 of the battalions were assigned to the divisionshttp://orbat.com/site/history/open4/uk_eygptianexpeditionaryforce1918.pdf Order of Battle of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, September 1918 Hanafin James orbat.com 11 November 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20150109153754/http://orbat.com/site/history/open4/uk_eygptianexpeditionaryforce1918.pdf 9 January 2015 and the remaining nine were transferred from Mesopotamia to India in June 1918.Perry 1993 44,64,81,103,155 History The 155th Pioneers was formed of two battalions in May and June 1918. The 1st Battalion was formed in Mesopotamia in May, by posting complete companies from battalions serving in that campaign, before transferring to Egypt in July.Becke 1936 121 It joined the 2nd Battalion which was formed in Palestine in June with companies posted from battalions already serving in the theatre.Becke 1938 16 The battalions were assigned as pioneers to the two divisions of XX Corps,Becke 1945 250 53rd (Welsh) and 10th (Irish), respectively. Both battalions were detached to Watson's ForceCommanded by Lt.-Col. G.B. Watson. along with the 1/1st Worcestershire Yeomanry (XX Corps Cavalry Regiment) and a detachment from XX Corps Reinforcements Camp. The force occupied 5 miles of the line in the centre of the XX Corps front during the Battle of Nablus (19–21 September 1918). Nomenclature Perry shows each battalion with distinct designations: 1st Battalion, 155th Pioneers and 2nd Battalion, 155th InfantryPerry 1993 177 despite the fact that the 2nd Battalion was formed from companies drawn from existing pioneer battalions and served successively as pioneers to the 60th (2/2nd London),Becke 1937 27 10th (Irish), and 53rd (Welsh) Divisions. Similarly, Gaylor designates the units as the 1st Battalion, 155th Indian Pioneers and 2nd Battalion, 155th Indian Infantry.Gaylor 1996 346 It is notable that no other Indian infantry or pioneer regiment incorporated Indian in their titles at this time.Later, two regiments incorporated Indian in their titles: the 4th Bombay Grenadiers (formed on 1 March 1922) was designated as The Indian Grenadiers from October 1945Gaylor 1996 144 before being assigned to the Indian Army on Partition and being redesignated as The Grenadiers;Gaylor 1996 269 and the Indian Parachute Regiment had a brief existence from 1 March 1945 to 26 October 1946Gaylor 1996 206 before being reformed on 15 April 1952 as the Parachute Regiment.Gaylor 1996 262 Becke uses a severely abbreviated notation for unit names in his tables: 2/155 (P.) for 10th (Irish) DivisionBecke 1938 14 and 155th (P.) for 53rd (Welsh) DivisionBecke 1936 120 but is more explicit in his General Notes for the 60th (2/2nd London) Division where he names 2/155 Pioneers. 1st Battalion The 1st Battalion was formed in Mesopotamia in May 1918 by the transfer of complete companies from: 34th Sikh Pioneers 48th Pioneers 64th Pioneers 128th Pioneers The battalion was made up of two companies of Mazhabi Sikhs, one company of Jats and one company of Rajput Muslims.http://www.researchingww1.co.uk/155th-indian-pioneers-1st-battalion 155th Indian Pioneers, 1st Battalion Researching the Lives and Service Records of World War One Soldiers 3 December 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151208051929/http://www.researchingww1.co.uk/155th-indian-pioneers-1st-battalion 8 December 2015 dead dmy-all The battalion disembarked at Suez on 11 July and moved to Qantara. It reached Lydda on 6 August and joined the 53rd (Welsh) Division on 12 August 1918 near Ram Allah. It remained with the division for the rest of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, taking part in the Battle of Nablus (18–21 September 1918).Becke 1936 123 On 27 October, the 53rd (Welsh) Division started moving to Alexandria even before the Armistice of Mudros came into effect on 31 October, thereby ending the war against the Ottoman Empire. It completed its concentration at Alexandria on 15 November. The division received demobilization instructions on 20 December 1918. The Indian infantry battalions returned to India as transports became available and the division was reduced to cadre by 7 June 1919. The battalion was disbanded in 1920. 2nd Battalion The 2nd Battalion was formed in Palestine on 12 and 13 June 1918 by the transfer of the following complete companies: W Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Sikh Pioneers A Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Sikh Pioneers C Company, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Sikh Pioneers A Company, 121st Pioneers The battalion was made up of three companies of Mazhabi Sikhs and one company of Yusafzais.http://www.researchingww1.co.uk/155th-indian-infantry-2nd-battalion 155th Indian Pioneers, 2nd Battalion Researching the Lives and Service Records of World War One Soldiers 3 December 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151208060247/http://www.researchingww1.co.uk/155th-indian-infantry-2nd-battalion 8 December 2015 dead dmy-all The battalion served as pioneers with the 60th (2/2nd London) Division from 18 June to 19 July before joining the 10th (Irish) Division as its pioneer battalion. On 31 August, it was detached to the 53rd (Welsh) Division until after the breakthrough as a result of the Battles of Megiddo (19–25 September). It rejoined the 10th (Irish) Division and in October was employed on the Damascus Road near Tiberias. The 10th (Irish) Division concentrated near Tul Karm in the middle of October and was there when the Armistice of Mudros came into effect. The division moved to Sarafand (now Tzrifin) by 12 November and moved back to Egypt, concentrating in Cairo by 1 December. It was there when demobilization began in January 1919.Becke 1938 18 The battalion was disbanded in 1920. See also Indian Army during World War I Notes References 2 Bibliography Gaylor John 1996 2nd Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies 1903–1991 Parapress Tunbridge Wells 1-898594-41-4 Perry F.W. 1993 Order of Battle of Divisions Part 5B. Indian Army Divisions Ray Westlake Military Books Newport 1-871167-23-X External links http://www.1914-1918.net/10div.htm The 10th (Irish) Division in 1914-1918 The Long, Long Trail Chris Baker 1 August 2015 http://www.1914-1918.net/53div.htm The 53rd (Welsh) Division in 1914-1918 The Long, Long Trail Chris Baker 1 August 2015 16 August 2001 https://web.archive.org/web/20010816092354/http://www.1914-1918.net/53div.htm dead http://www.1914-1918.net/60div.htm The 60th (2/2nd London) Division in 1914-1918 The Long, Long Trail Chris Baker 1 August 2015 http://orbat.com/site/history/open4/uk_eygptianexpeditionaryforce1918.pdf Order of Battle of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, September 1918 Hanafin James orbat.com 11 November 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20150109153754/http://orbat.com/site/history/open4/uk_eygptianexpeditionaryforce1918.pdf 9 January 2015 Category:British Indian Army infantry regiments Category:Military units and formations established in 1918 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1920