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{{Infobox Military Unit
|unit_name=126th Baluchistan Infantry
|image=
|caption=
|dates=1903–1922
|country={{flagcountry|British Raj}}
|branch={{army|British India}}
|type=Infantry
|size=1 Battalion
|command_structure=
|garrison=
|ceremonial_chief=
|ceremonial_chief_label=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|nickname=
|motto=
|colors=Red; faced light buff; yellow in 1884<br />Drab; faced red with red trousers in 1892
|colors_label=Uniform
|march=
|mascot=
|battles=[[Anglo-Persian War]] 1856-57<br>[[Boxer Rebellion]]<br>[[First World War]] ([[Aden]], [[Mesopotamian Campaign|Mesopotamia]], [[First Suez Offensive|Egypt]])
|notable_commanders=
|anniversaries=
}}
The '''126th Baluchistan Infantry''' was an [[infantry regiment]] of the [[British Indian Army]] raised in 1825 as the 2nd Extra Battalion of Bombay Native Infantry. It was designated as the 126th Baluchistan Infantry in 1903 and became 2nd Battalion [[10th Baluch Regiment]] in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to the [[Pakistan Army]], where it continues to exist as '''7th Battalion of The [[Baloch Regiment]]'''.<ref name="Ahmad 2010">Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.</ref>

==Early history==
The regiment was raised in 1825 at [[Bombay]] as the 2nd Extra Battalion of Bombay Native Infantry. In 1826, it was designated as the 26th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry. In 1856, it was dispatched to [[Persia]], where it took part in the [[Battle of Kooshab]] during the [[Anglo-Persian War]] of 1856-57. In 1891, the regiment was localized to the Province of [[Baluchistan]] and reconstituted with [[Baloch people|Balochis]], [[Brahui people|Brahuis]], [[Pashtun people|Pathan]]s and Punjabi Muslims. It adopted uniforms of drab colour with red trousers and its designation was changed to 26th (Baluchistan) Regiment of Bombay Infantry. In 1900 it was sent to [[China]] to suppress the [[Boxer Rebellion]]. In 1901, the regiment's designation was changed to 26th Baluchistan Infantry.<ref name="Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin 1998">Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin. (1998). ''History of the Baloch Regiment 1820-1939''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.</ref><ref name="Cadell, Sir Patrick 1938">Cadell, Sir Patrick. (1938). ''History of the Bombay Army''. London: Longmans & Green.</ref>

==126th Baluchistan Infantry==
Subsequent to the [[Kitchener Reforms|reforms]] brought about in the Indian Army by [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]] in 1903, all former [[Bombay Army]] units had 100 added to their numbers. Consequently, the regiment's designation was changed to 126th Baluchistan Infantry and it was delocalized from Baluchistan. On the outbreak of the [[First World War]], the regiment was sent to [[Aden]], where it remained during the war except for brief stays in [[First Suez Offensive|Egypt]] in 1915 and [[Mesopotamian Campaign|Mesopotamia]] in 1917.<ref name="Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin 1998"/>[[File:26th (Baluchistan) Regiment, Bombay Infantry 1897.jpg|thumb|right|26th (Baluchistan) Regiment, Bombay Infantry, 1897.|320px]]

==Subsequent History==
In 1922, the regiment was grouped with five other Baluch battalions: 1st & 2nd Battalions of [[124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry]], [[127th Baluch Light Infantry|127th Queen Mary's Own Baluch Light Infantry]], [[129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis]] and the [[130th King George's Own Baluchis (Jacob's Rifles)]], to form the 10th Baluch Regiment. The 126th Baluchistan Infantry was redesignated as the 2nd Battalion of the new regiment.<ref name="Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin 1998"/> During the [[Second World War]], 2/10th Baluch fought with great gallantry in the [[Malayan Campaign]]. The battalion was taken prisoner by the Japanese on [[Battle of Singapore|Singapore Island]] after the surrender of British forces on 15 February 1942. It suffered a total of 1596 casualties in the war and during the Japanese captivity. The battalion won distinction for resisting intense enemy pressure to join the Japanese-sponsored [[Indian National Army]]. Prominent among them was Lieutenant [[Abrar Hussain (general)|Abrar Hussain]], who was awarded the [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]] for his heroic conduct whilst a Prisoner of War. On its return from captivity, the battalion was reformed in 1946. On the [[Partition of India|independence]] of [[Pakistan]] in 1947, the Baluch Regiment was allocated to [[Pakistan Army]].<ref>Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin. (2000). ''History of the Baloch Regiment 1939-1956''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.</ref> In 1956, on the merger of [[8th Punjab Regiment|8th Punjab]] and [[Bahawalpur Regiment]]s with the [[10th Baluch Regiment|Baluch Regiment]], 2 Baluch was redesignated as 7 Baluch (now 7 Baloch). During the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|Indo-Pakistan War of 1965]], the battalion fought with distinction in the [[Kasur]] Sector.<ref name="Ahmad 2010"/>[[File:126th Baluchistan Inf 1912.jpg|thumb|right|Officer of 126th Baluchistan Infantry. Illustration by Richard Simkin, 1912.|205px]]

==Genealogy==
*1825 - 2nd Extra Battalion of Bombay Native Infantry
*1826 - 26th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry
*1885 - 26th Regiment of Bombay Infantry
*1892 - 26th (Baluchistan) Regiment of Bombay Infantry
*1901 - 26th Baluchistan Infantry
*1903 - 126th Baluchistan Infantry
*1922 - 2nd Battalion 10th Baluch Regiment or 2/10th Baluch
*1945 - 2nd Battalion The Baluch Regiment or 2 Baluch
*1956 - 7th Battalion The Baluch Regiment or 7 Baluch
*1991 - 7th Battalion The Baloch Regiment or 7 Baloch<ref name="Ahmad 2010"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Ahmad, Lt Col Rifat Nadeem. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.
* Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin. (1998). ''History of the Baloch Regiment 1820-1939''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre. {{ISBN|1-84734-130-6}}
* Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin. (2000). ''History of the Baloch Regiment 1939-1956''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre. {{ISBN|1-84574-094-7}}
* Barthorp, Michael, & Jeffrey Burn. (1979). ''Indian Infantry Regiments 1860–1914''. Osprey Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-85045-307-2}}
* Cadell, Sir Patrick. (1938). ''History of the Bombay Army''. London: Longmans & Green
*Gaylor, John (1992). ''Sons of John Company: Indian and Pakistan Armies, 1903-1991'', Spellmount Publishers Ltd. {{ISBN|978-0-946771-98-1}}.

==External links==
*''History of the Baloch Regiment 1820–1939 the Colonial Period'', text of [https://archive.today/20121208200149/http://www.naval-military-press.com/history-of-the-baloch-regiment-1820-1939-pr-18025.html pages 1 to 15] available online as download preview

==See also==
*[[10th Baluch Regiment]]
*[[Baloch Regiment|The Baloch Regiment]]
*[[Abrar Hussain (general)|Major General Abrar Hussain]], [[Hilal-i-Jur'at|HJ]], [[MBE (Order of the British Empire)|MBE]]

{{#seo:
|keywords=Baloch Regiment, British Indian Army infantry regiments, Military units and formations established in 1903, Military units and formations disestablished in 1922, Military units and formations of the Boxer Rebellion, Indian World War I regiments
|description=
}}

[[Category:Baloch Regiment]]
[[Category:British Indian Army infantry regiments]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1903]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1922]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of the Boxer Rebellion]]
[[Category:Indian World War I regiments]]

126th Baluchistan Infantry - Revision history

CleanupBot at 04:33, 8 July 2023