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{{short description|Military unit}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Mardan Brigade Nowshera Cavalry Brigade Risalpur Cavalry Brigade 1st (Risalpur) Cavalry Brigade 1st Indian Cavalry Brigade
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| dates = 1 January 1906 – November 1940
| country = {{flag|British India}}
| allegiance = [[British Crown]]
| branch = {{army|British India|23px}}
| type = [[Cavalry]]
| role =
| size = [[Brigade]]
| command_structure = [[1st (Peshawar) Division]] Peshawar District
| garrison = [[Risalpur Cantonment]]
| garrison_label =
| nickname =
| patron =
| motto =
| march =
| mascot =
| anniversaries =
| equipment =
| equipment_label =
| battles = [[First World War]] [[Third Anglo-Afghan War]] [[Second World War]]
| battles_label = Service
| decorations =
| battle_honours =
| battle_honours_label =
| disbanded =
| notable_commanders = [[Brigadier-general (United Kingdom)|Br.-Gen.]] [[Guy Beatty|G.A.H. Beatty]] [[Brigadier-general (United Kingdom)|Br.-Gen.]] [[Wilfrith Green|W.G.K. Green]] [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brig.]] [[Eric de Burgh|E. de Burgh]]
| identification_symbol =
| identification_symbol_label =
}}
The '''1st (Risalpur) Cavalry Brigade''' was a [[cavalry]] [[brigade]] of the [[British Indian Army]] formed in 1906 as a result of the [[Kitchener Reforms]]. It remained in India during the [[First World War]] but took an active part in the [[Third Anglo-Afghan War]] in 1919.

It was on the [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|North West Frontier]] in September 1939, and converted to Risalpur Training Brigade (later [[155th Indian Infantry Brigade]]) in November 1940.

==History==

===Formation===
The [[Kitchener Reforms]], carried out during [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener's]] tenure as [[Commander-in-Chief, India]] (1902–09), completed the unification of the three former [[Presidency armies]], the [[Frontier Force (disambiguation)|Punjab Frontier Force]], the [[Hyderabad Contingent]] and other local forces into one [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]]. Kitchener identified the Indian Army's main task as the defence of the [[North-West Frontier (military history)|North-West Frontier]] against foreign aggression (particularly Russian expansion into Afghanistan) with [[internal security]] relegated to a secondary role. The Army was organized into [[division (military)|divisions]] and [[brigade]]s that would act as field formations but also included internal security troops.<ref name=Haythornthwaite244>{{harvnb|Haythornthwaite|1996|p=244}}</ref>

The brigade was formed on 1 January 1906 as '''Mardan Brigade'''<ref name=Hart1907>{{cite web | url = https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1907hart#page/98/mode/2up | title = Hart's Annual Army List for 1907 | author = The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart | authorlink = Henry George Hart | publisher = John Murray | location = London | accessdate=3 July 2015 }}</ref>{{efn|1 January 1906 was the appointment date of the brigade's first commanding officer.<ref name=Hart1907/>}} and in June 1907 it was renamed as '''Nowshera Cavalry Brigade'''.<ref name=Hart1908>{{cite web | url = https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1908hart#page/96/mode/2up | title = Hart's Annual Army List for 1908 | author = The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart | authorlink = Henry George Hart | publisher = John Murray | location = London | accessdate=22 July 2015 }}</ref> In 1910, it was renamed again, this time as '''1st (Risalpur) Cavalry Brigade'''.<ref name=Hart1912>{{cite web | url = https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1912lond#page/112/mode/2up | title = Hart's Annual Army List for 1912 | author = The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart | authorlink = Henry George Hart | publisher = John Murray | location = London | accessdate=22 July 2015 }}</ref> Other than a period from September 1920 until 1927 when it was simply numbered as '''1st Indian Cavalry Brigade''', it retained this identity until finally broken up in November 1940.<ref name=Mackie342>{{harvnb|Mackie|2015|p=342}}</ref>

===First World War===
At the outbreak of the [[First World War]], the brigade was [[Headquarters (military)|headquartered]] in the [[Risalpur Cantonment]] and commanded the following units:<ref name=Perry38>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=38}}</ref>
* [[13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers (Watson's Horse)|13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers]]{{efn|name=13L|Note that the [[13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers (Watson's Horse)]] of the [[First World War]] era was unrelated to the [[13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers]] of the [[Second World War|Second]], despite the close similarity of names. The earlier regiment was amalgamated with the [[16th Cavalry]] in 1921 to form the [[6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse)|6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers]]<ref>{{harvnb|Gaylor|1996|pp=70–73}}</ref> whereas the latter regiment was formed in 1923 by the amalgamation of [[31st Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers]] and [[32nd Lancers]].<ref>{{harvnb|Gaylor|1996|pp=86–88}}</ref>}}
* [[14th Murray's Jat Lancers]]
* [[1st Duke of York's Own Skinner's Horse]]
* [[Guides Cavalry|Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides (Frontier Force) (Lumsden's) Cavalry]]
* [[M Battery, Royal Horse Artillery]]
* [[Guides Infantry|Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides (Frontier Force) (Lumsden's) Infantry]] ''(at [[Mardan]])''

Of the six<ref name=Watson>{{cite web|url=http://www.orbat.com/site/history/historical/india/army1914.html |title=The Indian Army 1914 by Dr. Graham Watson on orbat.com |accessdate=2009-10-15|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509080005/http://www.orbat.com/site/history/historical/india/army1914.html |archivedate=9 May 2013 |df=dmy }}</ref> [[cavalry]] [[brigade]]s in the Indian Army in August 1914, the 1st (Risalpur) Cavalry Brigade was the only one that was not sent to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]].{{efn|The other five pre-war Indian [[cavalry]] [[brigade]]s were formed into the [[1st Indian Cavalry Division|1st]] and [[2nd Indian Cavalry Division]]s and sent to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. These were:
* [[2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade]] of [[2nd (Rawalpindi) Division]]<ref name=Perry40>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=40}}</ref>
* [[3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade]] of [[3rd (Lahore) Division]]<ref name=Perry49>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=49}}</ref>
* [[7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade]] of [[7th (Meerut) Division]]<ref name=Perry85>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=85}}</ref>
* [[8th (Lucknow) Cavalry Brigade]] of [[8th (Lucknow) Division]]<ref name=Perry100>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=100}}</ref>
* [[9th (Secunderabad) Cavalry Brigade]] of [[9th (Secunderabad) Division]]<ref name=Perry106>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=106}}</ref>
They were joined by the [[5th (Mhow) Cavalry Brigade]], formed on 11 November 1914.<ref name=Perry17>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=17}}</ref>}} It remained in India throughout the war,<ref name=Perry36>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=36}}</ref> guarding the Frontier (with particular responsibility for the post at Mardan).<ref name=Perry38/> A large number of units rotated in and out of the brigade throughout the war.<ref name=Perry36/>{{efn|Besides the units assigned in August 1914, the brigade also commanded the following at various times during the war:<ref name=Perry36/>
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[21st (Empress of India's) Lancers]]
* [[30th Lancers (Gordon's Horse)]]
* [[5th Cavalry (British Indian Army)|5th Cavalry]]
* two [[Squadron (army)|squadrons]], [[17th Cavalry]]
* [[33rd Queen Victoria's Own Light Cavalry]]
* [[4th Cavalry (India)|4th Cavalry]]
* 1st Battalion, [[Guides Infantry]]
* 2nd Battalion, Guides Infantry
* [[55th Coke's Rifles (Frontier Force)]]
* [[54th Sikhs (Frontier Force)]]
* 3rd Battalion, Guides Infantry
* [[1st (King's) Dragoon Guards]]
* 22nd [[Machine Gun]] [[Squadron (army)|Squadron]]
* 1st Field Troop, [[1st King George's Own Sappers and Miners]]
{{div col end}}
}}

===Third Anglo-Afghan War===
Under mobilization plans drawn up in July 1918, IV Corps, with 1st (Peshawar) Division under command, would have included 1st and [[10th Indian Cavalry Brigade]]s with:<ref name=Perry38/>
* [[21st (Empress of India's) Lancers]]
* [[1st Duke of York's Own Lancers (Skinner's Horse)]]
* [[33rd Queen Victoria's Own Light Cavalry]]
* 22nd [[Machine Gun]] [[Squadron (army)|Squadron]]
* [[M Battery Royal Horse Artillery|M Battery, RHA]]
* 1st Field Troop, [[1st King George's Own Sappers and Miners]]
In August 1918, the 21st (Empress of India's) Lancers traded places with the [[1st (King's) Dragoon Guards]] in [[4th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade]]<ref name=Perry37>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=37}}</ref> and the latter mobilized with the brigade in May 1919.<ref name=Afghanistan>{{cite web | title=Afghanistan | url=http://www.qdg.org.uk/pages/Afghanistan-1919-121.php | publisher=Regimental Museum of the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (The Welsh Horse) | accessdate=24 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725011528/http://www.qdg.org.uk/pages/Afghanistan-1919-121.php | archive-date=25 July 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref> At Dakka{{efn|Dakka was a village in Afghan territory, north west of the Khyber Pass.<ref name=Afghanistan/>}} on 16 May, the 1st (King's) Dragoon Guards made the last recorded [[Charge (warfare)|charge]] by a British horsed cavalry regiment.<ref name=Short>{{cite web | title=1899 to 1938 - A Short History of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards | url=http://www.qdg.org.uk/pages/1899-to-1938-53.php | publisher=Regimental Museum of the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (The Welsh Horse) | accessdate=24 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729170729/http://www.qdg.org.uk/pages/1899-to-1938-53.php | archive-date=29 July 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Second World War===
The brigade was on the North West Frontier in September 1939 under the command of Peshawar District. It commanded the following units at the outbreak of the [[Second World War]]:<ref name=Kempton5b>{{harvnb|Kempton|2003b|p=5}}</ref><ref name=Nafziger>{{harvnb|Nafziger|n.d.|p=2}}</ref>
* [[16th/5th Lancers]] ''(departed in March 1940 for the [[United Kingdom]])''
* [[Probyn's Horse (5th King Edward VII's Own Lancers)]] ''(transferred in January 1940 to [[1st Indian Motor Brigade]])''
* [[The Guides Cavalry (10th Queen Victoria's Own Frontier Force)]] ''(at [[Mardan]]; left on 25 September 1939 for [[Khojak Brigade]])''<ref name=Kempton15c>{{harvnb|Kempton|2003c|p=15}}</ref>
* 5th Battalion, [[12th Frontier Force Regiment]] ''(at Mardan)''
* 1st Cavalry Brigade Signals [[Troop]] ''(transferred in January 1940 to 1st Indian Motor Brigade)''
The following units were attached:<ref name=Kempton5b/>
* [[Royal Deccan Horse (9th Horse)]] ''(October 1939 to January 1940)''
* [[13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers]]{{efn|name=13L}} ''(November 1939 to February 1940 and April 1940 onwards)''
* [[Jodhpur State|Jodhpur]] Sardar Rissala ([[Indian States Forces|ISF]]) ''(January to October 1940)''
The brigade lost most of its units to the 1st Indian Motor Brigade (designate) in early 1940. In the event, 1st Indian Motor Brigade was actually formed as [[1st Indian Armoured Brigade]] at [[Sialkot]] on 1 July 1940.<ref name=Kempton1b>{{harvnb|Kempton|2003b|p=1}}</ref> In November, 1st (Risalpur) Cavalry Brigade was reconstituted as ''Risalpur Training Brigade'' and in March 1944 as ''[[155th Indian Infantry Brigade]]''.<ref name=Kempton5b/><ref name=Kempton7677b>{{harvnb|Kempton|2003b|pp=76–77}}</ref>

==Commanders==
The Mardan Brigade / Nowshera Cavalry Brigade / 1st (Risalpur) Cavalry Brigade / 1st Indian Cavalry Brigade had the following commanders:<ref name=Mackie342/>
{| class="wikitable"
! From !! Rank !! Name !! Notes
|-
| 1 January 1906<ref name=Hart1907/> || [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] || [[Malcolm Grover|M.H.S. Grover]] ||
|-
| 1 December 1907<ref name=Hart1909>{{cite web | url = https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1909lond#page/108/mode/2up | title = Hart's Annual Army List for 1909 | author = The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart | authorlink = Henry George Hart | publisher = John Murray | location = London | accessdate=22 July 2015 }}</ref> || Major-General || [[Frederick W.P. Angelo|F.W.P. Angelo]] ||
|-
| 17 November 1912<ref name=Perry35>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=35}}</ref> || Major-General || [[James G. Turner|J.G. Turner]] ||
|-
| 15 September 1914<ref name=Perry35/> || [[Brigadier-general (United Kingdom)|Brigadier-General]] || [[Sydney Francis Crocker|S.F. Crocker]] ||
|-
| 18 June 1916<ref name=Perry35/> || Brigadier-General || [[F.G.H. Davies]] ||
|-
| January 1919 || Brigadier-General || [[Pomeroy Holland-Pryor|P. Holland-Pryor]] ||
|-
| October 1921 || Brigadier-General || [[Guy Beatty|G.A.H. Beatty]] ||
|-
| April 1925 || Brigadier-General || [[Wilfrith Green|W.G.K. Green]] ||
|-
| September 1927 || [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]] || [[John Vander Byl|J. Van der Byl]] ||
|-
| September 1931 || Brigadier || [[Eric de Burgh|E. de Burgh]] ||
|-
| August 1934 || Brigadier || [[Thomas Arthur Atkinson Wilson|T.A.A. Wilson]] ||
|-
| December 1934 || Brigadier || [[Donald Kenneth McLeod|D.K. McLeod]] ||
|-
| December 1936 || Brigadier || [[Harry Macdonald (Indian Army officer)|H. Macdonald]] ||
|-
| August 1939 || Brigadier || [[A.A.E. Filose]] || Brigade dispersed in November 1940
|}

==See also==
{{portal|World War I|World War II}}

* [[List of Indian Army Brigades in World War II]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book

| last = Gaylor | first = John
| year = 1996
| edition = 2nd
| title = Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies 1903–1991
| publisher = Parapress
| location = Tunbridge Wells
| isbn = 1-898594-41-4
}}
* {{cite book

| last = Haythornthwaite | first = Philip J.
| authorlink = Philip Haythornthwaite
| year = 1996
| title = The World War One Source Book
| publisher = Arms and Armour Press
| location = London
| isbn = 1-85409-351-7
}}
* {{cite book

| last = Kempton | first = Chris
| year = 2003b
| title = 'Loyalty & Honour', The Indian Army September 1939 – August 1947
| volume = Part II Brigades
| publisher = The Military Press
| location = Milton Keynes
| isbn = 0-85420-238-2
}}
* {{cite book

| last = Kempton | first = Chris
| year = 2003c
| title = 'Loyalty & Honour', The Indian Army September 1939 – August 1947
| volume = Part III
| publisher = The Military Press
| location = Milton Keynes
| isbn = 0-85420-248-X
}}
* {{cite web

|last=Mackie
|first=Colin
|date=June 2015
|title=Army Commands 1900-2011
|publisher=www.gulabin.com
|url=http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf
|accessdate=1 July 2015
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705211343/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf
|archivedate=5 July 2015
|df=dmy
}}
* {{cite web

| last = Nafziger | first = George
| authorlink = George Nafziger
| date = n.d.
| title = The Indian Army 3 September 1939
| publisher = Combined Arms Research Library, United States Army Combined Arms Center
| location = [[Fort Leavenworth]]
| url = http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/939BIBB.pdf
| accessdate = 9 July 2015
}}
* {{cite book

| last = Perry | first = F.W.
| year = 1993
| title = Order of Battle of Divisions Part 5B. Indian Army Divisions
| publisher = Ray Westlake Military Books
| location = Newport
| isbn = 1-871167-23-X
}}

==External links==
*{{cite web|url=http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_divs/1_ind_div.htm |title=1st (Peshawar) Division on ''The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918'' by PB Chappell |accessdate=2015-07-05 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517085014/http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_divs/1_ind_div.htm |archivedate=17 May 2008 |df=dmy }}
* {{oob unit | id = 10075 | name = 1 (Risalpur) Cavalry Brigade }}

{{#seo:
|keywords=Cavalry brigades of the British Indian Army, Military units and formations established in 1906, Military units and formations disestablished in 1940, 1906 establishments in India
|description=
}}

[[Category:Brigades of India in World War I|C01]]
[[Category:Brigades of India in World War II|C01]]
[[Category:Cavalry brigades of the British Indian Army]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1906]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1940]]
[[Category:1906 establishments in India]]

1st Risalpur Cavalry Brigade - Revision history

MetaBOT at 16:09, 8 July 2023