Ajay Kumar at 06:03, 18 August 2023

2023-08-18T06:03:04Z

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{{Short description|British Army cavalry regiment}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= 20th Hussars
|image=20th Hussars Cap Badge.jpg
|caption=Badge of the 20th Hussars
|dates= 1858–1922
|country= {{flag|United Kingdom}}
|allegiance=
|branch= [[Image:Flag of the British Army.svg|23px]] [[British Army]]
|type= Cavalry
|role= Line Cavalry
|size= One Regiment
|command_structure=
|garrison=
|garrison_label=
|nickname=''Nobody's Own''<ref>From their lack of a Royal patron</ref>
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=
|colors_label=
|march=
|mascot=
|equipment=
|equipment_label=
|battles=
|anniversaries=
|decorations=
|battle_honours=
|disbanded=
|flying_hours=
|website=
|notable_commanders=
}}

The '''20th Hussars''' was a [[Cavalry regiments of the British Army|cavalry regiment]] of the [[British Army]]. After service in the [[World War I|First World War]] it was amalgamated with the [[14th King's Hussars]] to form the [[14th/20th King's Hussars]] in 1922.

==History==
===Early wars===
The regiment was originally raised in [[Bengal]] by the [[East India Company]] as the '''2nd Bengal European Light Cavalry''' in 1858, for service in the response to the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857|Indian Rebellion]].<ref name=regiments>{{cite web |url=http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/D20b(H).htm |title=20th Hussars |publisher=Regiments.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016203050/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/D20b%28H%29.htm |archive-date=16 October 2007}}</ref> It was renamed the '''2nd Bengal European Cavalry''' in 1859 and in 1862, while based in [[Mathura]], it was transferred to the British Army and renamed the '''20th Regiment of Hussars'''.<ref name=regiments/> It became the '''20th Hussars''' in 1877.<ref name=regiments/>

The regiment remained on the [[Military history of the North-West Frontier|North West Frontier]] and participated in the [[Ambela Campaign]] in autumn 1863 and the [[Hazara Expedition of 1888|Hazara Expedition]] in October 1868 before moving to England in 1872.<ref name=nam>{{cite web|url= http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/famous-units/20th-hussars|title=20th Hussars|publisher=National Army Museum|access-date=7 September 2016}}</ref> The regiment was based in Ireland from 1879 to 1884.<ref name=nam/>

[[File:Battle of Tofrek.jpg|thumb|left|The Battle of Tofrek, at which the 20th Hussars were present, March 1885]]
The regiment was sent to [[Sudan]] as part of the [[Suakin Expedition]] in February 1885 and took part in the [[Battle of Tofrek]] in March 1885<ref>Galloway, p. 64</ref> and the [[Battle of Ginnis]] in December 1885.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.savageandsoldier.com/sudan/Ginnis.html|title=The Battle of Ginnis|first=Doug|last=Johnson|publisher=Soldiers of the Queen, Issue 11|access-date=7 September 2016}}</ref> It also took part in the [[Battle of Suakin|Battle of Gemeizeh]] in December 1888 during the [[Mahdist War]] when it made a series of charges against the enemy. In this battle, three of the swords of the 20th Hussars broke short, an incident which later caused debate in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1888/dec/21/army-the-battle-at-suakin-the-broken |title=Army—The Battle at Suakin—The broken swords of the 20th Hussars|publisher=Hansard|date= 21 December 1888|access-date=7 September 2016}}</ref> It undertook another successful charge at the [[Battle of Toski]] in August 1889.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/10th-august-1889/5/the-battle-of-toski-t-he-delta-has-beaten-the-dese|title=The Battle of Toski: the delta has beaten the desert|date=10 August 1889|page=5|publisher=The Spectator|access-date=7 September 2016}}</ref> After their return to England in 1890, the regiment was awarded the battle honour "Suakin 1885" for its services in Egypt and also the battle honour "Vimiera" in respect of the earlier services of its predecessor regiment, the [[20th Light Dragoons]].<ref name=regiments/> The regiment returned to India in 1895.<ref name=nam/>

===20th century===
[[File:Christmas on the Western Front, 1914-1918 Q1627.jpg|thumb|Men of the 20th Hussars, Bailleul, December 1916]]
The regiment was not deployed to [[South Africa]] until December 1901 for service in the [[Second Boer War]] and therefore only took part in the final drives against the Boer commandos in spring 1902.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.angloboerwar.com/unit-information/imperial-units/512-20th-hussars|title=20 th Hussars|publisher=Anglo-Boer War|access-date=7 September 2016}}</ref> The regiment was based in Ireland again from 1908 to 1911.<ref name=nam/>

The regiment, which was based in [[Colchester]] at the start of the [[World War I|First World War]], landed in [[France]] as part of the [[5th Cavalry Brigade (United Kingdom)|5th Cavalry Brigade]] in the [[2nd Cavalry Division (United Kingdom)|2nd Cavalry Division]] in August 1914 for service on the [[Western Front (World War I)|First World War]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.1914-1918.net/hussars.htm|title=The Hussars|publisher=The Long, Long Trail|access-date=7 September 2016}}</ref> The regiment saw action at the [[Battle of Mons]] in August 1914<ref>Darling, p. 8</ref> and both the [[First Battle of the Marne]] and the [[First Battle of the Aisne]] in September 1914.<ref>Darling, p. 33</ref> It went on fight at the [[First Battle of Ypres]] in October 1914,<ref>Darling, p. 41</ref> the [[Battle of Arras (1917)|Battle of Arras]] in April 1917<ref>Darling, p. 73</ref> and the [[Battle of Cambrai (1917)|Battle of Cambrai]] in November 1917.<ref>Darling, p. 85</ref> It later took part in the [[German spring offensive]] in 1918,<ref>Darling, p. 93</ref> the [[Battle of Amiens (1918)|Battle of Amiens]] in August 1918<ref>Darling, p. 106</ref> and the final push as the war drew to a close.<ref>Darling, p. 117</ref>

A nationalist uprising in Turkey caused the allies to send troops to [[Istanbul|Constantinople]]. The regiment was deployed to the [[İzmit]] peninsula in 1920 as part of a formation under General [[Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside|Sir Edmund Ironside]]'s command. The regiment charged Turkish positions in July near the village of [[Gebze]] and successfully routed the enemy. Although mounted action did take place in [[Syria]] during the [[World War II|Second World War]], this was the last regimental charge ever made by British cavalry. The regiment suffered one casualty, although several horses were also wounded.<ref>Paget, pp. 349-52</ref><ref>Carver, pp. 133–135</ref> The regiment was amalgamated in 1922 with the [[14th King's Hussars]] to form the [[14th/20th King's Hussars]].<ref name=regiments/>

==Regimental museum==
The [[Museum of Lancashire#Collections|Museum of the 14th/20th King's Hussars]] was in the [[Museum of Lancashire]] in [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]] until it closed in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/media/464583/Access-statement-Museum-of-Lancashire.pdf|title=Access Statement for the Museum of Lancashire|publisher=Lancashire County Council|access-date=3 June 2018|pages=4–5}}</ref>

==Battle honours==
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:<ref name=regiments/>
*''Early wars'': Vimiera, Peninsula, Suakin 1885, [[Second Boer War|South Africa 1901-02]]
*''The Great War'': Mons, [[Retreat from Mons]]; [[Marne 1914]]; [[Aisne 1914]]; [[Battle of Messines (1914)|Messines]] 1914; [[Ypres 1914]], 1915; Neuve Chapelle; St. Julien; Bellewaarde; [[Arras 1917]]; [[Scarpe 1917]]; [[Cambrai 1917]], 1918; Somme 1918; [[Saint-Quentin, Aisne|Saint-Quentin]]; Lys; [[Hazebrouck]]; [[Amiens]]; [[Albert, Somme|Albert]] 1918; Bapaume 1918; Hindenburg Line; St. Quentin Canal; Beaurevoir; Sambre, [[France and Flanders 1914–18]]

==Regimental Colonels==
Colonels of the Regiment were:<ref name=regiments/>
;2nd Bengal European Light Cavalry
*1858–1862: Lt-Gen. Thomas Shubrick
;20th Regiment of Hussars (1862)
*1862–1870: Lt-Gen. Charles Montauban Carmichael, CB
*1870–1883: Gen. [[Michael William Smith]]
;20th Hussars
*1883–1891: Lt-Gen. Richard Knox
*1891–1910: Lt-Gen. [[Sir Roger Palmer, 5th Baronet|Sir Roger William Henry Palmer, Bt]]
*1910–1920: Maj-Gen. [[Hugh Sutlej Gough]], CB, CMG
*1920–1922: Gen. Sir [[George Barrow (Indian Army officer)|George De Symons Barrow]], GCB, KCMG (to [[14th/20th Hussars]])
*''1921 disbanded''
*''1922: one squadron re-formed and amalgamated with [[14th King's Hussars]], to form the [[14th/20th Hussars]]''

==See also==
*[[British cavalry during the First World War]]
*[[White mutiny]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book|last=Carver|first= Field Marshal Lord|title=Britain's Army in the 20th Century |year=1998|publisher= Macmillan Publishers |isbn= 0-330-37200-9}}
*{{cite book| last=Darling|first=Major J. C. | title=20th Hussars in the Great War |year= 2003|publisher=Naval & Military Press|isbn=1-84342-538-6}}
*{{cite book|last= Galloway |first=W.|title=The Battle of Tofrek, fought near Suakin, March 22nd 1885|year=1887|publisher= Naval & Military Press|isbn=9781781490471|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BxK-BAAAQBAJ}}
*{{cite book|last=Paget|first=Henry, Marquess of Anglesey|title= History of the British Cavalry, 1816–1919 |volume=8|publisher=Leo Cooper, London|year= 1997|isbn=978-0850524673}}

{{King's Royal Hussars}}
{{British Cavalry Regiments World War I}}

[[Category:Cavalry regiments of the British Army]]
[[Category:Hussar regiments of the British Army]]
[[Category:Cavalry regiments of the British Army in World War I|H20]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1922]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1862]]
[[Category:1862 establishments in the United Kingdom]]

20th Hussars - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 06:03, 18 August 2023