Bot at 19:21, 21 October 2022

2022-10-21T19:21:28Z

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = 23rd Sikh Pioneers
| image = Indian pioneers.png
| image_size = 300
| caption = ''[[Jemadar]] 23rd Sikh pioneers standing 4th from right''
| dates = 1857-1922
| country = {{flag|British India}}
| branch = Army
| type = Infantry
| size = Three battalions
| command_structure = [[Bengal Army]] (to 1895) [[Bengal Command]]
| garrison =
| ceremonial_chief = [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|King Edward VII]] (1904)
| ceremonial_chief_label = Colonel-in-Chief
| colonel_of_the_regiment =
| nickname =
| motto =
| colors = Drab; faced chocolate
| colors_label = Uniform
| march =
| mascot =
| battles = 1857 Siege of Delhi 1857 Siege of Lucknow 1857 Capture of Lucknow [[Battle of Taku Forts (1858)|1858 Taku Forts]] [[Battle of Taku Forts (1860)|1860 Taku Forts]] [[Battle of Palikao|1860 Palikao]] 1868 Abyssinia 1878 - 80 Afghanistan 1878 Peiwar Kotal 1879 Charasiah 1897 Kabul 1897 Chitral 1903 Tibet 1914-1918 [[First World War]] 1919 Afghanistan 1920 Iraq
| notable_commanders =
| anniversaries =
}}
The '''23rd Sikh Pioneers''' were a regiment of the [[British Indian Army]]. They could trace their origins to 1857, when they were known as the 15th (Pioneer) Regiment of Punjab Infantry.
The regiment recruited the [[Mazhabi]] [[Sikhs]] and [[Ramdasia|Ramdasia Sikhs]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.panjabdigilib.org/webuser/searches/displayPage.jsp?ID=15253&page=1&CategoryID=1&Searched=W3GX&sbtsro=1&viewall=1|title = The History of The Sikh Pioneers}}</ref> of [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab province]].
Despite being Pioneers by name, the regiment was specially trained as [[Assault Pioneer]]s.

==Brief History==
They took part in the [[Battle of Taku Forts (1858)]], the [[Battle of Taku Forts (1860)]] and the [[Battle of Palikao]] in the [[Second Opium War]]. This was followed by the [[1868 Expedition to Abyssinia]] a punitive expedition carried out by the armed forces of the [[British Empire]] against the [[Ethiopian Empire]] and Emperor [[Tewodros II of Ethiopia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/indianinfantry/23rdpioneers.htm|title = The British Empire, Imperialism, Colonialism, Colonies}}</ref>
They next took part in the [[Battle of Peiwar Kotal]], the [[Battle of Charasiab]] in the [[Second Afghan War]] in 1878. In 1903, they took part in the [[British expedition to Tibet]] an invasion of Tibet by British Indian forces, seeking to prevent the [[Russian Empire]] from interfering in Tibetan affairs.

After World War I, the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments.<ref>Sumner p.15</ref> In 1922, the 23rd Sikh Pioneers now became the 1st Battalion, [[3rd Sikh Pioneers]], they were renamed again in 1929, as the [[Corps of Sikh Pioneers]], which was disbanded in 1933. During the [[Second World War]] the regiment was reformed and named the [[Sikh Light Infantry]]. This regiment was allocated to the new [[Indian Army]] after independence.

==Colonels of the regiment==
[[File:Francis Derwent Wood - Edouard VII.jpg|thumb|left|upright|His Majesty [[King Edward VII]] became the [[Colonel-in-Chief]] of the regiment in 1904]]

*His Majesty [[King Edward VII]] - [[Colonel-in-Chief]] 1904

==Previous names==
*23rd Bengal Native Infantry - 1861
*23rd (Punjab) Bengal Native Infantry (Pioneers) - 1864
*23rd (Punjab) Bengal Infantry (Pioneers) - 1885
*23rd Punjab Pioneers - 1901
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
*{{cite book|last1=Barthorp|first1=Michael|last2=Burn|first2=Jeffrey|year=1979|title=Indian infantry regiments 1860-1914|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=0-85045-307-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Sumner|first=Ian|title=The Indian Army 1914-1947|year=2001|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=1-84176-196-6}}

[[Category:British Indian Army infantry regiments]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1857]]
[[Category:1857 establishments in India]]

{{India-mil-stub}}
{{Mil-unit-stub}}
{{BritishIndia-mil-stub}}

23rd Sikh Pioneers - Revision history

Bot at 19:21, 21 October 2022