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{{For|the Second World War formation|28th Indian Infantry Brigade}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = 28th Indian Brigade
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| dates = 19 October 1914 – February 1920
| country = {{flag|British India|23px}}
| allegiance = [[British Crown]]
| branch = {{army|British India|23px}}
| type = [[Infantry]]
| role =
| size = [[Brigade]]
| command_structure = [[10th Indian Division]]<br>[[7th (Meerut) Division]]
| garrison =
| garrison_label =
| nickname =
| patron =
| motto =
| march =
| mascot =
| anniversaries =
| equipment =
| equipment_label =
| battles = [[First World War]]
:[[Sinai and Palestine Campaign]]
::[[Raid on the Suez Canal|Actions on the Suez Canal]]
::[[Battle of Sharon]]
:[[South Arabia during World War I|South Arabia]]
:[[Mesopotamian Campaign]]
::[[Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad]]
::[[Battle of Wadi (1916)]]
::[[Battle of Hanna]]
::[[Second Battle of Kut]]
::[[Fall of Baghdad (1917)]]
| decorations =
| battle_honours =
| battle_honours_label =
| disbanded =
| notable_commanders = [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Maj.-Gen.]] [[George Younghusband|G.J. Younghusband]]<br>Maj.-Gen. [[George Kemball|G.V. Kemball]]
| identification_symbol =
| identification_symbol_label =
}}
The '''28th Indian Brigade'''{{efn|The brigade is sometimes referred to as the ''28th (Frontier Force) Brigade'' due to its composition of [[Frontier Force (disambiguation)|Frontier Force]] regiments.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pakistanarmy.gov.pk/AWPReview/TextContent.aspx?pId=158&rnd=458 | title=Frontier Force Regiment | publisher=[[Pakistan Army]] | website=Official website | access-date=28 June 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707044349/https://www.pakistanarmy.gov.pk/AWPReview/TextContent.aspx?pId=158&rnd=458 | archive-date=7 July 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref>}} was an [[infantry]] [[brigade]] of the [[British Indian Army]] that saw active service with the [[Indian Army during the First World War]]. Formed in October 1914, it defended the [[Suez Canal]] in early 1915, ended the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] threat to [[Aden]] in July 1915, took part in the [[Mesopotamian Campaign]] in 1916 and 1917, before finishing the war in the [[Sinai and Palestine Campaign]]. It remained in Palestine until it was broken up in 1920.

==History==
;Egypt and Aden
The 28th Indian Brigade was formed in October 1914 as part of [[Indian Expeditionary Force F]] (along with the [[29th Indian Brigade|29th]] and [[30th Indian Brigade]]s) and sent to Egypt.<ref name=Perry172>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=172}}</ref>

After arriving in Egypt, it joined the [[10th Indian Division]] when it was formed on 24 December. It served on the [[Suez Canal]] Defences, notably taking part in the [[Raid on the Suez Canal|Actions on the Suez Canal]] on 3–4 February 1915.<ref name=Perry118>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=118}}</ref> In July 1915, the brigade was detached to [[Aden]] with [[1/B Battery, Honourable Artillery Company|1/B Battery, HAC]] and [[1/1st Berkshire Royal Horse Artillery|1/1st Berkshire Battery, RHA]]. They fought a sharp action at [[Sheikh Othman]] on 20 July that removed the [[South Arabia during World War I|Turkish threat to Aden]] for the rest of the war,<ref name=Farndale357>{{harvnb|Farndale|1988|p=357}}</ref> before returning to Egypt in September. In November 1915, the brigade left the division and moved to [[Mesopotamian campaign|Mesopotamia]].<ref name=Perry117>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=117}}</ref>

;Mesopotamia
The brigade joined the [[7th (Meerut) Division]] in December 1915 and, other than a short attachment to the [[3rd (Lahore) Division]] (16 January 1916 to the end of the month),<ref name=Perry49>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=49}}</ref> remained with the division for the rest of the war.<ref name=Perry84>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=84}}</ref>

Initially, the division and brigade were heavily involved in the (ultimately futile) attempts to relieve the [[6th (Poona) Division]] [[Siege of Kut|besieged at Kut]], including the [[Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad|Action of Shaikh Saad]] (6–8 January 1916), the [[Battle of Wadi (1916)|Action of the Wadi]] (13 January), the [[Battle of Hanna|First action on the Hanna]] (21 January), and the First, Second and Third attacks on Sannaiyat (6, 9 and 22 April).<ref name=Perry89>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=89}}</ref> The 6th (Poona) Division surrendered on 29 April 1916.<ref name=Perry76>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=76}}</ref>

In 1917, the brigade took part in the [[Second Battle of Kut]] including the Capture of Sannaiyat (17–24 February) and the following advance to [[Baghdad]] including the Operations on the Tigris right bank (9–10 March), and the [[Fall of Baghdad (1917)|Occupation of Baghdad]] (11 March). The brigade then advanced to [[Samarra]] including the Actions of Mushahida (14 March), the action of Istabulat (21–22 April) and the [[Samarra offensive|Occupation of Samarra]] (24 April). The brigade's final action in Mesopotamia was the action of Daur (2 November).<ref name=Perry90>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=90}}</ref>

;Sinai and Palestine
In December 1917, it was decided to transfer a division to Egypt and the 7th (Meerut) Division was selected. It arrived in January 1918, and on 1 April took over the line from [[52nd (Lowland) Division]] (transferred to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]).<ref name=Becke115>{{harvnb|Becke|1936|p=115}}</ref> The brigade remained in Palestine for the rest of the war, taking part in the [[Battle of Megiddo (1918)|Battles of Megiddo]] (18 September – 31 October 1918), in particular the [[Battle of Sharon]].<ref name=Perry90/>

After the [[Armistice of Mudros]], the brigade remained with the division as part of the [[Occupied Enemy Territory Administration|occupation of Palestine]] until broken up in February 1920.<ref name=Perry90/>

==Order of battle==
The brigade had the following composition during the [[First World War]]:<ref name=Perry116>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=116}}</ref><ref name=Perry8687>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|pp=86–87}}</ref>
* [[51st Sikhs (Frontier Force)]] ''(joined from [[Dargai]], [[1st (Peshawar) Division]])''
* [[53rd Sikhs (Frontier Force)]] ''(joined from [[Kohat Brigade]])''
* [[56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force)]] ''(joined from Kohat Brigade)''
* 1st Battalion, [[5th Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force)]] ''(joined from [[3rd (Abbottabad) Brigade]], [[2nd (Rawalpindi) Division]]; left in May 1915 for [[29th Indian Brigade]])''
* [[125th Napier's Rifles]] ''(joined in June 1915 from [[21st (Bareilly) Brigade]], [[7th (Meerut) Division]]; left on 12 June 1915 for [[22nd (Lucknow) Brigade]], [[11th Indian Division]])''
* [[62nd Punjabis]] ''(joined on 9 July 1915 from 22nd (Lucknow) Brigade, 11th Indian Division; left in September for [[Aden]])''
* 2nd Battalion, [[Leicestershire Regiment]] ''(joined on 17 November 1915 in Egypt from [[20th (Garhwal) Brigade]], 7th (Meerut) Division)''
* Provisional Battalion, [[Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry]] ''(attached January to June 1916)''{{efn|The Provisional Battalion, [[Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry]] was formed from drafts<ref name=Perry88>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=88}}</ref> of the 1st Battalion, OBLI [[Siege of Kut|besieged at Kut]] with the [[6th (Poona) Division]].<ref name=Perry76/>}}
* 136th Machine Gun Company ''(joined in August 1916; in March 1918 joined the divisional 7th Machine Gun Battalion)''
* 28th Light [[Trench mortar|Trench Mortar]] Battery ''('F' Light Trench Mortar Battery joined the division in September 1917 and assigned to the brigade in December)''

==Commanders==
The brigade had the following commanders:<ref name=Perry115>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=115}}</ref><ref name=Perry84/>
{| class="wikitable"
! From !! Rank !! Name
|-
| 19 October 1914 || [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] || [[George Younghusband|G.J. Younghusband]]
|-
| 23 December 1915 || Major-General || [[George Kemball|G.V. Kemball]]
|-
| 7 April 1916 || [[Brigadier-General]] || [[A. M. S. Elsmie|A.M.S. Elsmie]]
|-
| 6 July 1916 || Brigadier-General || [[C.H. Davies]]
|}

==See also==
{{portal|World War I}}
* [[Force in Egypt]]


==Notes==
{{notelist}}

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

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book
| last = Becke | first = Major A.F.
| year = 1936
| title = Order of Battle of Divisions Part 2A. The Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territorial Force Divisions (42–56)
| publisher = [[His Majesty's Stationery Office]]
| location = London
| isbn = 1-871167-12-4
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Farndale | first = General Sir Martin
| authorlink = Martin Farndale
| year = 1988
| series = History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery
| title = The Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base, 1914–18
| publisher = The Royal Artillery Institution
| location = Woolwich
| isbn = 1-870114-05-1
}}
* {{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/7_ind_div.htm |title=7th (Meerut) Division on ''The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918'' by PB Chappell |access-date=2015-07-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517124514/http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_divs/7_ind_div.htm |archive-date=17 May 2008 |df=dmy }}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_divs/10_ind_div.htm |title=10th Indian Division on ''The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918'' by PB Chappell |access-date=2015-06-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517084941/http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_divs/10_ind_div.htm |archive-date=17 May 2008 |df=dmy }}

{{Indian Expeditionary Forces}}

[[Category:Brigades of India in World War I]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1914]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1920]]

28th Indian Brigade - Revision history

Bot at 17:08, 14 September 2021