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{{Short description|Division of the British Indian Army during World War I}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{infobox military unit
|unit_name=2nd Indian Cavalry Division
|image=
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|dates=September 1914 – March 1918
|country= [[British Raj|British India]]
|allegiance= [[British Crown]]
|branch= [[British Indian Army]]
|type= [[Cavalry]]
|role=
|size= [[Division (military)|Division]]
|command_structure= [[Indian Cavalry Corps]]
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|battles=[[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] in [[World War I]]
:[[Battle of the Somme]]
:[[Battle of Bazentin Ridge]]
:[[Battle of Flers-Courcelette]]
:[[Hindenburg Line]]
:[[Battle of Cambrai (1917)|Battle of Cambrai]]
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The '''2nd Indian Cavalry Division''' was a division of the [[British Indian Army]] formed at the outbreak of [[World War I]]. It served on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], being renamed as '''5th Cavalry Division''' on 26 November 1916.<ref name=Perry18>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=18}}</ref> In March 1918, the 5th Cavalry Division was broken up. The British and Canadian units remained in France and the Indian elements were sent to Egypt to help constitute [[5th Cavalry Division (British Indian Army)|2nd Mounted Division]].<ref name=Perry19>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=19}}</ref>

==History==
The division sailed for [[France]] from [[Bombay]] on 16 October 1914, under the command of Major General G A Cookson. During the war the division would serve in the trenches as infantry. Due to the difference on troop levels each cavalry brigade, once dismounted, formed a dismounted regiment.

In March 1916 the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division was attached to the [[British Fourth Army]].
On 1 July 1916 the 9th (Secunderabad) Cavalry Brigade moved into a reserve position on the [[Somme (department)|Somme]], ready to exploit any breakthrough. The same brigade was sent up again on 14 July, to [[Montauban]] to support the attack on the [[Bazentin]] – [[Longueval]] ridge. At 17.30 the leading two regiments were ordered to advance between [[High Wood]] and [[Delville Wood]].
The British 7th Dragoon Guards and the Indian 20th Deccan Horse galloped forward to a position between the woods, but little could be achieved. At 03.30 on 15 July, they returned to Montauban, having suffered casualties of 74 men and 110 horses. Cavalry units were again brought forward on 15 September to support the attack on [[Battle of Flers-Courcelette|Flers-Courcelette]], but were not drawn into the fighting and played no further part in the Battle of the Somme except as labour units in reserve.
The high number of officer casualties suffered early on had an effect on its later performance. British officers that understood the language, customs, and psychology of their men could not be quickly replaced, and the alien environment of the Western Front had some effect on the soldiers.<ref>{{harvnb|Haythornthwaite|1996}}</ref>
The 2nd Indian Cavalry Division was renamed the '''5th Cavalry Division''' on 26 November 1916 and attached to the 5th Army.<ref name=LLT>{{cite web|publisher=The Long Long Trail|access-date=14 May 2013|last=Baker|first=Chris|title=The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line|url=http://www.1914-1918.net/bat17.htm}}</ref> In March 1918 the division was transferred to Egypt,<ref>{{harvnb|Sumner|2001|p=9}}</ref> although its two British regular cavalry regiments (8th Hussars and 7th Dragoon Guards) remained in France.

==Order of battle==
'''[[5th (Mhow) Cavalry Brigade]]''' ''(left on 15 September 1915 for [[1st Indian Cavalry Division]])''
* [[6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons]]
* [[2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)]]
* [[38th King George's Own Central India Horse]]
* [[X Battery, Royal Horse Artillery]]

'''[[7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade]]''' ''(left in June 1916 for [[Mesopotamian campaign|Mesopotamia]])''
[[File:13th Hussars horselines and bivouacs Aire, France (Photo 24-108).jpg|thumb|right|[[13th Hussars]] horselines and bivouacs Aire, France, 25 July 1915]]
* [[13th Hussars]]
* [[3rd Skinner's Horse]]
* [[18th King George's Own Tiwana Lancers]] ''(transferred in June 1916 to 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade)''
* [[30th Lancers (Gordon's Horse)]] ''(joined in June 1916 from 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade)''
* [[V Battery, Royal Horse Artillery]]
* 15th [[Machine Gun]] [[Squadron (army)|Squadron]] ''(joined in February 1916)''

'''[[9th (Secunderabad) Cavalry Brigade]]'''
[[File:Deccan Horse, Bazentin Ridge 1916.jpg|thumb|right|[[Battle of Bazentin Ridge]], [[Battle of the Somme]]: the [[20th Deccan Horse]] drawn up in ranks in the Carnoy Valley waiting for the opportunity to attack.]]
* [[7th (Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards]]
* [[20th Deccan Horse]]
* [[34th Prince Albert Victor's Own Poona Horse]]
* [[N Battery, Royal Horse Artillery]]
* 13th Machine Gun Squadron ''(joined on 29 February 1916)''

'''[[3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade]]''' ''(joined on 15 September 1915 from 1st Indian Cavalry Division)''
[[File:Hodsons Horse France 1917 IWM Q 2061.jpg|thumb|right|Forward scouts of the [[9th Hodson's Horse]] pause to consult a map, near [[Vraignes-en-Vermandois|Vraignes]], France in April 1917]]
* [[8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars]]
* [[9th Hodson's Horse]]
* [[30th Lancers (Gordon's Horse)]] ''(transferred in June 1916 to 7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade)''
* [[18th King George's Own Lancers]] ''(joined in June 1916 from 7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade)''
* [[X Battery, Royal Horse Artillery]]
* 14th Machine Gun Squadron ''(joined on 29 February 1916)''

'''[[Canadian Cavalry Brigade]]''' ''(joined on 17 June 1916 from [[3rd Cavalry Division (United Kingdom)|3rd Cavalry Division]])''
* [[Royal Canadian Dragoons]]
* [[Lord Strathcona's Horse]]
* [[Fort Garry Horse]]
* [[Royal Canadian Horse Artillery]] Brigade (A and B Batteries, RCHA)
* Canadian Cavalry Brigade Machine Gun Squadron

'''[[II Indian Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery]]''' ''([[XVII Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery]] from 26 November 1916)''
* [[N Battery, Royal Horse Artillery]] ''(with 9th (Secunderabad) Cavalry Brigade)''
* [[X Battery, Royal Horse Artillery]] ''(with 7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade, to Mesopotamia with brigade)''
* [[X Battery, Royal Horse Artillery]] ''(with 5th (Mhow) Cavalry Brigade then 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade)''
* II Indian RHA Brigade Ammunition Column

==See also==
{{portal|World War I}}
* [[British cavalry during the First World War]]
* [[List of Indian divisions in World War I]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book
| last = Haythornthwaite | first = Philip J.
| year = 1996
| title = The World War One Source Book
| publisher = Arms and Armour Press
| location = London
| isbn = 1-85409-351-7
}}
* {{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
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Preston | first = R.M.P.
| year = 1921
| title = The Desert Mounted Corps: An Account of the Cavalry Operations in Palestine and Syria 1917–1918
| url = https://archive.org/details/desertmountedco00presgoog
| publisher = Constable & Co.
| location = London
| oclc = 3900439
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Sumner | first = Ian
| year = 2001
| title = The Indian Army 1914–1947
| publisher = Osprey Publishing
| isbn = 1-84176-196-6
}}
*{{cite book |ref={{harvid|Wavell|1933}}|chapter=The Palestine Campaigns |last=Wavell |first=Field Marshal Earl|author-link=Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|editor-last=Sheppard|editor-first=Eric William |edition=4th |title=A Short History of the British Army |year=1968|orig-year=1933|publisher=Constable & Co. |location=London|oclc=35621223}}

==External links==
*{{cite web|url=http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_cav/2_ind_cav_div.htm |title=2nd Indian Cavalry Division on ''The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918'' by PB Chappell |access-date=2016-03-05 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517085102/http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_cav/2_ind_cav_div.htm |archive-date=17 May 2008 |df=dmy }}

{{Indian Divisions in World War I}}
{{Indian Expeditionary Forces}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:C2}}
[[Category:British Indian Army divisions]]
[[Category:Indian World War I divisions]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1914]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1918]]
[[Category:British cavalry divisions]]
[[Category:1914 establishments in India]]

2nd Indian Cavalry Division - Revision history

Bot at 04:50, 9 February 2022