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{{Use British English|date=July 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Sialkot Cavalry Brigade 2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade 2nd Indian Cavalry Brigade Sialkot Brigade Area
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| dates = 12 April 1904 – March 1918 June 1920 – January 1940
| country = {{flag|British India|23px}}
| allegiance = [[British Crown]]
| branch = {{army|British India|23px}}
| type = [[Cavalry]]
| role =
| size = [[Brigade]]
| command_structure = [[2nd (Rawalpindi) Division]] [[1st Indian Cavalry Division]]
| garrison = [[Sialkot]]
| garrison_label = Peacetime HQ
| nickname =
| patron =
| motto =
| march =
| mascot =
| anniversaries =
| equipment =
| equipment_label =
| battles = [[First World War]]
:[[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]
::[[Battle of Cambrai (1917)]]
| decorations =
| battle_honours =
| battle_honours_label =
| disbanded =
| notable_commanders = [[Brigadier-General|Br.-Gen.]] [[Bryan Mahon|B.T. Mahon]]
| identification_symbol =
| identification_symbol_label =
}}
The '''Sialkot Cavalry Brigade''' was a [[cavalry]] [[brigade]] of the [[British Indian Army]] formed in 1904 as a result of the [[Kitchener Reforms]]. It was mobilized as '''2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade''' at the outbreak of the [[First World War]] as part of the [[1st Indian Cavalry Division]] and departed for France. It served on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] with the division until it was broken up in March 1918.

The brigade was reformed in June 1920 and broken up in January 1940.

==History==
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 '''Sialkot Brigade''' (also referred to as ''[[Sialkote]] Brigade'') was formed in April 1904{{efn|name=Formed|12 April 1904 was the appointment date of the brigade's first commanding officer.<ref name=Hart1906>{{cite web | url = https://archive.org/stream/hartsannualarmy1906hart#page/101/mode/2up | title = Hart's Annual Army List for 1906 | author = The late Lieutenant General H.G. Hart | authorlink = Henry George Hart | publisher = John Murray | location = London | access-date=3 July 2015 }}</ref>}} as a result of the Kitchener Reforms. The brigade formed part of the [[2nd (Rawalpindi) Division]].<ref name=Hart1906/> By the outbreak of the [[First World War]] it was designated as '''Sialkot Cavalry Brigade'''.<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 |access-date=2009-10-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509080005/http://www.orbat.com/site/history/historical/india/army1914.html |archive-date=9 May 2013 |df=dmy }}</ref>

;2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade
[[File:17th Lancers advancing.jpg|thumb|The 17th Lancers advancing, wearing their early-war uniform, postcard after [[Harry Payne (artist)|Harry Payne]]]]
In September 1914, the brigade was mobilized as the '''2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade''' and assigned to the [[1st Indian Cavalry Division]].<ref name=Perry40>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=40}}</ref> With the division, it departed [[Bombay]] on 16 October 1914 and landed at [[Marseilles]] on 7 November. However, the brigade did not reach the [[Western Front (World War I)|Front]] until 8–10 December due to horse sickness. While in France, the brigade was known by its geographical rather than numerical designation so as to avoid confusion with the British [[2nd Cavalry Brigade (United Kingdom)|2nd Cavalry Brigade]] also serving on the Western Front at the same time.<ref name=Perry16>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=16}}</ref>

Other than the [[Battle of Cambrai (1917)|Battle of Cambrai]] when it helped to hold the German counter-attack, it was not involved in battle. Instead, it was held in reserve in case of a breakthrough, although it did send parties to the trenches on a number of occasions. They would hold the line, or act as [[Pioneer (military)|Pioneers]]; such parties were designated as the '''Sialkot Battalion'''.<ref name=Perry16/>

;Dissolved
In March 1918, the brigade was broken up in France. The British units ([[17th (Duke of Cambridge's Own) Lancers]] and [[Q Battery, Royal Horse Artillery]]) remained in France and the Indian elements were sent to Egypt.<ref name=Perry16/> On 24 April 1918, these were merged with the [[22nd Mounted Brigade]] of the [[Yeomanry Mounted Division]].<ref name=Becke33>{{harvnb|Becke|1936|p=33}}</ref> On 22 July 1918 the 22nd Mounted Brigade was redesignated as [[12th Cavalry Brigade (British Indian Army)|12th Cavalry Brigade]] and the division as [[4th Cavalry Division (British Indian Army)|4th Cavalry Division]].<ref name=Perry22>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=22}}</ref>

;Reformed
The Sialkot Cavalry Brigade was reformed in June 1920. In September 1920 it was designated as the '''2nd Indian Cavalry Brigade''' and renamed as '''2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade''' in
1927.<ref name=Mackie345>{{harvnb|Mackie|2015|p=345}}</ref> By the outbreak of the [[Second World War]] it was resdesignated as '''Sialkot Brigade Area'''<ref name=Nafziger>{{harvnb|Nafziger|n.d.|p=3}}</ref>{{efn|The brigade was still designated as ''2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade'' on 9 June 1938.<ref>{{London Gazette | issue = 34518 | date = 9 June 1938 |page=3688 | supp = y }}</ref>}} and it was broken up again in January 1940.<ref name=Mackie345/>

==Orders of battle==
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%; background:transparent;"
!In India in August 1914
|-
|At the outbreak of the [[First World War]], the brigade had the following composition:<ref name=Watson/><ref name=Perry42>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=42}}</ref>
* [[17th (Duke of Cambridge's Own) Lancers]]
* [[6th King Edward's Own Cavalry]]
* [[19th Lancers (Fane's Horse)]]
* 1st Battalion, [[Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment)]] ''(transferred to [[Delhi]] in October 1914)''
* [[32nd Sikh Pioneers]] ''(remained at [[Sialkot]] in September 1914)''
|}
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%; background:transparent;"
!Western Front
|-
|The brigade's composition on the Western Front included:<ref name=Perry14>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=14}}</ref>
* [[17th (Duke of Cambridge's Own) Lancers]]
* [[6th King Edward's Own Cavalry]]
* [[19th Lancers (Fane's Horse)]]
* [[Q Battery, Royal Horse Artillery]] ''(joined in September 1914 from [[VIII Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery]] at [[Peshawar]])''{{efn|[[Q Battery, Royal Horse Artillery]] was assigned to [[II Indian Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery]] but in practice was permanently attached to the brigade.<ref name=Perry14/>}}
* Sialkot Signal Troop, [[Royal Engineers]]<ref>{{cite web|access-date=19 September 2012 |publisher=Commonwealth War Graves Commission |title=Battle of Ypres |url=http://www.cwgc.org/ypres/content.asp?id=33&menu=subsub |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120914181116/http://www.cwgc.org/ypres/content.asp?id=33&menu=subsub |archive-date=14 September 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref>
* 10th [[Machine Gun Corps|Machine Gun Squadron]] ''(joined after February 1916)''{{efn|10th [[Machine Gun]] [[Squadron (army)|Squadron]] was formed after February 1916 by combining the machine gun sections of the [[17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own)]], [[6th King Edward's Own Cavalry]] and [[19th Lancers (Fane's Horse)]].<ref name=LLT_Cav_MGC>{{cite web | url=http://www.1914-1918.net/mgccav.html | title=Cavalry units of the Machine Gun Corps | publisher=The Long Long Trail | last=Baker | first=Chris | access-date=18 July 2015}}</ref>}}
|}
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%; background:transparent;"
!Sialkot Brigade Area on 3 September 1939
|-
|At the outbreak of the [[Second World War]], the brigade area had the following units under command:<ref name=Nafziger/>
* [[3rd Dragoon Guards]] ''(at [[Khanspur|Khanspur Hill]])''
* [[13th Lancers]]
* 10th Battalion, [[12th Frontier Force Regiment]]{{efn|10th Battalion, [[12th Frontier Force Regiment]] was the Training Battalion<ref name=Gaylor172>{{harvnb|Gaylor|1996|p=172}}</ref> / Regimental Centre<ref name=Gaylor358>{{harvnb|Gaylor|1996|p=358}}</ref> of the 12th Frontier Force Regiment.}}
* 10th Battalion, [[16th Punjab Regiment]]{{efn|10th Battalion, [[16th Punjab Regiment]] was the Training Battalion<ref name=Gaylor186>{{harvnb|Gaylor|1996|p=186}}</ref> / Regimental Centre<ref name=Gaylor360>{{harvnb|Gaylor|1996|p=360}}</ref> of the 16th Punjab Regiment.}}
|}

==Commanders==
The Sialkot Cavalry Brigade / 2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade had the following commanders:<ref name=Mackie345/><ref name=Perry12>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=12}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
! From !! Rank !! Name !! Notes
|-
| 12 April 1904<ref name=Hart1906/> || [[Brigadier-General]] || [[Bryan Mahon|B.T. Mahon]] ||
|-
| April 1908 || [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] || [[Arthur Phayre (Indian Army officer)|A. Phayre]] ||
|-
| 1 June 1911 || Brigadier-General || [[Henry Peregrine Leader|H.P. Leader]] ||
|-
| 6 January 1916 || Brigadier-General || [[Laurence Lockhart Maxwell|L.L. Maxwell]] || Broken up in March 1918
|-
| June 1920 || Brigadier-General || [[Charles Herbert Rankin|C.H. Rankin]] || Brigade reformed
|-
| June 1924 || Brigadier-General || [[Cyril Rodney Harbord|C.R. Harbord]] ||
|-
| June 1928 || [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]] || [[Charles R. Terrot|C.R. Terrot]] ||
|-
| June 1932 || Brigadier || [[Thomas Arthur Atkinson Wilson|T.A.A. Wilson]] ||
|-
| August 1934 || Brigadier || [[Frederick Gwatkin|F. Gwatkin]] ||
|-
| August 1938 || Brigadier || [[Thomas Corbett (Indian Army officer)|T.W. Corbett]] || Broken up in January 1940
|}

==See also==
{{portal|World War I}}
* [[Indian Cavalry Corps order of battle First World War]]
* [[Indian Expeditionary Force A]]


==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 = 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 = Griffith | first = Paddy
| year = 1998
| title = British Fighting Methods in the Great War
| publisher = Routledge
| location =
| isbn = 978-071463495-1
}}
* {{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 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
|access-date=1 July 2015
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705211343/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf
|archive-date=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
| access-date = 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
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Rinaldi | first = Richard A
| year = 2008
| title = Order of Battle of the British Army 1914
| publisher = Ravi Rikhye
| isbn = 978-0-97760728-0
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hzUZ-26KYQ4C
}}

==External links==
*{{cite web|url=http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_divs/2_ind_div.htm |title=2nd (Rawalpindi) 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/20080517124322/http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_divs/2_ind_div.htm |archive-date=17 May 2008 |df=dmy }}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_cav/1_ind_cav_div.htm |title=1st Indian Cavalry Division on ''The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918'' by PB Chappell |access-date=2008-05-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517085204/http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_cav/1_ind_cav_div.htm |archive-date=17 May 2008 |df=dmy }}
* {{cite web | url=http://www.1914-1918.net/1cavdiv_indian.htm | title=The 1st Indian Cavalry Division in 1914-1918 | last=Baker | first=Chris | publisher=The Long Long Trail | access-date=19 July 2015 }}
* {{oob unit | id = 14965 | name = 2 (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade }}

[[Category:Brigades of India in World War I|C02]]
[[Category:Cavalry brigades of the British Indian Army]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1904]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1918]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1920]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1940]]

2nd Sialkot Cavalry Brigade - Revision history

Bot at 11:23, 18 February 2021