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{{For|the Second World War formation|30th Indian Infantry Brigade}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = 30th Indian Brigade
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| dates = October 1914 – 29 April 1916
| country = {{flag|British India|23px}}
| allegiance = [[British Crown]]
| branch = {{army|British India|23px}}
| type = [[Infantry]]
| role=
| size = [[Brigade]]
| command_structure = [[10th Indian Division]]<br>[[12th Indian Division]]<br>[[6th (Poona) 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]]
:[[Mesopotamian Campaign]]
::[[Battle of Shaiba]]
::[[Battle of Ctesiphon (1915)]]
::[[Siege of Kut]]
| decorations =
| battle_honours =
| battle_honours_label =
| disbanded =
| notable_commanders = [[Brigadier general|Br.-Gen.]] [[Charles Melliss|C.J. Melliss]]
| identification_symbol =
| identification_symbol_label =
}}
The '''30th Indian Brigade''' was an [[infantry]] [[brigade]] of the [[British Indian Army]] that saw active service with the [[Indian Army during the First World War]]. It initially saw active service in Egypt in 1915, before transferring to [[Mesopotamian campaign|Mesopotamia]]. It took part in a number of battles and actions before being [[Siege of Kut|besieged at Kut]] and going into Turkish captivity in April 1916.

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

;10th Indian Division
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. After the defeat of the Turkish attempts to cross the canal, the division was dispersed and the brigade was sent to [[Mesopotamian campaign|Mesopotamia]] in March 1915.<ref name=Perry118>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=118}}</ref>
;12th Indian Division
The brigade joined the [[12th Indian Division]] in Mesopotamia in April 1915.<ref name=Perry125>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=125}}</ref> With the division, the brigade took part in the [[Battle of Shaiba]] (12–14 April), the [[Affair of Khafajiya]] (14–16 May), the [[Actions for Nasiriya]] (5, 13–14, 24 July) and the Occupation of [[Nasiriyah|Nasiriya]] (25 July).<ref name=Perry126>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=126}}</ref>
;6th (Poona) Division
The brigade was attached to the [[6th (Poona) Division]] in September 1915.<ref name=Perry74>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=74}}</ref> It took part in the [[Battle of Kut al Amara]] (28 September), the [[Battle of Ctesiphon (1915)|Battle of Ctesiphon]] (22–24 November) and the [[Affair of Umm at Tubul]] (1 December). After the Battle of Ctesiphon it was decided to withdraw the division to [[Kut]] where it was [[Siege of Kut|besieged]]. With the fall of Kut in April 1916, the brigade passed into Turkish captivity.<ref name=Perry78>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=78}}</ref>

==Order of battle==
The brigade commanded the following units in the [[First World War]]:<ref name=Perry116>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=116}}</ref><ref name=Perry124>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=124}}</ref><ref name=Perry76>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=76}}</ref>
* [[24th Punjabis]] ''(joined from [[2nd (Nowshera) Brigade]], [[1st (Peshawar) Division]] in October 1914)''
* [[76th Punjabis]] ''(joined from [[5th (Jhelum) Brigade]], [[2nd (Rawalpindi) Division]] in October 1914)''
* [[126th Baluchistan Infantry|126th Baluchis]] ''(joined from [[Chaman]], [[4th (Quetta) Division]] in October 1914; half of the battalion went to [[Aden]] and half to [[Muscat, Oman|Muscat]] in March 1915)''
* 2nd Battalion, [[7th Gurkha Rifles]] ''(joined from [[1st Quetta Brigade]], 4th (Quetta) Division in October 1914)''
* 1/4th Battalion, [[Hampshire Regiment]] ''(attached from [[33rd Indian Brigade]], May – October 1915; one [[Company (military unit)|company]] rejoined in December 1915)''
* half of 2nd Battalion, [[Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)]]{{efn|The other half of the 2nd Battalion, [[Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)]] was assigned to the [[34th Indian Brigade]], [[12th Indian Division]] in January 1916;<ref name=Perry125/> the battalion was brought back up to full strength in [[15th Indian Division]] in June 1916.<ref name=Perry134>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=134}}</ref>}} ''(joined from [[12th Indian Brigade]], [[12th Indian Division]] in November 1915)''
* half of [[67th Punjabis]] ''(attached from 12th Indian Brigade, 12th Indian Division in November 1915)''

==Commander==
The brigade was commanded throughout its existence in the First World War by [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] [[Charles Melliss|C.J. Melliss]] {{postnom|VC}}.<ref name=Perry115>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=115}}</ref><ref name=Perry123>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=123}}</ref><ref name=Perry74/> He went into captivity with his brigade.

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


==Notes==
{{notelist}}

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

==Bibliography==
* {{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/6_ind_div.htm |title=6th (Poona) Division on ''The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918'' by PB Chappell |access-date=2015-06-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517085218/http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_divs/6_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 }}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_divs/12_ind_div.htm |title=12th Indian Division on ''The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918'' by PB Chappell |access-date=2009-09-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517084906/http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_divs/12_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 1916]]

30th Indian Brigade - Revision history

Bot at 18:12, 13 April 2021