>Dicklyon at 00:53, 21 April 2021

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{{For|the Second World War formation|34th Indian States Forces Infantry Brigade}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = 34th Indian Brigade
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| dates = December 1915 – August 1923
| country = {{flag|British India|23px}}
| allegiance = [[British Crown]]
| branch = {{army|British India|23px}}
| type = [[Infantry]]
| role =
| size = [[Brigade]]
| command_structure = [[12th Indian Division]]<br>[[15th Indian Division]]<br>[[17th Indian Division]]
| garrison =
| garrison_label =
| nickname =
| patron =
| motto =
| march =
| mascot =
| anniversaries =
| equipment =
| equipment_label =
| battles = [[First World War]]
:[[Mesopotamian Campaign]]
::[[Battle of Sharqat]]
| decorations =
| battle_honours =
| battle_honours_label =
| disbanded =
| notable_commanders = [[Brigadier general|Br.-Gen.]] [[Arthur Grenfell Wauchope|A.G. Wauchope]]<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=30134 |supp=y |page=5966 |date=16 June 1917}}</ref>
| identification_symbol =
| identification_symbol_label =
}}
The '''34th Indian Brigade''' was an [[infantry]] [[brigade]] of the [[British Indian Army]] that saw active service in the [[Mesopotamian campaign]] in the [[Indian Army during the First World War]]. It was reformed for the [[Second World War]] as the ''34th Indian States Forces Infantry Brigade''.<ref name=Kempton41>{{harvnb|Kempton|2003b|p=41}}</ref>

==History==
;12th Indian Division
The 34th Indian Brigade was formed in [[Mesopotamian campaign|Mesopotamia]] in December 1915 with four [[battalion]]s newly arrived from India. It joined the [[12th Indian Division]] to replace the [[33rd Indian Brigade]] that was broken up on 7 December.<ref name=Perry123>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=123}}</ref> While with the division, it took part in the [[Affair of Butaniya]] on 14 January 1916. The division never reached full strength as units were constantly detached to support the efforts to relieve the [[6th (Poona) Division]] [[Siege of Kut|besieged at Kut]].<ref name=Perry126>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=126}}</ref> The division was broken up on 10 March 1916 and the brigade joined Corps Troops before it was posted to the new [[15th Indian Division]] in May 1916.<ref name=Perry124>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=124}}</ref>
;15th Indian Division
The 15th Indian Division was formed on 7 May 1916 to replace the 12th Indian Division on the Euphrates Front; the brigade joined the division on formation. It remained with the division on the Euphrates Front until August 1917. The only significant action that the brigade took part in as part of the 15th Indian Division was the [[action of As Sahilan]] on 11 September 1916.<ref name=Perry136>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=136}}</ref>
;17th Indian Division
The brigade joined the newly formed [[17th Indian Division]], swapping places with the [[50th Indian Brigade]].<ref name=Perry136/> It remained with the division for the rest of the war, taking part in the action at [[Fat-ha Gorge]] on the [[Little Zab]] (23–26 October 1918) and the [[Battle of Sharqat]] (28–30 October 1918).<ref name=Perry146>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=146}}</ref>

At the end of the war, the 17th Division was chosen to form part of the occupation force for Iraq. It took part in the [[Iraqi revolt against the British|Iraq Rebellion in 1920]]. In August 1923, the division was reduced to a single brigade; the last British troops left in March 1927 and the Indian ones in November 1928.<ref name=Perry146/>

==Order of battle==
The brigade had the following composition in the [[First World War]]:<ref name=Perry124/><ref name=Perry134>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=134}}</ref><ref name=Perry144>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=144}}</ref>
* 1/5th Battalion, [[Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)]] ''(joined from [[Allahabad Brigade]], [[8th (Lucknow) Division]] in December 1915; posted to [[12th Indian Brigade]] in February 1916)''
* [[31st Punjabis]] ''(joined from [[Fort Sandeman]], [[4th (Quetta) Division]] in December 1915; left in September 1918 and joined the [[83rd Brigade (United Kingdom)|83rd Brigade]] in the [[British 28th Division]])''
* 1st Battalion, [[112th Infantry]] ''(joined from [[Dargai]], [[1st (Peshawar) Division]] in December 1915)''
* [[114th Mahrattas]] ''(joined from [[5th (Jhelum) Brigade]], [[2nd (Rawalpindi) Division]] 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 [[30th Indian Brigade]], [[6th (Poona) Division]] in November 1915.<ref name=Perry125>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=125}}</ref> It was captured in the [[Siege of Kut|fall of Kut]].<ref name=Perry76>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=76}}</ref> The battalion was brought up to full strength in June 1916.<ref name=Perry134/>}} ''(joined from 12th Indian Brigade in January 1916; the battalion was reformed in June 1916)''
* 129th Machine Gun Company ''(joined from Corps Troops in August 1916)''
* 34th Light Trench Mortar Battery ''(joined in February 1918)''

==Commanders==
The brigade had the following commanders:<ref name=Perry123/><ref name=Perry131>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=131}}</ref><ref name=Perry141>{{harvnb|Perry|1993|p=141}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
! From !! Rank !! Name
|-
| 2 December 1915 || [[Brigadier-General]] || E.C. Tidswell
|-
| 1 May 1917 || Brigadier-General || [[Arthur Grenfell Wauchope|A.G. Wauchope]]
|}

==See also==
{{portal|World War I}}


==Notes==
{{notelist}}

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

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book
| last = Kempton | first = Chris
| year = 2003b
| title = 'Loyalty & Honour', The Indian Army September 1939 – August 1947
| volume = Part II Brigades
| publisher = The Military Press
| location = Milton Keynes
| isbn = 0-85420-238-2
}}
* {{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/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 }}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_divs/15_ind_div.htm |title=15th Indian 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/20080517084847/http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_divs/15_ind_div.htm |archive-date=17 May 2008 |df=dmy }}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_divs/17_ind_div.htm |title=17th Indian Division on ''The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918'' by PB Chappell |access-date=2015-05-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528042736/http://www.warpath.orbat.com/indian_divs/17_ind_div.htm |archive-date=28 May 2008 |df=dmy }}
* {{cite web | url = http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/sharqat.htm | title = Battle of Sharqat, 1918 | publisher = FirstWorldWar.com | access-date=31 May 2015}}

[[Category:Brigades of India in World War I]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1915]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1923]]

34th Indian Brigade - Revision history

>Dicklyon at 00:53, 21 April 2021