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{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=40th Pathans (16 Punjab Regt)
| image=Badge of 40th Pathans.jpg
| image_size = 170
|caption=
|dates=1858 - present
|country=[[British Raj|British India]]
|branch=Army
|type=Infantry
|size=
|command_structure=
|garrison=
|ceremonial_chief=
|ceremonial_chief_label=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=General Edward Dandridge General Sir Frederick Campbell Brig Sher Afghan
|nickname=
|motto=Gazian-e-Dograi
|colors=Red; faced green
|colors_label=Uniform
|march=
|mascot=
|battles=[[Indian Rebellion of 1857|Indian Mutiny]] 1857-58 [[British expedition to Tibet|Tibet]] 1903-04 [[First World War]] 1914-18 [[Third Afghan War]] 1919
|notable_commanders=
|anniversaries=
}}
The '''40th Pathans''' were an infantry regiment of the [[British Indian Army]]. It was raised in 1858 as the Shahjehanpur Levy. It was designated as the 40th Pathans in 1903 and became 5th Battalion (Pathans) [[14th Punjab Regiment]] in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to the [[Pakistan Army]], where it continues to exist as '''16th Battalion The [[Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)|Punjab Regiment]]'''.<ref name="Rizvi 1984">Rizvi, Brig SHA. (1984). ''Veteran Campaigners – A History of the Punjab Regiment 1759-1981''. Lahore: Wajidalis.</ref><ref name="Waters 1936">Waters, Maj RS. (1936). ''History of the 5th Battalion (Pathans), 14th Punjab Regiment formerly 40th Pathans ("The Forty Thieves”)''. London: James Bain Ltd.</ref>

==Early history==
The regiment was raised by Lieutenant Edward Dandridge at [[Shahjahanpur]] in 1858, during the upheaval of the [[Indian Mutiny]], as the Shahjahanpur Levy. It was initially composed of Hindus from North India and some [[Sikh]]s. In 1888, the regiment participated in the Black Mountain Expedition, while in 1890, it dispatched a detachment to Lushai Hills. In 1890, it was reconstituted with Trans-frontier [[Pashtun people|Pathan]]s to become the only all-Pathan regiment in the Indian Army; acquiring in the process, the nickname of "Forty Thieves". In 1901, it lost its exclusively Pathan character, when two companies each of [[Punjabi Muslims]] and [[Dogra]]s were included.<ref name="Waters 1936"/>

==40th Pathans==
Subsequent to the [[Kitchener Reforms|reforms]] brought about in the Indian Army by [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]] in 1903, the regiment's designation was changed to 40th Pathans.<ref name="Gaylor 1991">{{cite book|last=Gaylor|first=John|title=Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies 1903–91|publisher=Stroud: Spellmount|year=1991}}</ref> In 1904, the 40th Pathans proceeded to [[Tibet]] as reinforcements for the [[British expedition to Tibet|Tibet Mission Force]]. On the outbreak of the [[First World War]] the regiment was stationed in [[Hong Kong]]. It arrived in [[France]] on 2 April 1915, and within days, was on the frontlines. The 40th Pathans fought with great gallantry in the [[Second Battle of Ypres]], where they suffered 320 casualties on 26 April, and in the Battles of [[Battle of Aubers Ridge|Aubers Ridge]] and [[Battle of Loos|Loos]]. In December, the regiment left for [[East Africa]], where they served till February 1918, and again distinguished themselves in the long and bitter campaign. The 40th Pathans suffered a total of 800 casualties (killed or wounded) during the war, while 1066 officers and men were invalided out of service due to sickness. In 1919, the 40th Pathans participated in the [[Third Afghan War]].<ref name="Waters 1936"/>

==British and Indian officers who died in World War I==
'''European campaign'''
*Lt Col F. Rennik
*BT Lt Col A.G. Stuart
*Maj G.D. Campbell (while attached to [[Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders]])
*Maj Ac.E.C. Perking
*Capt J.F.C. Dalmahoy
*Capt L.de.L Christopher
*2nd Lt E.G. Hodgson
*Sub Jehandad Khan Bahadur
*Jemadar Lehar Singh
*Jemadar Saida Khan
*Jemadar Kaka

'''East African campaign'''
*Maj [[Herbert Augustine Carter|H.A. Carter]]
*Maj E.C. Irwin
*Maj R.N. Maepherson
*2nd Lt F.G. Gardiner
*2nd Lt J.T.G. Humphreys
*2nd Lt N.O. Burne
*Sub Gulodu
*Sub Mainu
*Jemadar Shiraz
*Jemadar Darjhodah
* Sub Major Habib Ullah Khan

==Pre-1947 partition==
[[File:Indian infantry band 40th Pathans playing on a French farm (Photo 24-46).jpg|thumb|An [[Indian military bands|infantry band]] from the 40th Pathans playing on a French farm in [[Saint-Floris]].]]
In 1921-22, a major reorganization was undertaken in the British Indian Army leading to the formation of large infantry groups of four to six battalions. Among these was the 14th Punjab Regiment, formed by grouping the 40th Pathans with [[19th Punjabis|19th]], [[20th Punjabis|20th]], [[21st Punjabis|21st]], [[22nd Punjabis|22nd]] and [[24th Punjabis]]. The battalion's new designation was 5th Battalion (Pathans) 14th Punjab Regiment.<ref name="Gaylor 1991"/> During the [[Second World War]], the battalion fought in the [[Malayan Campaign]] and was taken prisoner by the Japanese on [[Singapore Island]] following the British surrender on 15 February 1942.<ref>Haig, Brodie. ''Fourteenth Punjab Regiment 1939-1945''. London: Lund Humphries.</ref>

==Post-1947 partition ==
The battalion was re-raised in 1952. In the meantime, the 14th Punjab Regiment had been allocated to the Pakistan Army following the [[Partition of India|independence]] in 1947. In 1956, the 14th Punjab Regiment was merged with the [[1st Punjab Regiment|1st]], [[15th Punjab Regiment|15th]] and [[16th Punjab Regiment]]s to form one large [[Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)|Punjab Regiment]], and 5/14th Punjab was redesignated as 16 Punjab. During the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistan Wars, the battalion fought on the [[Lahore]] Front.<ref name="Rizvi 1984"/>

[[File:40th Pathans, AC Lovett, 1910..jpg|thumb|right|Sepoy 40th Pathans. Watercolour by Major AC Lovett, 1910.|200px]]

==Genealogy==
*1780 Raised as Bengal Native Infantry
*1858 Shahjahanpur Levy
*1861 44th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
*1861 40th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
*1864 40th (Shahjahanpur) Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
*1885 40th Regiment of Bengal Infantry
*1890 40th (Baluch) Regiment of Bengal Infantry
*1892 40th (Pathan) Regiment of Bengal Infantry
*1901 40th Punjab Infantry
*1903 40th Pathans
*1922 5th Battalion 14th Punjab Regiment
*1934 5th Battalion (Pathans) 14th Punjab Regiment
*1942 Captured by the Japanese at Singapore
*1952 Re-raised
*1956 16th Battalion The Punjab Regiment

==See also==
*[[14th Punjab Regiment]]
*[[Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)|Punjab Regiment]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Waters, Maj RS. (1936). ''History of the 5th Battalion (Pathans) 14th Punjab Regiment formerly 40th Pathans ("The Forty Thieves”)''. London: James Bain Ltd.
*Waters, RS. (''c.'' 1945). ''Continuation of the History of the 5th Battalion (Pathans) 14th Punjab Regiment 1937-1942''. London: Lund Humphries.
*''The 40th Pathans in the Great War''. (1921). Lahore: The Civil and Military Gazette Press.
*Haig, Brodie. ''Fourteenth Punjab Regiment 1939-1945''. London: Lund Humphries, n.d.
*Rizvi, Brig SHA. (1984). ''Veteran Campaigners – A History of the Punjab Regiment 1759-1981''. Lahore: Wajidalis.
*Cardew, Lt FG. (1903). ''A Sketch of the Services of the Bengal Native Army to the Year 1895''. Calcutta: Military Department.
*{{cite book|last=Gaylor|first=John|title=Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies 1903–91|publisher=Spellmount|year=1991|isbn=978-0-946771-98-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Barthorp|first=Michael|last2=Burn|first2=Jeffrey|year=1979|title=Indian Infantry Regiments 1860-1914|publisher=Osprey|isbn=0-85045-307-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Sumner|first=Ian|title=The Indian Army 1914-1947|year=2001|publisher=Osprey|isbn=1-84176-196-6}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}

[[Category:Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)]]
[[Category:British Indian Army infantry regiments]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1858]]
[[Category:1858 establishments in India]]

40th Pathans - Revision history

Delinker at 11:19, 31 July 2023