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{{EngvarB|date=January 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=59 Scinde Rifles (Frontier Force)
| image=59th Scinde Rifles badge.jpg
| image_size = 165
|caption=
|dates=1843–present
|country= {{flag|British India}} {{flag|Pakistan}}
|branch={{army|British India}} {{army|Pakistan}}
|type=Mechanized Infantry
|size=1 Battalion
|command_structure=
|garrison=
|ceremonial_chief=
|ceremonial_chief_label=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|nickname=Garbar Unath
|motto="Ready Aye Ready"
|colors=Drab; faced scarlet
|colors_label=Uniform
|march=
|mascot=
|battles=[[North-West Frontier (military history)|North West Frontier of India]] [[Indian Mutiny]] 1857–58 [[First World War]] 1914–18 [[Second World War]] 1939–1945 [[1965 War]] [[1971 War]]
|notable_commanders=Gen [[Musa Khan (general)|Musa Khan]], HPk, HJ, HQA, MBE, Lt Gen Bakhtiar Rana,MC Lt Gen Rakhman Gul,MC Lt Gen AI Akram, Lt Gen Moinuddin Haider, HI (M)Lt Gen Ayaz, Maj Gen Sadaqat Ali Shah, Lt Gen Aamer Riaz, Maj Gen Nadir Khan
|anniversaries= 10 March - Nueve Chapple Day
}}
The '''59 Scinde Rifles (Frontier Force)''' was an [[infantry]] [[regiment]] of the [[British Indian Army]]. The regiment was one of the most reputed outfits of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1843, as the Scinde Camel Corps. In 1856, it was incorporated into the [[Punjab Irregular Force]] (PIF). It was designated as the 59th Scinde Rifles (Frontier Force) in 1904 and became 6th Royal Battalion (Scinde) [[13th Frontier Force Rifles]] in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to the [[Pakistan Army]], where it continues to exist as '''1st Battalion The [[Frontier Force Regiment]]'''.<ref name="Condon 1953">Condon, Brig. W. E. H. (1953). ''The Frontier Force Rifles''. Aldershot: Gale & Polden Ltd.</ref><ref name="North 1934">North, REFG. (1934). ''The Punjab Frontier Force: A Brief Record of Their Services 1846–1924''. DI Khan: Commercial Steam Press.</ref>

==Early history==
[[File:6th Punjab Regt PFF 1886. R Simkin.jpg|thumb|right|6th Regiment of Punjab Infantry, Punjab Frontier Force. Coloured lithograph by Richard Simkin, 1886.]]
The regiment was raised on 1 December 1843 by Lieutenant Robert Fitzgerald at [[Karachi]] as the Scinde Camel Corps. The corps consisting of camel-mounted infantry was entrusted with keeping the peace on the [[Sindh]] frontier. In 1853, it was designated as the 6th Regiment of Punjab Infantry and became part of the Punjab Irregular Force, which later became famous as the Punjab Frontier Force or '''The Piffers'''. The Piffers consisted of five regiments of cavalry, eleven regiments of infantry and five batteries of artillery besides the [[Corps of Guides (British India)|Corps of Guides]]. Their mission was to maintain order on the Punjab Frontier; a task they performed with great aplomb. Over the next fifty years, the 6th Punjab Infantry took part in numerous frontier operations. It was also engaged in operations during the [[Indian Mutiny]] of 1857–58.<ref name="Condon 1953"/><ref name="North 1934"/>

==59th Scinde Rifles (Frontier Force)==
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 59th Scinde Rifles (Frontier Force). In 1914, the regiment's class composition was three companies of [[Pashtun people|Pathans]], two companies each of [[Sikh]]s and [[Dogra]]s, and one company of Punjabi Muslims.

During the [[First World War]], the regiment served with great gallantry on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] in 1914–15, fighting in the Battles of [[Battle of Givenchy|Givenchy]], [[Battle of Neuve Chapelle|Neuve Chapelle]], [[Battle of Aubers Ridge|Aubers Ridge]], the [[Second Battle of Ypres]] and the [[Battle of Loos]]. Lieutenant [[William Bruce (VC)|William Bruce]] was awarded the [[Victoria Cross]] during the Battle of Givenchy. In 1916, the regiment arrived in [[Mesopotamian Campaign|Mesopotamia]]. Here, it fought in the bloody battles for the [[Siege of Kut|Relief of Kut al Amara]] on the Tigris Front in 1916–17, the [[Fall of Baghdad (1917)|capture of Baghdad]], and in operations north of Baghdad at Daur and Tikrit. For its gallant conduct during the war, it was made a "Royal" battalion in 1921.<ref name="Condon 1953"/><ref name="North 1934"/>
Soldiers of the 59th Scinde Rifles formed part of the command of Brigadier General [[Reginald Dyer]] which fired into the crowd at the [[Jallianwala Bagh Massacre]].<ref name="archive.org">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/punjabdisturbanc01lahouoft|title=Punjab disturbances, April 1919; compiled from the Civil and military gazette|date=9 April 2018|publisher=Lahore Civil and Military Gazette Press|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

==Subsequent history==

After the First World War, the 59th Royal Scinde Rifles (Frontier Force) was grouped with the [[55th Coke's Rifles (Frontier Force)|55th]], [[4th Punjab Infantry Regiment|57th]], [[58th Vaughan's Rifles (Frontier Force)|58th]], and the two battalions of [[56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force)]] to form the 13th Frontier Force Rifles in 1922. The 59th Royal Scinde Rifles became the 6th Battalion of the new regiment.

During the [[Second World War]], the battalion again greatly distinguished itself, serving in the [[Sudan]], [[Eritrea]], [[North Africa]], [[Persia]], [[Iraq]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], and [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italy]]. Sepoy [[Ali Haidar (VC)|Ali Haider]] was awarded the Victoria Cross during the [[Battle of the Senio River|Battle of the Senio]], in Italy in 1945.<ref name="Condon 1953"/>

In 1947, the Frontier Force Rifles was allotted to Pakistan Army. In 1948, 6 Royal FF Rifles fought in the Kashmir War against [[India]]. In 1956, the Frontier Force Rifles and the [[Pathan Regiment]] were merged with the [[12th Frontier Force Regiment|Frontier Force Regiment]], and 6th Royal Battalion The Frontier Force Rifles was redesignated as 1st Battalion The Frontier Force Regiment. During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, the battalion fought in the Battle of [[Khem Karan]] in the [[Kasur]] Sector.<ref>Attiqur Rahman, Lt Gen M. (1980). ''The Wardens of the Marches: A History of the Piffers 1947–71''. Lahore: Wajidalis.</ref>

The unit got the nickname of "Garbar" given by a British general at [[Karachi Harbour]] in 1939.

==Genealogy==
*1843 Scinde Camel Corps
*1853 Scinde Rifle Corps
*1856 6th Punjab Infantry
*1904 59 Scinde Rifles (Frontier Force)
*1921 59th Royal Scinde Rifles (Frontier Force)
*1922 6th Royal Battalion (Scinde) 13th Frontier Force Rifles
*1945 6th Royal Battalion (Scinde) The Frontier Force Rifles
*1956 1st Battalion (Scinde) The Frontier Force Regiment<ref name="Condon 1953"/><ref name="North 1934"/>

==See also==
*[[Frontier Force Regiment|The Frontier Force Regiment]]
*[[13th Frontier Force Rifles]]
*[[Punjab Irregular Force]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''History of the 59th Rifles FF, Regimental History of the 6th Royal Battalion, 13th Frontier Force Rifles (Scinde), 1843–1923''. (1926). Aldershot: Gale & Polden.
* Barthorp, M, and Burn, J. (1979). ''Indian Infantry Regiments 1860-1914''. London: Osprey. {{ISBN|978-0-85045-307-2}}.
* Bunbury, NL St P. (1951). ''Regimental History of the 6th Royal Battalion (Scinde), 13th Frontier Force Rifles, 1934–1947''. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.
* Dey, RSBN. (1905). ''A Brief Account of the Late Punjab Frontier Force, From its Organization in 1849 to its Re-distribution on 31st March 1903''. Calcutta.
* Gaylor, John. (1991). ''Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies 1903–1991.'' Stroud: Spellmount. {{ISBN|978-0-946771-98-1}}.
* Hayauddin, Maj Gen M. (1950). ''One Hundred Glorious Years: A History of the Punjab Frontier Force, 1849–1949''. Lahore: Civil and Military Gazette Press.
* Khan, Maj Muhammad Nawaz. (1996). ''The Glorious Piffers 1843–1995''. Abbottabad: The Frontier Force Regimental Centre.
* Lindsey, Capt DM. (1935). ''Regimental History of the 6th Royal Battalion (Scinde), 13th Frontier Force Rifles, 1843–1934''. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.
* Sumner, Ian. (2001). ''The Indian Army 1914–1947''. London: Osprey. {{ISBN|1-84176-196-6}}.
* Young, Brig WHH. (1945). ''Regimental History of the 13th Frontier Force Rifles''. Rawalpindi: The Frontier Exchange Press.

[[Category:British Indian Army infantry regiments]]
[[Category:Frontier Force Regiment]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1843]]
[[Category:1843 establishments in British India]]

59th Scinde Rifles Frontier Force - Revision history

Delinker at 11:20, 31 July 2023