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{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=62nd Punjabis
| image=62nd Punjabis Indian Army.jpg
| image_size =
|caption=
|dates=1903–1922
|country={{flagicon|East India Company}}[[Company Raj|Company-ruled India]] {{flag|British India}}
|branch={{army|Madras Presidency}} {{army|British India}}
|type=Infantry
|size=1 Battalion
|command_structure=
|garrison=
|ceremonial_chief=
|ceremonial_chief_label=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=Field Marshal Sir [[Claude Auchinleck]], GCB, GCIE, CSI, DSO, OBE
|nickname=Mootoo Naik ki Paltan
|motto=
|colors=Red; faced green
|colors_label=Uniform
|march=
|mascot=
|battles=[[Battle of Wandiwash]] 1860 Siege of [[Madura]] 1763 [[First Anglo-Mysore War]] 1767–69 Capture of [[Puducherry (city)|Pondicherry]] 1778 [[Second Anglo-Mysore War]] 1780–84 [[Third Anglo-Mysore War]] 1789–92 [[Second Anglo-Maratha War|Second Mahratta War]] 1803–06 [[Travancore War]] 1809 [[Third Anglo-Maratha War|Third Mahratta War]] 1817–19 [[Coorg War]] 1834 [[First Anglo-Chinese War|First China War]] 1839–42 Chin Lushai Expedition 1889–90 [[First World War]] 1914–18<ref name="Qureshi 1958">Qureshi, Maj MI. (1958). ''The First Punjabis: History of the First Punjab Regiment 1759–1956''. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.</ref>
|notable_commanders=
|anniversaries=
}}
The '''62nd Punjabis''' was an infantry regiment of the [[British Indian Army]]. It was raised in 1759 as the 3rd Battalion of Coast Sepoys, and formed part of the [[Madras Army]]. It was designated as the 62nd Punjabis in 1903 and became 1st Battalion [[1st Punjab Regiment]] in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to the [[Pakistan Army]], where it continues to exist as '''1st battalion, [[Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)|Punjab Regiment]]'''. It is the senior-most surviving infantry battalion of the British Indian Army.<ref name="Qureshi 1958"/>

== History ==

===Early history===
The regiment had its antecedents in the old [[Madras Army]] of the British [[East India Company]], which was largely responsible for the British conquest of south and central [[India]]. It was raised at [[Chennai|Madras]] in September 1759, as the 3rd Battalion of Coast Sepoys from existing companies of sepoys that had been raised a year earlier. The men were mostly enlisted from South India and consisted of Muslims and Hindus. The regiment was actively engaged in the wars against the French, [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore]] and the [[Marathas]]. Their first major engagement was the decisive [[Battle of Wandiwash]] in 1760, which ended French colonial ambitions in India. This was followed by forty years of [[Anglo-Mysore Wars|constant warfare against the Sultans of Mysore]], and then the Marathas chieftains. In the [[Second Maratha War]] of 1803–05, the regiment fought in the [[Battle of Assaye]] under General [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Arthur Wellesley]], the future Duke of Wellington. Its performance at Assaye was much appreciated and it was permitted to display the word "Assaye" with the device of an elephant on their colours and appointments. It was again engaged against the Marathas during the [[Third Maratha War]] of 1817–19, which decisively broke the Maratha power in India. In 1840, the regiment took part in the [[First Anglo-Chinese War]], where it again performed well and as a reward, was authorized to bear a golden dragon wearing the imperial crown upon its [[regimental colours]]. In the latter part of the 19th century, the regiment did not see much action, although it saw active service in [[Burma]].<ref name="Qureshi 1958"/>

===62nd Punjabis===
In 1902, the regiment, now designated as the 2nd Madras Infantry, was reconstituted with Punjabi Muslims, [[Sikh]]s and [[Rajput]]s. Next year, as a result of the [[Kitchener Reforms|reforms]] brought about in the Indian Army by [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]], all Madras units had 60 added to their numbers, and the regiment's designation was changed to 62nd Punjabis. During the [[First World War]], the 62nd Punjabis were sent to [[Egypt]] as part of the [[10th Indian Division]] to protect the [[Suez Canal]]. The regiment played a major role in repulsing the [[Raid on the Suez Canal|Turkish offensive]] of 1915. After operating in the British colony of [[Aden]] later that year, they arrived in [[Mesopotamian Campaign|Mesopotamia]] on 31 December 1915. Here, they were engaged in fierce fighting on the [[Tigris]] Front, as the British made desperate efforts to raise the [[Siege of Kut|Siege of Kut al Amara]], and later, during the British advance northwards. The regiment took part in the Battles of [[Battle of Hanna|Hanna]], [[Battle of Dujaila Redoubt|Dujaila Redoubt]] and the Hai Salient. After serving on the Persian frontier for the rest of the war, the regiment returned to India in 1920. It suffered a total of 840 casualties during the war. Captain [[Claude Auchinleck]], later Field Marshal and the last Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army, served with the 62nd Punjabis in Egypt and Mesopotamia.<ref name="Qureshi 1958"/><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>

===Subsequent history===
[[File:62nd Punjabis, Ismailia, Egypt, 1914.jpg|thumb|right|Officers of the 62nd Punjabis, Ismailia, Egypt, 1914. Captain [[Claude Auchinleck]] is standing on far right.|330px]]
After the First World War, the 62nd Punjabis were grouped with the [[66th Punjabis|66th]], [[76th Punjabis|76th]], [[82nd Punjabis|82nd]] and [[84th Punjabis]], and the [[1st Brahmans]] to form the 1st Punjab Regiment in 1922. The battalion was redesignated as 1st Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment.

During the [[Second World War]], 1/1st Punjab initially served in [[Anglo-Iraqi War|Iraq]] and then moved to [[North African Campaign|North Africa]] in November 1941 to join the [[5th Indian Division]], only to take part in the British withdrawal following [[Erwin Rommel|Rommel]]'s offensive in January 1942. The battalion was converted into motorized infantry and deployed at [[Ruweisat Ridge]], where in July, it took part in halting Rommel's final offensive in North Africa at [[First Battle of El Alamein|El Alamein]] by the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|Eighth Army]] led by General Claude Auchinleck. It then participated in the British [[Second Battle of El Alamein|counter-attack]] in October, which turned the tide of war in North Africa. In October 1943, 1/1st Punjab arrived in [[Burma Campaign|Burma]], where it fought in the [[Burma Campaign 1944|Second Arakan Campaign]] and took part in the [[Burma Campaign 1944–1945|Reconquest of Burma]]. It fought in the Battles of [[Battle of Kohima|Kohima]], Tiddim Road and numerous actions in the [[Irrawaddy River|Irrawaddy]] Basin until the final Allied victory in August 1945. It then served in the [[Dutch East Indies]] as part of the Allied occupation forces.<ref name="Qureshi 1958"/>

In 1947, 1/1st Punjab was allocated to Pakistan Army. During the 1948 [[Kashmir]] War with [[India]], it served at Chakothi. In 1956, the 1st Punjab Regiment was merged with the [[14th Punjab Regiment|14th]], [[15th Punjab Regiment|15th]] and [[16th Punjab Regiment]]s to form one large [[Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)|Punjab Regiment]], and 1/1st Punjab was redesignated as 1 Punjab. During the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War, the battalion fought in the [[Battle of Chawinda]], while in the 1971 war, it served in the [[Rajasthan]] Sector.<ref>Rizvi, Brig SHA. (1984). ''Veteran Campaigners – A History of the Punjab Regiment 1759–1981''. Lahore: Wajidalis.</ref>

==Lineage==
*1759: 3rd Battalion of Coast Sepoys
*1769: 2nd Carnatic Battalion
*1784: 2nd Madras Battalion
*1796: 1st Battalion 2nd Regiment of Madras Native Infantry
*1824: 2nd Regiment of Madras Native Infantry
*1885: 2nd Regiment of Madras Infantry
*1901: 2nd Madras Infantry
*1903: 62nd Punjabis
*1922: 1st Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment
*1956: 1st Battalion The Punjab Regiment <ref name="Qureshi 1958"/>

==See also==
*[[1st Punjab Regiment]]
*[[Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)|Punjab Regiment]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Qureshi, Maj MI. (1958). ''The First Punjabis: History of the First Punjab Regiment 1759–1956''. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.
*Rainey-Robinson, RM. (1904–09). '' History of the 2nd Madras Infantry'' (two volumes). Calcutta: Thacker & Spinks.
*Sanders, CW. (1937). ''History of the 1st Battalion, 1st Punjab Regiment''. Lahore: Civil and Military Press.
*Wilson, Lt Col WJ. (1882–88). ''History of the Madras Army''. Madras: The Government Press.
*Phythian-Adams, Lt Col EG. (1943). ''Madras Infantry 1748–1943''. Madras: The Government Press.
*Rizvi, Brig SHA. (1984). ''Veteran Campaigners – A History of the Punjab Regiment 1759–1981''. Lahore: Wajidalis.
*{{cite book|last=Barthorp|first=Michael|last2=Burn|first2=Jeffrey|year=1979|title=Indian infantry regiments 1860–1914|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=0-85045-307-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Sumner|first=Ian|title=The Indian Army 1914-1947|year=2001|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=1-84176-196-6}}
* {{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}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}

[[Category:British Indian Army infantry regiments]]
[[Category:Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)]]
[[Category:Military history of the Madras Presidency]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1759]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1922]]

62nd Punjabis - Revision history

Effossy at 20:25, 27 August 2025