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{{short description|Military unit in the British Indian Army and Pakistan Army}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = 6th Lancers (Watson's Horse)
| abbreviation =
| image = Badge 6th DCO Lancers.jpg
| image_size = 175
| caption =
| dates = 1857–present
| country = {{flag|British India}} {{flag|Pakistan}}
| allegiance =
| branch = {{army|British India}} {{army|Pakistan}}
| type = Armoured Regiment
| role =
| size = Regiment
| command_structure =
| equipment = 
| Past Commanders =
| ceremonial_chief = [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn]] (Son of Her Majesty Queen Victoria)
| ceremonial_chief_label = Colonel-in-Chief
| command_sergeant_major = [[Lieutenant general|Lt. Gen]] Mian Muhammad Afzaal [[Hilal-e-Imtiaz|HI(M)]] [[Sitara-e-Basalat|SBt]] [[Order of King Abdul Aziz|OA(M)]] [[Shahid|(Shaheed)]] ([[Chief of General Staff (Pakistan)|CGS]])
| command_sergeant_major_label = Senior Most Commandant
| notable_commanders = [[John Watson (VC)|General Sir John Watson]] [[Victoria Cross|VC]] GCB [[Francis Ingall|Brigadier Francis Ingall]] DSO OBE
| identification_symbol =
| identification_symbol_2 = 
| nickname =
| patron =
| motto =
| colors =
| march =
| mascot =
| battles = [[Indian Mutiny of 1857]] [[Bhutan War]] 1864–65 [[Second Afghan War]] 1878–80 [[Anglo-Egyptian War]] 1882 [[The Boxer Rebellion]] 1900 [[First World War]] 1914–18 [[Third Afghan War]] 1919 [[Second World War]] 1939–45 [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]
| anniversaries =
| decorations =
| battle_honours =
}}

The '''6th Lancers''' is an armoured regiment of the [[Pakistan Army]]. Previously, it was known as the '''6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse)''', and was a regular cavalry regiment in the [[British Indian Army]]. It was formed in 1921 by amalgamation of the [[13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers (Watson's Horse)]] and the [[16th Cavalry]]. The regiment and its predecessors have seen active service on the [[North-West Frontier (military history)|North West Frontier]], in [[Egypt]] during 1882, in [[China]] during the [[Boxer Rebellion]], the two World Wars and the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]. On the [[Partition of India]] in 1947, the regiment was allotted to the Pakistan Army, where it remains in service today.<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>

=={{anchor|13}}13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers (Watson’s Horse)==
The 13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers was originally raised in Sep 1857, at [[Lahore]], as the 4th Sikh Irregular Cavalry by Lieutenants H Cattley and [[John Watson (VC)|John Watson]] VC. Watson was appointed the commandant but did not join until 1860. He would go on to command the regiment for eleven years and is better known for introducing changes in the riding practices of the cavalry, whereby the rider would rise in the stirrups during the trot instead of bumping along in the saddle. The regiment served in the [[Second Afghan War]] of 1878–80 and in Egypt in 1882, where it fought against [[Arabi Pasha]] at the [[Battle of Tel-el-Kebir]]. It so impressed the [[Duke of Connaught]] that he requested his mother, [[Queen Victoria]], to appoint him as their [[Colonel-in-Chief]]. In 1897, the regiment was engaged in suppressing the tribal uprisings on the [[North-West Frontier (military history)|Northwest Frontier]]. During the [[First World War]], the regiment remained on the Northwest Frontier until July 1916, when it moved to [[Mesopotamia]] for the relief of [[Kut-al-Amara]]. On its return, it served in [[Waziristan]] during the [[Third Afghan War]] in 1919.<ref name="Gaylor 1991"/>

*1857 4th Sikh Irregular Cavalry
*1861 13th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry
*1861 13th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry (Lancers)
*1874 13th Regiment of Bengal Lancers
*1884 13th (Duke of Connaught's) Regiment of Bengal Lancers
*1901 13th (Duke of Connaught's) Bengal Lancers
*1903 13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers
*1904 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse)

=={{anchor|16}}16th Cavalry==
The 16th Cavalry was raised as the Rohilcund Horse at Haldwani in 1857 and spent the next two years pacifying the [[Rohilkhand]]. In 1864, the regiment was sent to conquer [[Bhutan]] as part of the Bhutan Field Force. It was disbanded in 1882 when three regiments were broken up to provide an additional, fourth squadron for the other regiments. However, fears of a Russian invasion led to the approval for an increase in strength of the cavalry and the 16th Cavalry was reformed in 1885 at [[Ambala]]. In 1900, the regiment went to China to relieve the international legations in [[Peking]] during the [[Boxer Rebellion]]. On relieving the [[American Legation]], the 16th Cavalry was presented with the United States flag, which had flown over the building and, for many years, it had hung in the Officers' Mess.<ref name="Gaylor 1991"/> During the First World War, the 16th Cavalry served in the [[Mesopotamian Campaign]]. After the war, it served in the [[Third Afghan War]] of 1919.<ref name="Gaylor 1991"/>
[[File:13th Bengal Lancers 1897.jpg|thumb|right|355x355px|[[Risaldar-Major]] of 13th (Duke of Connaught's) Bengal Lancers, 1897. Painting by CP Chater]]

*1857 Rohilcund Horse
*1861 16th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry
*1864 16th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry (Lancers)
*1874 16th Regiment of Bengal Lancers
*1882 Disbanded
*1885 16th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry (re-raised)
*1901 16th Bengal Lancers
*1903 16th Cavalry

==6th Duke of Connaught’s Own Lancers (Watson’s Horse)==
After the First World War, the number of Indian cavalry regiments was reduced from thirty-nine to twenty-one. However, instead of disbanding the surplus units, it was decided to amalgamate them in pairs. This resulted in renumbering and renaming of the entire cavalry line. The 13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers (Watson's Horse) and 16th Cavalry were amalgamated at [[Meerut]] on 1 June 1921 as the 13th/16th Cavalry; becoming the 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers a year later. Their uniform was blue with scarlet facings, while the new badge was to be crossed lances with the figure '6' on the intersection and a scroll below, reading 'The Duke of Connaught's Own'. Their composition was one squadron each of Punjabi Muslims, Sikhs and Dogras.<ref name="Gaylor 1991"/>
[[File:Indian troops at Temple of Heaven Peking 1900.jpg|thumb|right|355x355px|Indian troops, including those of the 16th Bengal Lancers at the [[Temple of Heaven]], Peking; 3rd China War (Boxer Rebellion), 1900]]

During the Second World War, the 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers, now mounted on armoured cars, served as the Reconnaissance Regiment of the [[10th Indian Infantry Division]] and later with the [[8th Indian Infantry Division]] in the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]]. The regiment was engaged in a number of actions, most notably the Second Battle of Cassino, Monte Moro, crossing of the Rivers Po and Adige and the race to [[Venice]]. In August 1947, on the [[Partition of India]], the 6th DCO Lancers was allotted to Pakistan. The regiment's Jat Squadron went to the [[7th Light Cavalry]] in exchange for their Punjabi Mussalman Squadron, while the Sikh Squadron was exchanged with the Punjabi Mussalmans of the [[8th King George V's Own Light Cavalry]].<ref name="Gaylor 1991"/>
[[File:6th DCO Lancers, San Felice, during the advance towards the Sangro.jpg|thumb|right|355x355px|The 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers at San Felice, during the advance towards the River Sangro, Italy, 1943]]

In 1956, Pakistan became a republic and all titles pertaining to the British royalty were dropped. The regiment's new designation was '''6 Lancers'''. During the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]], 6 Lancers spearheaded the Pakistan Army's advance in the [[Kasur]] Sector and captured the Indian town of [[Khem Karan]] under the dynamic leadership of their Commandant, Lieutenant Colonel Sahib Zad Gul, who fell in battle while leading his regiment.<ref>''The Sabre & Lance: Journal of the Pakistan Armoured Corps''. (1997). Nowshera: The School of Armour & Mechanised Warfare.</ref>
*1921 13th/16th Cavalry (amalgamation)
*1922 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers
*1927 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse)
*1956 6 Lancers

==Battle honours==
Afghanistan 1878–80, Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt 1882, Punjab Frontier, China 1900, Shaiba, Kut al Amara 1915, Ctesiphon, Tigris 1916, Baghdad, Kut al Amara 1917, Sharqat, Mesopotamia 1915–18, NW Frontier, India 1915, Afghanistan 1919, The Trigno, Tuffilo, The Sangro, The Moro, Cassino II, Pignataro, Liri Valley, The Senio, Santerno Crossing, Italy 1943–45, Khem Karan 1965.<ref>Rodger, Alexander. (2003). ''Battle Honours of the British Empire and Commonwealth Land Forces 1662–1991''. Ramsbury: The Crowood Press.</ref>

==Affiliations and alliances==
{{flag icon|United Kingdom}} [[Light Dragoons]]

==See also==
* [[6th Lancers (India)]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Brock, Maj F. (1948).''The 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers in Italy''. Published privately.
* Gaylor, John. (1991). ''Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies 1903- 1991.'' Stroud: Spellmount Publishers Ltd. {{ISBN|978-0-946771-98-1}}
* Cardew, FG. (1903). ''A Sketch of the Services of the Bengal Native Army to the Year 1895''. Calcutta: Military Department.
* Harris, RG, and Warner, C. (1979). ''Bengal Cavalry Regiments 1857–1914''. London: Osprey Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-85045-308-9}}.
* Elliott, Maj Gen JG. (1968). ''The Frontier 1839–1947: The Story of the North-West Frontier of India''. London: Cassell.
* Trench, CC. (1988). ''The Indian Army and the King’s Enemies, 1900–1947''. London: Thames and Hudson.
* Rikhye, Maj Gen Indar Jit. (2003). ''6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers''. Charlottesville: University of Virginia.

==External links==
*[http://www.defencejournal.com/may99/6th-duke.htm 6th Duke of Connaught’s Own Lancers (Watson’s Horse) by John Gaylor at The Defence Journal]
{{Pakistan Armoured Corps}}
{{British Indian Army Cavalry Regiments 1903 - 1946}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}

[[Category:British Indian Army cavalry regiments]]
[[Category:Honourable East India Company regiments]]
[[Category:Armoured regiments of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Indian World War I regiments]]
[[Category:Indian World War II regiments]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1857]]
[[Category:1857 establishments in India]]

6th Lancers Pakistan - Revision history

Delinker at 11:20, 31 July 2023