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{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=89th Punjabis
| image=Badge of 89th Punjabis (1903-22).jpg
| image_size = 190
|caption=
|dates=1903–1922
|country={{flag|British India}}
|branch={{army|British India}}
|type=Infantry
|size=2 Battalions
|command_structure=
|garrison=
|ceremonial_chief=
|ceremonial_chief_label=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=Brig Gen LWY Campbell, CMG
|nickname=
|motto=
|colors=Drab; faced blue. Red; faced white before 1897
|colors_label=Uniform
|march=
|mascot=
|battles=[[Kandyan Wars#The third war (1817–1818)|Third Kandy War]] 1818 [[Naning]] War 1831–32 [[Rampa Rebellion of 1879|Rampa Rebellion 1879]] [[Third Anglo-Burmese War]] 1885–87 Pacification of [[Upper Burma]] 1890–96 [[First World War]] 1914–18 (Aden, [[Western Front (World War I)|France]], [[First Suez Offensive|Egypt]], [[Gallipoli Campaign|Gallipoli]], [[Mesopotamian Campaign|Mesopotamia]], [[Mohmand Blockade|North West Frontier of India]], [[Macedonian front (World War I)|Salonika]], [[Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War#Caucasus|Russia]]) [[Third Afghan War]] 1919 [[Iraqi revolt against the British|Iraqi Revolt 1920]]
|notable_commanders=
|anniversaries=
}}
The '''89th Punjabis''' was an infantry regiment of the [[British Indian Army]] raised in 1798 as a battalion of Madras Native Infantry. It was designated as the 89th Punjabis in 1903 and became 1st Battalion [[8th Punjab Regiment]] in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to [[Pakistan Army]], where it continues to exist as '''1st Battalion, The [[Baloch Regiment]]'''.<ref name="Ahmad 2012">Ahmad, Lt Col Rifat Nadeem. (2012). ''The Gallant One: War Services of First Battalion The Baloch Regiment''. Rawalpindi: The Battalion.</ref>

==History==
===Formation and early service===
The regiment was raised on 9 November 1798 at [[Masulipatam]] as the 3rd Extra Battalion of Madras Native Infantry by Captain Alexander MacLeod and was known as ''MacLeod ki Paltan'' (MacLeod's Battalion). In 1800, it was designated as the 1st Battalion 15th Regiment, and in 1824, as the 29th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry. The battalion was composed mostly of [[Muslims]], [[Tamils]] and [[Telugus]] of [[South India]]. In 1818, it was dispatched to [[British Ceylon|Ceylon]] to suppress a [[Kandyan Wars#The third war (1817–1818)|rebellion of the Sinhalese]]. In 1832, it was stationed at [[Malacca]], [[British Malaya|Malaya]], when it was again engaged in suppressing a revolt in the State of [[Naning]].<ref name="Ahmad 2012"/><ref>Phythian-Adams, Lt Col EG. (1943). ''Madras Infantry 1748–1943''. The Government Press.</ref><ref>Wilson, Lt Col WJ. (1882–88). ''History of the Madras Army''. The Government Press.</ref>

The regiment served in [[Burma]] during the [[Third Anglo-Burmese War]] of 1885–87. In 1893, it was reconstituted with Punjabi Muslims, [[Sikh]]s, [[Rajput]]s & [[Brahmin]]s, and permanently based in Burma. Its new designation was 29th Regiment (7th Burma Battalion) of Madras Infantry. In 1901, its title was changed to 29th Burma Infantry. The Burma Battalions were special units raised to police the new territories acquired in the Third Anglo-Burmese War and pacify the rebellious hill tribes inhabiting the frontier regions of Burma.<ref name="Ahmad 2012"/><ref name="Ahmad 2006">Ahmad, Maj RN, and Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin. (2006). ''Unfaded Glory: The 8th Punjab Regiment 1798–1956''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.</ref>

===Reorganisation and the First World War===
Subsequent to the [[Kitchener Reforms|reforms]] brought about in the Indian Army by [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]] in 1903, all former Madras units had 60 added to their numbers. Consequently, the regiment's designation was changed to 89th Punjabis. In 1910, the Burma Battalions were delocalized from Burma and in 1914, the regiment moved to [[Danapur|Dinapore]] in India, just before the outbreak of the [[First World War]].<ref name="Ahmad 2006"/>

The 89th Punjabis have a most distinguished record of service during the First World War. They have the unique distinction of serving in more theatres of war than any other unit of the [[British Empire]]. These include:<ref name="Ahmad 2012"/>[[File:1-89th Punjabis 1917.jpg|thumb|right|310px|Gallantry Award recipients of 89th Punjabis with Lt Col NM Geoghegan, DSO, Nowshera, 1917.]]

* '''[[Aden]]''' ([[Yemen]]), where they carried out the first opposed sea-borne assault landing in modern warfare, when they landed at [[South Arabia during World War I#Capture of Cheikh Saïd|Sheik Saiad]] Peninsula on 10 November 1914
*'''[[First Suez Offensive|Egypt]]''', where they defended [[Suez Canal]] against the Turkish attack in February 1915.
*'''[[Gallipoli Campaign|Gallipoli]]''', where they fought in the Second [[Battle of Krithia]] in May 1915.
*'''[[Western Front (World War I)|France]]''', where they endured the horrors of trench warfare from May to December 1915.
*'''[[Mesopotamian Campaign|Mesopotamia]]''', where the regiment fought with great distinction and was almost decimated in the bloody battles for the Relief of [[Kut al Amara]] on the Tigris Front in 1916.
*'''[[North-West Frontier (military history)#1914–1918 (First World War)|North West Frontier of India]]''', where they served on the [[Mohmand Blockade]] in 1917, while recuperating from the casualties suffered in Mesopotamia.
*'''[[Macedonian front (World War I)|Salonika (Greece)]]''', where they arrived in 1918 but were not actively engaged.
*'''[[Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War#Caucasus|Russian Transcaucasia]]''', where they served from 1918–20 as part of the British Expeditionary Force.

The regiment finally arrived home in August 1920 after six long years of active service. During the war, it suffered 1018 casualties including 211 killed. Their long list of honours and awards includes the [[Victoria Cross]] awarded to Naik [[Shahamad Khan|Shahmed Khan]] in 1916.<ref>Geoghegan, Col NM, and Campbell, Capt MHA. (1928). ''History of the 1st Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment''. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.</ref>

The regiment raised a second battalion on 5 June 1917. The 2nd Battalion 89th Punjabis or 2/89th Punjabis served in the [[Third Afghan War]] of 1919 and took part in suppressing the [[Iraqi revolt against the British]] in 1920.<ref name="Ahmad 2006"/>

===Later years===
After the First World War, the two battalions of 89th Punjabis were grouped with four other Burma Battalions ([[90th Punjabis|90th]], [[91st Punjabis (Light Infantry)|91st]], [[92nd Punjabis]] and [[93rd Burma Infantry]]) to form the 8th Punjab Regiment in 1922. The 1/89th Punjabis became the 1st Battalion and the 2/89th Punjabis the 10th (Training) Battalion of the new regiment. During the [[Second World War]], 1/8th Punjab fought with great gallantry in the [[Malayan Campaign]] and again suffered heavy losses. In 1943, the 10th Battalion became the 8th Punjab Regimental Centre. In 1947, the 8th Punjab Regiment was allocated to Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was merged with the [[Baloch Regiment|Baluch Regiment]] and 1/8th Punjab was redesignated as 1 Baluch (now 1 Baloch). During the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|Indo-Pakistan War of 1965]], the battalion again distinguished itself at [[Lahore]] and Sulemanki, while during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971|Indo-Pakistan War of 1971]] it was deployed in the [[Shakargarh]] Sector. Since then, it has served in the [[Siachen Conflict]] during 1990–91 and in [[Liberia]] as [[Peacekeeping|United Nations Peacekeepers]] in 2004.<ref name="Ahmad 2012"/>

==Lineage==
*1798 – 3rd Extra Battalion Madras Native Infantry[[File:Sepoy, 29th Madras Native Infantry. Watercolour by Alex Hunter, 1846.jpg|thumb|right|29th Madras Native Infantry. Watercolour by Alex Hunter, 1846.|210px]]
*1800 – 1st Battalion 15th Regiment Madras Native Infantry
*1824 – 29th Regiment Madras Native Infantry
*1885 – 29th Regiment Madras Infantry
*1893 – 29th Regiment (7th Burma Battalion) Madras Infantry
*1901 – 29th Burma Infantry
*1903 – 89th Punjabis
*1917 – 1st Battalion 89th Punjabis or 1/89th Punjabis
*1922 – 1st Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment or 1/8th Punjab
*1956 – 1st Battalion The Baluch Regiment or 1 Baluch
*1991 – 1st Battalion The Baloch Regiment or 1 Baloch <ref name="Ahmad 2012"/><ref name="Ahmad 2010">Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Baloch Regiment]]
*[[8th Punjab Regiment]]
* [[Madras Army]]
* [[Charles James William Grant|Colonel Charles James William Grant]], [[Victoria Cross|VC]] ([[Victoria Cross]] recipient, 1891) [[File:Victoria Cross Medal without Bar.png|9px]]
* [[Naik (military rank)|Naik]] [[Shahamad Khan|Shahmed Khan]], [[Victoria Cross|VC]], (Victoria Cross recipient, 1916) [[File:Victoria Cross Medal without Bar.png|9px]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
[[File:Naik Shah Ahmad Khan, VC, 89th Punjabis, 1916 copy2.jpg|thumb|right|[[Shahamad Khan|Naik Shahmed Khan]], [[Victoria Cross|VC]], 89th Punjabis.|220px]]
* Ahmad, Lt Col Rifat Nadeem. (2012). ''The Gallant One: War Services of First Battalion The Baloch Regiment''. Rawalpindi: The Battalion.
* Ahmad, Maj Rifat Nadeem, and Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin. (2006). ''Unfaded Glory: The 8th Punjab Regiment 1798–1956''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.
* Ahmad, Lt Col Rifat Nadeem. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.
* {{cite book|last=Barthorp|first=Michael|author2=Jeffrey Burn|title=Indian Infantry Regiments 1860–1914|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=London|year=1979|isbn=978-0-85045-307-2}}
* {{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}}
* Geoghegan, Col NM, and Campbell, Capt MHA. (1928). ''History of the 1st Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment''. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.
* Phythian-Adams, Lt Col EG. (1943). ''Madras Infantry 1748–1943''. Madras: The Government Press.
* Wilson, Lt Col WJ. (1882–88). ''History of the Madras Army''. Madras: The Government Press.
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}

[[Category:Baloch Regiment]]
[[Category:British Indian Army infantry regiments]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1798]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1922]]
[[Category:Indian World War I regiments]]

89th Punjabis - Revision history

Bot at 15:32, 11 August 2021