VADIRAJ HOMBAL forwards an Oxford University archival image of the Mysore Lancers and Jodhpore Lancers passing through Haifa (in modern-day Israel), following the city’s capture from the Ottoman empire of the Turks in the Battle of Megiddo.
Most of the Mysore troopers, who were part of the British Empire forces, wore steel helmets, while the Sikhs kept their turbans on.
Today, September 23, is the 90th anniversary of what is reputed to be the “last great cavalry victory of the Mysore Lancers”.
Photograph: courtesy Imperial War Museum photographic archive
Tags: Battle of Megiddo, Churumuri, Haifa, Israel, Jodhpur Lancers, Mount Carmel, Mysore Lancers, Sans Serif
23 September 2009 at 8:14 pm
are you sure that mysore cavalry were involved.
The reports of the battle of meggido report othe involvement of 2 indian infantry divisions, meerut and lahore and 2 cavalry the the 4th and 5th cavalry divisions. these had troops from central and western India. Could you guide me to the appropriate refernce. I am world war I buff and would like to learn more about this battle and correct my misperceptions
23 September 2009 at 10:25 pm
Yes ! Definitely !
Near Bangalore Doordarshan, there is a war memorial pillar mentioning some of the hero’s.
Mysore Cavalry has a memorial pillar at New Delhi also.
24 September 2009 at 12:58 am
thanks
24 September 2009 at 1:03 am
This link from the book Indian Army 1914-1946 provides another reference (however minor) to the events at Haifa.
http://books.google.com/books?id=SylfQK3VZNYC&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=mysore+lancers+first+world+war&source=bl&ots=15JjwrlWnd&sig=rKX0sD9u7EScobvSCnLQyaTP-ag&hl=en&ei=yna6SvWNNML_8AbTvomCBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5#v=onepage&q=mysore&f=false
24 September 2009 at 8:27 am
yes they did.
churumuri. i think it was the last greatest cavalary battle. period. since then all militaries have motorized.
24 September 2009 at 3:01 pm
Teen Murti Bhawan round about in New Delhi has the names of some of the Mysore lancers’ sepoys who died in the World War 1.
I counted some 15-20 names one day.
24 September 2009 at 7:37 pm
@Faldo
Thanks for the link. Earlier I could not find a reference that put the Mysore Lancers in the 5th cavalry.
24 September 2009 at 11:05 pm
The memorial at Bangalore:
The Mysore Lancers, the Mysore Transport Corps, and the Mysore Imperial Service Troops Memorial, Bangalore, India:
“Sacred to the Memory of those Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers and Men of the Mysore Imperial Service Troops who gave their lives during the ‘Great War’ 1914 – 1918″.
MYSORE – LANCERS served at :
Suez Canal – Egypt : 1915 – 1917
Gaza – Meggiddo – Sharon – Damascus – Palestine: 1917 – 1918
MYSORE TRANSPORT CORPS served at:
Tigris Kut-Al-Amara : 1916 – 1917
Baghdad – Mespotamia : 1916 – 1918
LIST OF NAMES
Officer: A. Lingaraj Urs, Meer Ashroff Alli.
Other Ranks: Venkatta Rao Maney, Annaji Dhummal, Rachunatha Rao Birjey, Mohammed Abdul Sattar, Nar Singh, Mohammed Peer Khan, Rahimon Khan, Ganapath Rao Sindhey, Rama Rao Gaikwad, Manadeva Rao Bobdey, Sheik Ibrahim, Sham Singh, Roya Sundaram, Chithambara Rao Ithapay, Meer Abdul Latheef .
***
Speech by Maharaja of Mysore, H.H. Nalvadi Krsihna Raja Wadiyar:
ADDRESS TO THE MYSORE IMIPERIAL SERVICE LANCERS ON THEIR RETURN FROM WAR SERVICE ON 21st FEBRUARY 1920.
Colonel Chamaraj Urs, Officers and officers of the Mysore Imperial Service Lancers,-
It is with feelings of immense personal pleasure that I come amongst you today to address you a few words of welcome on your return after a prolonged absence from your homes, and to tell you how proud I am of your achievements in the field. Your discipline and spirit were throughout the campaign Excellent and I congratulate you on the splendid Manner in which you acquitted yourselves at the front, and upheld Mysore’s martial traditions. I feel sure that all your fellow-countrymen share my feelings on this occasion, and admire and appreciate the great sacrifices which you have made and the gallantry which you have displayed. You have returned with fresh laurels and with the proud consciousness of having discharged your duties to the entire satisfaction of the British military authorities, under whom it was your privilege to serve.
I wish you all many years of peace and happiness.
***
India’s unique 61st Cavalry:
Raised Jan 1, 1953, from the remnants of various mounted regiments of the forces of erstwhile princely state, the 61st Cavalry came into being under the special dispensation of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who overruled the army’s recommendation that all of its mounted regiments be disbanded as there was little use for them in modern warfare and also because the fledgling Indian armed forces could ill afford such a “luxury”.
Formed with the merger of the Mysore Lancers, Gwalior Lancers, Jodhpur Horse, Jodhpur/Kachhawa Horse, Patiala Lancers and Saurashtra Horsed Cavalry Squadron in April 1951 when the Indian government took over the military forces of the erstwhile princely states, it was named the New Horsed Cavalry Regiment before being given its current identity.
61st Cavalry remains the only operationally ready horse-mounted regiment in the world.
25 September 2009 at 3:23 am
September 23 is Haifa Day marked in the IndianArmy. September 23 , 1918 is the day Haifa felt to the 65 th Cavalry of the Indian Army. There were lancers from Jodpur, Mysore and other states. Please google Haifa Day. Major Dalpat Singh Shekawat won the MC posthumously and is knownas the Hero of Haifa, There is the Indian Army cremation site for the Hindu and Sikh soldiers and burial site for Muslim soilders . I pass this every day to and from my work at the Rambam Hospital.
25 September 2009 at 4:36 am
@sanjayC, I also remember reading about the specific exploits of the Mysore and Jodhpur Lancers in another site but am unable to get that link.
25 September 2009 at 5:14 am
It’s a shame they were rolled into the Madras Sappers regiment. Like rajachandra mentions, there is a pillar near Doordarshan in Bengaluru (on the way to R.T.Nagar) to mark their heroism. I am not aware of any others.
25 September 2009 at 11:56 pm
G3S, Did you mean meant Madras Regiment? Madras Sappers would refer to Madras Engineering Group (MEG).
26 September 2009 at 3:18 pm
Two hundred year old Christian Cemetery in Kasauli (in Himachal Pradesh) has a grave/tomb of a sepoy of Mysore Lancers. His name is Vivekananda.
Don’t know how and why his dead body reached there.
I think he died at the British built TB hospital at Kasauli and they buried him there.
26 September 2009 at 8:10 pm
very interesting to read comments on haifa victory 23 sept 1918. well, i have great interest in this particular battle victory achieved by jodhpur lancers supported by Mysore lancers. it was lord Allenby the british general who tasked 15 imperial service cavalry brigade consisting of jodhpur,mysore and hyderabad lancers to attack and clear haifa, a important sea port to further his operations towards turks during the great war.
jodhpur lancers was tasked to attack haifa. jodhpur lancers B Squadron led the attack to capture very critical defile to enter haifa. oh it was the most daring day lighted classical cavalry attack. Turks were surprised and totally overwhelmed at this most daring cavalry attack. jodhpur lancers lost its commanding officer maj dalpat singh,MC in the very begining. maJ hayla holden the special service british officer with jodhpur lancers was also injured.
it was a very critical moment but the leading B Suadron commander Capt Aman Singh Jodha,OBI,IOM assumed the command of the regiment and led the jodhpur lancers to its greatest victory, believed to be the last of the great cavalry attack. capt aman singh was awarded the indian order of merit. to commemorate that famous battle victory sir pertap the maharaja regent of jodhpur commisioned a british sculptor to who built the famous teen murty statue in new delhi.it has three unknown soldiers of the three famous regiments. well, the leading squadron commander at haifa was none other than my grandfather who was decorated with order of british india and the indian order of merit. this subject is very close to my heart. further details you can contact me at msjodha85@gmail.com
***
furter on 23 SEPT HAIFA VICTORY. fortunately i have the citation of my grandfater proudly decorating my house. published in the gazette of india on 26 april 1919 from viceroy office simla. it reads as —-
AMAN SINGH JODHA,BAHADUR,CAPTAIN IN THE JODHPUR IMPERIAL SERVICE LANCERS–AWARDED THE INDIAN ORDER OF MERIT……
“ON THE 23 SEPT 1918, IN AN ATTACK THIS OFFICER COMMANDED THE LEADING SQUADRON UNDER HEAVY MACHINE GUN AND RIFLE FIRE. WHEN HELD UP BY AN IMPASSABLE WADI IN FRONT,HE LED HIS SQUADRON WITH GREAT DASH AND GALLANTRY,AGAINST THE ENEMY’S POSITION ON HIS LEFT,WHICH HE WAS ORDERED TO TAKE, CAPTURING 2 MACHINE GUNS, 2 CAMEL GUNS , KILLING OVER 30 OF THE ENEMY, AND THUS OPENING A WAY FOR THE REGIMENT THROUGH THE DEFILE. HE REORGANISED HIS SQUADRON AND CARRIED THE FIRST AND SECOND OBJECTIVES. THIS OFFICER SHOWED GREAT COURAGE, COOLNESS AND ABILITY THROUGHOUT THE ACTION.—- A H BINGLEY,MAJOR GENERAL, SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.
26 September 2009 at 10:11 pm
thank you sir
31 January 2010 at 11:33 pm
Hello
I live in Haifa
Ex IDF TANK CORPS
I visited the world war1 graveyard last week to honor the Indian
soldiers who died in the battle of Haifa 1918
15 April 2010 at 1:53 pm
There is a Memorial to the Lancers just opposite the TV Tower in Bangalore, can anyone comment on it please?
16 July 2010 at 7:11 pm
well the haifa day is arriving on the 23 september 2010 when 92 years would have been completed after that famous battle victory by jodhpur and mysore lancers. soon it would be 100 years on the 23 september 2018.
i am trying to compile a book on jodhpur lancers. any one who has anything to contribute, may kindly contact.
24 July 2010 at 10:03 pm
Many men have not been listed before the WW I because of subalterian policies equality in armed forces started becoming real only after the IWW. The Mysore Horse literally Vanished By Early 1900,s
14 October 2010 at 5:55 am
This year for 2010 at the famous Dasara Ehibition at Mysore, the ex servicemen are given a stall. I am displaying the pictures and history of Mysore Lancers in a grand way.
I am both a Madra Sapper and from Mysore.
Captain Narasimha Sharman
16 October 2010 at 2:27 pm
Haifa day in the Indian army memory for first world war – battle of Haifa 1918
Visit my Blog for 2010 memorial ceremony in Haifa
http://haifa-history.blogspot.com/2010/09/haifa-day-in-indian-army-memory-for.html
4 October 2011 at 10:52 am
I’m proud to inform you all that my grandfather (Late) Maj. S.Simha served the Mysore Lancers and was a young Jamider (Lt.) during the 1 WW. He served in Suez canal during 1915 -17 and received the commemorative Silver medal for his service from the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore H.H. Nalvadi Krishna raja Wadiyar.
He was also an excellent polo player with a handicap of Five.
26 March 2013 at 11:17 pm
Captain A.Lingaraj Urs who died in the First World War was the son-in-law of Lt.Col.Chamaraj Urs who was the field commander of the Mysore Lancers in that war. However the Commandant was Col.Desraj Urs, brother in law of Maharaja Krishnarajendra Wodeyar IV. His mansion in Bangalore, Melville House which stood to the left of Mount Carmel College on the Palace Road, has unfortunately been pulled down making way for an apartment comlex. The home or bungalow of ChamarajUrs in Mysore was at the junction of Kantaraj Urs Road and Naryana Sastry Road in Lakshmipuram. I can take credit for bringing to light the sorry state of the Lancers’ Memorial in Bangalore which is at the entrance of the Controllerate of Inspection Electronics. That was way back in 1974 in the columns of The Hindu. The Memorial continues to be in bad shape. It is on the road named after Col.Desraj Urs. It was on this road that the Doordarshan building came to be built. Desraj Urs’ bungalow in Mysore was Datta Cottage in Nazarbad, adjacent to Vasanth Mahal. Even that has been demolished-
Arakere Jayaram, Columnist .