The Baloch Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army. The modern regiment was formed in May 1956 by the merger of 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments with the Baluch Regiment. Since then, further raisings have brought the strength of the Regiment to 62 battalions. Before 1991, it was called the Baluch Regiment but the spelling was changed to 'Baloch' to better reflect the correct pronunciation.Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.
The Baloch Regiment is second in seniority after the Punjab Regiment among the infantry regiments of Pakistan Army.Riza, Maj Gen Shaukat. (1989). The Pakistan Army 1947–49. Rawalpindi: Services Book Club. Its senior-most battalion was raised more than two hundred years ago, in 1798. The regiment has a distinguished record of military service both before and after the independence of Pakistan. It has won numerous gallantry awards including 6 Victoria Cross, one George Cross, 6 Hilal-i-Jurat with one bar, 68 Sitara-i-Jurat with 4 bars, and 81 Tamgha-i-Jurat.Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2017). History of the Baloch Regiment. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre. The regiment's long list of battle honours dates from the Battle of Cochin in 1809 to the Battle of Qaisar-i-Hind in 1971.
Early history of the Baloch Regiment The Baloch Regiment has its origin in the former Bombay and Madras Armies, as well as the State Forces of Bahawalpur.
The Madras Army In the 18th century, British possessions in India were divided into the 'Presidencies' of Madras, Bengal and Bombay. Each presidency maintained its own army, and it was not until the end of the 19th century that a unified command was established for the British Indian Army. For more than fifty years, the Madras Army was engaged in the struggle for control of South India and was largely responsible for the British defeat of Tipu Sultan and the French. It also took an active part in the wars against the Marathas, dispatched a number of overseas expeditions and played a major role in the conquest and pacification of Burma.Ahmad, Maj RN, and Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin. (2006). Unfaded Glory: The 8th Punjab Regiment 1798–1956. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre. The Baloch Regiment's Madrassi origins are derived from the five battalions it inherited from the 8th Punjab Regiment in 1956. The 1st Battalion was raised in 1798 at Masulipatam, as 3rd Extra Battalion of Madras Native Infantry, and was known as MacLeod ki Paltan (MacLeod's Battalion) after the officer who raised it. It was designated as the 1st Battalion 15th Regiment in 1800, and 29th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry in 1824. The battalion was dispatched to Ceylon to suppress a rebellion of the Sinhalese in 1818. In 1832, it was stationed at Malacca, Malaya, when it was again engaged in suppressing a revolt in the State of Naning.Ahmad, Lt Col Rifat Nadeem. (2012). The Gallant One: War Services of First Battalion The Baloch Regiment. Rawalpindi: The Battalion. 2, 3, 4 & 5 Baloch were also raised as battalions of Madras Infantry in 1799–1800. In 1824, they were designated as the 30th, 31st, 32nd & 33rd Madras Native Infantry respectively. The 30th & 32nd Regiments took part in the First Burma War, while the 30th, 31st & 33rd fought in the Third Anglo-Maratha War of 1817. The 31st Regiment, then known as 1st Battalion 16th Regiment (or Trichinopoly Light Infantry), greatly distinguished itself at the Battle of Mahidpur. It was styled as Light Infantry in 1811, as a reward for a 25-mile forced march in support of a retreating force; when it arrived just in time to turn the tables in a minor engagement near Mysore. The 33rd Regiment first made its name in the Travancore War in 1809, when the battalion repulsed a force of 3000 rebels at Cochin. All four battalions saw considerable action in Central India against the Marathas during the Great Indian Rebellion of 1857-58.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. Between 1890 and 1893, the five battalions were moved to Burma and reconstituted with Punjabi Muslims, Sikhs and other North Indians. Their designations were changed to 29th (7th Burma Battalion), 30th (5th Burma Battalion), 31st (6th Burma Battalion), 32nd (4th Burma Battalion) and 33rd (3rd Burma Battalion) Regiments of Madras Infantry. In 1901, these cumbersome titles were simplified by removing all mention of Madras, and the five regiments were styled as the 29th and 30th Burma Infantry, 31st Burma Light Infantry, 32nd and 33rd Burma Infantry. These Burma Battalions were created to police the new territories acquired in the Third Burma War and pacify the rebellious hill tribes inhabiting the frontier regions of Burma. In 1903, all Madras regiments had sixty added to their numbers, requiring another change in designation to 89th and 90th Punjabis, 91st Punjabis (Light Infantry), 92nd Punjabis and 93rd Burma Infantry. After the First World War, the five Burma Battalions were grouped together to form the 8th Punjab Regiment in 1922. These frontier battalions had adopted uniforms of drab colour (a pinkish shade of khaki) when they moved to Burma and the 8th Punjab Regiment retained drab as its regimental colour with blue facings.
The Bombay Army The senior battalion of what became the 10th Baluch Regiment in 1922, was raised in 1820, as the 2nd (Marine) Battalion 12th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry. In 1838, as the 24th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry, it stormed and captured the city of Aden (Yemen) as part of a punitive expedition sent to rid the area of pirates. The 26th Bombay Native Infantry was raised in 1825, as the 2nd Extra Battalion of Bombay Native Infantry, changing its name a year later. In 1843, the British conquered Sindh after defeating the ruling confederacy of Baloch chieftains. General Sir Charles Napier, the British commander, was much impressed by the ferocious courage of his Balochi opponents and decided to recruit them for local service within Sindh. As a result, two irregular battalions of Bombay Army, the 1st and 2nd Belooch (old spelling of Baloch) Battalions were raised in 1844 and 1846 at Karachi. In 1856, the 2nd Belooch Battalion was dispatched to fight in the Persian War in 1856–57, a campaign frequently overshadowed by the events of the Great Indian Rebellion of 1857. Meanwhile, the 1st Belooch Battalion was dispatched on foot across the Sindh desert in May, to join the siege artillery train on its way to Delhi; the only Bombay unit to join the Delhi Field Force. The battalion was brought into line in 1861, for its services in North India and it became the 27th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry in the post-Mutiny realignment. 2nd Belooch, in the meantime, had qualified for a similar change in status and became the 29th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry.Cadell, Sir Patrick. (1938). History of the Bombay Army. London: Longmans & Green.Maxwell, Lt Col WE. (1948). Capital Campaigners. Aldershot: Gale & Polden. In 1858, Major John Jacob raised two local 'silladar'Under the Silladari System, a soldier brought his own weapons, equipment and horse in return for a higher rate of wages. The system was widely practised in the Indian Cavalry. However, there is no known example of it in the infantry, other than Jacob's Rifles. infantry battalions known as Jacob's Rifles; the only silladar infantry to have existed in the Indian Army. These battalions soon earned a formidable reputation in and around Jacobabad for keeping the peace on the Sindh frontier. In 1861, the first of these was accorded regular status, becoming the 30th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry or Jacob's Rifles, while the second was disbanded. In 1862, the 2nd Beloochees went to China to suppress the Taiping Rebellion. Two years later, they became the first foreign troops to be stationed in Japan, when two companies were sent to Yokohama to guard the British legation. Meanwhile, the 1st Beloochees greatly distinguished themselves in the long and arduous Abyssinian Campaign of 1868 and were made Light Infantry as a reward. All Baloch battalions took part in the Second Afghan War of 1878–80, where Jacob's Rifles suffered heavy casualties at the Battle of Maiwand. The 1st Belooch Regiment again distinguished itself in 1885–87 during the Third Burma War. In 1891, the 24th and 26th Bombay Infantry also became 'Balochi', when they were reconstituted with Pathans, Balochis and Hazaras, and localized in Baluchistan; becoming the 24th and 26th (Baluchistan) Regiments of Bombay Infantry. The 24th and 27th Regiments saw active service in British East Africa in 1896–99, while the 26th and Jacob's Rifles went to China in 1900 to suppress the Boxer Rebellion.
In 1903, the 24th, 26th, 27th, 29th, and 30th had one hundred added to their numbers as part of Lord Kitchener's reforms, emerging as the 124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry, 126th Baluchistan Infantry, 127th Baluch Light Infantry, 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis and 130th Jacob's Baluchis.Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin. (1998). History of the Baloch Regiment 1820–1939. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.Chaldecott, Lt Col OA. (1935). The First Battalion (DCO) and the Tenth Battalion, the Tenth Baluch Regiment. Aldershot: Gale & Polden. Following World War I, the five battalions were merged to form the 10th Baluch Regiment.
The pre-1914 full dress uniforms of all five Baluchi infantry regiments included dark red trousers; with rifle green tunics and dark green turbans for the 127th, 129th and 130th Baluchis.Carman, WY. (1969). "Indian Army Uniforms – Artillery, Engineers and Infantry". London: Morgan-Grampton. pp. 182–3. Carman notes that while the sepoys of the Baluch regiments wore dark green pugris, those of the Indian officers were dark blue with gold ends. The 124th and 126th Baluchistan Infantry also wore red trousers but with drab-coloured tunics and turbans. On the formation of the 10th Baluch Regiment, rifle green and red uniform was adopted by the whole regiment.Poulsom, Lt Col NW, and Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2011). Uniforms & Devices of the Baloch Regiment. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre. The 1911 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica commented that "The remarkable Baluchi uniforms (green and drab with baggy red trousers) are unique in the British Empire".
The Bahawalpur State Forces The two senior battalions of Bahawalpur Regiment trace their origin to 1827 when the Nawab of Bahawalpur first organized his forces. These forces were engaged in support of the British during the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1848–49 and the Great Rebellion of 1857. In 1889, a small force from Bahawalpur was accepted as Imperial Service Troops, placing them at the disposal of the British for use in emergencies. However, it was not until the 20th century that these units began training on modern lines. In 1901, Bahawalpur State raised a camel baggage train with an escort of mounted infantry, called the Bahawalpur Imperial Service Mounted Rifles and Camel Transport Corps, which would go on to become the 1st Bahawalpur Sadiq Battalion in 1924. In 1912, the colour of their uniform was khaki with green facings.Head, RW. (1981). The Bahawalpur Army.Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin. (2000). History of the Baloch Regiment 1939–1956. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.
Baloch Regiment in the First World War
10th Baluch Regiment 124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry – British India, Persia. 2/124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry – Raised in 1916 – Mesopotamia, Egypt, Palestine. 3/124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Baluchistan Infantry – Raised in 1917 – India, Persia, Iraq. Disbanded 1921. 126th Baluchistan Infantry – India, Egypt, Muscat, Aden, Mesopotamia. 127th Queen Mary's Own Baluch Light Infantry – India, German East Africa, Persia.