3rd (Lahore) Division


The 3rd Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army, first organised in 1852. It saw service during World War I as part of the Indian Corps in France before being moved to the Middle East where it fought against troops of the Ottoman Empire.

Pre-Mutiny

The Lahore Division first appears in the Indian Army List in 1852, when the short-lived Cis-Jhelum Division was renamed. The Cis-Jhelum Division in turn had previously been the Saugor Division, a longstanding formation of the Bengal Army. At this period Divisions were primarily administrative organisations controlling the brigades and stations in their area, rather than field formations, but they did provide field forces when required. The Lahore Division absorbed the Lahore Field Force under Brigadier Sir James Tennant, which had formed part of the Army of the Punjab since 1847. Lahore Fort was occupied by the British after the First Anglo-Sikh War and the city of Lahore was annexed in 1849 at the conclusion of the Second Anglo-Sikh War. In 1852 a military cantonment was established outside the city.

Composition 1852''Bengal and Agra Directory and Annual Register'' 1852; ''East-India Register and Army List'' 1853

: Brigadier-General Sir John Cheape, KCB, Bengal Engineers .
Lahore:
Commanding Station: Brigadier Sir James Tennant, Bengal Artillery
Wazirabad:
Brigadier J.R. Hearsey
Sialkot:
Lieutenant-Colonel J.T. Lane, Bengal Artillery
Govindgarh :
During the 'Indian Mutiny' some Indian regiments at the Mian Mir cantonments plotted to mutiny but were disarmed under the guns of a British horse artillery battery and infantry battalion to prevent them seizing Lahore Fort. Later the 26th Bengal Native Infantry at Mian Mir did mutiny, murder some of their officers and escape under cover of a dust storm, but Lahore was held for the remainder of the conflict by British troops and Indians troops loyal to the government.

Post-Mutiny

Over succeeding decades, the stations controlled by Lahore Division varied, and the forces under command were regularly rotated. For example:

Composition January 1888''India List'' January 1888

GOC: Maj-Gen Sir Hugh Henry Gough, VC
Aide-de-Camp: Capt H.F.M. Wilson, Rifle Brigade
Divisional HQ: Mian Mir
Mian Mir:
Fort Lahore:
Multan Brigade:
Ferozepore:
Amritsar:
Dharamsala:
Bakloh :
Under the reforms introduced by Lord Roberts as Commander-in-Chief India, the Divisions were renamed 1st Class Districts in 1890. In the next round of reforms inaugurated by Lord Kitchener as CinC, they became numbered divisions with their territorial affiliation as a subsidiary title. The title 3rd Division first appears in the Army List between 30 September and 31 December 1904, as part of Northern Command, with the Jullunder, Sirhind and Ambala brigades under command. Lahore District/3rd Division at this time was under the command of Maj-Gen Walter Kitchener, the CinC's younger brother, who commanded it at the Rawalpindi Parade 1905. In 1914 the division, with HQ at Dalhousie, consisted of the Ferozepore, Jullunder and Sirhind infantry brigades, and the Ambala cavalry brigade.

World War I

Western Front 1914

In 1914 the 3rd Division was part of Indian Expeditionary Force A sent to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force fighting in France. The bulk constituted an infantry division as part of Indian Corps, while the Ambala Cavalry Brigade was detached to form part of 1st Indian Cavalry Division in the Indian Cavalry Corps. While in France the division was known as the Lahore Division, and its brigades by their names, to avoid confusion with the 3rd British Division. Despatch from India was delayed by the activities of the German raiders Emden and Konigsberg operating in the Indian Ocean, and by the slow speed of the transport vessels. The first two brigades landed at Marseilles on 26 September 1914, but there were further delays while the troops were re-armed with the latest pattern rifle, and the supply train could be improvised, using tradesmen's vans procured locally.
The 3rd Lahore Divisional Area was formed in late 1914 to take over the garrison duties of the 3rd Division when it left for France. The 3rd Lahore Divisional Area was disbanded in May 1917, the responsibilities of the area being taken over by the 16th Division.
Order of Battle October 1914
GOC: Lieut-Gen H.B.B. Watkis, CB
Ferozepore Brigade
GOC: Brig-Gen R.G. Egerton, CB
Jullundur Brigade
GOC: Maj-Gen P.M. Carnegy, CB
Sirhind Brigade - arrived at Marseilles from Egypt 30 November, joined 9 December 1914
GOC: Maj-Gen J.M.S. Brunker
Divisional Troops:
Mounted Troops:
Artillery:
Engineers
Signals Service:
Pioneers
Supply & Transport:
Medical Units:
The division finally got into action piecemeal at the simultaneous Battles of La Bassee, 1st Messines and Armentieres along the British part of the Western Front in October–November 1914. The degree to which the division was broken up can be gauged by the 29 October entry in the diary kept by the Indian corps' commander, Lt-Gen Sir James Willcocks:
When the troops were relieved in November 1914, the reassembled division defended a section of the front in Indian Corps' sector.

Western Front 1915

After winter operations the division next took part in the Battles of Neuve Chapelle, Aubers Ridge, Festubert and Loos in 1915.
Order of Battle May 1915
GOC: Maj-Gen H.D'U. Keary
Ferozepore Brigade
GOC: Brig-Gen R.G. Egerton, CB
Jullundur Brigade
GOC: Brig-Gen E.P. Strickland
Sirhind Brigade
GOC: Brig-Gen W.G. Walker, VC
Divisional Troops:
As before, with addition of XLIII

Mesopotamia

On 13 August 1915, General Sir John Nixon, commanding Indian Expeditionary Force D in Mesopotamia, requested one of the Indian infantry divisions in France as reinforcements for his advance on Baghdad. Coincidentally, on the same day, the Secretary of State for India, Austen Chamberlain, told the Viceroy of India that he was anxious for the Indian infantry to be withdrawn from France before they had to endure another winter. The system for supplying drafts had broken down and the Indian battalions were becoming very weak after the heavy casualties they had suffered. Although the Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, objected to their withdrawal from the Western Front, orders were issued on 31 October for the two divisions of Indian Corps and 7th to embark at Marseilles for Mesopotamia. They were to leave behind their attached Territorial Force and Special Reserve battalions, and the three RFA brigades of 18-pounder guns of 3rd Division. The two divisions were relieved in the front line on 6 November and were due at Basra in December, but their departure from Marseilles was delayed because of fear of submarine attack. 3rd Division finally arrived in Mesopotamia in April 1916 and joined Tigris Corps, too late to relieve 6th Division at Kut-al-Amara.

Palestine

After the fall of Baghdad, the Palestine Campaign was given priority over Mesopotamia, and in March 1918 the division was transferred to Egypt to join Sir Edmund Allenby's Egyptian Expeditionary Force until the end of the war. At the Battle of Megiddo in September 1918 it formed part of Sir Edward Bulfin's XXI Corps on the right flank.
Order of Battle from May 1918
GOC: Maj-Gen A.R. Hoskins
7th Brigade:
8th Brigade:
9th Brigade:
Divisional Artillery :