Baloch Regiment - Early History of The Baloch Regiment - The Bombay Army

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 Baluch) 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.

In 1858, Major John Jacob raised two local 'silladar' infantry battalions known as the 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 the 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. Following World War I, the five battalions were merged to form the 10th Baluch Regiment. The pre-1914 full dress uniforms of the five Baluchi infantry regiments included dark red trousers and rifle green tunics with dark green turbans for the 127th, 129th and 130th Baluchis. 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. The 1911 edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica commented that "The remarkable Baluchi uniforms (green and drab with baggy red trousers) are unique in the British Empire".