Early History
The Punjab regiment can trace its origins to the Madras Army of the British East India Company. The most senior battalion of the 1st Punjab Regiment was raised in 1759 as the 3rd Battalion of Coast Sepoys, and is the senior most surviving infantry battalion of the British Indian Army. Their first major conflict was a decisive victory at Battle of Wandiwash in 1760, when the British East India Company led by Sir Eyre Coote effectively ended French colonial ambitions in South Asia. All the battalions of the regiment subsequently played an important role in the early military campaigns of the East India Company and were actively engaged in the wars against the French, Mysore and the Marathas.
The numbers and titles of the battalions changed during the successive reorganisations of the Madras Presidency Army, the British Indian Army and the Indian Army during the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries. The names changed from Coast Sepoys to Carnatic Infantry, Madras Native Infantry, Punjabis and finally to the Punjab Regiment. After 1857, the British applied the Martial Races theory and north Indian troops replaced the South Indians, the regiment eventually being renamed as The Punjab Regiment.
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