The 17th Indian Division was formed in 1917 from units of the British Indian Army

British Indian Army

The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...

 for service in the Mesopotamia Campaign during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. The division was involved in the Action at Fat-ha Gorge on the Little Zab

Little Zab

The Little Zab , , ) originates in Iran and joins the Tigris in Iraq. The river is approximately long and drains an area of c. . The river is fed by rainfall and snowmelt, resulting in a peak discharge in spring and low water in summer and early fall...

 between October 23–26, 1918 and the Battle of Sharqat

Battle of Sharqat

The Battle of Sharqat was between the British and the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian Campaign in World War I, which became the final conflict that ended as a result of the signing of armistice....

, October 28–30, 1918. At the end of the Great War it was part of the occupation force in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 until it was disbanded up in 1928.

Formation

34th Brigade

• 2nd Btn Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment
• 31st Punjabis
  31st Punjabis
  The 31st Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as Van Cortlandt's Levy. The regiment was designated as the 31st Punjabis in 1903 and became 2nd Battalion 16th Punjab Regiment in 1922...
  
  
• 1/112th Infantry
  112th Infantry
  The 112th Infantry were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment traces their origins to 1796, when they were raised as the 2nd Battalion, 6th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry....
  
  
• 114th Mahrattas
  114th Mahrattas
  The 114th Mahrattas were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment traces their origins to 1800, when they were raised as the 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry....
  
  

51st Brigade

• 1st Btn Highland Light Infantry
  Highland Light Infantry
  The Highland Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. In 1923 the regimental title was expanded to the Highland Light Infantry ...
  
  
• 1/2nd Rajputs
• 14th Ferozepore Sikhs
• 1/10th Gurkha Rifles

52nd Brigade

• 1/6th Btn Hampshire Regiment
• 45th Rattray's Sikhs
  45th Rattray's Sikhs
  The 45th Rattray's Sikhs was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to the 1st Bengal Military Police Battalion raised in April 1856, at Lahore, by Captain Thomas Rattray originally consisting of a troop of 100 cavalry and 500 infantry...
  
  
• 84th Punjabis
  84th Punjabis
  The 84th Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised by Captain Donald Macdonald at Vellore on 12 August 1794, as the 34th Battalion of Madras Native Infantry. It was designated as the 84th Punjabis in 1903 and became the 10th Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment in 1922....
  
  
• 1/113th Infantry
  113th Infantry
  The 113th Infantry were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment traces their origins to 1800, when they were raised as the 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry....
  
  

External references

• Battle of Sharqat, 1918, at FirstWorldWar.com

Further reading

• Perry, F.W. & Becke, A.F. (1945). History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions: Indian Army Divisions Pt. 5B. London HMSO. ISBN 1-871167-23-X
• Haythornthwaite P.J. (1992). The World War One Sourcebook, Arms and Armour Press.
• Moberly, F.J. (1923). Official History of the War: Mesopotamia Campaign, Imperial War Museum. ISBN 1-870423-30-5