The 2nd Division was a regular army division 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...

. It was formed in 1903 after the Kitchener reforms

Kitchener Reforms

The Kitchener Reforms of the Indian Army began in 1903 when Lord Kitchener of Khartoum, newly appointed Commander-in-Chief, India, completed the unification of the three armies of the former Presidencies , and also the Punjab Frontier Force, the Hyderabad Contingent and other local forces, into one...

 of the Indian Army. 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...

 it remained in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 for local defence but it was mobilised for action on the North West Frontier on several occasions during the period. The Division was mobilised in 1919 for service during the Third Afghan War.

3rd (Abbottabad) Infantry Brigade

1/5th Guides Rifles

12th Frontier Force Regiment

The 12th Frontier Force Regiment was part of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922. It consisted of five regular battalions; numbered 1 to 5 and the 10th Battalion. During the Second World War a further ten battalions were raised. In 1945 the prenomial "12th" was dropped when the British...

1/6th Guides Rifles

2/5th Guides Rifles

2/6th Guides Rifles

4th (Rawalpindi) Infantry Brigade

2nd North Staffordshire Regiment

North Staffordshire Regiment

The North Staffordshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. It can date its lineage back to 1756 with the formation of a second battalion by the 11th Regiment of Foot, which shortly after became the 64th Regiment of Foot...

21st Lancers

21st Lancers

The 21st Lancers were a cavalry regiment of the British Army, created in 1858 and amalgamated to form the 17th/21st Lancers in 1922...

5th Cavalry

3rd Cavalry

The 3rd Cavalry was a regular cavalry Regiment in the British Indian Army formed from the 5th and 8th Cavalry regiments in 1922.The which served on the North West Frontier and during World War I and World War II.-Early history:...

35th Sikhs

35th Sikhs

The 35th Sikhs were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1887, when thy were raised as the 35th Bengal Infantry.The regiment took part in the Siege of Malakand in 1897 AND World War I...

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....

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