61st Pioneers
Encyclopedia
The 61st Pioneers were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army
. They could trace their origins to 1758, when they were raised as the 1st Battalion Coast Sepoys.
The regiment took part in the Carnatic Wars
in 1746–1763 and then the Third Anglo-Mysore War
.
In the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
they took part in the Battle of Seedaseer
, the Battle of Seringapatam
, the Battle of Nagpore, the Battle of Ava. They were next in action during the Indian Rebellion of 1857
in the Central India Campaign
. There next campaigns were outside India when they took part in the Second Afghan War, the Second Burmese War and the Boxer Rebellion
.
During World War I
they were part of the 9th (Secunderabad) Division
in the 27th Banglore Brigade. This brigade served away from its parent division and served in British East Africa as part of the Indian Expeditionary Force B. After returning to India they took part in the Third Afghan War.
After World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. In 1922, the 61st Pioneers now became the 1st Battalion 1st Madras Pioneers
, which was disbanded in 1933.
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...
. They could trace their origins to 1758, when they were raised as the 1st Battalion Coast Sepoys.
The regiment took part in the Carnatic Wars
Carnatic Wars
The Carnatic Wars were a series of military conflicts in the middle of the 18th century on the Indian subcontinent...
in 1746–1763 and then the Third Anglo-Mysore War
Third Anglo-Mysore War
The Third Anglo-Mysore War was a war in South India between the Sultanate of Mysore and the British East India Company and its allies, including the Mahratta Empire and the Nizam of Hyderabad...
.
In the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War was a war in South India between the Sultanate of Mysore and the British East India Company under the Earl of Mornington....
they took part in the Battle of Seedaseer
Battle of Seedaseer
The Battle of Seedaseer was a battle of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War on 6 March 1799 at Seedaseer , a hill and pass on the border of the Coorg and Mysore country seven miles from Piriyapatna and with a view almost as far as Seringapatam. A British force of 2,000 was surrounded by 18-20,000 men of...
, the Battle of Seringapatam
Battle of Seringapatam
The Siege of Seringapatam was the final confrontation of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Mysore. The British achieved a decisive victory after breaching the walls of the fortress at Seringapatam and storming the citadel. Tippu Sultan, Mysore's...
, the Battle of Nagpore, the Battle of Ava. They were next in action during the Indian Rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
in the Central India Campaign
Central India Campaign (1858)
The Central India Campaign was one of the last series of actions in the Indian rebellion of 1857,...
. There next campaigns were outside India when they took part in the Second Afghan War, the Second Burmese War and the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
.
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...
they were part of the 9th (Secunderabad) Division
9th (Secunderabad) Division
The 9th Division was a formation of the British Indian Army. It was part of the Southern Army and was formed in 1904 after Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India between 1902 and 1909...
in the 27th Banglore Brigade. This brigade served away from its parent division and served in British East Africa as part of the Indian Expeditionary Force B. After returning to India they took part in the Third Afghan War.
After World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. In 1922, the 61st Pioneers now became the 1st Battalion 1st Madras Pioneers
1st Madras Pioneers
The 1st Madras Pioneers could refer to;*61st Pioneers Which had the title in 1901, they later became the 1st Battalion, 1st Madras Pioneers in 1922*64th Pioneers which became the 2nd Battalion, 1st Madras Pioneers in 1922....
, which was disbanded in 1933.
Predecessor names
- 1st Battalion Coast Sepoys - 1758
- 1st Carnatic Battalion - 1769
- 1st Madras Battalion - 1784
- 1st Battalion, 1st Madras Native Infantry - 1796
- 1st Madras Native Infantry - 1824
- 1st Madras Native Infantry (Pioneers) - 1883
- 1st Madras Infantry (Pioneers) - 1885
- 1st Madras Pioneers - 1901
- 61st Madras Pioneers - 1903
- 61st Prince of Wales's Own Pioneers - 1906
- 61st King George's Own Pioneers - 1910