The 20th Madras Native Infantry was an army infantry unit of the British East India Company, which existed from the year 1777 to 1922. It was under the Madras Native Infantry of the Madras Army, before the beginning of the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. The army battalion was also included as a part of the Madras Command. The Madras Army was the armed forces of Madras Presidency and was founded with the intention of protecting the commercial interests of the British East India Company. It was one of the 3 main Presidency Armies in British India. The British Empire took control of the British East India Company and the 3 Indian Presidency Armies (the Bombay Army, the Bengal Army and the Madras Army), when the Government of India Act 1858 was authorized after the Indian Mutiny in the year 1857. Later the 20th Madras Native Infantry was renamed as the 80th Carnatic Infantry regiment.
History of 20th Madras Native Infantry
The military regiment was formed in the year 1777 as the 21st Carnatic Battalion by the Honourable British East India Company. The unit enlisted army personnel from the 2nd Carnatic Battalion, the 6th Carnatic Battalion, the 12th Carnatic Battalion and the 15th Carnatic Battalion.
Military Operations of 20th Madras Native Infantry
The 20th Madras Native Infantry first took part in the Battle of Sholinghur in the Second Mysore War. It also served in the military campaigns for the Third Mysore War (Third Anglo Mysore War). Later the troops of the regiment also participated in the Battle of Seringapatam during the Fourth Mysore War in the year 1798. The 80th Carnatic Infantry did not serve in any campaigns for the next 100 years.
Eventually the battalion participated in the First World War, which was a global warfare that commenced on 28 July 1914 and ended on 11 November 1918. During the Great War, the regiment provided active military service in the Campaign at Mesopotamia. Later a second battalion titled the 2/80th regiment was raised in October 1918 in the Southern Brigade of the 9th (Secunderabad) Division. In December 1918, it was reassigned to the Secunderabad Bde.
Dissolution of 20th Madras Native Infantry
Following the First World War, the British Government of India renumbered and regrouped the British army in India. Afterwards, the various single battalion infantry regiments were converted to form multi battalion regiments, each comprising of 4 to 6 battalions. As a result of this, only 9 single battalion regiments remained, which were disbanded shortly. The 20th Madras Native Infantry regiment was amongst the nine single battalion units and was dissolved in the year 1922.
Designations of 20th Madras Native Infantry
The 20th Madras Native Infantry Regiment of the British Indian Army held a number titles through out its existence during the re-organisation of the armed forces, like most of the other military units. These are listed as below -
* 21st Carnatic Battalion in 1777
* 21st Madras Battalion in 1784
* 2nd Battalion, 2nd Madras Native Infantry in 1796
* 20th Madras Native Infantry in 1824
* 20th Madras Infantry in 1885
* 80th Carnatic Infantry in 1903
