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11th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry
11th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry was a former cavalry regiment of the Bengal Army, under the British Indian Army. It remained in service from 1857 to 1921.

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11th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry, Bengal ArmyThe 11th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry was a former cavalry regiment of the Bengal Army, under the British Indian Army. The regiment remained in service from the year 1857 to 1921, after which it was merged with the regiment of 12th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry (2nd Sikh Irregular Cavalry) to form the 5th King Edward`s Own Probyn`s Horse unit. The Bengal Army was the armed forces of Bengal Presidency and was amongst the 3 main Presidency Armies in British India. The British Presidency Armies belonged to the British East India Company until the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. In the year 1903, the 3 separate presidency armies were united to form the combined British Indian Army. The 11th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry was also known as the 11th King Edward`s Own Lancers (Probyn`s Horse) and 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry.

History of 11th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry
The 11th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry was formed as the regiment of Wale`s Horse by Captain Frederick Wale on 1 August 1857 during the Great Revolt of 1857. Initially the military unit was stationed at Lucknow. Captain Wale was succeeded by Major Dighton Probyn, VC, after he was killed by the rebels while leading the army unit on 1 March 1858. The military regiment was sent to China in1860, where it participated in Second Opium War. The 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry unit also took part in the progress on Peking. Later it went back to British India in the year 1861 after earning credit for its valuable service.

The 11th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry also served in the Second Afghan War from the year 1878 to 1880. The battalion also participated in the Expedition to Black Mountains. Eventually the regiment was stationed at Chitral and was incorporated as a part of the Malakand Field Force. The British Indian Army unit served in Mesopotamia during the First World War.

After World War I, the British Indian army decreased the number of cavalry regiments from 39 to 21. It decided to merge various military units together in pairs, instead of just dissolving the surplus regiments. As a result the whole cavalry line was re-designated and renumbered. The 11th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry was unified with the 12th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry (2nd Sikh Irregular Cavalry) regiment on 28 August 1921 at Meerut. Both the units were amalgamated to form the 5th King Edward`s Own Probyn`s Horse regiment. This regiment was renamed as the Probyn`s Horse (5th King Edward`s Own Lancers) in 1927 and later as Probyn`s Horse (5th King Edward VII`s Own Lancers) in 1937. The official uniform of this army unit was blue with scarlet facings.

Designations of 11th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry
The 11th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry was designated a various times in the many re-organisations and restructuring in the British Indian Army. These are listed as follows-
* Wale`s Horse - 1857
* 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry -1857
* 1st Sikh Irregular Cavalry (Probyn`s Horse) - 1858
* 11th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry - 1861
* 11th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry (Lancers) - 1864
* 11th Regiment of Bengal Lancers - 1874
* 11th (Prince of Wales`s Own) Regiment of Bengal Lancers - 1876
* 11th (Prince of Wales`s Own) Bengal Lancers - 1901
* 11th Prince of Wales`s Own Lancers -1903
* 11th Prince of Wales`s Own Lancers (Probyn`s Horse) - 1904
* 11th King Edward`s Own Lancers (Probyn`s Horse) - 1906
* 5th King Edward`s Own Probyn`s Horse (with 12th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry) - 1921


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