27th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry

27th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry

27th Bengal Native Infantry was a former infantry battalion of the British East India Company that served from the year 1857 to 1922. It was a part of the Bengal Native Infantry.

The 27th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry was an infantry battalion of the British East India Company. The unit was raised during the Indian Rebellion in the year 1857 and existed till 1922. It was a part of the Bengal Native Infantry under the Army of the Bengal province. The Bengal Army was the military of Bengal Presidency and was amongst the 3 main Presidency Armies in British India. Most of the regiments of the Bengal Native Infantry took part in the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 against the British administration. The infantry regiments of British Indian Army went through various alterations of numbering. The conventional establishment of the regiments of Presidency Armies in British India was conducted through a chain of command. After the Government of India Act 1858 was institutionalized, the British Empire in India took control over the British East India Company and the three Presidency Armies, namely the Bengal Army, the Madras Army and the Bombay Army. The Bengal Army included the most prominent units in British Indian Army.

The 27th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry unit was also incorporated as a part of the Bengal Command. King Edward VII acted as the Colonel-in-Chief of the battalion in the year 1904. The battalion was also known as the 27th Punjabis regiment and also as the 3rd Battalion 15th Punjab Regiment.

History of 27th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
The 27th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry was formed as the 19th Regiment of Punjab Infantry (Regiment of Rawalpindi) by the Honourable English East India Company on 19 June 1857 during the upheaval of the Sepoy Mutiny. The battaliuon was re-designated many times over a number of years. The army unit was renamed as the 27th Punjabis in the year 1903 and later in 1922, it was titled as the 3rd Battalion 15th Punjab Regiment.

Military Operations of 27th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry The British Indian Army unit participated in the Second Anglo- China War and was positioned in China in 1860. The regiment became a part of the Peshawar Valley Field Force and fought in the Second Afghan War from 1878 to 1880. The 27th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry later took part in the Third Burma War in 1885. The troops of the 27th Punjab Infantry were sent to British Somaliland repress the resistance movement.

In the year 1903, the military unit was designated as the 27th Punjabis regiment after the reforms in the British Indian Army organized by Lord Kitchener. The armed force provided significant service during World War I and was posted in Mesopotamia, France, Egypt and the North West Frontier of British India. A second battalion of the 27th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry was raised in the year 1918, which was dissolved after the Great War.

Development of 27th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
After the First World War, the British Government of India undertook a major restructuring of the British Indian Army. This led to the formation of multi battalion regiments of 4 to 6 battalions by the amalgamation of the different single battalion infantry regiments. The 27th Punjabis unit was merged with the 25th Punjabis, 26th Punjabis, 28th Punjabis and 29th Punjabis regiments to raise the 15th Punjab Regiment. The unit was re-designated as the 3rd Battalion 15th Punjab Regiment.

The infantry regiment later provided valuable military service during the Second World War and fought in Italy, Syria, Iraq, Persia, Aden and Somaliland. In the year 1946, the unit was renewed into a Machine Gun Battalion. After the political withdrawal of the British Empire in India, the nation attained freedom on 15th August 1947. As a result, the Partition of India divided the country to form the 2 newly formed sovereign states of the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The British Indian Army was accordingly shared amongst India and Pakistan. The military unit of the former 27th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry was assigned to Pakistan Army.

Designations of 27th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
The regiment of the British Indian Army, held a number of designations through out its service during the regrouping and renumbering of the army. These are listed as follows -

* Regiment of Rawalpindi - 1857
* 19th Regiment of Punjab Infantry - 1857
* 31st Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry - 1861
* 27th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry - 1861
* 27th (Punjab) Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry - 1864
* 27th (Punjab) Regiment of Bengal Infantry - 1885
* 27th Punjab Infantry - 1901
* 27th Punjabis - 1903
* 1st Battalion 27th Punjabis - 1918
* 3rd Battalion 15th Punjab Regiment - 1922

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