Jodhpur Lancers

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

This the story of the magnificent Jodhpur Lancers one of India's most charismatic cavalry regiments even as centenary celebrations begin of their finest hour, their extraordinary victory at the Battle of Haifa (now in Israel) in 1918. Indeed, the charge, mounted on horses against machine gun fire, at the fortified city then held by German and Turkish forces, is described by many as 'perhaps the greatest cavalry charge ever on a regimental scale', ranking alongside Cromwell's Ironsides at Marston Moor, the Polish Lancers at Somosierra and the German cavalry at Mars-la-Tour.

No wonder the Jodhpur Lancers were referred to as the Jo Hokums (As You Command') by the end of the Great War - no challenge was insurmountable, no order ever refused.

Laced with anecdotes and 'inside stories', Michael Creese traces the roots of the regiment from its raising by the legendary Sir Pratap Singh to its early actions in China. From the muddy trenches of France; to Haifa and Aleppo and Damascus; to its eventual mechanization in the Second World War. Finally, and sadly, to its bureaucratic amalgamation with the Indian Army in the 1950s, where, against many odds, it has been able to retain a slice of its identity and history; the battle cry always 'Ran Banka Rathore' (The Rathore - Invincible in Battle').

DR MICHAEL CREESE is a retired head teacher and educational consultant with a lifelong interest in military history and uniforms. His interest in the Indian Army was sparked by a visit, at the age of eleven, to an exhibition of model soldiers at Hamleys in 1947. He now has his own collection of model soldiers, which naturally includes a strong Indian contingent. His doctoral thesis at the University of Leicester focused on the Indian officers in four cavalry regiments, drawing on material in Britain and India. The scope of this thesis has been widened in the present volume to include infantry officers together with a broad history of the Indian Army. He has also written Swords Trembling in their Scabbards: The Changing Status of Indian Officers in the Indian Army 1757-1947 (War and Military Culture in South Asia, 1757-1947).

Retirement has allowed him the opportunity to extend his research, and he has spent time in Jodhpur meeting descendants and former members of the regiment and listening to their reminiscences of the legendary Jodhpur Lancers.

Writing has rarely given me greater pleasure and satisfaction, and I consider it a profound and poignant honour to be able to pen the foreword to this splendid book as we enter the centenary year of my Family Regiment's finest hour. It is said that no military annal, no history of war, is quite complete without the Charge of the Jodhpur Lancers at Haifa on 23 September 1918. Indeed, it is described by many as 'perhaps the greatest cavalry action ever on a regimental scale'. But in fact, in no more than the seven decades of their formal existence, the Jodhpur Lancers covered themselves in glory on many battlefields; as far apart as Tirah in Afghanistan to Shimanzai in China; from Neuve-Chapelle and Cambrai in France to Haifa in Palestine, Aleppo in Syria and Basra in Iraq. True to a man, the JL encapsulated the very essence of over a thousand years of warrior tradition and martial spirit of my clan, the Rathore - famed and feared as 'Invincible in Battle'.

Due to various and different reasons on both sides, the contribution, heroism and sacrifice of the Indian Army in the two world wars has largely been forgotten. The story of the Jodhpur Lancers is no different and has remained untold outside of Jodhpur and Marwar. I therefore congratulate, and am most grateful to Dr Michael Creese, an amateur military historian in the finest mould, for this book, which not only sets the record straight but will also, I am confident, inspire many more regimental histories.

It is also most timely. It is over a hundred years now since countless young men from India first crossed the seas to join an event of truly global proportions. Many of them never came back. A few years ago I paid tribute at a Jodhpur Lancers memorial in Heliopolis, Cairo. To see the names of some of these men from the villages of Marwar carved in stone in a faraway land was profoundly moving, It is a matter of great pride for all of us that no less than the prime minister of India himself recently bowed his head at the memorial of Major Thakur Dalpat Singh, the commanding officer of the Jodhpur Lancers, revered as the Hero of Haifa.

A century later, as we strive still to define our national identity, and to come to terms with it; we should not trouble ourselves with the colour of the flag these gallant men fought and died for. All we need to remember now, and to salute them for, is that they fulfilled their Dharma.

here can be few people alive today who have witnessed a cavalry charge and even fewer, if any, who have taken part in one. Many of the famous regiments - amongst them the Jodhpur Lancers, the Gwalior Lancers, the Mysore Lancers - whose lance pennons fluttered above the dusty plains of India, are no more. Only the President's Bodyguard and the 61st Cavalry survive to carry on the proud tradition of the Indian sowar on his horse, a tradition which can be traced back to at least the seventh century AD. In the regiments which still exist, such as the Poona Horse, the troopers are mounted in armoured cars and tanks. However, the stirring deeds of their predecessors in the past may be in danger of being lost in the mists of time. Who, for instance, would now remember that Indian cavalry regiments served with great distinction for three years in the mud and blood of France during the First World War, that the charge of the Jodhpur Lancers at Haifa in 1918 was one of the very last great cavalry charges in history, that they displayed all the dash and clan of the Polish Lancers at Somo-Sierra, and the steely determination of Cromwell's Ironsides at Marston Moor? Yet the capture of the defended town of Haifa by cavalry an event unique in military history remains almost entirely overlooked and unheard of outside Jodhpur.

It is said that old soldiers never die; that they merely fade away. Whether or not that is true, it is important that their history be preserved and not allowed to fade away or be forgotten, for there is much to gain from the legacy of the sheer grit and determination of the Lancers, from their sense of duty to the state and to their country, because courage, honour and service are as relevant today as they were ever before. The British nicknamed the Jodhpur Lancers "The Jo Hokums the term 'Hokum' in this case implies respect and Jo Hokum' may be interpreted as 'Yes Sir', As You Order' or simply 'Can Do'. The unquestioning loyalty of the Lancers to their maharaja was unrivalled.

Amar Singh was born in Jaipur but was sent to Jodhpur to be educated under the supervision of Sir Pratap Singh. As part of his education he started writing a diary, a practice which he continued through his life. The diary is now preserved at his home at Kanota, near Jodhpur. He served with the Jodhpur Lancers in China in 1900 as a squadron commander, before joining the prestigious Imperial Cadet Corps. He then served as a staff officer in France and wrote a note in his diary in 1915 about the importance of keeping records. He felt that it was important for each nation to keep its own records of the experiences of its soldiers and that although British historians would write accounts of the Great War, the Jodhpur Lancers would likely receive only a passing mention. Amar Singh did begin to write some notes for a projected article on the regiment, but sadly, this was never published. He believed that poetry was the best form in which records ought to be kept because this was the manner in which the deeds of past Indian heroes had been handed down to succeeding generations. Unfortunately, the present writer is no poet; nevertheless he hopes that this book will serve as a permanent memorial to the men who served their state and their country so faithfully and so well.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages