4Tli Butin., the Madras Regt. (W.L.I.) MTAEKIERED
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THE MADKAS SOIDUE OF 1946—JKMADAK PAKIANATHAN, M.M. 4tli Butin., The Madras Regt. (W.L.I.) MTAEKIERED PRfTHIA'S-.ADAMS The Madras Soldier 1746-1946 By LT.-COL. E. G. PHYTHIAN-ADAMS, O.B.E. Late Madras Regiment and Civil Liaison Officer Madras Presidency and South Indian States 1940—45 • With a ForeMord by SIR CLAUDE AUCHINLECK G.C.B., G.O.I.E., C.S.I., D.S.O., O.B.E,, A.D.C. Commander-in-Chief in India ^"^ ^ \ Printed by the Superintendent Government Press Madras 1948 PRICE, RS. 4-2-0 \rtti-tf \t-T First Published in 1943 Also translated into Tamil Telugu and Malayalam Revised and enlarged edition 1947 ^^7"^- DEDICATED TO THE PEOPLES OF SOUTH INDIA IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF FORTY-THREE YEARS HAPPY ASSOCIATION 111 FOREWORD I am very glad that Colonel Phytliian-Adams, himself an old soldier of the Madras Army, has written this 'book about the Madras Soldier. When I myself first joined the Indian Army in 1904, the battalion to which I was posted, the 62nd Punjabis, had very recently been raised as. a brand new Punjabi unit on the ashes of the old 2nd Madras Infantry which had an unbroken record of service in many wars from 1759. Lord Kitchener, the Commander-in-Chief at that time, repeated this process with many battalions of the old Madras Line, as he thought they were no longer worth a place in the modern Army of India. There is no doubt that he had some justification for this opinion. But the fault wa_s not that of the Madras soldier. The inevitable and continuous movement of India's frontier further and further to the West, and the increasing enrolment in the Army of the men of the Punjab and of the North-West Frontier, had made service in the old Madras Army, dull and unfashionable. The natural result was that the quality of its British officers tended to deteriorate. The best material in the World will not make good soldiers unless it has good officers. So for a period, with the outstanding and resounding exception of the Madras Sappers and Miners, famed on many a battle field, the old Madras units eventually disappeared completely as such, though their badges and battle honoui's continued to be borne by their successor units manned by soldiers from the North. The wheel has now turned full circle and during the last World War, I am glad to say, Madras contributed half a million soldiers to the Army of India, especially in the greatly Foreword expanded Indian Artillery. The'Madras Regiment of Infantry was raised and proved itself in battle. A large number of men from the South served with fortitude and great distinc tion in the Signal Corps, in Motor Transport units, the Elec trical and Mechanical Engineers and other Corps including the pioneer Corps, from Italy to Sumatra. The Madras Sappers emerged from this last colossal struggle with an even higher reputation than before. It is not easy to foretell the future of the Armies of India, but if present plans mature, the Madras soldier including those from Cochin and Travancore, will have a full share in the defence of his country, j? The 16th Light Cavalry raised about 1780 as the 3rd Regiment of Madras Cavalry is once again composed of soldiers from Madras who drive and fight the tanks which have replaced the horses and sabres of the days of Wellesley-— the " Sepoy-General." There are several regiments pf Artillery of all calibres manned by men from Madras. The Madras Sappers go from strength to strength, and the Madras Regiment carries on the name and fame of the old Madras Infantry, while the Signal Corps and other corps of the Army all hold their quota of Southern Indians, who total to-day about one-fifth of the whole strength of the Army of India. May they always live up to their great traditions of the past^— Loyalty, Steadfastness, Courage and Endurance in adversity. 0. J. ATJpHINLECK, 1947. Field Marshal VL FOREWORD TO THE FIRST EDITION It gives me the greatest ple;isure to write a foreword to Lieutenant-Colonel Phythian-Adams' excellent history of the Madras Infantry,—a history which rescues these regiments' from the undeserved neglect which they have suffered at the hands of historians. The exploits of the Madras Sappers and Miners are known to inilitary historians the world over, but it is not always reahzed that the corps was developed from the ordinary Madras Infantry regiments whose story is so ably told in this book. It is a story which goes back nearly 200 years. Starting from a nucleus of local levies, such as those led by Clive, fifty-two Infantry regiments and one Eifle Regiment of Madras Infantry were raised between 1758 and 1826. They served in the wars against the French in the Carnatic, and in all the four Mysore Wars which marked successive stages in the long forty years struggle against Haidar Ali and his son Tipu Sultan of Mysore. In the second of these wars they were commanded by Sir Eyre Coote; in the fourth, in which Colonel Wellesley (afterwards Duke of Wellington) was one of the subordinate commanders, they took part in the storm ing of Seringapatam in 1799. General Wellesley (as he had then become) chose them for service in the First Mahratta War in which they played a great part at the Battle of Assaye in 1803. They saw jungle fighting, now of such topical Inte rest, in the First and Second Burmese Wars, stood firm and did much to turn the tide in the dark days of the Bengal Mutiny of 1857, and went to Burma again for the Third Burmese War. In the Great War their now depleted ranks vii Foreword to the First Edition were reinforced by eight temporary battalions, and they saw service in Mesopotamia and East Africa and on the frontier. In the present war large forces of Madras Infantry have been raised. Indeed at" the present time the Madras Presidency holds the proud distinction of contributing more recruits to the armed forces than any other Province or State in India. During this long period various regiments of the Madras ,Infantry have earned the appreciation of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, received the thanks of Parliament, and been com mended by the Secretary of State, the Viceroy, and the Commander-in-Chief, besides being mentioned on many occa sions by the Madras Government. By 1919 they had been awarded no fewer than twenty-eight battle honours. Such in brief outhne is the inspiring story which Lieutenant- Colonel Phythian-Adams has told with such skill. Its inspira tion derives from the iAnumerable instances of fidelity and courage which occur in it. The Madras infran try man could be rehed upon to hold out to the last against desperate odds, as in Baillie's defeat at Peram'bakkam in 1780, to light with dash and daring at the Battle of Assaye in 1803, and to cope undismayed with all the strangeness of jungle .warfare in Burma. These splendid services were rendered under hard conditions, with pay several years in arrears, and svipply frequently wanting and generally precarious. Thus the newly raised Madras Infantry regiments have great traditions behind them. I have no doubt that, given proper leadership, they will once again demonstrate the great qualities of their forebears, and prove themselves the equals of any fighting men anywhere. GOVERNMENT HOUSE, ARTHUR HOPE, GuTNDT, Governor of Madras. Uth October 1943. viu CONTEINTS PAGES FoEEWOBD (by Sir CJaude Aucbinleck, G.C.B,, G.CI.E '» O.S.I., D.S.O., O.B.E., A.D.C., Commander-in-Chieif in India) .. .. ... .. .... v-vi FOREWORD TO FIRST EDITION (by Sir Arthur Hope, O.C.I.B., M.c, Gov^ernor of Madras) .. .. vii-viii INTRODUCTION .. ., .. .. .. .. xi-xii CHAPrBR I—Origin and Progress .. .. 1-6 ir—War Services 7-94 III—Historic Actions 95-109 IV—Seringapatam, 1799 .. .. 110-120 V—The Madras Soldier .. .. 121-131 VI—Separate accounts of each branch of the service with notes on dress and arms, and precis of Cavalry , and Infantry units 132-179 „ VII—Honours and Awards .. .. 180-184 VIII—What is a Madrasai ? .. .. 185-189 EPILOGUE 191-192 APPENDIX A—List of units, 1939-46 193-202 APPENDIX B—Nominal roll of decorations awarded for gallantry, 1939-46 203-211 APPENDIX C—Recruiting, 1939-45 212-213 BIBLIOGRAPHY .. .^ .. 215 IX COEBIGENDA. Page ii, line 5.—For " 1947 " read " 1948 ". Page viii, line 17.—For " infrantry man " read " infantry man ". Page xi, line 22.—For " magnifioient-" read "magnificent". Page 28, line 12 from bottom.—For " Cuddallore " read " Gudda- ' lore •'. Page 34, line 8 jram bottom.—For " Corwallis >- read " c'orn- wallis ". Page 48, line 4.—For " morally " read " mortally ", and for " himsellf " read " himself ". Page 49, line 3.—For " no " read '' not-". Page 53, line 8 from bottom.—For " destrying-'« read " destroy- ing •'. Page 54, line IS from bottom.—For " Qarnotic " read " Carnatic ". Page 56, line 9.—For " Maharatta " read " Mahratta ". Page 60, line 15 from bottom.—For " Europens " read " Euro peans ". Page 117, line 11 from bottom.—For " Indian " read " Indians ". Page 120, line 16.—For " visulised ^ read " visualised ". Page 120, line 22,—For " belong " read " beyond ". Page 121, line 9 from bottom.—For " intolarably " read " intole rably ". Pago 124, line 5 from bottom.—For " sucecssors " read " succes- sore ". Page 126, line 13.—For " casualities " read " casualties ". Page 130, line 15.—For " year " read " years ". Page 156, line 8.—For " Infantary " read " Infantry ". Page 156, line 24.—For " 65 " read " 65tli ".