View source for 15th Lancers

{{Short description|Pakistan Army unit}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=15th Lancers (Baloch)
|abbreviation=
<!-- Insignia -->
| image=Badge of 15th Lancers (Baloch).jpg
| image_size = 170
|caption=
|dates= 1922 - 1937; 1955 - Present
|country={{flagicon|British Raj}} [[British India]]<br>{{flag icon|Pakistan}} [[Pakistan]]
|allegiance=
|branch= {{army|British India}}<br>{{army|Pakistan}}
|type= Armoured Regiment
|role=
|size=
|command_structure=
|garrison=
|equipment=
<!-- Commanders -->
|current_commander=
|ceremonial_chief=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|notable_commanders=
<!-- Culture and history -->
|nickname=
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=Dark blue; faced buff
|colors_label=Uniform
|march=
|mascot=
|battles=[[Bhutan War]] 1864-65<br>[[Second Afghan War]] 1878-80<br>[[First World War]] 1914-18<br>[[Third Afghan War]] 1919<br>[[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]
|anniversaries=
|decorations=
|battle_honours=Afghanistan 1879-80, Afghanistan 1919, Khem Karan 1965.
}}
The '''15th Lancers (Baloch)''' is an armoured regiment of the [[Pakistan Army]]. It was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 17th Cavalry and the 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse).<ref name="Ahmad 2010">Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.</ref>

==Predecessor regiments==
==={{anchor|17}}17th Cavalry===
The 17th Cavalry was raised in 1857 at [[Muttra]] by Colonel CJ Robarts and was composed entirely of Afghans. Throughout its existence, the regiment remained an exclusively Muslim unit. In 1861, after several changes in nomenclature, it was designated the 17th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry. In 1865, it saw action as part of the [[Bhutan]] Field Force, while in 1879–80, the regiment operated on lines of communication during the [[Second Afghan War]] as part of the [[Kabul Field Force]]. During the [[First World War]], it dispatched a squadron to [[German East Africa|Africa]] where it took part in the [[East African Campaign (World War I)|East African Campaign]]. In 1919, the regiment fought in the [[Third Afghan War]]. The regiment maintained a mounted pipe band from 1895 to 1902. The uniform of the 17th Cavalry was blue with white facings. The regimental badge consisted of a silver star and crescent over "XVII" with a title scroll below.<ref name="15th Lancers 1998">''15th Lancers (Baloch): Through the Ages 1858-1998''. (1998). Lahore: 15th Lancers.</ref><ref name="Gaylor 1991">{{cite book|last=Gaylor|first=John|title=Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies 1903–91|publisher=Stroud: Spellmount|year=1991}}</ref>
* 1857 Muttra Horse
* 1857 Muttra Police Corps[[File:37 Lancers (Baluch Horse), 36 Jacob's, 35 Scinde.jpg|thumb|right|37th Lancers (Baluch Horse) (left). Watercolour by Maj AC Lovett, 1910.|265px]]
* 1858 Rohilkhand Auxiliary Police Levy
* 1859 Robarts’ Horse
* 1861 17th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry
* 1882 Disbanded
* 1885 Re-raised
* 1900 17th Regiment of Bengal Lancers
* 1901 17th Bengal Lancers
* 1903 17th Cavalry

==={{anchor|37}}37th Lancers (Baluch Horse)===
The 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse) was raised in 1885 as the 7th Bombay Cavalry (Jacob-ka-Risallah) from the manpower of the 3rd Scinde Horse (Belooch Horse), which had been disbanded in 1882. This regiment was also an all-Muslim unit made up of Pathans and Baluchis. Their first chance of active service came in 1919, when they served in the Third Afghan War, although one of their squadrons operated in [[Persia]] during the First World War. Prior to 1914 the regiment's dress uniform was dark blue (khaki drill for hot-weather parade and field dress), with buff facings. The badge consisted of crossed lances and pennons with "37" over crossed lances.<ref name="15th Lancers 1998"/><ref name="Gaylor 1991"/><ref name="Cadell, Sir Patrick 1938">Cadell, Sir Patrick. (1938). ''History of the Bombay Army''. London: Longmans & Green.</ref>
* 1885 7th Bombay Cavalry (Jacob-ka-Risallah)
* 1886 7th Bombay Cavalry (Belooch Horse)
* 1890 7th Bombay Lancers (Belooch Horse)
* 1903 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse)

==15th Lancers==
After the First World War, the number of Indian cavalry regiments was reduced from thirty-nine to twenty-one. However, instead of disbanding the surplus units, it was decided to amalgamate them in pairs. This resulted in renumbering and renaming of the entire cavalry line. The 17th Cavalry and 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse) were amalgamated at [[Lucknow]] in 1922 to form the 15th Lancers. Meanwhile, an existing [[15th Lancers (Cureton's Multanis)]] joined the [[14th Murray's Jat Lancers]] to form the [[20th Lancers (British Indian Army)|20th Lancers]].<ref name="Ahmad 2010"/><ref name="Gaylor 1991"/><ref>Sandhu, Maj Gen GS. (1981). ''The Indian Cavalry: History of the Indian Armoured Corps till 1940''. New Delhi: Vision Books.</ref><ref>Harris, RG, and Warner, C. (1979). ''Bengal Cavalry Regiments 1857–1914''. London: Osprey.</ref><!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Officer 15th Lancers 1937.jpg|thumb|right|Officer of 15th Lancers, 1937.<br>Painting by Chater Paul Chater|225px]]  -->

The uniform of the new 15th Lancers was dark blue with buff facings, while the badge consisted of crossed silver lances bearing pennons with "XV" at the crossing and a scroll below. The same uniform and badges are still in use by the regiment.<ref name="15th Lancers 1998"/>

In 1937, the 15th Lancers became the training regiment of the 1st Indian Cavalry Group. It was converted into a training centre in 1940 by amalgamating it with the [[12th Cavalry (Frontier Force)]]. However, the next year, the centre was disbanded.<ref name="Ahmad 2010"/> In 1955, the 15th Lancers was re-raised by the Pakistani Army as a Reconnaissance Regiment of the [[Pakistan Armoured Corps]] and equipped with [[M24 Chaffee]] light tanks. During the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]], the regiment served with distinction in the [[Kasur]] Sector and was awarded the [[Battle Honour]] '[[Khem Karan]] 1965.' In 1969, the 15th Lancers was affiliated with the Baluch Regiment (now called the [[Baloch Regiment]]) due to the old link with the 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse). It added the title of 'Baluch' to its designation in 1989.<ref name="15th Lancers 1998"/>
* 1922	17th/37th Cavalry (amalgamation of 17th Cavalry and 37th Lancers)
* 1922	15th Lancers
* 1940	1st Indian Armoured Corps Centre (amalgamation of 15th Lancers and 12th Cavalry)
* 1941	Disbanded
* 1955	15th Lancers (re-raised)
* 1989	15th Lancers (Baluch)
* 1991	15th Lancers (Baloch)<ref>In 1991, the spelling of 'Baluch' was changed to 'Baloch' to better reflect the correct pronunciation.</ref>

==Affiliations and alliances==
* {{flag icon|Pakistan}} The [[Baloch Regiment]]
* {{flag icon|United Kingdom}} The [[Royal Dragoon Guards]]

== References ==
<references/>

==Further reading==
* ''15th Lancers (Baloch): Through the Ages 1858-1998''. (1998). Lahore: 15th Lancers.
* [[Francis Yeats-Brown|Yeats-Brown, Major FCC]]. (1927). ''The Star and Crescent: Being the Story of the 17th Cavalry from 1858 To 1922''. Allahabad: The Pioneer Press.
* Ahmad, Lieutenant Colonel Rifat Nadeem. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.
* Ahmed, Major General Rafiuddin. (2000). ''History of the Baloch Regiment 1939-1956''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre. {{ISBN|1-84574-094-7}}
* Gaylor, J. (1992). ''Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies 1903- 1991.'' Stroud: Spellmount Publishers Ltd. {{ISBN|978-0-946771-98-1}}
* Cadell, Sir Patrick. (1938). ''History of the Bombay Army''. London: Longmans & Green.
* Cardew, FG. (1903). ''A Sketch of the Services of the Bengal Native Army to the Year 1895''.  Calcutta: Military Department.
* Harris, RG, and Warner, C. (1979). ''Bengal Cavalry Regiments 1857–1914''. London: Osprey Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-85045-308-9}}.
* Sandhu, Maj Gen GS. (1981). ''The Indian Cavalry: History of the Indian Armoured Corps till 1940''. New Delhi: Vision Books.
* Kempton, C. (1996). ''A Register of Titles of the Units of the H.E.I.C. & Indian Armies 1666-1947.'' Bristol: British Empire & Commonwealth Museum. {{ISBN|978-0-9530174-0-9}}

==External links==
*[http://www.members.tripod.com/~Glosters/IAcavalry1.htm Uniforms of the late 19th Century]

{{Pakistan Armoured Corps}}
{{British Indian Army Cavalry Regiments 1903 - 1946}}

[[Category:Armoured regiments of Pakistan]]
[[Category:British Indian Army cavalry regiments]]
[[Category:Honourable East India Company regiments]]
[[Category:1922 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1922]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1937]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1955]]