Osprey Men-at-Arms 92 : Indian Infantry Regiments 1860-1914

Under the British East India Company's rule each of the three Presidencies into which India was divided had its own army under its own commander-in-chief; however the head of the Bengal Army was also C-in-C of India, and as such exercised general control over the Madras and Bombay Armies. After the Indian Mutiny, which was almost entirely confined to the Bengal Army, this arrangement continued. Outside the C-in-C's control was the Punjab Irregular [later Frontier] Force, a collection of regiments of cavalry and infantry, technically belonging to the Bengal Army, whose task was the security of the North-West Frontier. This force was controlled by the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab until 1886, when it was brought under the C-in-C's control as part of the Bengal Army proper, though retaining its identity as a separate force within the army. When Lord Kitchener was appointed C-in-C of India in 1902 he undertook a major reorganisation of the entire army in India, in the course of which all vestiges of the old Presidency armies disappeared. Henceforth there was to be one Indian Army, and to emphasise this all regiments were re-designated and numbered in one sequence throughout. Michael Barthorp examines Indian infantry regiments from 1860-1914, in a text complemented by numerous contemporary photographs, and eight full page colour plates by Jeffrey Burn accompanied by five pages of commentaries on uniforms.

Contents

• Introduction
• Organisation
• Officers and Men
• On Campaign
• The Regiments
• Uniforms
• The Plates