Pre-1900 Indian military photographs..

Kunal Biswas

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Pre-1900 Indian military photographs..

We saw numerous pics of 1900-1947, though their are very few pics are there of those British-Bharatiya Jawans back in 1800-1900s who died for the Queen and the Crown and later lost in the pages of History , i believe their are many pics which are yet to be posted over net specially for Indian Members, Here some i got from

Some early pics of 2nd Afghan War 1878 to 1881 and later ones..
:




Men of the 71st the Highland Light Infantry photographed at Peshawar after their return from the Ambala Campaign on the North-West Frontier 1863

Soldiers of the 93rd Highlanders with prisoners taken at Ambala 1863

Major General Frederick Roberts VC and the six orderlies who accompanied him throughout the 2nd Afghan war. Two Punjab infantry, two from the 3rd Sikhs and two from the 5th Gurkhas. Afghanistan 1879.

Indo-British of the Peshawar Valley Field Force. 1879

Afghan prisoners guarded by Sepoys of the 45th (Rattrays) Sikhs. The Regiment served with the Peshawar Valley Field Force


British officers of the Guides. Lieutenant Walter Hamilton VC with his Indian troopers who defended the residency at Kabul stands on the right. On the 3rd September 1879, without warning, Afghan soldiers attacked the Residency and were joined by the civilian population. 4 Britons and 69 Indian troops faced countless thousands of Afghan soldiers and civilians. The Indian troops were 21 Guides Cavalry and 48 Guides Infantry. (The Guides were an elite Regiment of the Indian Army)Soon Cavagnari, Jenkyns and Kelly were dead. Hamilton and his Guides fought desperately, even charging out of the Residency to bayonet the crews of artillery brought against them. During one of these attacks Lieutenant Hamilton was killed. The Residency was set on fire and the buidlings started to collapse. As the sun went down that evening, the few remaining Guides were commanded by Jemadar Jewand Singh (Guides Cavalry). All day the Afghans called upon the Guides to surrender, promising them their lives. The Guides rejected this offer and after 12 hours of fighting the few remaining men fixed bayonets and charged out to their deaths. Over 600 Afghan dead bore witness to the heroic resistance of this small force.


The Guides proved that day that they were 'true to their salt.'
NCO's and Sepoys of the Guides Infantry, showing the different members of the 'martial races' that filled its ranks. A photograph taken after the Afghan war, the medal for which is worn by most of the men. The Sikh on the right also wears the Indian order of merit, the sepoys equivalent of the Victoria Cross.
 
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Kunal Biswas

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2nd Afghan War 1878 to 1881


Fort Onslow on the Bemaru Heights above the Sherpur Cantonment, Kabul, with Indian and British troops lining the ramparts.

Indian troops defending the Sherpur cantonment. A barricade of wagons has been made with a thin line of abatis in front. Infantry supports are positioned in the rear. At dawn on the 23rd December 1879 50-60,000 Afghan tribesmen attacked the cantonment which had a perimeter of four and a half miles long. Roberts had Indo-British 7000 troops to hold the perimeter and twenty guns. However disciplined volley fire by the Martini-Henry armed Indian and British soon saw the Afghans off. Roberts lost 5 killed and 28 wounded, the Afghan losses are unknown but estimated at at least 3000.




Fort Onslow on the Bemaru Heights above the Sherpur Cantonment, Kabul,

Today in Astan, one of those forts!

I will try to update!
Thanks to Proudgrandson of Mp.net!
 

Kunal Biswas

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British and Indian officers of the 3rd Sikhs, Punjab Frontier force at Kabul 1879 or early 1880.

Indian Officers of the 9th Bengal Cavalry. Suakin Field Force. 1885. Mostly Sikhs the officers in very different turbans are Muslims from the Punjab. The 9th being a 'Mixed Class' Regiment with Squadrons of Sikh soldiers and Muslim soldiers serving together.

British and Indian Officers of the 15th Bengal Native Infantry 1885. (Loodhiana Sikhs)

NCO's and Sepoys of the 28th Bombay Native Infantry. The rifles are Sniders and the men wear have cartridge loops sown on their shirts.

Between 1891 and 1899 soldiers of the Indian Army were granted permission to volunteer for service with organisations like the British Central African Company. Here are some soldiers of the 35th Sikhs in the Soudan (as it was the spelt). 1896.

35th Sikhs in the Soudan, 1896. Indian units may have been kept a generation of rifles behind the British army at this time but they were issued with Maxim guns.

35th Sikhs, Soudan, 1896.
 

Kunal Biswas

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The Loodiaah (Ludhiana) Sikh Regiment, 1860 2nd China (or Opium) war.....

Group photograph of officers and men of the Guides c1865

The 27th Bombay Native Infantry (1st Baluchis), commanded by Major H Beville after their return to Indian from the Abyssinian campaign 1868

9th Regiment Bombay Native Infantry, Poona 1869.

Risaldar-Major Sayyid Abdul Aziz, 5th Bengal Cavalry 1897

4th (Prince Alberts Own) Bengal Cavalry

6th Bombay Cavalry (Jacobs Horse) 1897

Risaldar-Major Gurdath Singh 12th Bengal Cavalry and his orderly

13th Bengal Cavalry 1897
 

Kunal Biswas

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Sepoy of the 3rd Sikhs, Punjab Frontier Force, 1887. He wears the Indian General Service Medal 1854-95, the Second Afghan War Medal and the Kabul_Kandahar Star.

The deposed Mehtar of Chitral, Amir-ul-Mulk, guarded by soldiers of the 14th Sikhs with a Kashmiri Sepoy in the foreground

Colonel Kelly (with beard) with British and Indian officers of the 32nd Punjab Pioneers who marched from Gilgit to relieve Chitral.

Prisoners guarded by sepoys after the taking of the Malakand Pass

A sepoy in poshteen, an Indian Officer in full dress, a Lance-Naik and a Havildar of the Guides.

Chitral Fort with Kunar river in the foreground
 

BangersAndMash

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Five Indian soldiers near Miranshah, Tochi Valley, Waziristan, 1898




Indian soldiers of the 37th Dogras on mules at Idak, Tochi Valley, Waziristan, 1896




Military encampment in the Tochi Valley, Waziristan, 1898




Indian soldiers and elephants, Multan, 1898




British and Indian soldiers with elephants, Multan, 1899







Military encampment in the Tochi Valley, Waziristan, 1898




Military marching band with bagpipes and drums, Tochi Valley, Waziristan, 1898




Indian soldiers at Tochi Valley, Waziristan, 1898




37th Dogras Northwest Frontier Colonial India photograph album - Special Collections, UW Libraries
 

pmaitra

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look at the size of turban,how they can fight with that huge turban????
The Taliban took over Afghanistan wearing similar turbans. If not a helmet, I might as well wear a turban; at least that thick layer of cloth will protect me and cushion my skull from trauma.
 

Uruk

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Great pictures, any chance of more pictures of Princely State troops?
 

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