Overview

This is 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, Aleppo and Damascus; to its eventual mechanisation 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').

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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.

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