The 8th Punjab Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. It was transferred to Pakistan Army on Partition of India in 1947 and merged with the Baluch Regiment in 1956.
History
Madras Infantry
The 8th Punjab Regiment had its origins in the Madras Army, where its first battalion was raised at Masulipatam in 1798. Four more battalions were raised in 1799-1800. In 1824, they were designated as the 29th, 30th, 31st, 32nd and 33rd Regiments of Madras Native Infantry. In the early 19th century, these battalions were engaged in fighting the Marathas and took part in a number of foreign expeditions including the Anglo-Burmese Wars. Between 1890 and 1893, they were reconstituted with Punjabi Muslims and Sikhs as Burma Battalions and permanently based in Burma to police the turbulent Burmese hill tracts. Under the Kitchener Reforms of 1903, they were redesignated as the 89th, 90th, 91st, 92nd Punjabis, and 93rd Burma Infantry. They were delocalized from Burma before the First World War.
First World War
89th Punjabis - India, Aden, Egypt, Gallipoli, France, Mesopotamia, Salonika, Russia. 2/89th Punjabis - Raised in 1917 - India, Iraq. 90th Punjabis - India, Mesopotamia. 2/90th Punjabis - Raised in 1918 - India. Disbanded 1922. 91st Punjabis (Light Infantry) - Burma, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Palestine. 2/91st Punjabis (Light Infantry) - Raised in 1918 - India, Egypt. Disbanded 1921. 92nd Punjabis - India, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Palestine. 93rd Burma Infantry - India, Egypt, France, Mesopotamia, Palestine. Only 2/89th Punjabis of the wartime raisings was retained after the post-war reforms.
The 8th Punjabis have a most distinguished record of service during the First World War. Their long list of honours and awards includes the Victoria Cross awarded to Naik Shahmed Khan of 89th Punjabis in 1916. The 89th Punjabis had the unique distinction of serving in more theatres of war than any other unit of the British Empire. These included Aden, where they carried out the first opposed sea-borne assault landing in modern warfare, Egypt, Gallipoli, France, Mesopotamia, North-West Frontier Province, Salonika and Russian Transcaucasia. All battalions served in Mesopotamia, while 93rd Burma Infantry also served in France. The 92nd Punjabis were made 'Prince of Wales's Own' in 1921 for their gallantry and sacrifices during the war.
In 1922, the five battalions along with the war-raised 2/89th Punjabis were united to form the 8th Punjab Regiment:
1/89th Punjabis - 1st Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment
90th Punjabis - 2nd Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment
91st Punjabis (Light Infantry) - 3rd Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment
92nd (Prince of Wales's Own) Punjabis - 4th Battalion (Prince of Wales's Own)8th Punjab Regiment 93rd Burma Infantry - 5th (Burma) Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment 2/89th Punjabis - 10th Battalion (Training Battalion) 8th Punjab Regiment
The new class composition of the 8th Punjab Regiment was Punjabi Muslims, Sikhs and Hindu Gujars. Chinthe - the mythical Burmese lion-dragon guardian of Buddhist pagodas was chosen as its new emblem. The uniform was of drab colour with blue facings. In inter-war period, the Regiment saw extensive service on the North West Frontier of India.
Second World War
1st Battalion - India, Malaya. Captured at Singapore in 1942. Reformed in 1946 by redesignation of 9/8th Punjab. 2nd Battalion - India, Burma, French Indochina. 3rd Battalion - India, Iran, Italy. 4th Battalion - India, Iraq, Iran. 5th Battalion - India, Burma, Malaya, Dutch East Indies. 6th Battalion (Machine Gun) - Raised in 1940. India, Malaya, Dutch East Indies. Disbanded January 1948; re-raised October 1948. 7th Battalion - Raised in 1940. India, Singapore. Captured by the Japanese in February 1942. 8th Battalion - Raised in 1941. India, Burma. 9th Battalion - Raised in 1941. India, Ceylon, Cyprus. Redesignated as 1/8th Punjab in 1946. Re-raised 1948. 10th Battalion - Converted into Regimental Centre in 1942. 14th Battalion - Raised in 1941. Converted into 9th (Punjab) Heavy Anti-aircraft Regiment, Indian Artillery, in 1942. India, Ceylon. Disbanded 1946. 15th Battalion - Raised in 1942. Became a training battalion. India. Disbanded 1946. 16th Battalion - Raised in 1943. Became a training battalion. India. Disbanded 1946. 25th Garrison Battalion - Raised in 1941. India. Disbanded 1946. 26th Garrison Battalion - Raised in 1942. India. Disbanded 1946.