The 34th Royal Sikh Pioneers

The 34^th Royal Sikh Pioneers (now 3^rd Battalion the Sikh Light Infantry)

The Pioneer regiments of the Indian Army were specialised infantry rather than engineers.  Regarded as amongst the elite of the Indian Army, the Pioneers were trained first and foremost as infantry but they were additionally skilled in road and railway building and their abilities were prized in the theatre of the North West Frontier.  Indeed they were described as “a superior kind of infantry, as expert with the rifle as with pick and shovel” and rarely if ever did a Frontier expedition set out without a Pioneer regiment.

The first regiments which were to become the Sikh Pioneers were raised during the Indian Mutiny of 1857-58, when two new Pioneer regiments were formed. The 15^th (Pioneer) Regiment of Punjab Infantry, later to become the 23^rd Sikh Pioneers, were raised at Lahore in 1857, together with the 24^th(Pioneer) Regiment of Punjab Infantry at Madhopore.

The regiments were raised principally from the Mazhbi Sikh community of the Punjab, who had been recruited into Pioneer and Engineer units since 1850 and whose recruitment into the Indian Army had been encouraged by Robert Montgomery, Judicial Commissioner of the Punjab and Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Edwardes, Commissioner of Peshawar.

With the Indian Army reorganisation of 1861, the 15^th Regiment became the 27^th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, changing in 1864 to the 23^rd.  In the same year the 24^th Regiment became the 36^thRegiment of Bengal Native Infantry, only to change a few months later to the 32^nd.

It was not until 1887, in the wake of the Second Afghan War of 1878-80, that a further regiment of Sikh Pioneers was formed.  The 34^th (Punjab) Regiment of Bengal Infantry (Pioneers) (the word “Native” was dropped from titles in 1885), raised as the Fatehgarh Levy in the Mutiny, had been disbanded in 1882.  So renowned had been the contribution of the 23^rd and 32^nd Regiments in the Second Afghan War that a call went out to raise another regiment from the same Sikh communities and in the Indian Army Circular of 28^th March 1887 the raising of the new regiment was confirmed, to be made up principally of Mazhbi Sikhs, together with a small proportion of other Sikh communities including Ramdasias.  The regiment was raised at Lahore (Mian Mir) with Colonel A C W Crookshank as its first commandant.

The regiments were restyled the 23^rd, 32^nd and 34^th Punjab Pioneers in 1901 and Sikh Pioneers in 1903.  In the intervening period since the Second Afghan War all three regiments had taken part in numerous operations, including Frontier operations against the Mahsuds and Wazirs, the Black Mountain campaigns (1888-91), Chitral (1895), the Tirah (1897-98), the Chinese Boxer Rebellion (1900-01), the invasion of Tibet (1903-04) and the Abor campaign (1911-12).

1914 found the three Sikh Pioneer regiments in their respective cantonments in India.  Following the declaration of war by Britain on 4^th August 1914, the orders for mobilization reached India on the 8^th and the 3^rd Lahore Division and 7^th Meerut Division were immediately mobilized.  The 34^th Sikh Pioneers found themselves serving as the designated Pioneer battalion of the 3^rd Lahore Division, comprising initially the Ferozepore and Jullundur Brigades, with the Sirhind Brigade delayed in Egypt with the responsibility of guarding the Suez Canal.  Following the departure for France of the two Indian infantry divisions in August 1914, two cavalry divisions then left Bombay for Europe in October 1914.

The mobilization order found the 34^th Sikh Pioneers at Ambala and nine days later on 17^th August the regiment reached Bombay.  After the conversion of ships to accommodate the animals, the 34^thembarked on the S.S. Nurani, arriving at Marseille after a break of six days at Alexandria on the 26^thSeptember alongside other units of the 3^rd Lahore Division.  With an urgent need to prevent the advance of the German right wing to the English Channel, the Indian Corps with the Ferozepore and Jullundur Brigades of the 3^rd Lahore Division in the lead, were rushed north to support the Allied lines of defence reaching their forward concentration area on 2^nd October.  Arriving at Bailleul on the 22^nd October expecting to be working on the construction of defences the 34^th Sikh Pioneers were thrown into the line on the following day alongside the 59^th Scinde Rifles.  With their British officers Captain Bailey and Lieut. Browne wounded, Subedars Sher Singh and Natha Singh took over temporary command until the arrival of Major Gib on the 26^th.  Sher Singh was subsequently awarded the Indian Order of Merit (2^nd Class) for his actions.

For the next four days the battalion found itself in the front line under continuous shelling and sniping.  By the end of October the 34^th Sikh Pioneers had suffered a baptism of fire, losing 1 British officer killed, three British officers and two Indian officers wounded and fifteen other ranks killed and 189 wounded.

In mid-November 1914 the 34^th found itself constructing gun emplacements and making general improvements to the Allied lines around Festubert and Neuve Chapelle. On 22^nd November the whole of the Lahore Division was moved back into the front line to replace the Meerut Division and the following day saw a German attack fall directly against the positions of the 34^th Sikh Pioneers.  This was the beginning of the battle that came to be referred to as “Festubert 1914”.  During the battle the battalion’s machine gun (a Maxim) was eventually rescued by Havildar Nikka Singh, who was awarded an Indian Order of Merit (2^nd Class).  As the Germans advanced into the Indian trenches the 34^th were rallied by Captain MacKain, who was mortally wounded and carried out of the trench by Sepoy Ishar Singh.  An unsuccessful counter-attack was attempted by Captain Crookshank as the regiment’s aid post came under intense shell fire, with Sub-Assistant Harnam Singh and Pala Singh, the hospital Havildar, rescuing the wounded.  With their former trenches lost, the 34^th then took part in the desperate attempts to recover the lost ground throughout the next night.  Despite heavy losses from all units, the trenches were retaken by the following morning.  The 34^th suffered more than most, with their CO Lt Col Kelly killed along with Captain MacKain, three British officers wounded and another three missing.  Three Subedars, Natha Singh, Ram Singh and Subder Singh, were also killed with a further Subedar and two Jemadars wounded.  In all, the battalion lost 161 killed and missing and 105 wounded.

In December the battalion concentrated again in the Festubert area and on the 19^th accompanied the Sirhind and Ferozepore Brigades in an attack.  On the 23^rd it moved to join up with the Jullundur Brigade near Le Reveillon.  After a couple of quiet months, the Indian Corps was to take part, in March 1915, in the attack at Neuve Chapelle.  Of the Indian Corps, the Meerut Division was to take the lead with the Lahore Division in support.  After the customary artillery bombardment starting at 7.30am on 10^th March, the Meerut Division moved forward and by noon was occupying the village of Neuve Chapelle.  The 34^th had followed in the wake of the attacking units constructing roads through the captured German trenches under heavy fire.

A new attack was planned from the River Layes for the morning of 11^th March at 7.00am, with the Meerut Division in the lead and the Jullundur Brigade in support.  With the British 8^th Division struggling to make headway in their attacks, the Meerut Division was unable to move forward with any momentum.  Another attack was planned on the 12^th by the Dehra Dun Brigade of the Meerut Division supported again by the Jullundur Brigade.  However further delays ensued and the Germans took advantage, making their own counter-attacks.  By the end of the 12^th, both sides eventually called a halt having fought each other to a standstill.  The Allied casualties were almost 13,000, with 2,527 killed.  The casualties of the Indian Corps exceeded 4,000.  The 34^th were eventually withdrawn to rest billets on 25^th March.

Late April saw the Lahore Division moved to the Ypres salient.  Lt Col Herbert Cooke had taken command of the 34^th on 2^nd April.  The battle at Ypres had begun on the 22^nd and the Lahore Division was rushed into the line to plug a gap left by the French Colonial Division, which had been devastated by gas attacks.  The 34^th did not take a large role in the defence of Ypres but the Lahore Division as a whole suffered terribly with over 4,000 casualties.

May 1915 would be remembered for the second battle of Festubert.  The Allied aim was for the Indian Corps to capture the Auber Ridge in support of French attacks to the south around Lens.  After the inevitable delays, the start date was set for 9^th May.  The first units forward were those of the Dehra Dun Brigade.  9^th and 10^th May saw numerous attacks making little headway and after some rest fresh attacks were planned for the 13^th and 14^th.   Bad weather led to further delays but the Meerut Division eventually moved forward supported by the Sirhind Brigade.  Attacks continued until the 21^st but with little success.

During the battle the 34^th Sikh Pioneers were busy in a supporting role, digging new communicating trenches as the old ones were rendered useless by heavy rains.

By the late summer, overall Iosses in the Indian Corps had been so heavy, with little chance of quick reinforcement, that a decision was taken to concentrate the remaining Indian units in the Meerut Division.  The Lahore Division effectively became a British Territorial division.

Sir James Willcocks relinquished command of the Indian Corps to be replaced by Sir Charles Anderson.  Some Indian battalions, including the 15^th Sikhs, were withdrawn altogether due to heavy losses.  The next major Allied attack came in September at Loos, with the Indian Corps again advancing around Neuve Chapelle.  Four days of artillery bombardments commenced on 21^st September.  The eventual attacks were hampered by gas blown back into the faces of the attacking troops.    Overall gains were limited to only a few thousand yards at best and losses, again, were heavy.  The 34^th were again busy in a supporting role but usually under intense fire.

Finally in October the decision was taken to withdraw the infantry divisions of the Indian Corps from the Western Front.  On 4^th November the Lahore and Meerut Divisions began the handover of their lines to the 11^th Corps, re-mustering as an exclusively Indian formation and moving south to Marseille.  The divisions were reviewed by the Prince of Wales on 25^th November with a party of 25 from the 34^th present, made up of all ranks.  The 34^th Sikh Pioneers eventually departed Marseille on 17^th December 1915.

With the 6^th Division of General Townshend besieged at Kut in Mesopotamia, the Lahore and Meerut Divisions were ordered to Basra.  The 34^th Sikh Pioneers disembarked at Basra on 8^th January 1916.  Some of the Pioneers were engaged in the reconstruction of the docks at Basra.  March 1916 saw the fiasco at Dujailah in an abortive attempt to break through to Kut and the 34^th were tasked with the terrible job of removing the wounded, many of whom were from the Jullundur Brigade, whose strength had been reduced from 2,500 to just 1,127.  With the relief attempts having failed, General Townshend eventually was forced to surrender Kut on 27^th April.  This fateful day found the 34^th on the left bank of the Tigris, busy in building bunds and repairing roads.  The remainder of 1916 was spent in a period of consolidation, with the 34^th building roads, redoubts and other defences.  1917 then saw a change of fortunes for the Allied forces with an advance to Baghdad, which, following the crossing of the Tigris behind Kut, fell in early April.  The summer of 1917 found the 34^th at Samarra engaged in the building of defences.  Later they moved to Kut where they were tasked with the construction of a connecting railway.

The decision was made in 1917 to move the Meerut and Lahore Divisions to Palestine to reinforce General Allenby’s forces.  The Meerut Division was moved down the Tigris before Christmas, with the Lahore Division, including the 34^th Sikh Pioneers, in March 1918.

1918 saw the raising in India of two additional wartime battalions of the 34^th.  Henceforth the battalion with the Lahore Division became the 1/34^th Sikh Pioneers.  The 2/34^th were raised at Lahore and the 3/34^th at Ambala.