Guides Infantry
The Guides Infantry, or 2nd Battalion The Frontier Force Regiment, is an infantry battalion of the Pakistan Army. It was raised in 1846 as part of the famous Corps of Guides, a highly mobile force to act as guides to troops in the field and gather intelligence beyond the borders of British India. The corps recruited men from various backgrounds, with Pathans, Punjabi Muslims, Sikhs, and Dogras forming the majority of their manpower. Under the leadership of Lieutenant Harry Burnett Lumsden, the Guides gained a formidable reputation and introduced the dust-colored "khaki" uniforms, later adopted by the British Army in India. The corps became part of the Punjab Frontier Force, known as Piffers, which maintained order on the Punjab Frontier for fifty years.
The Guides participated in numerous frontier operations, earning recognition for their gallantry and resilience. They fought in the Second Sikh War, played a crucial role in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny in Delhi, and served in the Second Afghan War, where they defended the British Residency in Kabul. During World War I, the Guides raised additional battalions and fought in Mesopotamia and Palestine. Following the war, the Corps of Guides was reorganized, with the cavalry and infantry becoming separate units. In the Second World War, the Guides Infantry served in Iraq and Iran.
The Guides Infantry demonstrated their valor in the Indo-Pakistan wars of 1948 and 1965. In 1948, they defended the Kishenganga Valley in Kashmir, and in 1965, they established a bridgehead for the 1st Armored Division across the India-Pakistan border. The Guides Infantry also participated in the Rann of Kutch Conflict in 1965, capturing Indian positions and earning several awards for their bravery. Throughout their history, the Guides Infantry played a vital role in frontier operations and earned a reputation as a brave and dependable force.
Historical overview
was raised at Peshawar on 14 December 1846 by Lieutenant Harry Burnett Lumsden on the orders of Sir Henry Lawrence, the British Resident at Lahore, capital of the Sikh Empire. Initially composed of a troop of cavalry and two companies of infantry mounted on camels, the Guides were organized as a highly mobile force. The corps was ordered to recruitAlthough the corps recruited men from all over the country and even beyond the Frontier of India, Pathans, Punjabi Muslims, Sikhs and Dogras later formed the bulk of their manpower.
Harry Lumsden was chosen to train and lead the force:
Lumsden left a lasting imprint on the Guides, who first fought in numerous frontier operations. Believing that fighting troops were for service and not for show, Lumsden introduced loose and comfortable dust-coloured uniforms for the first time, which would soon become famous as "khaki" and within decades would be adopted by the British Army for service in India. In 1851, the Guides established themselves at Mardan, which would remain their home until 1938.
In 1851, the Corps of Guides became part of the Punjab Irregular Force, which later became famous as the Punjab Frontier Force or Piffers. The Piffers consisted of five regiments of cavalry, eleven regiments of infantry and five batteries of artillery besides the Corps of Guides. Their mission was to maintain order on the Punjab Frontier; a task they performed efficiently during the next fifty years.
In 1876, Queen Victoria rewarded the Guides by granting them the use of the Royal Cypher and they became the Queen's Own Corps of Guides with the Prince of Wales as their Colonel. During the First World War, the cavalry and infantry of the Guides fought separately. During the war, the Guides Infantry raised three more battalions. The 3rd and 4th Guides Infantry were disbanded after the war. In 1921, the cavalry and infantry components were formally separated; the cavalry becoming the 10th Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides Cavalry, while the infantry joined the newly formed 12th Frontier Force Regiment to make up the 5th and 10th Battalions of the new infantry regiment. The 10th became the Training Battalion of the regiment. Their new class composition was one company each of Punjabi Muslims, Pathans, Sikhs and Dogras. The regiment adopted the drab uniform with red facings of the Corps of Guides. In 1943, the 10th Battalion was converted into the 12th Frontier Force Regimental Centre, while in 1945, '12' was dropped from the regiment's designation, changing it to The Frontier Force Regiment.
On the Partition of India in 1947, the Frontier Force Regiment was allotted to Pakistan. The Sikhs and Dogras were transferred to India and the new class composition of the regiment became Punjabi Muslims and Pathans in equal proportion. In 1956, the Frontier Force Rifles and Pathan Regiment were merged with the Frontier Force Regiment and all the battalions were re-numbered. At the same time, since Pakistan had become a republic, all titles pertaining to British royalty were dropped. Consequently, the Guides Infantry was redesignated as the 2nd Battalion The Frontier Force Regiment or 2 FF.
Campaigns
Frontier operations
The intrepid Guides quickly made a name for themselves on the North West Frontier of India in numerous operations against the turbulent frontier tribes. Between 1847 and 1878, the corps participated in fifteen major frontier expeditions and operations. Their formidable reputation soon spread far and wide, and was immortalized by Rudyard Kipling in several of his works such as The Ballad of East and West. By around the start of the 20th century, the Guides had acquired such a legendary status that when Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts, decided to form a similar organization for girls in 1909, he named them Girl Guides after the Corps of Guides. How Girls Can Help to Build Up the Empire, the Girl Guides' handbook has this to say about the Corps of Guides:Second Sikh War 1848–1849
Following their victory in the First Sikh War of 1845–1846, the British posted a Resident at the Sikh Durbar at Lahore to control the affairs of the Sikh state. However, the Sikhs resented British interference in their affairs and began planning a revolt. Early in 1848, Lumsden and his Guides were summoned to Lahore to gather evidence of the planned Sikh insurrection - a mission that they successfully carried out. However, British counter-measures were unable to prevent the revolt, which broke out at Multan in April 1848 and soon spread to the rest of the country. The Guides served at the Siege of Multan and then participated in the Battle of Gujrat on 21 February 1849, where the Sikh Army was decisively defeated. The Second Sikh War resulted in the dissolution of the Sikh state and annexation of the Punjab by the British.The Great Indian Mutiny of 1857
In May 1857, when the mutiny broke out, Lumsden was on a mission at Kandahar and Captain Henry Daly led the Guides to join the Delhi Field Force then besieging the ancient capital city. They left Hoti Mardan on 13 May and arrived at Delhi on 9 June after marching 580 miles in twenty-six days and fourteen hours in the searing Indian summer.The Guides went into action the same day and by evening, all of their officers were killed or wounded. They continued to fight gallantly throughout the summer and took part in the final assault and capture of Delhi. By the time they returned home, they had suffered 350 casualties out of the 600 men who had set out in May. For their gallant conduct at Delhi, they were awarded the distinction of red piping on their tunic collars; an honour shared with the 60th Foot and the Sirmoor Rifles, who fought alongside them at Delhi.
Second Afghan War 1878–1880
During the Second Afghan War of 1878–1880, the Guides joined the Peshawar Field Force under General Sir Sam Browne and took part in the capture of Ali Masjid, the advance to Jalalabad and the cavalry action at Fatehabad, where Lieutenant Walter Hamilton won the Victoria Cross for gallantry. Following the Treaty of Gandamak in May 1879, the Afghan King agreed to the presence of a British Mission in Kabul. The mission, led by Sir Louis Cavagnari, arrived in Kabul on 24 July 1879, escorted by a detachment of 76 Guides under Lieutenant Hamilton, VC. However, on 3 September, a disgruntled regiment of the Afghan Army attacked the British Residency. Although the Afghans offered quarter to the Indian ranks, the Guides chose to fight to the death. The Residency finally fell after twelve hours of fierce resistance by the Guides, who perished to the last man along with 600 of their foes. The sacrifice of these gallant men is commemorated in the impressive Guides Memorial at Mardan with the following words:The epic stand of the Guides at Kabul Residency was immortalized by MM Kaye in her bestselling novel The Far Pavilions and in the 1984 motion picture of the same name.
The massacre at Kabul led to the resumption of hostilities and in December 1879, the Guides were dispatched to join the Kabul Field Force under General Sir Frederick Roberts at Sherpur Cantonment near Kabul. They participated in the attacks on Takht-i-Shah and Asmai Heights, where Captain Arthur Hammond won the Victoria Cross for conspicuous gallantry.
After the Second Afghan War, the Guides were involved in a number of actions along the North West Frontier including the Relief of Chitral in 1895, as part of Malakand and Buner Field Forces during the Frontier Uprising of 1897-98, and in the Mohmand Expedition of 1908. In 1906, the Corps of Guides was reorganized into separates units of cavalry and infantry within the corps.
First World War
At the outbreak of World War I, the Corps of Guides initially remained in India for service on the Frontier; both Guides Infantry and Cavalry participating in the Mohmand Blockade in 1915. In January 1917, a second battalion of Guides Infantry was raised by Captain RCG Pollock at Mardan. In October, the 3rd Guides Infantry was raised by Colonel GP Villiers Stuart, also at Mardan, while the 4th Guides Infantry was raised in October 1918 by Lieutenant ND Douglas at Nowshera. In 1917, the 1st Guides Infantry joined the 7th Division in Mesopotamia and fought in the action of Tikrit. In 1918, both 1st and 2nd Guides Infantry served in Palestine and took part in the Battle of Megiddo, which led to the annihilation of Turkish Army in Palestine. The 3rd Guides Infantry served in the Third Afghan War of 1919. It was disbanded in August 1921. The 4th Guides Infantry was disbanded in December 1918.The end of the war also spelt the end of the Corps of Guides as a unit. In the post-war reorganization of the Indian Army in 1921, the corps was broken up and the cavalry and infantry became separate units, with the two battalions of Guides Infantry joining the 12th Frontier Force Regiment as its 5th and 10th Battalions.