Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/652

590 For military purposes India is divided into three great sections Bengal, Madras, and Bombay. Under the term Bengal must be included Bengal proper, Assam, the North- West Provinces, Oudh, and the Punjab ; under Madras, Burmah ; and under Bombay, the province of Sindh. The army of India has always consisted of three native armies, corresponding to the three presidencies, each associated with a certain number of British troops, Europeans in the service of the late East India Company, and forces furnished by the Imperial Government. This separation into three distinct armies was the natural result of the original foundation of separate settlements and fac tories in India ; and each retains to the present day its own separate history and traditions.

Half a century after the establishment of the associations of merchant adventurers, whose first charter bears date 1600, the English traders in Bengal were still restricted by the native princes to a military establishment, as guard, of an ensign and 30 men ; and this Liliputian force may be taken as the germ of the splendid army which now occupies India from Peshawur to Calcutta. In 1681 Bengal received the first reinforcement from Madras, in the shape of a &quot; corporal of approved fidelity and courage, with 20 soldiers;&quot; and two years later a company was sent from Fort St George (Madras), raising the little Bengal army to a strength of 250 Europeans. In 1695 native soldiers were first enlisted. The English had by this time moved to Calcutta, and there entrenched themselves ; and in the years 1701-2, the garrison of that now flourishing capital consisted of 120 soldiers and seamen gunners. In 1756 Fort William was captured by Surajah Dowlah, and the terrible tragedy of the Black Hole of Calcutta was enacted; but vengeance followed promptly. An expedition was at once despatched from Madras, and on the 23d June 1757 the battle of Plassey established the British supremacy in Bengal. The little force, not exceeding 3000 men, with which Clive gained this astonishing victory, was formed mainly of Madras troops, and the 39th regiment, recently despatched from England,- the first royal regiment sent to India, and which now bears the motto, &quot; Primus in Indis.&quot; The Bengal army was represented by a few hundred men only ; but from this date the military power and conquests of the Company rapidly increased. A company of artillery already had been organised in 1748; and in 1757, shortly before the battle of Plassey, the 1st regiment of Bengal native infantry was raised. In 1759 the native infantry had been augmented to 5 battalions ; in the following year 3 troops of dragoons were raised; and in 1763 the total forces amounted to 1500 Europeans and 12 bat talions of native infantry, giving a strength of 11,500 men. In 1765 the army was further increased; the Euro pean infantry was divided into 3 regiments, and the whole force was organised in 3 brigades, each consisting of 1 company of artillery, 1 regiment European infantry, 1 troop of native cavalry, and 7 battalions of Sepoys. In 1766, consequent on the reduction of some money allowances, a dangerous combination of the officers of the Bengal army took place, by which they agreed to resign their com missions simultaneously. This combination was promptly put down by the then Governor and Commander-in-Chief, Lord Clive, to whom the Bengal army may be said to owe its existence. He found Bengal a ruined commercial agency in 1756 ; he left it, ten years after, a powerful empire. The constant wars and extensions of dominion which took place during the next thirty years led to further augmentation of the army; the number of brigades and of European regiments was increased to 6 ; and in 1794 the Bengal army numbered about 3500 Europeans and 24,000 natives.

The first armed force in the Madras Presidency was the little garrison of Armegon, on the Coromandel coast, consisting of 12 guns and 28 soldiers. In 1644 Fort St George was built and garrisoned by 100 soldiers, and in 1653 Madras became a presidency. In 1745, when Fort St George was surrendered to the French, its garrison consisted of 200 Europeans, while a similar number, with the addition of 200 &quot;Topasses&quot; (descendants of the Portuguese), garrisoned Fort St David. In 1748 the various independent companies of factory guards at settle ments on the Coromandel coast and other places were consolidated into the Madras European regiment. In the following year, Clive, with only 200 soldiers and 300 Sepoys, seized and held Arcot, the capital of the Carnatic, and on three several occasions defeated the troops of the Nabob and their French auxiliaries. From this year the military power of Madras may be dated. In 1754 the first royal regiment, the 39th, was sent there, followed in 1758 by three others. In 1772 the Madras army mimbered 3000 European infantry and 16,000 natives, and in 1784 the number of native troops had risen to 34,000.

The island of Bombay formed part of the marriage portion received by Charles II. with the Infanta of Portugal, and in 1662 the Bombay regiment of Europeans was raised to defend it. In 1668 the island was granted to the East India Company, and the regiment at the same time transferred to them. In 1708 Bombay became a presidency, but it did not play so important a part as the others in the early extension of our power in India, and its forces were not so rapidly developed. It is said, how ever, to have been the first presidency to discipline native troops, and Bombay Sepoys were sent to Madras in 1747, and took part in the battle of Plassey in 1757. In 1772 the Bombay army consisted of 2500 Europeans and 3500 Sepoys, but in 1794, in consequence of the struggles with the Mahratta power, the native troops had been increased to 24,000. In 1796 a general reorganisation of the Indian armies took place. Hitherto the officers in each presidency had been borne on general &quot; lists,&quot; according to the branches of the service to which they belonged. These lists were now broken up, and cadres of regiments formed. The colonels and lieutenant-colonels remained on separate lists, and an establishment of general officers was created, while the divisional commands were distributed between the royal and Company s officers. Further augmentations took place, consequent on the great extension of territory and the complete assertion of British supremacy. In 1798, at the outbreak of the war with Tippoo Saib, the native infantry in India had been increased to 122 bat talions ; and the force which General Harris took from Madras for the attack on Seringapatam consisted of 5000 Europeans, 14,000 native troops, 40 siege guns, 64 field guns, and the Nizam s contingent, numbering 6000 men. In 1808 the total force in India amounted to 24,500 E^^ropeans and 154,500 natives. The first half of the 19th century was a history of wars and annexations, and further augmentations of the army took place. Horse artillery was formed, and the artillery service increased to a most powerful footing. &quot;Irregular cavalry &quot; were raised in Bengal and Bombay, commanded by picked officers, and recruited from a better class of troopers, who received high pay, on the condition of finding their own horses and equipment. &quot;Local forces&quot; were raised in various parts from time to time, the most im portant being the Punjab irregular force (raised after the annexation of the Punjab in 1849), consisting of 3 field batteries, 5 regiments of cavalry, and 5 of infantry, and the Nagpore and Oudh irregular forces. Another kind of military force, which had been gradually formed, was that called &quot;contingents,&quot; native troops raised by the native 