Remembering the Fallen Indian Heroes!

A Military Legend Commemorated
The Indian Army commemorates September 23rd every year as Haifa Day to pay its respects to the brave Indian Cavalry Regiments that helped liberate the city of Haifa from Ottoman rule following a thrilling cavalry action in The Battle of Haifa on 23rd September 1918. The year 2018 marked the centenary celebration of this legendary battle which was celebrated in Jaipur, India. It was for the first time that the 61st cavalry prepared a night show to showcase their military tactics by adorning especially lit dresses which made the event conjure a truly exceptional experience.


The Battle of Haifa is one of the most legendary achievements of India’s Military exploits. The story goes back to exactly two months before the World War I would come to an end. The Israeli city of Haifa was under the control of Ottoman empire for the last 400 years. But the Ottoman empire decided to join the Central Powers (Germany) during the the WWI, it consequently embroiled Haifa in a confrontation against the armies of the allied powers of Britain, France and Russia.

Britain as usual handpicked an invincible army from the Indian princely states to be sent over to capture the city of Haifa. The 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade was thus born by merging the soldiers from the three princely states, namely Hyderabad, Mysore and Jodhpur. It is said that the Mysore lancers were the remnant soldiers from the army of Tipu Sultan. While the Mysore Lancers were officially disbanded on November 15, 1953, they are now represented by the 61st Cavalry Regiment in the Indian Army the only extant cavalry regiment in India now.

On The Day of Action
On 23rd September 1918, 400 brave soldiers riding on the horseback with just spears and lances faced head on a massively deployed army of 1500 people well supplied with machine guns and heavy artillery. Because the city of Haifa was fortified, the Indian troops had to clear the way before gaining entry in the town. Soldiers from Jodhpur and Mysore lancers were able to climb up the steep slope of mount Carmel unflinchingly facing the shower of bullets from their opponents. But Indian troops successfully took over the Ottoman forces guarding the gates of the forts and held them prisoners by seizing their machine guns. And once the city gates were flung open, the Indian troops took no time in taking the 1350 German and Ottoman Soldiers prisoners while seizing their artillery and guns. The victory made possible solely through the undaunted spirit of Indian Cavalry soldiers put the last nickel in the coffin of Ottoman Empire rule on Haifa.

The Official History of the War (Military operation Egypt and Palestine: volume 2) quoted, "No more remarkable cavalry action of its scale was fought in the whole course of the campaign. Machine gun bullets over and over again failed to stop the galloping horses even though many of them succumbed afterwards to their injuries."

It was fought by the cavalry of the Indian princely states which were commanded by Indian officers. All other units had only British officers. The contribution of the Indian army was felt to be immensely indispensable by the British Commander Edmund Allenby who had personally gone to boast and salute the Indian troops at the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem on Dec 11, 1917 before the battle could even begin. Many Indian soldiers including but not limited to Major Dalpat Singh, Captain Aman Singh Bahadur, Dafadar Jor Singh, Capt Anoop Singh and Lt Sangat Singh, earned the coveted military cross for their exceptional bravery on the battle ground. Major Dalpat Singh who sacrificed his life in the battle was additionally anointed as the “Hero of Haifa”. What made this battle a remarkably exceptional tale of military success was the fact that only 8 Indian soldiers were martyred alongside 60 horse casualties.

This battle created many successful legends afterwards, one of which came in the form of the establishment of Prince of Wales Royal Military College in 1922 by Lt-Gen Maharaja Sir Pratap Singh who was greatly inspired by the heroic deeds of the Indian soldiers. The institution is now called the Rashtriya Indian Military College, a necessary stepping stone for commission in the Indian Army. The college has seen several distinguished alumnus, one among them being KS Thimayya, who served as the Chief of Army Staff between 1957 and 1961. Sir Pratap also sent his son Raja Rao Hanut Singh, who would emerge as a fantastic polo player India would ever have, for the Battle, who was only 17 years old despite family’s insistence on keeping Hanut away from the war. Sir Pratap placated the family members by saying “It’s alright” “ he is a Rajput”.

The Teen Murti Memorial, which is often mistaken as representing Gandhi’s three virtuous monkeys, was actually constructed to commemorate the martyrdom of these brave soldiers. The stone and bronze sculptures were created by the British architect Leonard Jennings and will be renamed as Teen Murti Haifa chowk after the centenary event. The three statues represent soldiers from the three Indian States - Hyderabad, Mysore and Jodhpur, together with detachments from Bhavnagar, Kashmir and Kathiawar. The statutes were collectively named Teen Murti and the base carries the names of officers.

It was only in the respect of these brave soldiers that Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru’s house was renamed from Flagstaff House to Teen Murti Bhavan. When Narendra Modi visited the Indian Haifa cemetery last year, he became the first ever prime minister to pay a visit to the resting souls of the brave soldiers.
 

Not only did the legend percolate in the Indian history but also survived in the memory of Israelis in all its vivid details and heroism. Apparently, there are about forty nine graves of Indian soldiers in Israel today at the Haifa Indian Cemetery which commemorate soldiers who sacrificed their lives while fighting for the British crown during the World Wars. In 2012, the municipality of Haifa declared to immortalise the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers, many of whom are buried in the cemetery there, by introducing the stories of their valiant sacrifices in school curricula. Israel also issued a postage stamp to commemorating Sikh, Indian and British soldiers during victorious war of Haifa.