10 Facts About Bengal Army

Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire.

Bengal Army originated with the establishment of a European Regiment in 1756.

In 1757 the first locally recruited unit of Bengal Army sepoys was created in the form of the Lal Paltan battalion.

In 1824 the Bengal Army underwent reorganisation, with the regular infantry being grouped into 68 single battalion regiments numbered according to their date of establishment.

New feature in the Bengal Army was the creation of irregular infantry and cavalry regiments during the 1840s.

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Recruits for the Bengal Army who were prepared to travel by ship if required, received a special allowance or batta.

From 1858 onwards the actual Chamarand high-caste Awadhi, Bengali and Bihari Hindu presence in the Bengal Army was reduced because of their perceived primary role as "mutineers" in the 1857 rebellion.

The new and less homogeneous Bengal Army was essentially drawn from Punjabi Muslims, Sikhs, Gurkhas, Baluchis and Pathans, although twelve of the pre-mutiny Bengal line infantry regiments continued in service with the same basis of recruitment, traditions and uniform colours as before.

In 1903 the separately numbered regiments of the Bombay, Madras and Bengal Army Armies were unified in a single organisational sequence and the presidency affiliations disappeared.

Bengal Army was the largest of the three Presidency Armies, its Commander-in-Chief was, from 1853 to 1895, Commander-in-Chief, India.