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158-753: After news of the Indian Mutiny reached Sir George Grey , Governor of the Cape, he sent every available military unit in the Cape Garrison to India which left the Cape's military forces badly depleted of manpower. The volunteers of the Cape Royal Corps soon found themselves drilling on the guns stationed in Table Bay. As a result of their work on these batteries the Cape Town Volunteer Artillery ( CVA )

316-519: A British attack the previous night. While Gruppe Böttcher contained the British tank attacks in the Bologna sector, a battalion of Bersaglieri from the "Trieste" Division counter-attacked the British breakout from Tobruk. Afterwards Oberstleutnant Fritz Bayerlein wrote: On 25 November heavy fighting flared up again at Tobruk, where our holding force was caught between pincers, one coming from

474-488: A German armoured attack on Belhamed almost destroyed the 20th Battalion. The New Zealanders suffered 879 dead, 1,699 wounded and 2,042 captured. The leading elements of the 15th Panzer Division had reached Ed Duda but before night fell were held up by the defenders. A counter-attack by the 4th Royal Tank Regiment and Australian infantry recaptured the positions, forcing the Germans back 1,000 yd (910 m). On 29 November,

632-409: A battery of the 51st Field Regiment RA. The Tobruk breakout force attacked with the 2nd King's Own on the right flank, the 2nd Black Watch in the centre and the 2nd King's Own on the left flank, to capture strongpoints leading to Ed Duda. The Italians were stunned by the massive fire and a company of the "Pavia" Division was overrun in the dark but the "Bologna" Division recovered. By mid-afternoon,

790-527: A commitment for general service. However, serving high-caste sepoys were fearful that it would be eventually extended to them, as well as preventing sons following fathers into an army with a strong tradition of family service. There were also grievances over the issue of promotions, based on seniority. This, as well as the increasing number of British officers in the battalions, made promotion slow, and many Indian officers did not reach commissioned rank until they were too old to be effective. The final spark

948-632: A deception plan to persuade the Axis that the main Allied attack would not be ready until early December and be a sweeping outflanking move through Jarabub, an oasis on the edge of the Great Sand Sea, more than 150 mi (240 km) to the south of the real point of attack. That proved so successful that Rommel, refusing to believe that an attack was imminent, was not in Africa when it came. Before dawn on 18 November,

1106-444: A result of the land reforms that came in the wake of annexation of Oudh . It is mentioned that throughout Oudh and Bihar Rajput Taluqdars provided the bulk of leadership and played an important role during 1857 in the region. As the rebellion gained ground, the taluqdars quickly reoccupied the lands they had lost, and paradoxically, in part because of ties of kinship and feudal loyalty, did not experience significant opposition from

1264-626: Is little evidence that the sepoys' allegiance was affected by this. However, changes in the terms of their professional service may have created resentment. As the extent of the East India Company's jurisdiction expanded with victories in wars or annexation, the soldiers were now expected not only to serve in less familiar regions, such as in Burma , but also to make do without the "foreign service" remuneration that had previously been their due. A major cause of resentment that arose ten months prior to

1422-528: The Afrika Korps HQ and captured most of its staff (Crüwell was absent) and no supplies reached either panzer division that day. Later that day, the 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Group was sent north of the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade to apply pressure on Tobruk and the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade covered Bardia and the Sollum–Halfaya positions. On 23 November, Totensonntag (Sunday of

1580-496: The Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814–16 and brought the defeated Gurkhas under British influence. In 1854, Berar was annexed, and the state of Oudh was added two years later. For practical purposes, the company was the government of much of India. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 occurred as the result of an accumulation of factors over time, rather than any single event. The sepoys were Indian soldiers who were recruited into

1738-745: The Battle of Gazala . 2 Field Battery was lost during the fall of Tobruk in June 1942, when the 1st Field Brigade (CFA) fought as part of the South African 2nd Infantry Division under the command of General Hendrik Klopper . It fired the first and last rounds before the Fortress at Tobruk surrendered on 21 June 1942. 1 and 3 Field Batteries, joined by 14 Field Battery, fought in the First Battle of El Alamein in July 1942 and in

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1896-679: The Duke of Edinburgh was escorted to Cape Town from Simonstown by the Cape Town Cavalry and upon his arrival the Cape Town Volunteer Artillery, drawn up on Caledon Square, fired a Royal Salute as he passed towards Adderley Street. The great occasion of the royal visit was on 24 August, when the Prince laid the foundation stone of the graving dock and the CVO thundered out again in salute on

2054-521: The Madras Army and Bombay Army were "more localized, caste-neutral armies" that "did not prefer high-caste men". The domination of higher castes in the Bengal Army has been blamed in part for initial mutinies that led to the rebellion. In 1772, when Warren Hastings was appointed Fort William 's first Governor-General, one of his first undertakings was the rapid expansion of the company's army. Since

2212-600: The Second Battle of El Alamein that lasted between 23 October to 11 November 1942, as part of 1st South African Division . On one day during the first battle the three batteries fired over 9000 shells to break up several German attacks. After these engagements the regiment returned to South Africa briefly in December 1942. The regiment returned to North Africa in 1943 where it merged with 6th Field Regiment to form 1/6 Field Regiment (V), South African Artillery (PAOCFA) . It joined

2370-460: The South African 6th Armoured Division and moved to Italy in April 1944 where it fought in the Battle of Monte Cassino and all the other battles and engagements in which the 6th Armoured division were involved. The units title was changed again, in 1960, to Regiment Tygerberg . This title, imposed on the regiment, was not popular, and in 1963 it was changed back to Cape Field Artillery , but without

2528-484: The Vellore Mutiny was sparked by new uniform regulations that created resentment amongst both Hindu and Muslim sepoys. After the turn of the 19th century, Governor-General Wellesley began what became two decades of accelerated expansion of Company territories. This was achieved either by subsidiary alliances between the company and local rulers or by direct military annexation. The subsidiary alliances created

2686-636: The princely states of the Hindu maharajas and the Muslim nawabs . Punjab , North-West Frontier Province , and Kashmir were annexed after the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849; however, Kashmir was immediately sold under the 1846 Treaty of Amritsar to the Dogra Dynasty of Jammu and thereby became a princely state. The border dispute between Nepal and British India, which sharpened after 1801, had caused

2844-505: The upper Gangetic plain and central India , though incidents of revolt also occurred farther north and east. The rebellion posed a military threat to British power in that region, and was contained only with the rebels' defeat in Gwalior on 20 June 1858. On 1 November 1858, the British granted amnesty to all rebels not involved in murder, though they did not declare the hostilities to have formally ended until 8 July 1859. The name of

3002-500: The 11th Bengal Native Infantry) escorted trusted British officers and women and children to safety before joining the revolt. Some officers and their families escaped to Rampur , where they found refuge with the Nawab. The British historian Philip Mason notes that it was inevitable that most of the sepoys and sowars from Meerut should have made for Delhi on the night of 10 May. It was a strong walled city located only forty miles away, it

3160-479: The 15th Panzer Division set off west, south of Sidi Rezegh. The remnants of the 21st Panzer Division were supposed to be moving up on their right to form a pincer but were in disarray when Ravenstein was captured reconnoitring that morning. In the afternoon, to the east of Sidi Rezegh, at the Action at Point 175 , elements of Ariete overran the 21st New Zealand Battalion. The New Zealanders thought that reinforcements from

3318-447: The 16th Infantry Brigade ( 2nd King's Own ) the 32nd Army Tank Brigade (1/4th RTR, 7th RTR), the 1st, 104th and 107th regiments RHA and 144th Field Regiment RA, with detachments of the 2nd and 54th Field Companies RE and several armoured cars (to lift mines each carrying a sapper) moved up. The Polish Carpathian Brigade was to mount a diversion just before dawn against the "Pavia" Division. The "Bologna", "Brescia" and "Pavia" divisions on

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3476-448: The 1st South African Brigade had arrived from the south-west and held their fire. Lieutenant-Colonel Howard Kippenberger wrote, About 5.30 p.m. damned Italian Motorized Division (Ariete) turned up. They passed with five tanks leading, twenty following, and a huge column of transport and guns and rolled straight over our infantry on Pt. 175. The 24th and 26th Battalions met a similar fate at Sidi Rezegh on 30 November. On 1 December,

3634-590: The 20th Australian Infantry Brigade improved the Australian position at the Ras el Medauar salient and the 24th Australian Infantry Brigade made an abortive attack on the shoulders of the salient, the garrison then returning to active defence. The Afrika Korps was to be defeated by the 7th Armoured Division as the South African Division covered its left flank. XIII Corps and the 4th Armoured Brigade (detached from

3792-426: The 21st Panzer Division and Ariete were in difficulty; Ritchie ordered the 7th Armoured Division to "stick to them like hell". Eight Matilda tanks provided the preliminary bombardment for a counter-attack by two companies of the 2/13th Australian Infantry Battalion on the night of 29/30 November. In a bayonet charge against German positions, the 2/13th suffered two killed, five wounded and took 167 prisoners. After

3950-486: The 21st Panzer Division attacked north-west of Halfaya towards Capuzzo and Bardia. Ariete , approaching Bir Ghirba (15 mi (24 km) north-east of Sidi Omar, from the west, was ordered towards Fort Capuzzo to clear any opposition and link with the 21st Panzer Division. They were to be supported by the depleted Infantry Regiment 115 of the 15th Panzer Division, which was to advance with some artillery, south-east from Bardia toward Fort Capuzzo. The two battalions of

4108-489: The 21st Panzer Division went on the defensive with the "Afrika" Division between Sidi Rezegh and Tobruk, while the 15th Panzer Division moved 15 mi (24 km) east to Gambut, ready for a battle of manoeuvre, which General Ludwig Crüwell believed would favour the Afrika Korps ; the 21st Panzer Division was ordered to Belhamed. On 22 November, with the 7th Armoured Division down to 209 tanks, Norrie decided to wait. In

4266-529: The 2nd New Zealand Division, advanced with the 4th Armoured Brigade on its left and the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade, 4th Indian Division on its right at Sidi Omar. On 19 November, the 22nd Armoured Brigade attacked the Ariete Division at Bir el Gubi but withdrew after 25 of its new Crusader tanks were knocked out for an Italian loss of 34 tanks. The 7th Armoured Brigade and the Support Group advanced to

4424-553: The 32nd Tank Brigade at Ed Duda creating a small bridgehead. By 28 November, Bologna had regrouped largely in the Bu Amud and Belhamed areas and deployed along 8 mi (13 km) of the Via Balbia to the Tobruk bypass. On the night of 27/28 November, Rommel wanted to cut the Tobruk corridor and to destroy the defenders. Crüwell first wanted to eliminate the 7th Armoured Division tanks to

4582-415: The 4th Armoured Brigade to XIII Corps, allowing the 22nd Armoured Brigade to be bogged down against the "Ariete" Division and letting the 7th Armoured Brigade advance towards Tobruk, Cunningham had dispersed the British tanks before they met the main Axis armoured force. On 20 November, the 15th Panzer Division was ordered to Sidi Aziz and thence towards Capuzzo, the 21st Panzer Division was to move north of

4740-423: The 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade captured Upper Sollum and the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade captured Italian positions near Sidi Omar. Cunningham was alarmed at the extent of British tank losses, XXX Corps reporting that it was down to 44 tanks against 120 serviceable Axis tanks. On the morning of 23 November, before the destruction of the 5th South African Infantry Brigade, Cunningham asked Auchinleck to meet him at

4898-400: The 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade continued its advance south-east, down the main road from Fort Capuzzo towards Sollum and cut off of the Axis positions from Sidi Omar to Sollum and Halfaya from Bardia and its supply route. Cunningham decided that the main action at Tobruk needed more infantry and ordered XIII Corps to send the 2nd New Zealand Division west, leaving a skeleton force to contain

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5056-432: The 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade, between Fort Capuzzo and Sollum Barracks, were engaged by the converging elements of the 15th Panzer Division and the 21st Panzer Division at dusk on 26 November. During the night, Infantry Regiment 115 got to within 800 yd (730 m) of Capuzzo. In the early hours of 27 November, Rommel met with the commanders of the panzer divisions at Bardia. The Afrika Korps had to return to

5214-593: The 5th South African Brigade and the 22nd Armoured Brigade lost about eleven of its 43 remaining tanks; the Afrika Korps suffered the loss of 72 of its 162 tanks. Many officers and NCOs became casualties. The tactical victory was too costly for the Germans; not exploiting surprise to unite with the Italians was costly, the tank losses were irreplaceable and had a serious effect on operations. Comando Supremo in Rome agreed to put

5372-450: The 70th Infantry Division in Tobruk attacked the 25th "Bologna" Infantry Division to reach Sidi Rezegh. Parts of the "Pavia" Division arrived and contained the attack. (On 26 November, the British attacked Ed Duda ridge and early on 27 November linked up with a small force of New Zealanders.) The 7th Armoured Division had planned its attack northwards to Tobruk to start at 8:30 a.m. on 21 November but at 7:45 a.m., patrols reported tanks to

5530-489: The 7th Armoured Brigade had been joined by the Support Group and the remnants of the 6th RTR to hold on, the tanks down to 28 runners. The South African brigade was dug in south-east of Bir el Haiad but the panzers were between them and Sidi Rezegh. By dusk on 21 November, the 4th Armoured Brigade was 8 mi (13 km) south-east of Sidi Rezegh and the 22nd Armoured Brigade was in contact with German tanks at Bir el Haiad, 12 mi (19 km) south-west of Sidi Rezegh. From

5688-404: The 7th Armoured Division), would make a clockwise flanking advance west of Sidi Omar . To threaten the rear of the Axis defences east from Sidi Omar to the coast at Halfaya. After the destruction of the Axis armour by the 7th Armoured Division, XIII Corps was to advance north to Bardia. XXX Corps was to continue north-west to Tobruk to meet a breakout by the 70th Infantry Division. There was also

5846-405: The 84 regular infantry and cavalry regiments. Thus 75% of the cavalry regiments was composed of Indian Muslims, while 80% of the infantry was composed of Hindus. The sepoys were therefore affected to a large degree by the concerns of the landholding and traditional members of Indian society. In the early years of Company rule, it tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within

6004-460: The Australian 2/13th Battalion moved to reinforce Ed Duda, where several platoons suffered severe casualties from artillery-fire. On the night of 28 November, Rommel rejected Crüwell's plan for a direct advance towards Tobruk since frontal attacks during the siege had failed. He decided on a circling movement to attack Ed Duda from the south-west, move on to cut off British forces outside the Tobruk perimeter and to destroy them. Early on 29 November,

6162-527: The Axis positions at Bardia and Capuzzo; XXX Corps was to continue to attack the Axis tank forces and support the New Zealand Division if it encountered tanks. Neither the Eighth Army HQ or the 7th Armoured Division HQ knew the real condition of its tank units until 23 November; the severely depleted 7th Armoured Brigade was ordered to maintain its hold on Sidi Rezegh. The 7th Indian Infantry Brigade

6320-459: The Bengal Army had accepted an obligation to serve overseas if required. As a result, the burden of providing contingents for active service in Burma, readily accessible only by sea, and China had fallen disproportionately on the two smaller Presidency Armies. As signed into effect by Lord Canning , Dalhousie's successor as Governor-General, the act required only new recruits to the Bengal Army to accept

6478-504: The Bengal Army liable to service overseas. Although it was intended to apply only to new recruits, the serving sepoys feared that the Act might be applied retroactively to them as well. A high-caste Hindu who travelled in the cramped conditions of a wooden troop ship could not cook his own food on his own fire, and accordingly risked losing caste through ritual pollution. Several months of increasing tensions coupled with various incidents preceded

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6636-493: The Bengal Army, that some sort of rebellion over the cartridges was imminent. Despite the objections of the civilian Governor-General's staff, he agreed to postpone the musketry practice and allow a new drill by which the soldiers tore the cartridges with their fingers rather than their teeth. However, he issued no general orders making this standard practice throughout the Bengal Army and, rather than remain at Ambala to defuse or overawe potential trouble, he then proceeded to Simla ,

6794-667: The Bengal Army, which recruited its regular infantry soldiers almost exclusively amongst the landowning Rajputs and Brahmins of the Bihar and Oudh regions. These soldiers were known as Purbiyas . By the time these customs and privileges came to be threatened by modernising regimes in Calcutta from the 1840s onwards, the sepoys had become accustomed to very high ritual status and were extremely sensitive to suggestions that their caste might be polluted. The sepoys also gradually became dissatisfied with various other aspects of army life. Their pay

6952-687: The British Eighth Army (with Commonwealth, Indian and Allied contingents) against the Axis forces (German and Italian) in North Africa commanded by Generalleutnant (Lieutenant-General) Erwin Rommel . The operation was intended to bypass Axis defences on the Egyptian–Libyan frontier, defeat the Axis armoured forces near Tobruk, raise the Siege of Tobruk and re-occupy Cyrenaica . On 18 November 1941,

7110-588: The British War Cabinet demanding that General Archibald Wavell prevent its loss. The garrison, mainly the 9th Australian Division , had defeated an Axis attack in May 1941 and the siege had settled into an active defence by the Australians, who patrolled most nights, reconnoitring, attacking and ambushing, gaining mastery over no man's land. Larger sorties needed reinforcements from Egypt which were not available but

7268-523: The British armoured forces to recover. On 27 November, the New Zealanders reached the Tobruk garrison and ended the siege. Lack of supplies forced Rommel to shorten his lines of communication and on 7 December 1941, the Axis forces withdrew to the Gazala position and on 15 December began a withdrawal to El Agheila . The 2nd South African Division captured Bardia on 2 January 1942, Sollum on 12 January and

7426-564: The British by providing both soldiers and support. The large princely states, Hyderabad , Mysore , Travancore , and Kashmir , as well as the smaller ones of Rajputana , did not join the rebellion, serving the British, in the Governor-General Lord Canning 's words, as "breakwaters in a storm". In some regions, most notably in Awadh, the rebellion took on the attributes of a patriotic revolt against British oppression. However,

7584-545: The British increased the proportion of ships sunk from 19 per cent in July to 25 per cent in September, when Benghazi was bombed and ships diverted to Tripoli, air supply in October making little difference. Deliveries averaged 72,000 long tons (73,000 t) per month from July to October, but the consumption of 30 to 50 per cent of fuel deliveries by road transport and 35 per cent of supply lorries unserviceable reduced deliveries to

7742-647: The British sought to destroy the religions of the Indian people, and forcing the native soldiers to break their sacred code would have certainly added to this rumour, as it apparently did. The company was quick to reverse the effects of this policy in hopes that the unrest would be quelled. On 27 January, Colonel Richard Birch, the Military Secretary, ordered that all cartridges issued from depots were to be free from grease, and that sepoys could grease them themselves using whatever mixture "they may prefer". A modification

7900-712: The Cape Field Artillery Pipes and Drums played 'Nightfall in Camp' from the Leerdam Bastion. The regiment has received the Freedom of Bellville and of the City of Cape Town, a mark of honour that permits military units to parade through the city streets with fixed bayonets, drawn swords, drums beating and colours flying on all ceremonial and other occasions. In August 2019, 52 Reserve Force units had their names changed to reflect

8058-514: The Dead to the Germans) the 15th Panzer Division moved southwards and ran into the positions of the 7th Support Group which faced north-west and was equally surprised. The Panzers turned west and encountered the 5th South African Brigade near Sidi Rezegh. Neumann-Silkow wanted to exploit the situation but Crüwell pressed on southwards towards the "Ariete" Division and ran into the 1st South African Brigade, which

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8216-474: The Desert Air Force. South of the border, Panzer Regiment 5, 21st Panzer Division, attacked the 7th Indian Brigade at Sidi Omar but was repulsed by the 1st Field Regiment RA firing over open sights. A second attack left Panzer Regiment 5 with few operational tanks. The rest of 21st Panzer Division had headed north-east, south of the border, to Halfaya. By the evening of 25 November, the 15th Panzer Division

8374-649: The East India Company army defeated Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II . After his defeat, the emperor granted the company the right to the "collection of Revenue" in the provinces of Bengal (modern day Bengal , Bihar, and Odisha ), known as "Diwani" to the company. The Company soon expanded its territories around its bases in Bombay and Madras; later, the Anglo-Mysore Wars (1766–1799) and the Anglo-Maratha Wars (1772–1818) led to control of even more of India. In 1806,

8532-465: The Eighth Army HQ had known by radio intercepts that both divisions of the Afrika Korps were heading west to Tobruk, with the "Ariete" Division on their left. The audacious manoeuvre by Afrika Korps had failed but come within 4 mi (6.4 km) of 50 Field Maintenance Centre, the supply base of XIII Corps. The dash of the Afrika Korps to the south removed a severe threat to the left flank of

8690-424: The Eighth Army HQ to decide whether to continue Crusader. Arriving that evening Auchinleck bluntly insisted that Cunningham continue the operation regardless of loss. Later on 23 November Rommel decided to finish off the 7th Armoured Division and advance towards Sidi Omar to relieve the frontier garrisons. In the morning of 24 November, Rommel took command of the Afrika Korps and the "Ariete" Division to destroy

8848-516: The Eighth Army advanced westwards from Mersa Matruh , crossed the Libyan border near Fort Maddalena, about 50 mi (80 km) south of Sidi Omar, then turned the north-west. Storms on the night before the offensive grounded the aircraft of both sides. The 7th Armoured Brigade of the 7th Armoured Division advanced north-west towards Tobruk with the 22nd Armoured Brigade to the west. XIII Corps, with

9006-402: The Eighth Army began a surprise attack. From 18 to 22 November, the dispersal of British armoured units led to them suffering 530 tank losses and inflicting Axis losses of about 100 tanks. On 23 November, the 5th South African Brigade was destroyed at Sidi Rezegh but caused many German tank losses. On 24 November Rommel ordered the "dash to the wire" and caused chaos in the British rear but allowed

9164-498: The Flagstaff Tower also set out for Karnal on foot. Some were helped by villagers on the way; others were killed. The next day, Bahadur Shah held his first formal court for many years. It was attended by many excited sepoys. The emperor was alarmed by the turn events had taken, but eventually accepted the sepoys' allegiance and agreed to give his countenance to the rebellion. On 16 May, up to 50 British who had been held prisoner in

9322-633: The General Staff, Major-General Neil Ritchie , promoting him to acting lieutenant-general. From 26 to 27 November, the 70th Infantry Division killed or captured the Italian defenders of several concrete pillboxes and reached Ed Duda. On 27 November, the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade attacked a battalion of the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment , dug in around the Prophet's Tomb and used their machine-guns to great effect. The 6th New Zealand Brigade managed to link up with

9480-623: The Government Code and Cypher School (GC & CS) Ultra decrypts revealed of the Axis equivalents. In October 1941, British Army Enigma decrypts had contained German data about increased British tank strengths. The German information was so accurate that the War Office became seriously worried about signals security but only July 1942, when the British captured FAK 621, did they learn the extent of German eavesdropping. A German motorised division needed 350 long tons (360 t) per day, and moving

9638-543: The Indian firm of Gangadarh Banerji & Co. By January, rumours abounded that the Enfield cartridges were greased with animal fat. Company officers became aware of the rumours through reports of an altercation between a high-caste sepoy and a low-caste labourer at Dum Dum . The labourer had taunted the sepoy that by biting the cartridge, he had himself lost caste, although at this time such cartridges had been issued only at Meerut and not at Dum Dum. There had been rumours that

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9796-592: The Nelson Mandela Artillery Regiment, members receive three weeks of decentralised training from the School of Artillery at Fort iKapa in the use of the GV5 Luiperd 155mm Towed Howitzer . The regiment also fulfils many ceremonial duties. Its Ceremonial Gun Troop maintains several GV1, 25 pounder guns which it fires on certain occasions such as during the annual Opening of Parliament in central Cape Town,

9954-495: The New Zealand Division, which had remained ignorant of the danger because news of the losses of the 7th Armoured Division had not reached XIII Corps and German tank losses had been wildly overestimated. The New Zealand Division engaged elements of the Afrika , "Trieste", "Bologna" and "Pavia" Divisions, advanced westwards and retook the Sidi Rezegh airfield and the overlooking positions to the north that led to Tobruk. The 70th Infantry Division resumed its attack on 26 November, and

10112-466: The Panzer Regiment 8 in the centre. The "Ariete" Division was to attack on the left with troop carrying vehicles following the tanks. The infantry of the 21st Panzer Division joined the attack after an hour, advancing from the north. The "Ariete" Division attack was prevented when it was attacked from a flank by the 22nd Armoured Brigade and Panzer Regiment 5 diverted to the north-east to face New Zealand units which had just arrived. The Axis attack overran

10270-424: The Queen's proclamation in growing avowals of a new nationalism. Although the British East India Company had established a presence in India as far back as 1612, and earlier administered the factory areas established for trading purposes, its victory in the Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of its firm foothold in eastern India. The victory was consolidated in 1764 at the Battle of Buxar , when

10428-414: The South-West African Border. Currently the regiment is classed as a reserve unit in the South African Army . Members of the Nelson Mandela Artillery Regiment regularly undergo refresher training to maintain physical fitness levels and to ensure that they remain well versed with the R4 assault rifle . Members are also required to receive training in computer literacy. To qualify as an artillery gunner in

10586-427: The Tobruk front, where the 70th Infantry Division and the 2nd New Zealand Division had gained the initiative. On 25 November, in the Trento Division sector, the 2nd Battalion Queens Royal Regiment attacked the Bondi strongpoint but was repulsed. The garrison of Tugun , down to half their strength and exhausted and low on ammunition, food and water, surrendered on the evening of 25 November after it had defeated

10744-462: The Tobruk perimeter were to receive 40,000 rounds from 100 guns. The 7th Armoured Brigade and the 7th Support Group was to advance from Sidi Rezegh and capture part of the ridge above the Trigh Capuzzo, then the 6th RTR was to advance and join the breakthrough force at El Duda. The 7th Support Group consisted of 1st Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (1st KRRC), 2nd Battalion, The Rifle Brigade, 3rd Field Regiment RA (anti-tank), 60th Field Regiment RA and

10902-453: The Trigh el Abd on Sidi Omar. Nothing but British reconnaissance units were found and then the 21st Panzer Division was stranded, short of fuel and ammunition. Crüwell found that British tanks were moving west along the Trigh el Abd. During the afternoon, the 15th Panzer Division attacked the 4th Armoured Brigade near Gabr Saleh and inflicted another ten tank casualties, reducing it to less than two-thirds its establishment of 164 tanks and forcing

11060-459: The XX Mobile Corps, including the Ariete Armoured Division and the Trieste Motorised Division, under Rommel's command. Further afield, during the morning the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade captured much of the Afrika Korps staff and most of its wireless units on the Trigh Capuzzo. The New Zealanders continued their advance and took the ridge at Point 175, after defeating Afrika Regiment 361. The 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade took Gambut,

11218-408: The abolition of sati and the legalisation of widow remarriage were considered by many—especially the British themselves —to have caused suspicion that Indian religious traditions were being "interfered with", with the ultimate aim of conversion. Recent historians, including Chris Bayly , have preferred to frame this as a "clash of knowledges", with proclamations from religious authorities before

11376-401: The actual rebellion. On 26 February 1857 the 19th Bengal Native Infantry (BNI) regiment became concerned that new cartridges they had been issued were wrapped in paper greased with cow and pig fat, which had to be opened by mouth thus affecting their religious sensibilities. Their Colonel confronted them supported by artillery and cavalry on the parade ground, but after some negotiation withdrew

11534-414: The afternoon, the 22nd Armoured Brigade was holding on and the 4th Armoured Brigade, with 70 tanks, had arrived on the left flank of the 15th Panzer Division, having dashed over 20 mi (32 km) north-east and begun harassing its rear echelons. The 15th Panzer Division was also suffering losses from bombing. As night fell, the British tanks disengaged to replenish, inexplicably moving south, which left

11692-404: The airfield at Sidi Rezegh, captured 19 aircraft and menaced the rear of Division z.b.V. Afrika . After the failure of a counter-attack by Division z.b.V. Afrika and the "Bologna" Division the division dug in facing south. A battlegoup of the he 21st Panzer Division moved to Gabr Saleh and knocked out 23 Stuart tanks of the 4th Armoured Brigade for a loss of three by nightfall. By attaching

11850-589: The alarm. When his Adjutant Lt. Henry Baugh came out to investigate the unrest, Pandey opened fire but hit Baugh's horse instead. General John Hearsey came out to the parade ground to investigate, and claimed later that Mangal Pandey was in some kind of "religious frenzy". He ordered the Indian commander of the Quarter Guard Jemadar Ishwari Prasad to arrest Mangal Pandey, but the Jemadar refused. The quarter guard and other sepoys present, with

12008-597: The annual Gun Run and the annual Robertson Agricultural Show. As part of the opening of the 2010 FIFA World Cup , the Ceremonial Gun Troop fired its 25-pounder guns on Friday 11 June at 18:00 in front of the Castle of Good Hope . The guns were fired once more on Sunday 11 June at 18:40 in front of the Castle, marking the final day of the 2010 World Cup. During the course of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Staff Sergeant Andrew Imrie of

12166-423: The armoured cars escaped. Rommel congratulated Brigadier James Hargest on the determined New Zealand defence. The 21st Panzer Division ran into the 22nd battalion, 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade at Bir el Menastir while it was heading west to Tobruk from Bardia. After an exchange lasting most of the day, it was forced to detour south via Sidi Azeiz, which delayed its return to Tobruk by a day. By early afternoon,

12324-409: The arsenal. Six of the nine officers survived, but the blast killed many in the streets and nearby houses and other buildings. The news of these events finally tipped the sepoys stationed around Delhi into open rebellion. The sepoys were later able to salvage at least some arms from the arsenal, and a magazine two miles (3 km (1.9 mi)) outside Delhi, containing up to 3,000 barrels of gunpowder,

12482-467: The artillery, and cancelled the next morning's parade. On 29 March 1857 at the Barrackpore parade ground, near Calcutta , 29-year-old Mangal Pandey of the 34th BNI, angered by the recent actions of the East India Company, declared that he would rebel against his commanders. Informed about Pandey's behaviour Sergeant-Major James Hewson went to investigate, only to have Pandey shoot at him. Hewson raised

12640-510: The attack petered out since the infantry could not capture the "Bologna" Division defences around the Tugun strongpoint. On 21 November, there was a costly action by parts of the German 155th Rifle Regiment, Artillery Group Bottcher, Panzer Regiment 5 and the 4th, 7th and 22nd Armoured Brigades for possession of Sidi Rezegh and the high ground held by the "Bologna" Division. On 22 November, Scobie ordered

12798-758: The battle honour "South West Africa 1915". The battery was renumbered "1st" in 1926. In 1932, the name was changed to Cape Field Artillery (Prince Alfred's Own) . From 1934 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the CFA formed part of the Coast Artillery Brigade. The Cape Field Artillery was reorganised as the 1st Field Brigade (CFA) in February 1940 and in January 1941, 1 Field Regiment (V), South African Artillery (PAOCFA) . It fought during Operation Crusader at Bardia , Sollum, Halfaya Pass and at Gazala during

12956-432: The bazaar attacked off-duty soldiers there. About 50 Indian civilians, some of them officers' servants who tried to defend or conceal their employers, were killed by the sepoys. While the action of the sepoys in freeing their 85 imprisoned comrades appears to have been spontaneous, some civilian rioting in the city was reportedly encouraged by Kotwal (chief police officer) Dhan Singh Gurjar . Some sepoys (especially from

13114-488: The break-out force had advanced some 3.5 mi (5.6 km) toward Ed Duda on the main supply road when they paused, as it became clear that the 7th Armoured Division would not link up. The central attack by the Black Watch involved a charge under massed machine-gun fire against strongpoints until it reached strongpoint Tiger. The Black Watch lost an estimated 200 men and its commanding officer. The British pressed on but

13272-501: The breakthrough with Cunningham, who had wanted to halt the offensive and withdraw. Auchinleck handed Cunningham a directive on 25 November before returning to Cairo, You will therefore continue to attack the enemy relentlessly using all your resources, even to the last tank. Your ultimate object remains the conquest of Cyrenaica and then to advance on Tripoli.... Once in Cairo, Auchinleck relieved Cunningham and substituted his Deputy Chief of

13430-428: The brigade to another retirement. The 22nd Armoured Brigade had been ordered to disengage from the "Ariete" Division and to move east in support of the 4th Armoured Brigade. The 1st South African Division was to take over against the "Ariete" Division and the 4th Armoured Brigade was released from its role as flank guard for XIII Corps. The 22nd Armoured Brigade arrived too late to support the 4th Armoured Brigade. During

13588-628: The cities of Delhi and Lucknow were laid waste in the fighting and the British retaliation. After the outbreak of the mutiny in Meerut, the rebels quickly reached Delhi, whose 81-year-old Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar , was declared the Emperor of Hindustan . Soon, the rebels had captured large tracts of the North-Western Provinces and Awadh (Oudh). The East India Company's response came rapidly as well. With help from reinforcements, Kanpur

13746-492: The company's army. Just before the rebellion, there were over 300,000 sepoys in the army, compared to about 50,000 British. The East India Company's forces were divided into three presidency armies : Bombay , Madras , and Bengal . The Bengal Army recruited higher castes , such as Brahmins , Rajputs and Bhumihar , mostly from the Awadh and Bihar regions, and even restricted the enlistment of lower castes in 1855. In contrast,

13904-423: The condemned soldiers berated their comrades for failing to support them. The next day was Sunday. Some Indian soldiers warned off-duty junior British officers that plans were afoot to release the imprisoned soldiers by force, but the senior officers to whom this was reported took no action. There was also unrest in the city of Meerut itself, with angry protests in the bazaar and some buildings being set on fire. In

14062-472: The cool hill station where many high officials spent the summer. Although there was no open revolt at Ambala, there was widespread arson during late April. Barrack buildings (especially those belonging to soldiers who had used the Enfield cartridges) and British officers' bungalows were set on fire. At Meerut , a large military cantonment, 2,357 Indian sepoys and 2,038 British soldiers were stationed along with 12 British-manned guns. The station held one of

14220-461: The difficulties this might cause: unless it be proven that the grease employed in these cartridges is not of a nature to offend or interfere with the prejudices of religion, it will be expedient not to issue them for test to Native corps. However, in August 1856, greased cartridge production was initiated at Fort William, Calcutta , following a British design. The grease used included tallow supplied by

14378-473: The diverse military history of South Africa. The Cape Field Artillery became the Nelson Mandela Artillery Regiment , and have 3 years to design and implement new regimental insignia. The new title was in honor of the man who for many was the symbol of the long battle for a diverse South Africa for over three decades and later own assumed not just the presidency of the republic but also became

14536-410: The early afternoon, the 21st Panzer Division attacked Sidi Rezegh and captured the airfield. Despite having fewer tanks, German all-arms tactics knocked out fifty tanks (mainly from the 22nd Armoured Brigade) and pushed the 7th Armoured Division back. The fighting at Sidi Rezegh continued until 22 November, with the 5th South African Brigade fighting to the south of the airfield attacking northwards, which

14694-463: The evening, most British officers were preparing to attend church, while many of the British soldiers were off duty and had gone into canteens or into the bazaar in Meerut. The Indian troops, led by the 3rd Cavalry, broke into revolt. British junior officers who attempted to quell the first outbreaks were killed by the rebels. British officers' and civilians' quarters were attacked, and four civilian men, eight women and eight children were killed. Crowds in

14852-555: The fall of Delhi, many Company administrators hastened to remove themselves, their families and servants to places of safety. At Agra, 160 miles (260 km) from Delhi, no fewer than 6,000 assorted non-combatants converged on the Fort . Operation Crusader 1941 1942 Associated articles Operation Crusader (18 November – 30 December 1941) was a military operation of the Western Desert campaign during World War II by

15010-498: The feudal nobility, rural landlords called taluqdars , and the peasants . The nobility, many of whom had lost titles and domains under the Doctrine of Lapse , which refused to recognise the adopted children of princes as legal heirs, felt that the company had interfered with a traditional system of inheritance. Rebel leaders such as Nana Sahib and the Rani of Jhansi belonged to this group;

15168-507: The fighting at Ed Duda, Rommel ordered the 15th Panzer Division to Bir Bu Creimisa, 5 mi (8.0 km) to the south and attack again north-eastwards on 30 November between Sidi Rezegh and Belhamed, leaving Ed Duda outside the encirclement. By mid-afternoon, the 6th New Zealand Brigade had come under severe pressure on the west end of the Sidi Rezegh position. The 24th Australian Battalion and two companies of 26th Battalion were overrun but on

15326-686: The first modern commander in chief of the SANDF. Although artillery units in the South African Army do not usually receive battle honours , the CFA was awarded the honour 11 Field Postal Unit Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Earl Canning George Anson   † Sir Patrick Grant Sir Colin Campbell Sir Henry Havelock   † Surendra Bikram Shah Randhir Singh 6,000 British killed, including civilians The Indian Rebellion of 1857

15484-421: The formal disbanding helped foment the rebellion in view of some historians. Disgruntled ex-sepoys returned home to Awadh with a desire for revenge. During April, there was unrest and fires at Agra , Allahabad and Ambala . At Ambala in particular, which was a large military cantonment where several units had been collected for their annual musketry practice, it was clear to General Anson, Commander-in-Chief of

15642-478: The fortified Halfaya position on 17 January, taking about 13,800 prisoners. On 21 January 1942, Rommel surprised the Eighth Army and drove it back to Gazala where both sides regrouped. The Battle of Gazala began at the end of May 1942. Nachrichten Fernaufklärungs Kompanie (FAK 621 [Signals Unit 621]) provided Rommel with tactical intelligence of high quality from August 1941 to January 1942. The German organisation benefited greatly from British incompetence in

15800-421: The front. In November, during Operation Crusader, a five-ship convoy was sunk and air attacks on road convoys prevented daylight journeys. Lack of deliveries and the Eighth Army offensive forced a retreat to El Agheila from 4 December, crowding the Via Balbia , where British ambushes destroyed about half of the remaining Axis transport. Convoys to Tripoli resumed and ship losses increased but by 16 December,

15958-558: The headquarters of the Savona Division but was repulsed. To the south, two battalions of, the 42nd RTR and part of the 44th RTR captured Sidi Omar and most of the Libyan Omar strongpoints, the westernmost fortifications of the Axis border defences, for the loss of 37 tanks, most of them Matildas, to mines and anti-tank guns. The tank losses caused a delay in attacks on the other strong points until replacements had arrived. On 23 November,

16116-462: The improvements brought about by British rule. Many Indians rose against the British; however, many also fought for the British, and the majority remained seemingly compliant to British rule. Violence, which sometimes betrayed exceptional cruelty, was inflicted on both sides, on British officers, and civilians, including women and children, by the rebels, and on the rebels, and their supporters, including sometimes entire villages, by British reprisals;

16274-439: The junction of the 70th Infantry Division and the 2nd New Zealand Division, which hampered co-ordination. When two Italian motorised battalions of Bersaglieri , with tanks, anti-tank guns and artillery, moved toward Sidi Rezegh, they overran a New Zealand field hospital and captured 1,000 patients and 700 medical staff. About 200 Germans, held captive in the enclosure on the grounds of the hospital were liberated. At 6:00 p.m.,

16432-552: The largest concentrations of British troops in India and this was later to be cited as evidence that the original rising was a spontaneous outbreak rather than a pre-planned plot. Although the state of unrest within the Bengal Army was well known, on 24 April Lieutenant Colonel George Carmichael-Smyth, the unsympathetic commanding officer of the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry , which was composed mainly of Indian Muslims, ordered 90 of his men to parade and perform firing drills. All except five of

16590-430: The latter, for example, was prepared to accept East India Company supremacy if her adopted son was recognised as her late husband's heir. In other areas of central India, such as Indore and Sagar , where such loss of privilege had not occurred, the princes remained loyal to the company, even in areas where the sepoys had rebelled. The second group, the taluqdars , had lost half their landed estates to peasant farmers as

16748-461: The laying of the stone. The Duke of Edinburgh was so impressed with the bearing of Cape Town's volunteer soldiers that, a few weeks later on 3 October 1867, a Government Notice No 318 was promulgated to the effect that he had conferred on the gunners the future designation of Prince Alfred's Own Cape Town Volunteer Artillery ( PAOCTVA ). The words "Cape Town" were later dropped, and the title became Prince Alfred's Own Volunteer Artillery . In 1896,

16906-405: The men on parade refused to accept their cartridges. On 9 May, the remaining 85 men were court martialled , and most were sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment with hard labour. Eleven comparatively young soldiers were given five years' imprisonment. The entire garrison was paraded and watched as the condemned men were stripped of their uniforms and placed in shackles. As they were marched off to jail,

17064-480: The navy's fuel reserve and allowed only one more battleship convoy. Bizerta , Tunisia , was canvassed as an entrepôt , but it was in range of RAF aircraft from Malta and was another 500 mi (800 km) west of Tripoli. The great importance of Tobruk as an entrepôt for supplies and the denial of it to an opponent led to Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) and Comando Supremo making frequent demands for its capture and Winston Churchill and

17222-412: The next day, elements linked with the advancing New Zealanders of the 4th New Zealand Brigade at Ed Duda on the Tobruk by-pass. The 6th New Zealand Brigade cleared the Sidi Rezegh escarpment in a mutually-costly engagement. At noon on 27 November, the 15th Panzer Division reached Bir el Chleta and met the 22nd Armoured Brigade, which had been reorganised as a composite regiment with less than 50 tanks. By

17380-452: The night of 20/21 November, Rommel ordered the German tanks north-west for an attack on Sidi Rezegh. The 70th Infantry Division was to break out from Tobruk on 21 November and cut off the Germans to the south-east. The night before, the garrison gapped the wire, planted and marked minefields and put four bridges over the anti-tank ditch. Infantry On the evening of 20 November the 14th Infantry Brigade (2nd Battalion Black Watch , 2nd Queen's),

17538-457: The north, the 70th Infantry Division was opposed by German and Italian troops facing north and west. Another Axis force faced south. Part of the 7th Support Group was north of the airfield at Sidi Rezegh and the rest with the 7th Armoured Brigade faced south against most of the DAK advancing north, which was being pursued by the 4th and 22nd Armoured brigades from the south. Rommel divided his forces again,

17696-531: The outbreak of the rebellion was the General Service Enlistment Act of 25 July 1856. As noted above, men of the Bengal Army had been exempted from overseas service. Specifically, they were enlisted only for service in territories to which they could march. Governor-General Lord Dalhousie saw this as an anomaly, since all sepoys of the Madras and Bombay Armies and the six "General Service" battalions of

17854-424: The palace or had been discovered hiding in the city were killed by some of the emperor's servants under a peepul tree in a courtyard outside the palace. The news of the events at Meerut and Delhi spread rapidly, provoking uprisings among sepoys and disturbances in many districts. In many cases, it was the behaviour of British military and civilian authorities themselves which precipitated disorder. Learning of

18012-402: The peasant farmers, many of whom joined the rebellion, to the great dismay of the British. It has also been suggested that heavy land-revenue assessment in some areas by the British resulted in many landowning families either losing their land or going into great debt to money lenders, and providing ultimately a reason to rebel; money lenders, in addition to the company, were particular objects of

18170-611: The plan to have little chance of success and resolved to advance to Sidi Azeiz, where he believed there was a British supply dump, before he headed to Tobruk. Defending the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Headquarters at Sidi Azeiz were a company of the 22nd New Zealand Infantry Battalion and the armoured cars of the New Zealand Divisional Cavalry Regiment , with some field artillery, anti-tank, anti-aircraft and machine-gun units. The New Zealanders were overrun early on 27 November and 700 prisoners were taken but

18328-449: The position to be consolidated and the corridor widened in the hope that the Eighth Army would link up. The 2nd York and Lancaster Regiment with tank support took strongpoint Tiger and left a 7,000 yd (6,400 m) gap between the corridor and Ed Duda, but attacks on the Tugun and Dalby Square strongpoints failed. The defenders of strongpoint Tugun reduced the strength in one attacking British company to 33 all ranks. On 23 November,

18486-405: The presence of missionaries as a sign of official intent, were convinced that the company was masterminding mass conversions of Hindus and Muslims to Christianity. Although earlier in the 1830s, evangelicals such as William Carey and William Wilberforce had successfully clamoured for the passage of social reform, such as the abolition of sati and allowing the remarriage of Hindu widows, there

18644-568: The princely style, which was no longer appropriate as South Africa had become a republic. During the post-war period the regiment was mobilised several times for duty in the South African Border War (1966 to 1989), including Operation Savannah in 1976. In August/September 1988 the Cape Field Artillery provided a 140 millimetres (5.5 in) battery for 10 Artillery Brigade in order to counter Cuban Forces who were threatening

18802-512: The rebel leaders proclaimed no articles of faith that presaged a new political system . Even so, the rebellion proved to be an important watershed in Indian and British Empire history. It led to the dissolution of the East India Company, and forced the British to reorganize the army, the financial system, and the administration in India, through passage of the Government of India Act 1858 . India

18960-456: The rebellion, while others held back but also refused to obey orders to take action against the rebels. In the afternoon, a violent explosion in the city was heard for several miles. Fearing that the arsenal, which contained large stocks of arms and ammunition, would fall intact into rebel hands, the nine British Ordnance officers there had opened fire on the sepoys, including the men of their own guard. When resistance appeared hopeless, they blew up

19118-452: The rebels' animosity. The civilian rebellion was also highly uneven in its geographic distribution, even in areas of north-central India that were no longer under British control. For example, the relatively prosperous Muzaffarnagar district, a beneficiary of a Company irrigation scheme, and next door to Meerut , where the upheaval began, stayed relatively calm throughout. " Utilitarian and evangelical -inspired social reform", including

19276-630: The region and the artillery guns fought the Germans during a small action at Schuits Drift. While they were garrisoned in Upington the Republican Rebel, Manie Maritz , attempted to attack the town with a force of rebels accompanied by a battery of German artillery guns and two QF 1-pounder pom-poms . After a four-hour battle the rebels surrendered. The unit also took part in the South African invasion of German South-West Africa in 1915 where it earned

19434-402: The remnants of the British force and block the routes of retreat to Egypt and return by the evening or the next morning at the latest. The German and Italian tanks scattered the many rear echelon support units in their path, split XXX Corps and almost cut off XIII Corps. On 25 November, the 15th Panzer Division set off north-east for Sidi Azeiz, found the area empty and was constantly attacked by

19592-515: The requirements of their religious rituals. Consequently, these soldiers dined in separate facilities; in addition, overseas service, considered polluting to their caste, was not required of them, and the army soon came officially to recognise Hindu festivals. "This encouragement of high caste ritual status, however, left the government vulnerable to protest, even mutiny, whenever the sepoys detected infringement of their prerogatives." Stokes argues that "The British scrupulously avoided interference with

19750-587: The revolt and testimony after it including on such issues as the "insults to women", the rise of " low people ' under British tutelage", the "pollution" caused by Western medicine and the persecuting and ignoring of traditional astrological authorities. British-run schools were also a problem: according to recorded testimonies, anger had spread because of stories that mathematics was replacing religious instruction, stories were chosen that would "bring contempt" upon Indian religions, and because girl children were exposed to "moral danger" by education. The justice system

19908-701: The revolt is contested , and it is variously described as the Sepoy Mutiny , the Indian Mutiny , the Great Rebellion , the Revolt of 1857 , the Indian Insurrection , and the First War of Independence . The Indian rebellion was fed by resentments born of diverse perceptions, including invasive British-style social reforms, harsh land taxes, summary treatment of some rich landowners and princes, and scepticism about

20066-447: The route west open for the 15th Panzer Division. The New Zealand Division, engaged in heavy fighting on the south-eastern end of the tenuous corridor into Tobruk, would be vulnerable to the Afrika Korps . By 27 November, the situation of the Eighth Army had improved since XXX Corps had reorganised after the chaos of the breakthrough and the New Zealand Division had linked up with the Tobruk garrison. Auchinleck had spent three days during

20224-408: The sepoys as ordinary petitioners, but others in the palace were quick to join the revolt. During the day, the revolt spread. British officials and dependents, Indian Christians and shop keepers within the city were killed, some by sepoys and others by crowds of rioters. There were three battalion-sized regiments of Bengal Native Infantry stationed in or near the city. Some detachments quickly joined

20382-504: The sepoys from Bengal – many of whom had fought against the Company in the Battles of Plassey and Buxar – were now suspect in British eyes, Hastings recruited farther west from the high-caste rural Rajputs and Bhumihar of Awadh and Bihar, a practice that continued for the next 75 years. However, in order to forestall any social friction, the company also took action to adapt its military practices to

20540-487: The single exception of a soldier called Shaikh Paltu , drew back from restraining or arresting Mangal Pandey. Shaikh Paltu restrained Pandey from continuing his attack. After failing to incite his comrades into an open and active rebellion, Mangal Pandey tried to take his own life, by placing his musket to his chest and pulling the trigger with his toe. He managed only to wound himself. He was court-martialled on 6 April and hanged two days later. The Jemadar Ishwari Prasad

20698-488: The social structure of the village community which remained largely intact." After the annexation of Oudh (Awadh) by the East India Company in 1856, many sepoys were disquieted both from losing their perquisites, as landed gentry, in the Oudh courts, and from the anticipation of any increased land-revenue payments that the annexation might bring about. Other historians have stressed that by 1857, some Indian soldiers, interpreting

20856-587: The south-east and the other from the fortress itself. By mustering all their strength, the Boettcher Group succeeded in beating off most of these attacks, and the only enemy penetration was brought to a standstill by an Italian counterattack. Rommel ordered the 21st Panzer Division back to Tobruk, and the 15th Panzer Division was to attack forces that were thought to besiege the border positions between Fort Capuzzo and Sidi Omar. The 15th Panzer Division first had to capture Sidi Azeiz to make room. Neumann-Silkow felt

21014-410: The south-east. The 7th Hussars and 2nd RTR faced the tanks and four infantry companies with the guns of the Support Group attacked to the north, expecting reinforcements from the 5th South African Infantry Brigade. The South Africans had been detached from the 1st South African Division at Bir el Gubi, which faced the "Ariete" Division and was en route. The Support Group attack failed and by nightfall

21172-422: The south. The 15th Panzer Division spent most of 28 November engaged with the 4th and 22nd Armoured brigades and looking for supplies. Despite being outnumbered 2–1 in tanks and at times being immobile because of lack of fuel, the 15th Panzer Division pushed the British tanks southwards and then moved to the west. On 28 November, fighting continued around the Tobruk corridor. It had not been possible to consolidate

21330-410: The supplies 300 mi (480 km) took 1,170 2 long tons (2.0 t) lorries. With seven Axis divisions, as well as air and naval units, 70,000 long tons (71,000 t) of supplies per month were needed. The Vichy French agreed to let the Germans use the port city of Bizerta , but no supplies reached the port until late 1942. From February to May 1941, a surplus of 45,000 long tons (46,000 t)

21488-759: The supply situation had eased except for the fuel shortage. In December, the Luftwaffe was restricted to one sortie per day. The Vichy French sold 3,600 long tons (3,700 t) of fuel, U-boats were ordered into the Mediterranean and air reinforcements sent from the Soviet Union in December. The Regia Marina used warships to carry fuel to Derna and Benghazi and made a maximum effort from 16 to 17 December. Four battleships, three light cruisers and 20 destroyers escorted four ships to Libya. The use of an armada for 20,000 long tons (20,000 t) of cargo ships depleted

21646-543: The three "Presidencies" into which the East India Company divided India for administrative purposes maintained their own armies. Of these, the Army of the Bengal Presidency was the largest. Unlike the other two, it recruited heavily from among high-caste Hindus and comparatively wealthy Muslims. The Muslims formed a larger percentage of the 18 irregular cavalry units within the Bengal Army, whilst Hindus were mainly to be found in

21804-736: The title was changed again, to Prince Alfred's Own Cape Artillery . The unit served in several regional campaigns, including the 9th Frontier War of 1877 - 1879 and the Tambookie Campaign of 1880 - 1881 on the Eastern Cape frontier, then the Basutoland Rebellion in Basutoland and the Second Anglo-Boer War of 1899 - 1902. In 1903, the title was changed to Prince Alfred's Own Cape Field Artillery . Ten years later, in 1913,

21962-403: The two British Armoured Brigades did little. The 1st South African Brigade was unable to move in the open without the armoured brigades because of the danger of German tanks. On the evening of 29 November, the 1st South African Brigade came under the command of the 2nd New Zealand Division and ordered to advance north to recapture Point 175. Wireless intercepts led the Eighth Army HQ to believe that

22120-941: The unit was embodied in the Citizen Force of the new Union Defence Forces as the 6th Citizen Battery (PAOCFA) . Although the Regiment did not serve on the European continent during World War I , it did take part in the South-West Africa Campaign . The regiment was mobilised for war in August 1914. They spent three months with General Louis Botha 's forces to suppress the Maritz Rebellion , after which they were sent to Upington where they acted as garrison troops while waiting to join Col van Deventer's Southern Force to move into German South-West Africa . Here they carried out patrols in

22278-460: The use of tactical codes, R/T signalling in clear and an ineffective call-sign procedure from brigade to battalion at the front. FAK 621 read much of the War Office high-grade hand cypher, which the wireless traffic from the Eighth Army HQ down to divisional HQs used. Until January, when the British improved their recyphering, the Germans obtained as much information on the British order of battle as

22436-455: Was a failure. The 7th Armoured Brigade withdrew, with only four of its 150 tanks remaining operational. In four days, the Eighth Army had lost 530 tanks against about 100 Axis losses. On 22 November on the frontier, XIII Corps sent the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade north-east to capture Fort Capuzzo on the main Sollum–Bardia road. The brigade attacked Bir Ghirba, south of Fort Capuzzo,

22594-561: Was a major uprising in India and modern day Pakistan in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company , which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown . The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form of a mutiny of sepoys of the company's army in the garrison town of Meerut , 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Delhi. It then erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions chiefly in

22752-409: Was also made to the drill for loading so that the cartridge was torn with the hands and not bitten. This, however, merely caused many sepoys to be convinced that the rumours were true and that their fears were justified. Additional rumours started that the paper in the new cartridges, which was glazed and stiffer than the previously used paper, was impregnated with grease. In February, a court of inquiry

22910-573: Was born on 26 August 1857 at the old Town house in Greenmarket Square , Cape Town . The regiment is one of the oldest volunteer artillery regiments in the world still in existence today, after it celebrated its 160th anniversary on 26 August 2017. Major Duprat (Chevalier Alfredo Duprat; 21 June 1810 in Lisbon, Conceição Nova – 24 August 1881 in London, Kensington) was the first Commanding Officer. In 1867

23068-479: Was captured without resistance. Many fugitive British officers and civilians had congregated at the Flagstaff Tower on the ridge north of Delhi, where telegraph operators were sending news of the events to other British stations. When it became clear that the help expected from Meerut was not coming, they made their way in carriages to Karnal . Those who became separated from the main body or who could not reach

23226-521: Was considered to be inherently unfair to the Indians. The official Blue Books, East India (Torture) 1855–1857 , laid before the House of Commons during the sessions of 1856 and 1857, revealed that Company officers were allowed an extended series of appeals if convicted or accused of brutality or crimes against Indians. The economic policies of the East India Company were also resented by many Indians. Each of

23384-505: Was delivered. Attacks from Malta had some effect but in May, the worst month for ship losses, 91 per cent of supplies arrived. Lack of transport in Libya left German supplies in Tripoli and the Italians had only 7,000 lorries to transport supplies to 225,000 men. A record amount of supplies arrived in June but at the front, shortages worsened. There were fewer Axis attacks on Malta from June and

23542-427: Was held at Barrackpore to get to the bottom of these rumours. Native soldiers called as witnesses complained of the paper "being stiff and like cloth in the mode of tearing", said that when the paper was burned it smelled of grease, and announced that the suspicion that the paper itself contained grease could not be removed from their minds. Civilian rebellion was more multifarious. The rebels consisted of three groups:

23700-468: Was moving to reinforce the 5th South African Brigade, which veered away to escape the German tanks. At 3:00 p.m. the 15th Panzer Division attacked the 5th South African Brigade but the South Africans had dug in to an area 4.3 mi × 6.2 mi (7 km × 10 km) with 100 guns and many anti-tank guns. Panzer Regiment 5 had caught up with its division and attacked on the right flank with

23858-536: Was provided by the ammunition for the new Enfield Pattern 1853 rifled musket . These rifles, which fired Minié balls , had a tighter fit than the earlier muskets, and used paper cartridges that came pre-greased. To load the rifle, sepoys had to bite the cartridge open to release the powder. The grease used on these cartridges was rumoured to include tallow derived from beef, which would be offensive to Hindus, and lard derived from pork, which would be offensive to Muslims. At least one Company official pointed out

24016-484: Was relatively low and after Oudh and the Punjab were annexed, the soldiers no longer received extra pay ( batta or bhatta ) for service there, because they were no longer considered "foreign missions". The junior British officers became increasingly estranged from their soldiers, in many cases treating them as their racial inferiors. In 1856, a new Enlistment Act was introduced by the company, which in theory made every unit in

24174-637: Was retaken by mid-July 1857, and Delhi by the end of September. However, it then took the remainder of 1857 and the better part of 1858 for the rebellion to be suppressed in Jhansi, Lucknow, and especially the Awadh countryside. Other regions of Company-controlled India— Bengal province, the Bombay Presidency , and the Madras Presidency —remained largely calm. In the Punjab , the Sikh princes crucially helped

24332-441: Was sentenced to death and hanged on 21 April. The regiment was disbanded and stripped of its uniforms because it was felt that it harboured ill-feelings towards its superiors, particularly after this incident. Shaikh Paltu was promoted to the rank of havildar in the Bengal Army but was murdered shortly before the 34th BNI dispersed. Sepoys in other regiments thought these punishments were harsh. The demonstration of disgrace during

24490-493: Was the ancient capital and present seat of the nominal Mughal Emperor and finally there were no British troops in garrison there in contrast to Meerut. No effort was made to pursue them. Early on 11 May, the first parties of the 3rd Cavalry reached Delhi. From beneath the windows of the Emperor 's apartments in the palace, they called on Bahadur Shah II to acknowledge and lead them. He did nothing at this point, apparently treating

24648-410: Was thereafter administered directly by the British government in the new British Raj . On 1 November 1858, Queen Victoria issued a proclamation to Indians, which while lacking the authority of a constitutional provision, promised rights similar to those of other British subjects. In the following decades, when admission to these rights was not always forthcoming, Indians were to pointedly refer to

24806-580: Was to continue its attack on Libyan Omar and the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade was to take Sollum barracks; the rest of the 2nd New Zealand Division was to head west for Tobruk. The 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade took Gambut and the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Group on the left flank at Bir el Hariga, moved north-west along the Trigh Capuzzo (Capuzzo–El Adem). The brigade arrived at Bir el Chleta, about 15 mi (24 km) east of Sidi Rezegh at first light on 23 November. The new Zealanders stumbled on

24964-517: Was west of Sidi Azeiz (the 5th New Zealand Brigade headquarters) and down to 53 tanks, almost the remaining tank strength of the Afrika Korps . The Axis column had only a tenuous link to its supply dumps on the coast between Bardia and Tobruk and supply convoys had to find a way past the 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Group and the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Group. On 26 November, the 15th Panzer Division bypassed Sidi Azeiz, headed for Bardia for supplies and arrived around mid-day. The remains of

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