Battle of Haifa: How the Jodhpur Lancers helped liberate a city in West Asia during WWI

To commemorate #HaifaDay, Embassy of India & Municipality of Haifa paid tributes to the valiant Indian soldiers who liberated #Haifa on Sep 23, 1918. Ambassador and Mayor of Haifa addressed the solemn event. #IndiaIsrael 🇮🇳🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/JIJ6d7IB3T

— India in Israel (@indemtel) September 21, 2023

For over nine decades, the role of Indian soldiers who fought in the Battle of Haifa as part of the British Empire infantry, was largely forgotten, relegated to small corners of history books and archives, says Brig. M S Jodha (Veteran), a former Indian Army officer and the author of the book ‘The Story of the Jodhpur Lancers’. “Haifa Day wasn’t commemorated till 2010, because people didn’t know about the history,” says Jodha in an interview with indianexpress.com.

But Jodha had grown up listening to the tales of this battle fought some 4,000 kms away, in an unfamiliar land, because it was his grandfather Lt. Col. Aman Singh, OBI, IOM, who had led the celebrated cavalry charge by the Jodhpur Lancers at Haifa on September 23, 1918, that resulted in a decisive victory for the British Empire. Subsequently, it was Jodha’s research that spanned over 20 years that resulted in recognition of the contributions of the Indian soldiers, from both the Indian and the Israeli governments.

Historical background

The Battle of Haifa was fought during First World War as a part of the Sinai and Palestine campaign, where the British Empire, the Kingdom of Italy and the French Third Republic, fought alongside the Arab Revolt, in opposition to the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the German Empire.

Though this war has historically gotten little attention in comparison to other battles during the First World War, it was nonetheless significant because it had a long-term impact: it resulted in the Partition of the Ottoman Empire, leading to the eventual creation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, and the subsequent creation of the Kingdom of Iraq in 1932, the Lebanese Republic in 1943, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic in 1946, and the State of Israel in 1948.

The involvement of the Indian lancers

According to Jodha’s research, just weeks after the start of the First World War in July 1914, news reached the princely state of Jodhpur in the Indian subcontinent in the first week of August. That prompted Sir Pratap Singh, a British Indian Army officer, also the Maharaja of the princely state of Idar (modern-day Gujarat), and administrator and Regent of Jodhpur, to assure the British that the resources of the princely state to be used for the war.

The British Indian government then called on other princely states in the subcontinent to provide troops, like Jodhpur, to dispatch outside the subcontinent who would serve under the British Indian Army, wearing the uniform of and using arms and ammunition of the British Indian Army during the war.

In the case of the Battle of Haifa, weeks after mobilisation, the princely state of Jodhpur provided at its own expense horses, transport tents, saddlery, clothing and other equipment. According to Jodha’s research, both regiments of the Jodhpur Lancers were combined to form one unit for mobilisation for the purposes of the First World War. One squadron of the Alwar Imperial Service Lancers was also attached to the Jodhpur Lancers for reinforcements. The unit of the Jodhpur Lancers had three British Indian officers, 28 Indian officers, 497 other ranks, 58 followers, 540 riding horses, 53 draught horses, 63 mules and 19 wagons.

Jodha’s research has delved into the importance of Haifa for the Allied forces in this theatre, led by General Edmund Allenby, the British commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. “Haifa was an important harbour and railhead and became vital to Allenby…to secure it as soon as possible to land supplies from the sea,” writes Jodha in his book.

The Battle of Haifa

News had come on September 22 that year that Haifa had been held by the Ottoman forces. Then, the next day, on September 23, the 5th Cavalry Division comprising the 13, 14 and 15 Cavalry Brigades were tasked with capturing Haifa. The 15 Cavalry Brigade comprised the Jodhpur Lancers and the Mysore and Hyderabad Lancers.

“That day however, the Hyderabad Lancers were 50-60 km behind, so it was really Jodhpur Lancers, supported by Mysore Lancers who secured Haifa,” says Jodha. The Kishon River and Mount Carmel were defended by Ottoman artillery.

Using information collected over the years, Jodha compiled the specifics of how the battle occurred from the perspective of the Jodhpur Lancers. “This was a successful cavalry charge in the sense that the enemy was on a height. They were well dug out, they had modern weapons, machine guns, and field artillery guns. Our cavalry just had a lance—a 12 feet long weapon of bamboo with swords—which is where the name ‘lancers’ comes from. So when they come at a speed and engage their target, the lance is stretched out and it can engage the enemy at a distance of about 12 ft or so. Since the lancer comes at momentum, the enemy is killed. Their weapons were a lance and swords and they were out in the open and the Ottoman Turks were on a height with rifles, machine guns and field artillery,” says Jodha.

Although the Commanding Officer was Major Dalpat Singh Shekhawat, he was killed in battle at the start of the Battle of Haifa, just after the capture of the Port of Haifa. Jodha’s grandfather, Lt Col Aman Singh, was the next senior-most officer and became the next commanding officer to lead the attack.

Lt Col Aman Singh, who had led the famous cavalry charge by the Jodhpur Lancers at Haifa. (Photo credit: Brig M S Jodha (Veteran))

“This charge was then led by my grandfather. Machine guns as a weapon were introduced in the First World War, and it had a devastating impact on that war. The range of these machine guns was about 1,200-1,500 yards,” says Jodha.

The Jodhpur Lancers launched their attack at 2 pm, surprising the Ottoman Turks, making use of their horses and the extreme speed at which they were able to cover ground.

Despite the advantages that the Ottoman Turks had with machine guns that could shoot hundreds of bullets rapidly, the regiment of the Jodhpur Lancers killed 80 soldiers from the Ottoman Turks and their allies and captured 1,350 prisoners, in addition to several arms and ammunition.

The Brigade casualties were relatively light, writes Jodha, given the nature of the operation: seven officers were killed and 34 were wounded, with 60 horses killed and 83 wounded. Of the Jodhpur Lancers, six were killed, and 21 men were wounded. Major Dalpat Singh could not recover from his injuries.

The Jodhpur Lancers. (Photo credit: Brig M S Jodha (Veteran))

Haifa Day

After the 5th Cavalry Division secured victory, the achievement has since been celebrated as Haifa Day. “The Indian government wasn’t aware of this battle and neither did the Israelis have much information. The Ministry of Defence had also not done much research,” says Jodha. In the years that followed, the victory and the role of the Indian soldiers was slowly forgotten.

With the Independence of India in 1947, the regiments of the erstwhile princely states like the Jodhpur Lancers, the Hyderabad Lancers and the Mysore Lancers eventually got merged with other regiments or were dissolved. “But Prime Minister Nehru had said we should have at least one of these regiments for ceremonial and sporting purposes. So in 1953, they raised a new cavalry regiment, and Jodhpur, Gwalior, Mysore, Hyderabad were merged into one and it is called the 61st Cavalry regiment, now based in Jaipur,” says Jodha.

Since then, the 61st Cavalry regiment has commemorated Haifa Day and has ‘Haifa’ as its battle honours. “Jodhpur got the battle honour ‘Haifa’ because of their charge and they gave their battle honour to the 61st Cavalry. Although the 61st Cavalry was commemorating this victory for years, it was not well known. Only the regiment was celebrating it within their own unit,” says Jodha. Every year on this day, the unit holds a badakhana, where officers gather for food and drinks and commemorate the battle victory.

Teen Murti Chowk

After the victory in Haifa, the three maharajas who had sent lancers to fight as part of the British Indian Army, decided to erect a monument in Delhi, just steps away from the Rashtrapati Bhawan, to commemorate the victory and the contribution of the Indian soldiers. “The maharajas contributed 3,000 pounds each and made the Teen Murti statues in Delhi for the unknown soldiers of Hyderabad, Mysore and Jodhpur and it was inaugurated by the viceroy in March 1922. This was a story known only to a small group of people,” says Jodha.

Over the years, the statues stood in the heart of India’s capital, with only a handful of people who knew its significance to pre-Independence India’s history.

The Teen Murti memorial. (Photo credit: Embassy of Israel in India)

In Haifa today, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains the Haifa War Cemetery where lie the graves of fallen soldiers from both the World Wars. A historical note by the Commission says: “Haifa was captured by the Mysore and Jodhpur Lancers on 23 September 1918 and the 33rd Combined Clearing Hospital was moved to the town on 15 October. Haifa War Cemetery, which was originally part of the German cemetery, was used mainly for hospital burials, but some graves were brought in from the battlefields.”

“It was a battle fought in 1918 and its story was then hidden in the pages of history,” says Jodha. In many ways, much of the credit for the commemoration that happens every year rests with Jodha, without whose research, there would be little information on the many contributions of the Indian soldiers during the Battle of Haifa.

“In 2005, a group of people in Haifa wanted to dig out the town’s history and came across a newspaper cutting on (the Indian soldiers). They took it to the Indian ambassador Navtej Sarna in Tel Aviv asking for more information. Sarna told the Ministry of External Affairs about this and asked for more details who then sent it to Army headquarters. The Army headquarters knew that the 61st Cavalry commemorates Haifa Day and asked them,” says Jodha.

(From left to right) Brig. M S Jodha (Veteran) and Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Jodhpur, along with other Indian officials in Haifa in 2010 during a commemoration for the Indian soldiers who fought in the Battle of Haifa. (Photo credit: Brig. M S Jodha (Veteran))

Tracing the story—or rather, tracing the people who knew a bit about the history—was a long circuitous process for both the Indian and the Israeli governments. “The 61st Cavalry was aware of my connection because I used to go their mess and offices for my research. This was in 2008. So I provided them with so many details, after which the Indian Embassy got in touch directly with me,” says Jodha. Using his research, in 2009, the Indian Embassy in Israel decided to commemorate Haifa Day in 2010 to recognise the contributions of the Indian soldiers. “So two or three senior officers and I went to Haifa and gave a speech in 2010. The mayor of Haifa and other Israelis said ‘We didn’t know this’ and now they commemorate it every year,” says Jodha.

In 2018, the Teen Murti Chowk was renamed Teen Murti Haifa Chowk to mark the centenary of the Battle of Haifa, and during an official visit to Israel that same year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Israel’s leader Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, paid tribute to the fallen Indian soldiers in Haifa.