3rd ( Lahore ) Division The 3rd ( Lahore ) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army , first organised in 1852 . It saw service during World War I as part of the Indian Corps in France before being moved to the Middle East where it fought against troops of the Ottoman Empire . Pre - Mutiny . The Lahore Division first appears in the Indian Army List in 1852 , when the short - lived Cis - Jhelum Division was renamed ( at the same time the Trans - Jhelum Division at Peshawar was renamed the Punjab Division ) . The Cis - Jhelum Division in turn had previously been the Saugor Division , a longstanding formation of the Bengal Army . At this period Divisions were primarily administrative organisations controlling the brigades and stations in their area , rather than field formations , but they did provide field forces when required . The Lahore Division absorbed the Lahore Field Force under Brigadier Sir James Tennant , which had formed part of the Army of the Punjab since 1847 . Lahore Fort was occupied by the British after the First Anglo - Sikh War and the city of Lahore was annexed in 1849 at the conclusion of the Second Anglo - Sikh War . In 1852 a military cantonment ( known until 1906 as Mian Mir ) was established . outside the city . Composition 1852 . General Officer Commanding ( GOC ) : Brigadier - General Sir John Cheape , KCB , Bengal Engineers ( appointed 9 July 1852 ) ( absent commanding Bengal Division in Second Anglo - Burmese War ) . Lahore : " Commanding Station : " Brigadier Sir James Tennant , Bengal Artillery Wazirabad : Brigadier J . R . Hearsey Sialkot : Lieutenant - Colonel J . T . Lane , Bengal Artillery Govindgarh ( Bathinda ) : Indian mutiny . During the ' Indian Mutiny ' ( or ' First War of Independence ' ) some Indian regiments at the Mian Mir cantonments plotted to mutiny but were disarmed under the guns of a British horse artillery battery and infantry battalion to prevent them seizing Lahore Fort . Later the 26th Bengal Native Infantry at Mian Mir did mutiny , murder some of their officers and escape under cover of a dust storm , but Lahore was held for the remainder of the conflict by British troops and Indians troops loyal to the government . Post - Mutiny . Over succeeding decades , the stations controlled by Lahore Division varied , and the forces under command were regularly rotated . For example : Composition January 1888 . GOC : Maj - Gen Sir Hugh Henry Gough , VC ( appointed 1 April 1887 ) < br > Aide - de - Camp : Capt H . F . M . Wilson , Rifle Brigade " Divisional HQ : " Mian Mir ( Lahore Cantonment ) Mian Mir : Fort Lahore : Multan Brigade : Ferozepore : Amritsar : Dharamsala : Bakloh ( near Dalhousie ) : Pre – World War I . Under the reforms introduced by Lord Roberts as Commander - in - Chief ( CinC ) India , the Divisions were renamed 1st Class Districts in 1890 . In the next round of reforms inaugurated by Lord Kitchener as CinC , they became numbered divisions with their territorial affiliation as a subsidiary title . The title 3rd ( Lahore ) Division first appears in the Army List between 30 September and 31 December 1904 , as part of Northern Command , with the Jullunder , Sirhind and Ambala brigades under command . Lahore District / 3rd ( Lahore ) Division at this time was under the command of Maj - Gen Walter Kitchener , the CinC ’ s younger brother , who commanded it at the Rawalpindi Parade 1905 . In 1914 the division , with HQ at Dalhousie , consisted of the Ferozepore , Jullunder ( based at Dalhousie ) and Sirhind ( based at Kasauli ) infantry brigades , and the Ambala cavalry brigade ( based at Kasauli ) . World War I . Western Front 1914 . In 1914 the 3rd ( Lahore ) Division was part of Indian Expeditionary Force A sent to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force ( BEF ) fighting in France . The bulk constituted an infantry division as part of Indian Corps , while the Ambala Cavalry Brigade was detached to form part of 1st Indian Cavalry Division in the Indian Cavalry Corps . While in France the division was known as the Lahore Division , and its brigades by their names , to avoid confusion with the 3rd British Division . Despatch from India was delayed by the activities of the German raiders " Emden " and " Konigsberg " operating in the Indian Ocean , and by the slow speed of the transport vessels . The first two brigades landed at Marseilles on 26 September 1914 , but there were further delays while the troops were re - armed with the latest pattern rifle , and the supply train could be improvised , using tradesmen ' s vans procured locally . The 3rd Lahore Divisional Area was formed in late 1914 to take over the garrison duties of the 3rd Division when it left for France . The 3rd Lahore Divisional Area was disbanded in May 1917 , the responsibilities of the area being taken over by the 16th Division . Order of Battle October 1914 < br > GOC : Lieut - Gen H . B . B . Watkis , CB Ferozepore Brigade < br > GOC : Brig - Gen R . G . Egerton , CB Jullundur Brigade < br > GOC : Maj - Gen P . M . Carnegy , CB Sirhind Brigade - arrived at Marseilles from Egypt 30 November , joined 9 December 1914 < br > GOC : Maj - Gen J . M . S . Brunker Divisional Troops : Mounted Troops : Artillery : Engineers Signals Service : Pioneers Supply & Transport : Medical Units : The division finally got into action piecemeal at the simultaneous Battles of La Bassee , 1st Messines and Armentieres along the British part of the Western Front in October – November 1914 . The degree to which the division was broken up can be gauged by the 29 October entry in the diary kept by the Indian corps ' commander , Lt - Gen Sir James Willcocks : When the troops were relieved in November 1914 , the reassembled division defended a section of the front in Indian Corps ' sector . Western Front 1915 . After winter operations ( in which the Indian soldiers suffered badly ) the division next took part in the Battles of Neuve Chapelle , Aubers Ridge , Festubert and Loos in 1915 . Order of Battle May 1915 < br > GOC : Maj - Gen H . D ' U . Keary Ferozepore Brigade < br > GOC : Brig - Gen R . G . Egerton , CB Jullundur Brigade < br > GOC : Brig - Gen E . P . Strickland Sirhind Brigade < br > GOC : Brig - Gen W . G . Walker , VC Divisional Troops : As before , with addition of XLIII ( Howitzer Bde , RA ( 40th & 57th Batteries ) Mesopotamia . On 13 August 1915 , General Sir John Nixon , commanding Indian Expeditionary Force D in Mesopotamia , requested one of the Indian infantry divisions in France as reinforcements for his advance on Baghdad . Coincidentally , on the same day , the Secretary of State for India , Austen Chamberlain , told the Viceroy of India that he was anxious for the Indian infantry to be withdrawn from France before they had to endure another winter . The system for supplying drafts had broken down and the Indian battalions were becoming very weak after the heavy casualties they had suffered . Although the Secretary of State for War , Lord Kitchener , objected to their withdrawal from the Western Front , orders were issued on 31 October for the two divisions of Indian Corps ( 3rd ( Lahore ) and 7th ( Meerut ) Division ) to embark at Marseilles for Mesopotamia . They were to leave behind their attached Territorial Force and Special Reserve battalions , and the three RFA brigades of 18 - pounder guns of 3rd ( Lahore ) Division . The two divisions were relieved in the front line on 6 November and were due at Basra in December , but their departure from Marseilles was delayed because of fear of submarine attack . 3rd ( Lahore ) Division finally arrived in Mesopotamia in April 1916 and joined Tigris Corps , too late to relieve 6th ( Poona ) Division at Kut - al - Amara . Palestine . After the fall of Baghdad , the Palestine Campaign was given priority over Mesopotamia , and in March 1918 the division was transferred to Egypt to join Sir Edmund Allenby ' s Egyptian Expeditionary Force until the end of the war . At the Battle of Megiddo in September 1918 it formed part of Sir Edward Bulfin ' s XXI Corps on the right flank . Order of Battle September 1918 < br > GOC : Maj - Gen A . R . Hoskins 7th Brigade : 8th Brigade : 9th Brigade :