The 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1858 and amalgamated with the 17th Lancers in 1922 to form the 17th/21st Lancers. Perhaps its most famous engagement was the Battle of Omdurman, where Winston Churchill (then an officer of the 4th Hussars), rode with the unit.
History
thumb|The 21st Lancers aboard a [[Nile steamer connecting the Egyptian railway at Asyut with the newly built Sudanese system during the 1898 campaign of the Mahdist War.]]
thumb|The charge of the 21st Lancers in the [[Battle of Omdurman, 2 September 1898]]
Formation
The regiment was originally raised in Bengal by the East India Company in 1858 as the 3rd Bengal European Light Cavalry, for service in the Indian Rebellion. As with all other "European" units of the Company, it was placed under the command of the British Crown in 1858, and formally moved into the British Army in 1862, when it was designated as a hussar regiment and titled the 21st Regiment of Hussars.
Mahdist War
thumb|left|Lt Winston Churchill 1898
In 1898 the regiment served in Sudan during the Mahdist War, as the only British cavalry unit involved. It was there that the full regiment charged with lances in the classic cavalry style during the Battle of Omdurman in September 1898. Of less than 400 men involved in the charge 70 were killed and wounded and the regiment won three Victoria Crosses. These three were Private Thomas Byrne, Lieutenant Raymond de Montmorency
"Khartoum" was the regiment's only battle honour, giving rise to the satirical regimental motto of "thou shalt not kill." That same year, the regiment was given the title 21st (Empress of India's) Lancers, taking the name from Queen Victoria who was the Empress of India. A single squadron made up of reservists served in France in 1916–17, attached to XIV Corps.
Disbandment
The regiment was retitled 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) in 1921 and shortly thereafter disbanded as part of the post-War reduction in forces, though a cadre was briefly resurrected in 1922 in order to amalgamate with the 17th Lancers, to form the 17th/21st Lancers.
Battle Honours
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:
- 1909–1916: Maj-Gen. Sir Frederick William Benson, KCB
- 1916–1919: Maj-Gen. Arthur Henry Taylor
- 1919–1921: Gen. Hon. Sir Herbert Alexander Lawrence, GCB (to 17th/21st Lancers)
- 1921: Disbanded
- 1922: Reformed and amalgamated with 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) to form the 17th/21st Lancers
See also
- British cavalry during the First World War
- 21st Light Dragoons
- White mutiny