This article on the short-lived 2nd Battalion 112th Infantry will provide you with an overview of the Battalion’s service during the First World War and help you research those who served with it. I have written a separate article about the 1st Battalion 112th Infantry and a series of guides to help you research soldiers who served in the Indian Army during the war. The links below will take you to the guides:
The 2nd Battalion 112th Infantry in First World War
Lineage: The 2nd Battalion 112th Infantry was formed at Nasirabad on 8 July 1917 and was disbanded in May 1922. For a history of the Regiment’s lineage see my page on the 1st Battalion 112th Infantry.
Class Composition of Battalion in 1919: 2 Companies of Jats, 1 Company of Punjabi Musalmans and 1 Company of Gujars.
The 2nd Battalion 112th Infantry was a short-lived Indian infantry battalion formed at Nasirabad, a cantonment town in Rajasthan, on 8 July 1917. The first commanding officer was Colonel George Stanley Frazer, who only held the appointment briefly until Lieutenant-Colonel Augustus Hodson Coke was appointed on 3 September 1917. Like the majority of war-raised battalions, the unit suffered due to the inexperience of its officers, both British and Indian.
The Battalion received a poor first report (not unusual for a war-raised battalion) when it was first inspected in 1918. The two paragraphs below give a good indication of the state of the Battalion after nearly a year. The first report was by Brigadier-General Charles Granville Bruce, Commanding Bannu Brigade, whose report was dated April 1918:
I have seen a certain amount of this unit’s work in all branches: at the present time it is quite unfit for service, but all rank are working hard. The great trouble is lack of experienced officers: at present the drill and manoeuvre are deplorable.
General Arthur Arnold Barrett, Commanding Northern Command also reported the following from June 1918:
This battalion is in a very backward state as regards general efficiency. Except in bombing and bayonet fighting it is below the mark in all branches of training. It is not fit at present for service on the North West Frontier, and I doubt if it will be fit for overseas service by the autumn. I have recommended that it should be sent to a station with better facilities for training than Bannu.
Confidential review reports on Indian Army units, depots, British officers, etc. for 1917-1918: IOR/L/MIL/7/17029.
On 29 October 1918, Acting-Lieutenant-Colonel Gregory Day McCormick was appointed as commanding officer from the 72nd Punjabis. Lieutenant-Colonel McCormick was reported to have done excellent work in transforming the Battalion in its confidential report. In the Confidential Report for 1918-1919, Brigadier-General Charles Granville Bruce reported:
An immense amount of work has been done in this battalion since last inspection, and credit is due to the officers for the all round improvement apparent; but much requires to be done. Much attention should still be paid to the encouragement of initiative in all platoon commanders, and especially in fire discipline and control; intelligent handling of fire is a weak point. Turn-out and the deportment of the men requires great attention. Fit for service.
Confidential review reports on Indian Army units, depots, British officers, etc. for 1918-1919: IOR/L/MIL/7/17030.
In the January 1920 Indian Army List, the 2nd Battalion 112th Infantry was stationed at Dhond, and July 1921 edition Bushire. 146 men of the Battalion are commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, with the cluster of men dying in October-November 1918 likely due to Spanish flu. The 2nd Battalion 112th Infantry was disbanded in May 1922. The extract below was taken from the July 1918 Indian Army List which recorded the British officers serving with the Battalion.
War Diaries of the 2nd Battalion 112th Infantry
Unfortunately, there are no war diaries for the 2nd Battalion 112th Infantry.
Further Sources for the 2nd Battalion 112th Infantry
For information regarding British and Indian officers who served with the 2nd Battalion 112th Infantry, the Indian Army List can be consulted. Confidential reports for the Battalion are held at the British Library: Confidential Reports on Regiments etc. These also contain the annual reports of the British officers serving with the Battalion.