The celebrated Madras Engineer Group (MEG) primarily based in Bengaluru – the oldest regiment of the corps of engineers of the Indian Military – is commonly praised for its function within the two World Wars. That is comprehensible provided that the primary Bangalore torpedo explosives for clearing barbed wires originated with them and have been utilized in World Struggle 1 and past for many years. Its function within the African theatre in World Struggle 2 can be effectively remembered, aided by the Stuart gentle tank that’s nonetheless on show close to town’s Ulsoor Lake. Nonetheless, the historical past of the “Sappers”, as they’re identified, dates again to the late 1700s and the ultimate battles of the British towards Tipu Sultan, as per navy historian T P Vasanth.
Talking at a current occasion on the Bangalore Room in Indira Nagar, Vasanth, whose father and uncle served within the Sappers, traced the unit’s service to the storming of Srirangapatnam in 1799 – or Seringapatam, because it was recorded within the battle honours of the forces of the Raj. In response to Vasanth, the Sappers have been amongst these troops that entered the fortress after it was breached by artillery hearth. Elaborating on their service in Egypt nearly a century later, he additionally described the trail of a mule known as ‘the Grey’ to which the Sappers step by step grew connected after it joined them in 1891.
“It was arguably the world’s most travelled mule…from Gilgit, Skardu, Baltistan, Tibet, the Grey went together with the Sappers,” Vasanth stated. On the finish of the Egyptian marketing campaign, it got here to gentle that no animal transport barges have been obtainable, which meant that the Sappers must go away the beast behind. The Commanding Officer of the Sappers, nonetheless, approached none aside from Subject Marshal Sir Philip Chetwode with a request and, ultimately, the MEG was capable of return with the mule. On reaching Bangalore, the place their headquarters had been shifted to in 1834, Vasanth famous that the mule took half in a parade and was adorned with the marketing campaign ribbons earlier than being discharged from obligation.
When the mule died, its physique was not disposed of within the abnormal method – useless mules have been despatched to glue-making factories – however was given a burial in a grave which stands to today. Vasanth stated, “The hooves have been encrusted in silver and made into inkwells… One is on the Officers’ Mess and the opposite on the Commandant’s Workplace. One is with the 4th Engineering Regiment and one is with Colonel Basset’s nice grandson within the UK.” Colonel Basset was the Commander who interceded with Subject Marshal Chetwode concerning the mule.
Vasanth additionally highlighted the participation of the Sappers on the Battle of Assaye in 1803 towards the Marathas, the place they have been commanded by Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington – the identical Arthur Wellesley who would sooner or later face Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo. The battle, wherein the Sappers joined the opposite Madras infantry in a direct assault on the Maratha cannon, was usually regarded by Wellesley because the bloodiest battle he had fought in, relative to the variety of troopers current. He had come near loss of life himself within the battle, with two of his horses killed below him.
Forty years later, at Miani in Sindh, the Sappers fought beside the twenty second Cheshire Regiment. In response to Vasanth, when the troopers got here below sniper assault, the Sappers charged alongside the Cheshire Regiment, armed with excavation instruments and different such implements. Within the aftermath of the battle, the Commanding Officer of the Cheshire Regiment bestowed his “shako” hat upon one of many “Thambis” of the Sappers. To this date, the officers of each items are honorary members of every others’ regimental mess.
Vasanth went on to focus on the battle document of the Sappers in additional trendy instances, such because the Battle of Basantar in 1971. On this battle, a minefield which was anticipated to take a day to clear was de-mined by the Sappers in simply 4 hours. He additionally famous the in depth awards and sporting historical past of the Sappers, starting from innumerable accolades at parades, to a group together with 5 Dronacharya awards, 10 Arjuna awards, and 15 members who went on to take part within the Olympics.
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Amongst different anecdotes of the Sappers, Vasanth shared an account that illustrates their custom of unity. When Lt Gen D S R Sahni served with the Sappers, he had attended a spiritual operate the place he observed that the pujari was his personal aide Abdul Karim, who had volunteered because the pundit was not obtainable. He later wrote in his memoirs, “I went on to grasp that the Thambis have only one faith. They’re all Madras Sappers.”
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