The Last of the Bengal Lancers

A renowned, decorated soldier reveals true stories of his military exploits as British Indian Army officer.

One of the last of the famed Bengal Lancers, Brigadier Francis Ingall spent most of his life in India and Pakistan. When he first went to India in 1929, all the officers were English and all the enlisted men were Indian (Hindu, Sikh and Moslem). India was part of the British Empire and the Army was involved with hunting down outlaw bands of horsemen.

Ingall led a charge on horseback, swords in hand, of the 5th D.C.O. Lancers in the battle of karawal near the Khyber Pass. During World War II, he commanded the 6th Lancers through northern Italy, having traded their horses for light armor. Ingall's forces cut a swathe through the remnants of three German Divisions, penetrating fifty miles into enemy territory. He received an OBE from King George VI for his service as founder and head of the Pakistan Military Academy, which he was invited to found by no less person than Mohammad Ali Jinnah himself. Ingall served as the academy's Commandment until 1951.

In 1982, he was appointed Honorary Council General of Pakistan by its president General Zia-ul-Haq, who described Ingall as “one of the founding fathers or our army.” During his many years in India and Pakistan he worked with the area's most important dignitaries such as Lord Mountbatten and Lord Ismay, Gandhi and Nehru. This is an autobiography full of incident and humor which will delight not only the old and bold but all those who enjoy reading about the last days of the Raj.

© 1989 Leo Cooper (Rafbók): 9781473815872

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Rafbók: 1 januari 1989