101st Grenadiers

The 101st Grenadiers was a regiment of the British Indian Army.

1778–1878

The regiment was formed in 1778 after six grenadier companies (two companies each from the three battalions of the Bombay Army) were combined to form a composite battalion. During the First Mahratta War, the grenadier companies fought against the Mahratta Empire and was engaged in the Battle of Talegoan. In recognition of its conduct, the unit became a permanent unit, titled the 8th Regiment of Bombay Sepoys.

In 1783 the regiment's title was amended to become the 8th Grenadier Regiment of Bombay Sepoys, known informally as the Bombay Grenadiers. The regiment thus gained the claim to be the oldest grenadier regiment in the British Empire; the British Army's Grenadier Guards did not gain its Grenadier title until after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Meanwhile, the Regiment took part in the numerous Mysore Wars. In 1783, the regiment formed part of the Mangalore garrison, which the Tipu Sultan's Mysore Army besieged. The garrison held out for nine months before negotiating a settlement which permitted it safe passage back to British territory. Its actions earned the regiment the battle honour "Mangalore". The regiment later gained the White Horse of Hanover, emblem of the Royal House of Hanover, as its cap badge. The regiment's second battle honour, "Mysore" for its involvement in the last of the Mysore wars, between 1789 and 1792.