39th Garhwal Rifles

The 39th Garhwal Rifles were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1887, when they were raised as the Aligarh Levy, but was disbanded after disgracing itself at the Rawalpindi Review in 1888.

In 1891, the 39th (The Garhwali) Regiment of Bengal Infantry was formed from the 2nd battalion 3rd Gurkha Rifles. In 1892, they were given the title of 'Rifles'. The second battalion was raised in 1901, making them apart from the Gurkhas, the only two battalion regiment in the Indian Army.

During World War I both battalions were in the Garhwal Brigade, 7th (Meerut) Division and suffered heavy casualties on the Western Front. They were then sent to take part in they Mesopotamia Campaign. Two more battalions were raised during the war. The regiment was next in action during the Waziristan campaign 1919–1920.

In 1921, they were titled the 39th Royal Garhwal Rifles. After World War I the Indian government reformed the infantry structure, moving from single battalion regiments to multi-battalion regiments. In 1922, the 39th RGR was the only non-Gurkha Indian infantry regiment to remain intact and not be amalgamated. They were renumbered 18th Royal Garhwal Rifles with three active battalions with the 4th battalion becoming the 10th training battalion.