Haifa’s Mayor Yona Yahav has acknowledged that Indian cavalry regiments, not British forces, were the true liberators of the Israeli port city during World War I.
Speaking at a memorial ceremony at the Indian soldiers’ cemetery in Haifa, Yahav said that while generations were taught that British troops freed the city, historical research shows it was Indian soldiers who carried out the decisive assault.
During the 1918 campaign, regiments from Mysore, Hyderabad, and Jodhpur charged up the steep slopes of Mount Carmel armed with lances and swords, defeating entrenched Ottoman forces. Historians regard the battle as one of the last great cavalry charges in military history.
Mayor Yahav announced that this chapter of history will now be included in every school textbook in Haifa.
India continues to honor the sacrifice of its soldiers by observing Haifa Day each year on September 23. The commemoration recalls the bravery of the Indian cavalry who captured the city in a daring operation that secured a vital Mediterranean port for the Allies.
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