Army to mark centenary of Haifa battle

The Indian Army will mark the centenary celebrations of the Battle of Haifa (Israel), which took place during the First World War, on September 23, said Lt Gen Cherish Mathson, Army Commander of the South Western Command, on Saturday.

"Few Indians know the significance of Haifa Day. But people in Israel celebrate it on September 23 every year. The Indian Army commemorates the Haifa Day to respect those Indian soldiers who participated in the battle to free the city as a part of the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade," said Gen Mathson.

Gen Mathson emphasised the need for the youth to be aware of the scarifices of their forefathers and the necessity of preserving that heritage.

"The whole of Israel knows about the heroes from India, but they are little known in their own motherland," he said.

Sons of the soil from Rajasthan led by Major Dalpat Singh in a mounted Cavalry defeated a numerically superior force armed with more lethal weapons and liberated Haifa in the present-day Israel from the occupation of the Turks of the Ottoman Empire, the Gen said.

--IANS

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