DC exclusive: 100 years ago, this Lt. Col. B P Krishne Urs crushed Ottomans

Bengaluru: Exactly 100 years ago, on this day, the 15th Cavalry Brigade marched into the former Palestinian city of Haifa. There, armed with swords and spears, they drove the Turkish army from their position of strength and finally, freeing Haifa from the Ottoman rule. Then, on October 26, 1918, four miles north of Aleppo, an Indian officer led his squadron in a charge against the enemy, doing so under heavy fire. The squadron entered the range of heavy fire, armed only with swords and spears.

This battle would mark the last of his war-time achievements, for Risaldar B.P. Krishna Urs was severely wounded in the hand and chest. Even so, he continued to lead his squadron until he collapsed in sheer exhaustion. It was a matter of pride, therefore, when the Prince of Wales, who visited the court of Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV in January 1922, sang the praises of the efforts of Indian soldiers in World War I.

Today, his granddaughters Jayanthi Harin Urs, Manjula Urs and Gayathri Urs, remember the courage and determination shows by B.P. Krishna Urs. "He was supposed to have been a great host and a lover of polo," says Shubha Sanjay Urs a member of the family, on the eve of the centenary tribute to the Battle of Haifa. Among the cemeteries that line Jaffa Street, is a little-known memoir, honoring Indian fighters who lost their lives in the Battle of Haifa. Sri Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the current Maharaja of Mysur, will preside over the centenary Commemoration of The Battle of Haifa, at Rajendra Kalamandira, Ramanuja Road, Mysuru.