Do not lament the death of a Warrior killed in the battlefield as those who sacrifice their lives in war are honoured in heaven.

The flames of the First War of Independence reached Mhow on the evening of 1 July 1857. Colonel Jhon Platt, of the 23 Regiment Bengal Native Infantry and Station Commander Mhow Cantonment, Lieutenant FW Brodie, Officiating Commandant of 23 Bengal Native Infantry, Lieutenant CJ Hunt, Adjutant of 14 Bengal Light Cavalry, Major Harris, Captain Fagan and a few soldiers were killed in the uprising. Colonel Jhonj Platt was buried in the Fort. Later his remains were re-interred in the cemetery at Mhow and the grave exists till date. After moving the British families into the Fort, Captain Hungoerford, commanding the Horse Battery at Mhow, attacked the rebels who fled to Indore without offering any resistance.

Early next morning, active preparations began for strengthening the Fort and restoring law and order in and around Mhow. The Fort garrisons numbered 91 British officers and NCOs, mainly those who had managed to escape form rebelling regiments. The Fort was soon surrounded by native rebel forces, in an endeavor to capture it. As they had dug down around the Fort, the Britishers employed in vain various weapons to throw them out from entrenched locations in front of the North Gate. On 3 July, two 8” Howitzers were places on each bastion. That apart, heavy batteries of one 10” Howitzer, one 8” Howitzer, one 24 Pounder, one 18 Pounder and two 12 Punder guns were organized for all round defence from within the Fort. Additional small arms and ammunition were placed in the bastion, to resist rebel attacks.

On 4 July 1857, the rebels in the South Gate of the Fort blew a hole. Thereafter, one more battery was used for the protection of the Fort form the Southern direction. The Fort was totally cut off from the outside world. However, on 13 July, a telegraph wire was brought into the Fort, which established communications with Bombay, Neemuch and all places to the South. The Fort was also strengthened and provisioned so as to hold it against any attack for any length of time. The garrison defended itself till 02 August 1857. Meanwhile a column consisting of the 14th Light Dragoons, (later known as the 14th Hussars), Woolcomb’s Field Battery, the 25 Bombay Native Infantry (later called the 125th Rifles) and a pontoon train, under the command of Brigadier General Stuart, marched from Aurangabad for the relief of Mhow. That evening Stuart’s column marched into Mhow and it remained the only stations in Central India which was never abandoned.

Subsequent Years 

After restoring law and order in 1857, the British started rebuilding their image and spreading their influence in Central India. After World War-I, Mhow ceased to be headquarter for the British war effort, around which a small township grew in order to cater to the various requirements of the large garrison there. Mhow, thereafter, became the Headquarters of Central Province and the 5^th Mhow Division was stationed at Mhow. Most of them had a calm innings in the cantonment.

As per old records, till World War – II, two to three infantry regiments, one to two regiments and one to two artillery regiments were stationed at Mhow. Once War broke out, the cantonment was cluttered with troops pulled back for rest and refit, along with those who had retreated from the Burma front for undergoing further training for the massive counter offensive in Burma. In 1940, the Officers Training School was established at the present location of The College of Combat. The School remained there till 1946. In addition, two Prisoners of War camps were also created to keep under captivity thousands of Italians and a sprinkling of German prisoners who were taken captive in North Africa and Eritrea in 1941. The Signal School, (presently re-christened the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering), was also established in the old Infantry Lines complex during the same year.

The famous 'Chindit Force' of General Orde Wingate was trained around Mhow. This was because the surroundings of Mhow were most suited for training of troops for semi-mountainous and jungle warfare. The Chindits were trained in the jungles and mountains in the neighbourhood of Mhow, at a place called Chindwara. The forced marches used to start from Mhow and terminate at Jhansi. The Vindhaya Range presented near replica of the terrain existing in Burma. Jungle Trap Training was imparted to the troops being trained for Burma operations along the Mhow – Simrol road.

During this period, there was also an expansion of the Indian Army and a large number of additional barracks for housing troops mushroomed. These included the Malcolm Lines, Durand Lines, Veterinary Hospital (VH) Lines and the living barracks seen around the present Military College of Telecommunication.

Engineering complex. Many prominent personalities, including Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill, the Tory Prime Minister of wartime British Empire and Doctor BR Ambedkar, one of the main architects of Indian Constitution, have been associated with Mhow. Sir Winston Churchill was here as a Subaltern during the early part of the century. Doctor Ambedkar was born in Mhow, when his father, a Junior Commissioned Officer in the British Indian Army, was posted there. Presently an imposing monument is nearing completion at his birth place near The Infantry School.