123rd Outram's Rifles

123rd Outram's Rifles
A depiction of a Lance Naik of the 123rd Outram's Rifles (fourth from right) amongst other British Indian Army troops.
Active	1820–1922
Country	Indian Empire
Branch	Army
Type	Infantry
Part of	Bombay Army (to 1895) Bombay Command
Colors	Red; faced dark green, 1882 emerald green
Engagements	Third Anglo-Maratha War Anglo-Persian War Second Afghan War Second Burmese War

The 123rd Outram's Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army.

It traced its origins to the 12th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry, part of the British East India Company's Bombay Army. It fought in the Battle of Khadki on 5 November 1817 in the Third Anglo-Maratha War and became the regiment's 1st Battalion in 1820. It was made a separate regiment in 1824, titled the 23rd Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry.

The regiment took part in the First Anglo-Afghan War in 1839 and was renamed as the 23rd Regiment of Bombay Native Light Infantry in 1841 . Just before the Indian Mutiny began in 1857, the 23rd took part in the Anglo-Persian War between 1856-1857. During the Indian Mutiny, the regiment remained loyal, like nearly all of the Bombay Army.

The regiment took part in the Second Anglo-Afghan War from 1879 and the Third Anglo-Burmese War from 1885 to the end of the war in 1887. It dropped "native" from its title in 1885 and was designated a rifle regiment in 1889, to become the 23rd Regiment (2nd Rifle Regiment) of Bombay Infantry.

In the early 1900s the regiment saw service against Mohammed bin Abdullah (known as the "Mad Mullah" to the British) and his followers in British Somaliland, while a company was sent to Aden in 1903. The 1900s also brought change to its title. It became the 23rd Bombay Rifles in 1901 and after the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army, it became the 123rd Outram's Rifles in 1903. The renaming was in honour of Lieutenant-General Sir James Outram who had served with the regiment as its first adjutant.