25th Bombay Infantry

125th Napier's Rifles
Four men of the 125th Napier's Rifles, by A. C. Lovett (1911)
Active	1820–1922
Country	Indian Empire
Branch	Army
Type	Infantry
Part of	Bombay Army (to 1895) Bombay Command
Colors	Red; faced pale yellow, 1882 yellow 1890Green; faced red, 1898 scarlet
Engagements	Meanee, Hyderabad, Central India, ABYSSINIA,BURMA 1885-87

The 125th Napier's Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. Its earlier names include:1st Extra Battalion Bombay Native Infantry, The 25th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry (1826–1889) and The 25th Bombay Rifles. Amalgamated with five other regiments in 1922, it is now the 5th Battalion, the Rajputana Rifles.

The regiment traced its origins to the 1st Extra Battalion of Bombay Native Infantry, raised in 1820 out of the Poona Auxiliary Force as part of the Honourable East India Company's Bombay Army. In 1826, this battalion was elevated into a separate regiment called 'The 25th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry'.

After serving in Afghanistan and in the North-West Frontier Province, the regiment joined the Sindh Expedition, coming under the command of General Sir Charles James Napier, who conquered Sindh in 1843 and sent back to the Governor General the one-word message "Peccavi" – Latin for "I have sinned". At the Battle of Meeanee, a bond was cemented between Napier and the regiment, which sixty years later was given his name. Napier later wrote: "The 25th played a distinguished part in the engagement. Had the 22nd (The Queen's Regiment) and the 25th given way, all would have been lost."

During the Indian Mutiny, the regiment was in Chanderi and at Gwalior. There, on 20 June 1858, two of its officers, Lieutenants Rose and W. F. F. Waller, organized a surprise attack by night on the Gwalior Fort, their party succeeding in breaking open a number of gates and, after hand-to-hand fighting, taking the fort. Rose was killed, but for his part in the action Waller was awarded the Victoria Cross.