In the Second Maratha War of 1803–05, the regiment fought in the Battle of Assaye under General Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington.

Next year, as a result of the reforms brought about in the Indian Army by Lord Kitchener, all Madras units had 60 added to their numbers, and the regiment's designation was changed to 62nd Punjabis.

During the First World War, the 62nd Punjabis were sent to Egypt as part of the 10th Indian Division to protect the Suez Canal.

Captain Claude Auchinleck, later Field Marshal and the last Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army, served with the 62nd Punjabis in Egypt and Mesopotamia.

During the Second World War, 1/1st Punjab initially served in Iraq and then moved to North Africa in November 1941 to join the 5th Indian Division, only to take part in the British withdrawal following Rommel's offensive in January 1942.

The battalion was converted into motorized infantry and deployed at Ruweisat Ridge, where in July, it took part in halting Rommel's final offensive in North Africa at El Alamein by the Eighth Army led by General Claude Auchinleck.

It fought in the Battles of Kohima, Tiddim Road and numerous actions in the Irrawaddy Basin until the final Allied victory in August 1945.