The Many Facets of the Indian Army: World War I
by
Ameer
The Indian Army was the largest volunteer force in World War I. One enemy soldier, who had witnessed Sikh troops in hand-to-hand combat at Neuve Chapelle in 1915, wrote: “At first we spoke of them with contempt. Today we look on them in a different light …. In no time they were in our trenches and truly these brown enemies are not to be despised. With butt ends, bayonets, swords and daggers we fought each other and we had bitter hard work[1].” The Indian Army was modelled after the British military, yet it maintained its individuality and uniqueness throughout the war. From Ypres to Gallipoli, the Indian soldiers were ready to fight.
MAKEUP OF THE INDIAN ARMY
The Indian Army in 1914 was made of 107 single-battalion regiments and 11 two-battalion regiments in the infantry. There were also 38 cavalry regiments, an infantry-cavalry unit, three sapper and miner regiments, as well as 12 mountain artillery batteries. The army was also reinforced by regiments belonging to various Indian princes as well as European volunteers. This army can quite reasonably be said to be the creation of one man - Viscount Kitchener of Khartoum.[2]
Kitchener’s first decision was to renumber the regiments. For most of the 1800s there were three Indian Armies, raised by the Presidencies of Bengal, Bombay, and Madras. These three armies had eventually been unified in 1891, but each regiment continued to retain both its old pre-1891 number and the name of the Presidency which had originally raised it.[3] Kitchener abandoned these titles and numbers and instead numbered the regiments sequentially. Regiments were made to serve anywhere in India and all had to complete a tour of the North-West Frontier due to a fear that Russia could invade India via Afghanistan. Brigades, divisions, and armies were all established during peacetime so that they could be ready if war broke out.
The British strongly preferred Indians from the northern part of the subcontinent rather than the southern part. The preference was so strong that it led to over-recruitment in some areas. These preferred men were from the so-called ‘martial races’ - those which were considered the most ‘warlike’ by the British[4]. The martial races consisted of Sikhs, Punjabi Muslims, Gurkhas, Garhwalis, Dogras, Rajputs, Baluchis, Mers, and Pathans. These men fought in single race companies/squadrons within a mixed race regiment.
DEPLOYMENT LOCATIONS
On the outbreak of war, the Indian Army consisted of a trained and experienced body of men, approximately 150,000 strong, and the Government of India immediately offered two infantry and two cavalry divisions for service anywhere[5]. These divisions were called Expeditionary Force A. This expeditionary force was originally supposed to relieve British troops in Egypt, but was quickly sent to France instead, where the force took part in the battle of La Basée in 1914.
The infantry divisions were sent to Egypt in 1915, and the cavalry stayed in France until the spring of 1918. They too sailed for Egypt to form part of the Desert Mounted Corps[6]. Expeditionary Force E was also in that theater. Expeditionary Force F was made of the 28th, 29th, and 30th brigades and served in Egypt as well.
Expeditionary Force E was originally made up of only the 8th (Lucknow) division, but soon became responsible for the Indian forces within that theater.
The Bangalore Brigade was sent to Tanganyika, whilst the five battalions of Expeditionary Force B were given the task of defending the Uganda Railway[7]. The largest Indian force that was deployed was Expeditionary Force D, which was originally only made up of the 6th (Poona) Division. Expeditionary Force D was sent to the mouth of the Euphrates to watch over British oil installations in Basra. Expeditionary Force G was made up of the 29th brigade that was sent to Gallipoli. Expeditionary Force G was unique as it served away from its parent division.
CONTRIBUTIONS BY INDIA
As high as 100 million British Pounds (present day Rs 838 crore) was gifted by India to Britain to fund their war anticipating dominion status and home rule in return[8]. More than 1.3 million soldiers served in the Indian Army. About 74,187 soldiers lost their lives, with as many as 69,214 soldiers arriving home wounded. The Indian Government also provided 1.2 million animals including horses and mules, as well as 3.7 million tons of supplies.
Indian princes also helped contribute to the war effort. Their armies were militarily established since 1885, when there was a perceived threat of the Russians invading India. The Government of India agreed to provide equipment for the princely armies, which were known as Imperial Service Troops. By 1914, some 29 states were involved providing a strength of some 22,479 men formed into two mountain batteries, four companies of sappers, 15 cavalry units, three camel corps, 13 infantry battalions, and seven transport corps[9].
INFANTRY AND ARTILLERY
Most Indian infantry regiments, the Gurkhas apart, consisted of a single battalion. In 1914, each infantry battalion was composed of four double companies. Each of these was commanded by a British major or captain with another captain or subaltern as second-in-command… each company also had a subedar and a jemadar, each of whom commanded a half-company of two sections[10]. Four double companies was the equivalent of eight regular companies. 20 sepoys and a havildar made up every section. The total strength was 13 British officers, 17 Indian officers, and 723 NCOs and men-slightly weaker than a British battalion[11].
In 1916, the double-company system was nullified in favor of Indian battalions following the British “practice of four companies per battalion, each under a British commander and second-in-command[12]”. Every company was made up of four platoons. Two were under a subedar and two were under a jemadar. Each commanding subedar and jemadar was assisted by a havildar. Every platoon was made of four sections, each with ten men commanded by a naik or lance-naik. There was was also a headquarters wing, which consisted of the specialist sections, including the band, signallers, machine gunners, cooks, drivers, and craftsmen. The total embarkation strength of each regiment was raised to 1,030 all ranks[13].
In 1857, Indian soldiers rose up against their British commanders. They were joined by native rulers and thousands of ordinary people in a struggle that threatened to destroy British colonial power on the Indian subcontinent. The reasons behind the rebellion stretch back to the origins of British involvement in Indian affairs[14]. When World War I started, the British feared the possibility of allowing Indians to operate the heavy weapons due to the Mutiny. The only artillery units found were “12 batteries of mountain artillery equipped with six 10-pdr. Guns, which broke down to be carried on mule-back. A further 15 batteries were raised during the First World War, of which six were disbanded in 1921[15].” Mountain artillery units were commanded by the British, with everyone else being Indian.
CAVALRY AND AUXILIARY
Every cavalry regiment in 1914 was commanded by a British colonel with a headquarters staff, which included the regiment’s senior Indian officer, the risaldar-major, and four sabre squadrons, each commanded by a British officer and second-in-command[16]. Each squadron consisted of two troops, each one of them led by a risaldar with a jemdara acting as second-in-command. Every troop had a kot-dafadar, eight dafadars, a trumpeter, and 70 sowars. Every man carried a sword. Troopers and Noncommissioned Officers (NCOs) carried a rifle and a lance and were lancers. Each troop also had a section that worked with Hotchkiss LMGs.
Most cavalry regiments (with the exception of the 26th, 27th, and 28th Light Cavalry) were maintained by the silladar system[17]. The silladar system meant that every man was responsible for providing his own horse, clothing, and equipment. The government supplied the soldier with only their arms. However, when World War I started, the government provided the equipment, arms, and horses for the cavalry in exchange for assami (money) from the recruited soldier.
When the Mutiny of 1857 occurred, many British units were formed for self-defense. By the 1890s a number of these had been disbanded due to lack of interest, but the insularity of the English community ensured that many were still active, trained with the help of an adjutant and instructors seconded from the British Army[18]. About 34,000 men were serving in the units by 1907, which were then known as the Indian Volunteer Force. The Volunteer Force was full of officers, many of whom were posted with the regular Indian Army regiments. None of the actual volunteer regiments were sent out to fight; they were instead kept in the subcontinent for internal security purposes. In 1917, they became a new umbrella organisation, the Indian Defence Force, with compulsory service for all Europeans between the ages of 18 and 41. It consisted of ten cavalry regiments, 45 infantry units, five artillery units, and two engineer units.
MEDICS AND FOLLOWERS
The Indian Medical Service was composed of British doctors, who were responsible for Indian soldiers and their British officers, as well as for British officials in government service and their families[19]. The Indian Medical Department was composed of Anglo-Indians who treated British and Indian troops and Indian doctors who only treated Indian troops. The Army Hospital Corps were responsible for the administration of hospitals and male nurses for the British. There were no hospitals for the Indian soldiers; instead, they were treated within the regiment that they were in. The Army Bearer Corps provided stretcher-bearers. Nurses were only provided for the British and were sent from the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Nursing Service for India.
Every single unit in the Indian Army had followers; men who worked by doing various menial tasks around the camp. There were water carriers (bhistis), cooks (langris), tailors (darzis), cobblers (mochis), grooms (syces), and latrine-cleaners (mehtahs). Whilst followers did not usually wear uniform, in some regiments (e.g. 2nd Gurkhas) they did wear a special badge.[20]
AFTERMATH OF THE WAR
India had donated millions of animals and tons of supplies. In return, the British had insincerely promised to deliver progressive self-rule to India at the end of the war[21]. This was a key factor in the soldiers’ motivation to fight. They would be fighting for the colonials, but this fight would be worth it due to the promised independence.
When the Allies won the war, the British refused to give India its independence. Instead of self-government, the British imposed the repressive Rowlatt Act, which vested the Viceroy's government with extraordinary powers to quell "sedition" against the Empire by silencing and censoring the press, detaining political activists without trial, and arresting without a warrant any individuals suspected of treason against the Empire[22]. This denial of independence further spurred Indian nationalism, a view that was frowned upon and punished by the British. When India finally reached independence in 1947, there was no mention of the Indian soldiers who fought in World War I. The Indian nationalists felt that they should not be mentioned, as they had served their “foreign masters[23]”.
CONCLUSION
The Indian Army was an essential part of the Allied forces in the First World War, fighting in several battles such as Ypres and Gallipoli. The soldiers were feared by the Germans for their fierceness in battle. However, due to the legacy of a mutiny and the prejudices of the time, the Indian soldiers were not able to fight to their fullest potential due to British distrust of the soldiers. This distrust led to the Indian soldiers being issued outdated weapons, which would negatively impact their performance. Promises of Indian independence after Britain won the war was a large factor in the morale of the soldiers. However, when the British went back on their promise, the Indian soldiers remained forgotten, even when India achieved independence in 1947.
APPENDIX
MAKEUP OF THE INDIAN ARMY
The Indian Army in 1914 was made of 107 single-battalion regiments and 11 two-battalion regiments in the infantry. There were also 38 cavalry regiments, an infantry-cavalry unit, three sapper and miner regiments, as well as 12 mountain artillery batteries. The army was also reinforced by regiments belonging to various Indian princes as well as European volunteers. This army can quite reasonably be said to be the creation of one man - Viscount Kitchener of Khartoum.[2]
Kitchener’s first decision was to renumber the regiments. For most of the 1800s there were three Indian Armies, raised by the Presidencies of Bengal, Bombay, and Madras. These three armies had eventually been unified in 1891, but each regiment continued to retain both its old pre-1891 number and the name of the Presidency which had originally raised it.[3] Kitchener abandoned these titles and numbers and instead numbered the regiments sequentially. Regiments were made to serve anywhere in India and all had to complete a tour of the North-West Frontier due to a fear that Russia could invade India via Afghanistan. Brigades, divisions, and armies were all established during peacetime so that they could be ready if war broke out.
The British strongly preferred Indians from the northern part of the subcontinent rather than the southern part. The preference was so strong that it led to over-recruitment in some areas. These preferred men were from the so-called ‘martial races’ - those which were considered the most ‘warlike’ by the British[4]. The martial races consisted of Sikhs, Punjabi Muslims, Gurkhas, Garhwalis, Dogras, Rajputs, Baluchis, Mers, and Pathans. These men fought in single race companies/squadrons within a mixed race regiment.
DEPLOYMENT LOCATIONS
On the outbreak of war, the Indian Army consisted of a trained and experienced body of men, approximately 150,000 strong, and the Government of India immediately offered two infantry and two cavalry divisions for service anywhere[5]. These divisions were called Expeditionary Force A. This expeditionary force was originally supposed to relieve British troops in Egypt, but was quickly sent to France instead, where the force took part in the battle of La Basée in 1914.
The infantry divisions were sent to Egypt in 1915, and the cavalry stayed in France until the spring of 1918. They too sailed for Egypt to form part of the Desert Mounted Corps[6]. Expeditionary Force E was also in that theater. Expeditionary Force F was made of the 28th, 29th, and 30th brigades and served in Egypt as well.
Expeditionary Force E was originally made up of only the 8th (Lucknow) division, but soon became responsible for the Indian forces within that theater.
The Bangalore Brigade was sent to Tanganyika, whilst the five battalions of Expeditionary Force B were given the task of defending the Uganda Railway[7]. The largest Indian force that was deployed was Expeditionary Force D, which was originally only made up of the 6th (Poona) Division. Expeditionary Force D was sent to the mouth of the Euphrates to watch over British oil installations in Basra. Expeditionary Force G was made up of the 29th brigade that was sent to Gallipoli. Expeditionary Force G was unique as it served away from its parent division.
CONTRIBUTIONS BY INDIA
As high as 100 million British Pounds (present day Rs 838 crore) was gifted by India to Britain to fund their war anticipating dominion status and home rule in return[8]. More than 1.3 million soldiers served in the Indian Army. About 74,187 soldiers lost their lives, with as many as 69,214 soldiers arriving home wounded. The Indian Government also provided 1.2 million animals including horses and mules, as well as 3.7 million tons of supplies.
Indian princes also helped contribute to the war effort. Their armies were militarily established since 1885, when there was a perceived threat of the Russians invading India. The Government of India agreed to provide equipment for the princely armies, which were known as Imperial Service Troops. By 1914, some 29 states were involved providing a strength of some 22,479 men formed into two mountain batteries, four companies of sappers, 15 cavalry units, three camel corps, 13 infantry battalions, and seven transport corps[9].
INFANTRY AND ARTILLERY
Most Indian infantry regiments, the Gurkhas apart, consisted of a single battalion. In 1914, each infantry battalion was composed of four double companies. Each of these was commanded by a British major or captain with another captain or subaltern as second-in-command… each company also had a subedar and a jemadar, each of whom commanded a half-company of two sections[10]. Four double companies was the equivalent of eight regular companies. 20 sepoys and a havildar made up every section. The total strength was 13 British officers, 17 Indian officers, and 723 NCOs and men-slightly weaker than a British battalion[11].
In 1916, the double-company system was nullified in favor of Indian battalions following the British “practice of four companies per battalion, each under a British commander and second-in-command[12]”. Every company was made up of four platoons. Two were under a subedar and two were under a jemadar. Each commanding subedar and jemadar was assisted by a havildar. Every platoon was made of four sections, each with ten men commanded by a naik or lance-naik. There was was also a headquarters wing, which consisted of the specialist sections, including the band, signallers, machine gunners, cooks, drivers, and craftsmen. The total embarkation strength of each regiment was raised to 1,030 all ranks[13].
In 1857, Indian soldiers rose up against their British commanders. They were joined by native rulers and thousands of ordinary people in a struggle that threatened to destroy British colonial power on the Indian subcontinent. The reasons behind the rebellion stretch back to the origins of British involvement in Indian affairs[14]. When World War I started, the British feared the possibility of allowing Indians to operate the heavy weapons due to the Mutiny. The only artillery units found were “12 batteries of mountain artillery equipped with six 10-pdr. Guns, which broke down to be carried on mule-back. A further 15 batteries were raised during the First World War, of which six were disbanded in 1921[15].” Mountain artillery units were commanded by the British, with everyone else being Indian.
CAVALRY AND AUXILIARY
Every cavalry regiment in 1914 was commanded by a British colonel with a headquarters staff, which included the regiment’s senior Indian officer, the risaldar-major, and four sabre squadrons, each commanded by a British officer and second-in-command[16]. Each squadron consisted of two troops, each one of them led by a risaldar with a jemdara acting as second-in-command. Every troop had a kot-dafadar, eight dafadars, a trumpeter, and 70 sowars. Every man carried a sword. Troopers and Noncommissioned Officers (NCOs) carried a rifle and a lance and were lancers. Each troop also had a section that worked with Hotchkiss LMGs.
Most cavalry regiments (with the exception of the 26th, 27th, and 28th Light Cavalry) were maintained by the silladar system[17]. The silladar system meant that every man was responsible for providing his own horse, clothing, and equipment. The government supplied the soldier with only their arms. However, when World War I started, the government provided the equipment, arms, and horses for the cavalry in exchange for assami (money) from the recruited soldier.
When the Mutiny of 1857 occurred, many British units were formed for self-defense. By the 1890s a number of these had been disbanded due to lack of interest, but the insularity of the English community ensured that many were still active, trained with the help of an adjutant and instructors seconded from the British Army[18]. About 34,000 men were serving in the units by 1907, which were then known as the Indian Volunteer Force. The Volunteer Force was full of officers, many of whom were posted with the regular Indian Army regiments. None of the actual volunteer regiments were sent out to fight; they were instead kept in the subcontinent for internal security purposes. In 1917, they became a new umbrella organisation, the Indian Defence Force, with compulsory service for all Europeans between the ages of 18 and 41. It consisted of ten cavalry regiments, 45 infantry units, five artillery units, and two engineer units.
MEDICS AND FOLLOWERS
The Indian Medical Service was composed of British doctors, who were responsible for Indian soldiers and their British officers, as well as for British officials in government service and their families[19]. The Indian Medical Department was composed of Anglo-Indians who treated British and Indian troops and Indian doctors who only treated Indian troops. The Army Hospital Corps were responsible for the administration of hospitals and male nurses for the British. There were no hospitals for the Indian soldiers; instead, they were treated within the regiment that they were in. The Army Bearer Corps provided stretcher-bearers. Nurses were only provided for the British and were sent from the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Nursing Service for India.
Every single unit in the Indian Army had followers; men who worked by doing various menial tasks around the camp. There were water carriers (bhistis), cooks (langris), tailors (darzis), cobblers (mochis), grooms (syces), and latrine-cleaners (mehtahs). Whilst followers did not usually wear uniform, in some regiments (e.g. 2nd Gurkhas) they did wear a special badge.[20]
AFTERMATH OF THE WAR
India had donated millions of animals and tons of supplies. In return, the British had insincerely promised to deliver progressive self-rule to India at the end of the war[21]. This was a key factor in the soldiers’ motivation to fight. They would be fighting for the colonials, but this fight would be worth it due to the promised independence.
When the Allies won the war, the British refused to give India its independence. Instead of self-government, the British imposed the repressive Rowlatt Act, which vested the Viceroy's government with extraordinary powers to quell "sedition" against the Empire by silencing and censoring the press, detaining political activists without trial, and arresting without a warrant any individuals suspected of treason against the Empire[22]. This denial of independence further spurred Indian nationalism, a view that was frowned upon and punished by the British. When India finally reached independence in 1947, there was no mention of the Indian soldiers who fought in World War I. The Indian nationalists felt that they should not be mentioned, as they had served their “foreign masters[23]”.
CONCLUSION
The Indian Army was an essential part of the Allied forces in the First World War, fighting in several battles such as Ypres and Gallipoli. The soldiers were feared by the Germans for their fierceness in battle. However, due to the legacy of a mutiny and the prejudices of the time, the Indian soldiers were not able to fight to their fullest potential due to British distrust of the soldiers. This distrust led to the Indian soldiers being issued outdated weapons, which would negatively impact their performance. Promises of Indian independence after Britain won the war was a large factor in the morale of the soldiers. However, when the British went back on their promise, the Indian soldiers remained forgotten, even when India achieved independence in 1947.
APPENDIX
Equivalent ranks in the British and Indian armies[24]
Sources
Footnotes
[1] “Forgotten role of Indian soldiers who served in First World War marked at last”, Independent, November 7, 2015, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/forgotten-role-of-indian-soldiers-who-served-in-first-world-war-marked-at-last-a6725851.html
[2] Ian Sumner, The Indian Army 1914-47, (United Kingdom, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2001), 3.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid., 13
[5] Ibid., 4
[6] Ibid., 5
[7] Ibid.
[8] “World War I: Role of Indian Army in Britain’s Victory Over Germany”, India Today, July 28, 2017, https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/indian-soldiers-world-war-one-germany-british-army-1026848-2017-07-28
[9] Sumner, The Indian Army 1914-47, 54
[10] Ibid.,47
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] “Why did the Indian Mutiny Happen?”, National Army Museum
[15] Sumner, The Indian Army 1914-47, 44
[16] Ibid., 32
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid., 56
[19] Ibid., 51
[20] Ibid., 53
[21] “Why the Indian Soldiers of WW1 were forgotten”, BBC, July 2, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33317368
[22] Ibid.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Sumner, The Indian Army 1914-47, 4.
- Sumner, Ian. The Indian Army 1914-47. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2001.
- “World War I: Role of Indian Army in Britain’s victory over Germany” India Today. July 28, 2017. https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/indian-soldiers-world-war-one-germany-british-army-1026848-2017-07-28
- “Forgotten role of Indian soldiers who served in First World War marked at last” The Independent. November 7, 2015. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/forgotten-role-of-indian-soldiers-who-served-in-first-world-war-marked-at-last-a6725851.html
- “Why the Indian soldiers of WW1 were forgotten” British Broadcasting Corporation. July 2, 2015. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33317368
- “Why did the Indian Mutiny happen?” National Army Museum. https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/why-did-indian-mutiny-happen
Footnotes
[1] “Forgotten role of Indian soldiers who served in First World War marked at last”, Independent, November 7, 2015, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/forgotten-role-of-indian-soldiers-who-served-in-first-world-war-marked-at-last-a6725851.html
[2] Ian Sumner, The Indian Army 1914-47, (United Kingdom, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2001), 3.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid., 13
[5] Ibid., 4
[6] Ibid., 5
[7] Ibid.
[8] “World War I: Role of Indian Army in Britain’s Victory Over Germany”, India Today, July 28, 2017, https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/indian-soldiers-world-war-one-germany-british-army-1026848-2017-07-28
[9] Sumner, The Indian Army 1914-47, 54
[10] Ibid.,47
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] “Why did the Indian Mutiny Happen?”, National Army Museum
[15] Sumner, The Indian Army 1914-47, 44
[16] Ibid., 32
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid., 56
[19] Ibid., 51
[20] Ibid., 53
[21] “Why the Indian Soldiers of WW1 were forgotten”, BBC, July 2, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33317368
[22] Ibid.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Sumner, The Indian Army 1914-47, 4.