Download Indian Soldiers of WORLD WAR I

Indian Soldiers of
WORLD WAR I
Murali R
A proud history of professional performance and an
Army that was a negotiating tool for our leaders to get
India Independence
RLS Partners
Hebbal
Bangalore
0091 9449342
1/1/2010
2
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Preface
One and a half million Indian volunteers helped Britain from the estimated population of 315
million in the Indian subcontinent (present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka).
The greatest number of volunteers in an Army in history to help Britain Win over the
Germans until that time. It is only surpassed by the same Army contributing to the Second
World War. This story has been neglected for a long time and the time has now come to
reinvigorate our belief and recognise our countrymen who fought so bravely and in helping
Britain, helped India gain Independence and showed the rulers of the time, Indians need no
help in managing their own Army. This was recognised in the victory march in 1918 when
the Indian Army proudly marched in Trafalgar square in London amidst huge cheers from the
local people and made India Proud and ready for Independence.
Murali R
“A nation which can produce men like Balbhadra Singh Negi, must have a
Battalion of their own” (Ek jaati jo Balbhadra Singh Negi sarikhe purushon ko
paida karti hai, use apni ek battalion awashya milni chahiye) 2. The words of
India’s Jangi Laat Lord Roberts are attributed to that man who was born in 1829 in
Pauri Garhwal, Patti Aswalsyun, village Haida Kholi.
3
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
The Indian Army during World War I is sometimes called the British Indian Army. But it
gradually went into a transition from the British Indian Army to the truly Indian Army it has
become. Its sister branches have not held the repute the Indian Army has. It contributed a
number of divisions and independent brigades to the European, Mediterranean and the
Middle east theatres of war in World War I.
One million Indian troops served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another 67,000 were
wounded. In total 74,187 Indian soldiers died during the war.
The Indian Army had undergone major reforms in 1903, after Kitchener was
appointed Commander-in-Chief, India. He instituted the large–scale reforms, including
merging the three armies of Delhi, Calcutta and Madras. He unified the force, made it more
representative of all the population and forming higher level formations in ten army divisions.
In World War I the Indian Army fought against the German Empire in German East
Africa and on the Western Front. At the First Battle of Ypres, Khudadad Khan became the
first Indian to be awarded a Victoria Cross which broke a tradition and reflected a recognition
of Indian Valour even in those times. Indian divisions were also sent to Egypt, Gallipoli and
nearly 700,000 served in Mesopotamia against the Brutal Turkish Ottoman Empire.
While some divisions were sent overseas others had to remain in India guarding the North
West Frontier and on internal security and training duties.
Lord Kitchener's reforms
Herbert Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India in 1902 and after five years, his
term of office was extended by a further two. He was initially supported by the viceroy but
later he disagreed and the viceroy had to retire because of the disagreement. He reformed the
Indian Army. The reforms were to make the Armed forces into only one Indian Army. The
three armies of the Presidencies were merged into a unified force. At the same time, the
regiments of the Princely states were being made available to be called upon for Imperial
Service and this was in preparation for the war impending. The British Army also continued
to supply units for service in India and made up most of the officers who transferred
themselves to the Indian Army, in addition to those of the Indian Army. The term ‗Army of
India‘ was instituted to refer to the overall command structure which included both the
British and Indian Army units. But this laid the foundation for a unified India and gave it a
4
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
military identity. The new formation for the Army of India was set at nine divisions, each
division with one cavalry and three infantry brigades. These nine divisions together with
three independent infantry brigades would serve in India. The Indian Army was also
responsible for supplying a division in Burma and a brigade in Aden if required.
To assist command and control of the new divisions, two field armies were formed. This
decision was opposed by the viceroy who wanted a piece of action in controlling the Army.
This weakening of the politically influential Viceroy post eventually led to a weak political
head who could easily be dictated by the \indian leaders of Independence. The two field
armies were called the Northern Army and the Southern Army.
The Northern Army had five divisions and three brigades and was responsible for the North
West Frontier to Bengal. The Southern Army, which had four divisions in India and two
formations outside the subcontinent, was responsible for Baluchistan to southern India. The
regiments and battalions of the new organization would be numbered in a single sequence
and the old titles of the Bombay, Madras and the Bengal Armies would be discontinued.
The new regiments and battalions, instead of remaining at their home base, could now all be
called upon to serve anywhere in the country. It gave an opportunity for Indians from various
places to mingle with each other. It helped the Indian leaders in fighting the caste and
religious system and made Indians more tolerant of each other and ready to take on the
British. A tour of duty on the North West Frontier would be an established posting.
One change that was not accepted was the formation of all-British or all-Indian brigades and
the system of having one British regiment or battalion in each brigade remained as part of a
defunct appendix serving no toher purpose but fuelling perceptions of discrimination.
5
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Indian cavalry from the Deccan Horseduring the Battle of Bazentin Ridge
Indian Army during World War I order of battle
In 1914, the Indian Army was the largest volunteer army in the world with a total strength of
240,000 men and by November 1918 it contained 548,311 men, being considered the
Imperial Strategic Reserve by the political masters though it was a tool used by the Indian
leader Gandhi who supported Indians to help Britain defeat Germany. It was regularly called
upon to deal with foreign incursions and raids on the North West Frontier from thr brutal
tribesmen who have been a bane on India for centuries. They also supported in providing
garrison forces for the British Empire in Egypt, Singapore and China.
This field force was divided into two armies: The Northern Army stretched from the NorthWest Frontier to Bengal with five divisions and three brigades under command and the
Southern Army which stretched from Baluchistan to southern India and it in turn had four
divisions under command and two formations outside the subcontinent. The two armies
contained
1. 39 cavalry regiments,
2. 138 infantry battalions (including 20 brave Gurkha batallions),
3. a joint cavalry-infantry unit the Corps of Guides,
4. three sapper regiments and
5. 12 mountain artillery batteries.
6
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
The nine divisions formed by these reforms each consisted of one cavalry and three infantry
brigades. The cavalry brigade had one British and two Indian regiments while the infantry
brigades consisted of one British and three Indian battalions.
There were differences between the battalions. Indian Army battalions were smaller than the
British battalions, consisting of 30 officers and 723 other ranks as compared to the British 29
officers and 977 other ranks. Indian battalions were often segregated, with companies of
different tribes, castes or religions.
Additional troops were attached to the headquarters of each division. They included
1. a cavalry regiment,
2. a pioneer battalion and
3. artillery provided by the British Royal Field Artillery.
Each division had about 13,000 men on strength, smaller than a British division in part due
to the smaller infantry battalions and smaller artillery forces. The Indian Army was also
weakened when 500 British officers on home leave, enough to officer 38 Indian battalions,
were posted to the new British divisions being formed for Kitchener's Army.
In addition to the regular Indian Army, the armies of the Princely States and regiments of the
Auxiliary Force formed of European volunteers could also be called upon to assist in an
emergency. The Princely puppet States formed the Imperial Service Brigades with their
fanciful association with royalities. In 1914, they had 22,613 men in 20 cavalry regiments
and 14 infantry battalions. By the end of the war 26,000 men had served overseas on Imperial
Service. The Auxiliary European force could field another 40,000 men in 11 regiments of
horse and 42 volunteer infantry battalions. Also available were the Frontier Militia and the
Military Police which could field 34,000 men between them. These formations reduced the
reliance on brutal untrained non professional looters who were used before to a gradual
introduction of the rule of law and order under which India started to see the day of light.
The field force headquarters was located in Delhi. The senior officer was called Commanderin-Chief for India India. He was assisted by a Chief of the General Staff, India. All the senior
command and staff positions in the Indian Army alternated between senior officers of the
British and Indian Armies but most were British and a few liked to be more Indian than
British. In 1914, when war started the Commander–in–Chief was General Sir Beauchamp
Duff of the Indian Army. The Chief of the General Staff was Lieutenant General Sir Percy
Lake of the British Army.
Each Indian battalion was staffed by 13 officers from the British Army in India and 17
officers from the Indian Army. These officers were usually expatriate British officers serving
under colonial Indian administration. However India never leaves people untouched and these
7
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
officers were more sympathetic to India. As the war intensified and officer casualties
mounted, the ability replace casualties with officers of British origin became extremely
difficult. In many cases the officer allotment to battalions was reduced accordingly. When it
became unsustainable did the foolish military leaders realise that they had no choice. In 1919
the first Officer Cadets of Indian descent permitted to be selected for officer training at
the Royal Military College.
The normal annual recruitment for the Indian army was 15,000 men, during the course of the
war over 800,000 men volunteered for the army. They did so not because of British requests
but in response to the call from Indian Leaders of Independence who asked them to help
Britain. More than 400,000 volunteered for non combatant roles. In total almost
1. 1.3 million men had volunteered for service by 1918. One million Indian troops
served overseas during the war,
2. 62,000 died and
3. another 67,000 were wounded.
4. In total, 74,187 Indian soldiers died in World War I.
Internal Security
Before World War I, the Indian Army was deployed maintaining internal security and
defending the North West Frontier against incursions from Afghanistan. These tasks did not
end with the declaration of war as India has fought along this frontier for generations. The
divisions deployed along the frontier were
1. 1st Peshawar Division,
2. 2nd Rawalpindi Division,
3. 4th Quetta Division.
4. The new war-formed division to serve in India was the 16th Indian Division formed
in 1916, it was alo stationed on the North West Frontier.
All these divisions were still in place and took part in the Third Afghan War at the end of
World War I.
In supporting the war effort, India was left vulnerable to hostile action from Afghanistan.
A Turkish-German mission arrived in Kabul in October 1915, with obvious strategic purpose
of destabilising the region and keeping the local armies pinned down locally. Habibullah
Khan had already made an agreement with Britain and as a true Pathan he abided by his
treaty obligations and maintained Afghanistan's neutrality. This was difficult, in the face of
internal opposition from factions keen to side with the Ottoman Sultan.
Despite this, localised actions along the frontier still took place with rebels and included
8
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
1. Tochi (1914–15), Kalat Operations (1915–16),
2. Mohmands, Bunerwals and Swatis
3. Mohmand Blockade(1916–17),
4. Operations against the Mahsuds (1917) and
5. Operations against the Marri and Khetran tribes (1918).[22]
The Operations in the Tochi (28 November 1914–27 March 1915) were carried out by
Indian Army during World War I on the North West Frontier. The Tochi river flows East
from the tribal territories, through North Waziristan, to join the Kurram and the Indus rivers.
On the 28 and 29 November a raid by 2,000 tribesmen from Khost was defeated by the North
Waziristan Militia near Miranshah, on the Tochi. The next January the militia again defeated
a raid by tribesmen which had attacked Spina Khaisora. On the 25–26th March a force of
over 7,000 tribesmen, threatened Miranshah, but was defeated by the Bannu Brigade together
with the local militia.
The Operations against the Mohmands, Bunerwals and Swatis were carried out by the
Indian Army during World War I. The first operation began at the start of 1915, with a raid
by the Mohmand tribe near the Shabkadr Fort in Peshawar. In April operations continued
against the Mohmands when 2,000 tribesmen attacked the troops of the 1st (Peshawar)
Division and were defeated near Hafiz Kor.
The Operations against all three tribes (Mohmands, Bunerwals and Swatis) lasted between 17
August–28 October. These three tribes inhabit the northern half of the Peshawar district.
Fighting began with the defeat of about 3,500 Bunerwals near Rustam on the 17 August, and
ended with the rout of 3,000 Bajauris near the village of Wuch north of Chakdara. Another
six small engagements were fought; the most important was on 5 September at Hafiz Kor,
when 10,000 tribesmen were defeated
Captain Eustace Jotham
It was during these operations when Captain Eustace Jotham was awarded the Victoria Cross.
For most conspicuous bravery on 7th January, 1915, at Spina Khaisora (Tochi Valley).
9
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
During operations against the Khostwal tribesmen, Captain Jotham, who was commanding a
party of about a dozen of the North Waziristan Militia, was attacked in a nullah and almost
surrounded by an overwhelming force of some 1,500 tribesmen. He gave the order to retire,
and could have himself escaped, but most gallantly sacrificed his own life by attempting to
effect the rescue of one of his men who had lost his horse.
—The London Gazette, 23 July 1915[2]
He was buried in the Miranshah Cemetery, North Waziristan, and is commemorated on the
Delhi Memorial (India Gate)
On the North East Frontier between India and Burma punitive actions were carried out
against the Kachins tribes between December 1914–February 1915, by the Burma Military
Police supported by the 1/7th Gurkha Rifles and the 64th Pioneers. Between November
1917–March 1919, operations were carried out against the Kuki tribes by auxiliary units of
the Assam Rifles and the Burma Military Police.
The other divisions remaining in India at first on internal security and then as training
divisions were the 5th Division, the 8th Lucknow Division and the 9th Secunderabad division.
Over the course of the war these divisions lost brigades to other formations on active service
in the war to replenish the lost men.
1. The 5th Division lost the 5th Cavalry Brigade to the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division.
2. The 8th Lucknow Division lost the 8th Lucknow Cavalry Brigade to the 1st Indian
Cavalry Division and the
3. 22nd Lucknow Infantry Brigade to the 11th Indian Division.
4. The 9th Secundarabad Division lost the 9th Secunderabad Cavalry Brigade to the 2nd
Indian Cavalry Division and the
5. 27th Banglore Brigade which was sent to British East Africa.
6. The other pre war units the Burma Division, remained in Burma throughout the war
on internal security duties,
7. It was the same for the Aden brigade remained in Aden.
Indian Army entry into the war
Unlike the current wars for oil even in 1901 oil had been discovered in commercial quantities
at Masjid-e-Suleiman at the head of the Persian Gulf. As expected the British were
10
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
capitalising on it when other jealous parties wanted to take it. At the start of the war in 1914,
the privately owned Anglo-Persian joint Oil Company which owned the concessions for these
fields was about to be bought by the British Government. The government stated that it
wanted primarily to fuel the British Fleet, but as is usual in these cases it would not have
needed more imagination to wonder what they wanted to use it for.
With modern spying and intelligence it soon became clear that the Ottoman Turkish
Army was being mobilised to oppose this. In August the Indian Government was instructed
to prepare contingency back up plans to protect these strategic assets if they were to be
attacked. The plans predicted that if the Turkish Army came out in support of the Germans,
the Indian Army was to act to secure the oilfields and occupy them.
As a contingency, the Indian Expeditionary Force D under command of Lieutenant–General
Sir Arthur Barrett sailed from Bombay on 16 October 1914 for Bahrain. They, together with
Expeditionary Force A who had been hurriedly sent to Europe at the end of September in
response to a request from the Imperial General Staff for men to support the war effort
became the first Indian army staff committed to war outside of India.
Independent brigades
In addition to the permanent divisions, the Indian Army under the Commander had the
authority to form a number of independent brigades- the first signs of autonomy for the
Indian commanders who were no longer under the viceroy‘s grasp.
As part of the Southern Army the Aden Brigade was stationed in the land of Aden
Protectorate on the strategically very important naval route from Europe to India. The Bannu
Brigade, the Derajat Brigade and the Kohat Brigade were all part of the Northern Army and
they were deployed along the North West Frontier.
On 12 May 1918, the Bannu and Derajat brigades were designated as the Waziristan Field
Force under the command General G W Baynon. The South Persia Brigade was formed in
1915 at the start of the Persian Campaign to protect the Anglo–Persian oil installations in
south Persia and the Persian Gulf. These independant brigades were used to undermine the
resistance to put the Indian Army forces in the war by the Indian leaders of Independence and
as a way of denying the need for the Indian Army to save Britain from defeat.
Expeditionary Forces
The Indian Army formed and dispatched seven expeditionary forces overseas during World
War I to support the British resistance to world war II. They fought bravely in the unfamiliar
cold surroundings of the European weather and suffered a lot of casualties.
11
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Indian Expeditionary Force A
2nd Rajput Light Infantry in action in Flanders, during the winter of 1914–15
On the outbreak of war the Indian Army had 150,000 trained men and the Indian Government
offered the services of two cavalry and two infantry divisions for service overseas. The force
known as Indian Expeditionary Force A was under the command of General Sir James
Willcocks. Force A was attached to the British Expeditionary Force and the four divisions
were formed into two army corps: an infantry Indian Corps and the Indian Cavalry
Corps. Upon arrival in Marseillesin France on 30 September 1914, only six weeks after the
declaration of war, they were moved to the Ypres Salient and took part in the Battle of La
Bassée in October 1914. The feeble cowardly French had been useless in defending
themselves and needed support from Britain. In March 1915, the 7th Meerut Division was
chosen to lead the assault in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle with no training in this terrain nor
equipment to defend themselves.
1. The Expeditionary Force was hampered by a lack of familiarity with new equipment.
2. They were only being issued Lee Enfield rifles on their arrival in France.
3. They had almost no artillery and relied on support from their neighbouring Well
resourced British corps when in the front line.
4. They were not accustomed to the European continental weather and
12
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
5. Were poorly equipped to resist the cold, leading to low morale
6. Further compounded by the reserve system, whereby reinforcements were drafted in
from any regiment and had no affiliation to their new units.
7. Officer casualties were even more of a handicap, as replacements were unfamiliar
with the Indian Army and could not speak the language.
The infantry divisions were finally withdrawn to Egypt in October 1915, when they were
replaced by the new British divisions of Kitchener's Army.
Indian Cavalry on the Western front 1914
With the withdrawal of the infantry divisions, the only Indian Army units on the Western
Front were the two cavalry divisions. In November 1916, the two Indian cavalry divisions
were renumbered from 1st and 2nd to the 4th and 5th Cavalry Divisions. When serving
alongside British cavalry divisions they were held behind the front line awaiting the hoped
for breakthrough. At times during the war they served in the trenches as infantry, each
cavalry brigade when dismounted formed a dismounted regiment. This meant that when the
divisions went into the front line, they could only cover a brigade area.[35] Before being
themselves withdrawn to Egypt in March 1918, they took part in the Battle of the Somme,
13
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
the Battle of Bazentin, the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, the advance to the Hindenburg
Line and finally the Battle of Cambrai.[33]
Of the 130,000 Indians who served in France and Belgium, almost 9,000 died.
Indian Expeditionary Force B: East African Campaign (World War I)
In 1914, the Governor of British East Africa requested assistance to deal with the German
invasion in German East Africa where the British alone could not handle the Germans. The
problem necessitated a request to the India Office. Two forceswere sent to aid the British in
their faltering campaign. These included a large force comprising Indian Expeditionary
Force B
1. 27th Banglore Brigade
2. 9th Secunderabad Division
3. Imperial Service Infantry Brigade,
4. A pioneer battalion,
5. A mountain artillery battery and
6. Engineers from India where technological training was gaining ground
These forces were sent to Tanganyika with the task of invading German East Africa which
they had occupied after defeating the British Forces. The force was under the command of
Major General Arthur Aitken. It landed at Tanga on the 2–3 November 1914. In the
following Battle of Tanga, Aitkens' 8,000 men were badly beaten by the 1,000 men under
their German commander Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck. The force re–embarked on
5 November 1914, having suffered 817 casualties and the loss of several hundred rifles,
16 machine guns and 600,000 rounds of ammunition.
14
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Indian Expeditionary Force C
Indian Army 10 pounder Mountain Gun crew in action, East Africa.
Indian Expeditionary Force C was the second force assembled for service in British East
Africa in 1914 and the third force to serve outside India. This force was formed from
the Imperial Service Infantry Brigade of five infantry battalions and consisted of the
1. Indian Army's 29th Punjabis, together with battalions from the Princely states
of Jind, Bharatpur, Kapurthala and Rampur,
2. 2. A volunteer 15 pounder artillery battery,
3. 22nd Derajat Mountain Battery from the Frontier Force)
4. Volunteer maxim gun battery and
5. Field Ambulance.
It was planned that the force was to be primarily used to guard the railway to Uganda and to
support the King's African Rifles in communications protection duties. After arriving
in Mombasa, Force C was broken up and its units subsequently served separately. They were
involved in the Battle of Kilimanjaro. In October 1914. Force C with 4,000 men gathered
near the border of British and German East Africa, commanded by Brigadier General J. M.
Stewart. Flawed intelligence reports estimated the German military presence in the region at
200 men; however, there were 600 Askaris in three companies in addition to German colonial
volunteers consisting of 86 young Germans on horseback. On 3 November 1914, some
1,500 Punjabis of the British force advanced up the slope at night near Longido and were
caught in the crossfire of a strong German defensive position as they advanced in the
morning fog. The large force of Indian infantry effectively resisted counter attacks, however,
15
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
during the day the British attackers made no headway and suffered substantial casualties. A
German mounted patrol ambushed a supply column and roughly 100 mules carrying water
for the troops were stampeded away by the Germans. The British officers, with their now
widely scattered troops, waited until darkness and having determined their situation to be
untenable, withdrew down the mountain and marched back to British East Africa having
accomplished nothing.
Indian Expeditionary Force D: Mesopotamian campaign
Indian troops manning a QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss gun mounted in a railway wagon on the
military railway between Basra and Nasiriya in Iraq.
The largest Indian Army force to serve abroad was the Indian Expeditionary Force D
in Mesopotamia, under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir John Nixon. The first unit
sent in November 1914, was the 6th Poona Division. Their task was in guarding British oil
installations in and around Basra. As part of the Mesopotamian campaign they served under
the command of Major General Barrett and then under Major General Townshend. They had
a string of early successes. However the campaign was delivered a setback at the Battle of
Ctesiphon in November 1915 due to Logistical constraints. Following this engagement, the
Poona Division withdrew back to Kut, where Townshend made the bad decision to hold the
city and the Siege of Kut began.
Between January and March 1916, Townshend launched several attacks in an attempt to lift
the siege. In sequence, the attacks took place at the
1. Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad,
2. Battle of the Wadi,
3. Battle of Hanna,
16
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
4. Battle of Dujaila Redoubt.
An emaciated Indian army soldier who survived the Siege of Kut
The British generals who led all these 3 A, B and C expediary units were careless and had no
concern for the Indians. The Indian soldiers were discriminated, poorly supplied with poor
Majors who led them into danger. However they always stood their ground and fought
bravely. The attempts to break through the encirclement did not succeed and the cost was
heavy with both sides suffering high casualties. In February food, and hopes were running out
for Townshend. In Kut-al-Amara. Disease spread rapidly and could not be contained or cured
and Townshend surrendered in April 1916. In December 1916, the 3rd and 7th Divisions
arrived from the Western Front.
In 1917, the British force, under Frederick Stanley Maude, which now included one cavalry
and seven infantry divisions from the Indian Army, in the III Corps (India) advanced
towards Bagdhad. It had been capturd by the Turks in March. The advance continued in
1918, and after the Battle of Sharqat in October, the Turkish forces surrendered. They were
forced to sign the Armistice of Mudros.
17
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
The Mesopotamian campaign was largely an Indian Army campaign as the only British
formations involved were the 13th Western Division and British battalions assigned to Indian
brigades. In the campaign, 11,012 were killed, 3,985 died of wounds, 12,678 died of disease,
13,492 were either missing or prisoners (including the 9,000 prisoners from Kut), and
51,836 were wounded.
Indian Expeditionary Force E: Sinai and Palestine Campaign and Battle of Megiddo (1918)
Indian Expeditionary Force E consisted of
1. 4th Cavalry Division and
2. 5th Cavalry Division) transferred from France in 1918, for service in Palestine
3. The Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade, a unit formed by three regiments
of Lancers from the princely states of Mysore Hyderabad and Jodhpur.
4. The 3rd Lahore Division,
5. 7th Meerut Division were transferred from Mesopotamia.
6. 36 Indian army battalions were sent to reinforce the British 10th Irish Division, 53rd
Division, 60th Division and the 75th Divisions, which were reformed on Indian
division lines with one British and three Indian battalions per brigade.
18
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Indian Expeditionary Force F: First Suez Offensive
Indian Expeditionary Force F consisted of
1. 10th Indian Division
2. 11th Indian Division both of which were formed in Egypt in 1914, to defend the Suez
canal.
3. The regular 22nd Lucknow Infantry Brigade from the 8th Lucknow Division without
their British battalions for the first time
4. Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade.
The 10th Division was disbanded in 1916, and its brigades assigned to other formations to
cover losses. The 28th Brigade, was assigned to the 7th Meerut Division in 1915, the 29th
Brigade served as an independent brigade in the Gallipoli campaign until being disbanded in
June 1917. The 30th Brigade was first assigned to the 12th Indian Division in April 1915,
then transferred to the 6th Poona Division in September 1915.[48]
The 11th Division was disbanded earlier in 1915, but its brigades did not survive much
longer. The 31st Brigade joined the 10th Division in January 1916, but was disbanded a
month later. The 32nd Brigade was disbanded in January 1916. The 33rd Brigade was sent
to Bushire in Persia in August 1915, and then disbanded in December 1915.
Indian Expeditionary Force G: Gallipoli Campaign
In April 1915, Indian Expeditionary Force G was sent to reinforce the Gallipoli Campaign
which was faltering. It consisted of the 29th Brigade, serving away from its parent 10th
Indian Division. It Consisted of three battalions of Ghurkhas and one of Sikhs, the brigade
was dispatched from Egypt and attached to the British 29th Division which had been
decimated in the earlier battles.[50] Held in reserve for the Second Battle of Krithia they
played a major part in the Third Battle of Krithia. Advancing on the left the Brigade was
quickly halted except along the Aegean shore where the 1/6th Gurkha Riflesmanaged to
advance. The 14th Ferozepore Sikhs, advancing along the floor of Gully Ravine, were almost
wiped out, losing 380 men out of 514 and 80% of their officers. The Brigade was next
involved in the Battle of Gully Ravine and here the 2/10th Gurkha Rifles managed to advance
half a mile. The Brigade next took part in the Battle of Sari Bair, under cover of a naval
bombardment the 1/6th Gurkha Rifles assaulted and captured the hill, which was then shelled
by the Royal Navy. With their casualties mounting and under command of the battalion
medical officer they were forced to withdraw to their starting positions. [51] With the failure of
the assault at Sari Bair the brigade was withdrawn to Egypt. Over the duration of the
campaign the 29th Brigade had suffered 1,358 dead and 3,421 wounded.[52]
19
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
[edit]Other operations
[edit]Siege of Tsingtao
Main article: Siege of Tsingtao
One Indian Army battalion that was part of the Garrison of Tianjin in China, the 36th
Sikhs took part in the Siege of Tsingtao. Tsingao was a German controlled port in
China.[53] The British Government and the other Allied European powers were concerned
about Japanese intentions in the region and decided to send a small symbolic British
contingent from Tianjin in an effort to allay their fears. The 1,500 man contingent was
commanded by Brigadier-General Nathaniel Walter Barnardiston and consisted of 1,000
soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers who were later followed by 500 soldiers
of the 36th Sikhs.[53] The Japanese led force laid siege to the port between 31 October–7
November 1914.[14][53] At the end of the siege, Japanese army casualties numbered 236 killed
and 1,282 wounded; the British / Indians had 12 killed and 53 wounded. The German
defenders suffered 199 dead and 504 wounded.[54]
[edit]1915 Singapore Mutiny
Main article: 1915 Singapore Mutiny
The 1915, Singapore mutiny was a mutiny by 850 sepoys from the 5th Light Infantry against
the British in Singapore during the War, part of the 1915 Ghadar Conspiracy. The 5th Light
Infantry had arrived in Singapore from Madras in October 1914. They had been sent to
replace the Yorkshire Light Infantry, which had been ordered to France.[55] The 5th Light
Infantry, enlisted men who were mainly of Punjabi Muslims, their morale was constantly
low, being effected by poor communication, slack discipline and a weak leadership. [56] The
regiment had been stationed to guard the prisoners from the German ship, SMS
Emden.[56] They had been expecting to leave for Hong Kong by 16 February 1915, however
rumours started that they were going to fight against fellow Muslims from the Ottoman
Empire. German prisoner Oberleutenant Lauterbach apparently fanned the rumours, and
encouraged the troops to mutiny against their British commanders. Sepoy Ismail
Khan signalled the start of the mutiny firing a single shot. Officers at the Tanglin barracks
were massacred and an estimated 800 mutineers roamed the streets, killing any Europeans
they came across. The mutiny continued for ten days and was suppressed. Men from
the Singapore Volunteer Artillery, additional British units, and assistance from the Sultan of
Johor and other allies helped. Totally 36 mutineers were executed, and 77 officers were
transported with another 12 imprisoned.
20
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Victoria Cross recipients
Indian soldiers had not been not eligible for the Victoria Cross until 1911. They only
received the Indian Order of Merit, an older decoration originally set up in the days of East
India Company rule in India.
Khudadad Khan
The honour of being the first Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC) in any conflict went
to Khudadad Khan, 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis. On 31 October, 1914,
at Hollebeke, Belgium, the British Officer in charge of the detachment having been wounded,
and the other gun put out of action by a shell, Sepoy Khudadad, though himself wounded,
remained working his gun until all the other five men of the gun detachment had been killed.
Khan was born 20 October 1888 in the village of Dab in Chakwal District (then a tehsil
of Jhelum District) of the Punjab Province, British India (now Pakistan). He belonged to the
famous Mair-Minhas, Rajput tribe of Punjab. Khan was a Sepoy in the 129th Duke of
21
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Connaught's Own Baluchis, British Indian Army. His Victoria Cross is on display at his
ancestral house in Village Dab, Chakwal in Pakistan. He was left by the enemy for dead, but
later managed to crawl away and rejoin his unit. Khan later achieved the rank of subedar.
Darwan Singh Negi
NAIK DARWAN SINGH NEGI GARHWAL RIFLES LEADING ROUND THE TRAVERSE AT FESTUBERT FRANCE ATTACKING
THE GERMANS NOVEMBER 1914 AND WINS THE VC
He was with 39th Garhwal Rifles. (November 1881- 24 June 1950) He was among the
earliest Indian recipients of the Victoria Cross. He was 33 years old, and a Naik in the 1st
Battalion, 39th Garhwal Rifles, British Indian Army during the First World War when the
following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC, the citation was published in a
supplement to the London Gazette of 4 December 1914 (dated 7 December 1914), and read:
War Office, 7th December, 1914.
22
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
His Majesty the KING-EMPEROR has been graciously pleased to approve of the grant of the
Victoria Cross to the undermentioned soldiers of the Indian Army for conspicuous bravery
whilst serving with the Indian Army Corps, British Expeditionary Force: —
1909, Naik Darwan Sing Negi, 1st Battalion, 39th Garhwal Rifles.
For great gallantry on the night of the 23rd-24th November, near Festubert, France, when the
regiment was engaged in retaking and clearing the enemy out of our trenches, and, although
wounded in two places in the head, and also in the arm, being one of the first to push round
each successive traverse, in the face of severe fire from bombs and rifles at the closest range.
He later achieved the rank of Subedar. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Garhwal Rifles
Regimental Museum at Lansdowne, Uttarakhand.
As the second Indian soldier to receive the Victoria Cross, Naik (corporal) Negi distinguished
himself in the blood and horror of Flanders during the Great War. In the wet autumn months
of 1914, the British lines were crumbling. The desperate situation called for the mobilization
of the Indian brigades from India. The Garhwal Rifles were hastily rushed to the front. Near
the town of Festubert, the regiment was ordered to recover a part of the line. In this battle,
Naik Negi was the first to proceed around each traverse, discharging the enemy with dash and
daring. With blood streaming from his head and arms, he carried on the fight, despite fierce
machine gun resistance that strafed the attacking Allied troops. King-Emperor George V
himself honored Negi's heroism on the field of battle.
Mir Dast, 55th Coke's Rifles (Frontier Force)
On 26 April 1915, at Wieltje, Belgium, Jemadar Mir Dast led his platoon with great bravery.
During the attack, and afterwards he collected various parties of the regiment when no British
23
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
officers were left to command and kept them under his command until the retirement was
ordered. He also displayed great courage on the day when he helped to carry eight British and
Indian officers to safety while exposed to heavy fire. It says a lot about the British system of
the day when the Indian soldier was not trained for contingency of having his commanding
officer killed.
Kulbir Thapa: 3rd Gurkha Rifles.
On 25 September 1915 in Fauquissart, France, Rifleman Thapa, had been wounded. He found
a wounded soldier of The Leicestershire Regiment behind the first line German trench.
Although asked to save himself, the Gurkha stayed with the wounded man all day and night.
Early next day, in misty weather, he took him through the German wire left him in a place of
comparative safety, returned and brought in two wounded Gurkha's, one after the other. He
then went back, and, in broad daylight, fetched the British soldier, carrying him most of the
way under enemy fire.
24

Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Lala: 41st Dogras
On 21 January 1916, at El Orah, Mesopotamia, he found a British officer lying close to the
enemy. Lance-Naik Lala dragged him into a temporary shelter. After bandaging his wounds,
the lance-naik heard calls from his own adjutant who was lying wounded in the open. The
enemy was only 100 yards. Lala insisted on going to help. He stripped off his own clothing to
keep the wounded officer warm and stayed with him until just before dark when he returned
to the shelter. After dark he carried the first wounded officer to safety and then, returning
with a stretcher, carried back another.
25
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Shahamad Khan, 89th Punjabis
On 12–13 April 1916 near Beit Ayeesa, Mesopotamia, Naik Shahamad Khan was in charge
of a machine-gun covering a gap in our new line very near and within 150 yards of the
entrenched enemy. He withstood three counter-attacks and worked his gun single-handed
after all his men, except two belt-fillers, had become casualties. For three hours he held the
gap under very heavy fire and when his gun was knocked out, he and his associates, two beltfillers held their ground with rifles until ordered to withdraw. With help he then brought back
his gun, ammunition and one severely wounded man, and finally all remaining arms and
equipment.
Gobind Singh, 28th Light Cavalry
On the night of 30 November and 1 December 1917, to the east of Pozières in France, LanceDafadar Gobind Singh volunteered three times to carry messages between the regiment and
brigade headquarters, a distance of 2.4 km over open ground which was under heavy fire
from the enemy. He succeeded each time in delivering the message. On each occasion his
horse was shot and he finished the journey on foot.
Karanbahadur Rana, 3rd Gurkha Rifles
On 10 April 1918, at El Kefr, Egypt, during an attack, Rifleman Karanbahadur Rana and a
few other men crept slowly forward with a Lewis gun. They came under intense fire to
engage an enemy machine-gun. No. 1 of the Lewis gun team opened fire but was shot almost
immediately. Therefore the rifleman pushed the dead man off the gun, opened fire, knocked
out the enemy gun crew and then silenced the fire of the enemy bombers and riflemen in
front of him. During the remainder of the day he did magnificent work and finally assisted
with covering fire in the withdrawal, until the enemy were close on him.
Badlu Singh, 14th Murray's Jat Lancers
On 2 September 1918 on the west bank of the River Jordan in Palestine, his squadron was
charging a strong enemy position. Ressaidar Badlu Singh realised that heavy casualties were
being inflicted from a small hill occupied by machine-guns and 20 infantry. Without any
hesitation or fear he collected six other volunteer ranks and with entire disregard of danger he
charged and captured the position. He was mortally wounded on the very top of the hill when
capturing one of the machine-guns single handed. But all the guns and infantry had
surrendered to him before he died.
26
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Aftermath the World War I
For further information, see World War I and its aftermath and List of regiments of
the Indian Army (1922)
5th Royal Gurkha Rifles North West Frontier 1923
In 1919, the Indian Army could call upon 491,000 men. But there was a shortage of
experienced officers who could out do the local talent available in abundance. Most of
the officers had been killed or wounded in the war. In 1921 after the war, the Indian
government started a review of their military requirements with the protection of the
North West Frontier and internal security being their priority. The Indian leaders made it
clear that they needed no army to defeat the British in their very good political game.
By 1925, the Army in India had been reduced to 197,000 troops, 140,000 of them
Indian. Battalions were now allocated one of three roles and more modernised:
1. The field army of four infantry divisions and five cavalry brigades;
2. covering troops, 12 infantry brigades and supporting arms to act as a reserve force in
case of invasion;
3. Internal security troops, 43 infantry battalions to aid the civil power and support the
field army when required.
27
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
The number of cavalry regiments was reduced from 39 to 21. The infantry regiments were
converted into 20 large regiments with four or five battalions in each regiment and a training
battalion, always numbered the 10th, also included were ten Gurkha regiments. Nine single
battalion regiments were disbanded by 1922. Two of the large regiments were later
disbanded, the 3rd Madras Regiment for economic reasons, and the 20th Burma Rifles when
Burma ceased to be governed by India.
The end of World War I did not see the end of fighting for the Indian Army. They were
involved in the
1. Third Afghan War in 1919,
2. Waziristan Campaign between 1919–1920
3. Operations against the Afridisbetween 1930–1931,
4. Mohmands in 1933 and again in 1935
5. Waziristan again between 1936–1939.
The India Gate in New Delhi, built in 1931, commemorates the Indian soldiers who lost
their lives fighting in World War I.
The First World war
The First World War (1914-1918) came as no surprise to European stale statesmen, since
Germany had been expanding her Navy since the 1890s in hopes of gaining an Empire and a
world influence to rival that of the British. The British industrial revolution was waning and
Germany was awakening. The jealous Keiser‘s did not have much respect for other people
and felt they could expand and challenge England. They underestimated the might of the
natives. Planned alliances made in the first decade of the 20th century ensured that any state
declaring war on any other European country would drag all Europe into the conflict.
The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was assassinated in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914.
Within a month opportunistic Austria had declared war on Serbia, and the nations of Europe
lined up for war. Germany and Austro-Hungary opposed the Allies: Britain declared war on
behalf of all the British Empire. France, Russia and a number of smaller allies whop had
their own self serving interests followed..
The Germans attacked Belgium and France, but their rapid advance in the first days of the
28
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
war was halted by lack of supplies and transport and their overestimated abilities. The troops
on both sides dug trenches in the Flanders region of north-east France and Belgium to
stabilise their front lines and to get themselves below ground level out of the way of the
bullets and shells. There was a four long years of stalemate in Flanders, during which
generals on both sides planned attacks and counterattacks over the same few bloodsoaked
miles of muddy, shell-torn ground. Each year claimed hundreds of thousands of men who
died.
The French places which don‘t mean a thing for Indian‘s were used to bring in untrained and
unaccustomed Indian soldiers who had sever casualties. The Marne and the First Battle of
Ypres in 1914, Neuve Chapelle and Second Ypres in 1915, the appalling slaughter at
Verdun and on the Somme in 1916, Arras and Third Ypres in 1917, and Second Marne in
1918 are all examples until the war was reversed.
The brutality of human nature worsened with the advent of gas warfare. On the Eastern
Front the Germans and Russians clashed ferociously. In the Middle East the ruthless
barbaric Turks of the Ottoman Empire fought the Allies mainly with Indian troops.
By November 1918, when the German alliance finally surrendered, 16 million people died,
21 million had been wounded and France had an opportunity to humiliate Germany enough
to lead to the second world war. No war in history had been comparable in scale, expense,
devastation, suffering and far-reaching consequences. The cultural and political face of
Europe was changed and like all great kingdoms they had burnt themselves out with life of
new countries being independant being born because of the weakened Empires.
The Victoria Cross Registers
The Victoria Cross was instituted by a Royal Warrant on 29 January
1856. It was to award both officers and non-commissioned ranks of the
Royal Navy and the Army who, in the presence of the enemy 'shall have
performed some signal act of valour...'.
It was Simple in design and the cross was to be made from the bronze
cannon captured during the Crimean War (1854 - 1856). Subsequently it
has been awarded to members of the other armed forces. The Victoria
29
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Cross is still Britain's premier award for gallantry in face of the enemy and is worn before
all other orders, decorations and medals.The first investiture was made on the 26th June
1857 in Hyde Park, London, where 62 recipients received their VCs personally from the
Queen.
Awards of the Victoria Cross made during the Indian Mutiny and for other small wars and
conflicts during the 19th Century, were issued only to British officers and servicemen
employed by the East India Company and later the Indian Army.
The bravery and increasing recognition of Indian soldiers and military was recognised and a
Royal Warrant was signed by King George V on the 21st October 1911 that eligibility for the
Victoria Cross was extended to the native officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the
Indian Army. The first Indian recipient, Sepoy Khudadad Khan, earned his VC several
thousand miles from India in the battlefields of Belgium in 1914.
As is prevalent only one Indian fighting in India was ever given a Victoria cross Major
Ishant singh
True courage is something that many aspire to but few achieve. Victoria Cross Heroes is the
story of ordinary people who performed extraordinary acts of bravery. Those who receive the
VC, for valour as the inscription states so simply and so powerfully, are real heroes who more
often that not sacrificed their lives in order that others survived. This however is a small
proportion of our gallant forces who gained recognition seeking selfless bravery not
hampered by the discrimination prevalent among their leaders and in seeking the greater truth
that ‗for a man his professional duty comes first‘.
30
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Victoria Cross (V.C.)
(Level 1 Gallantry Award)
This is the highest award for gallantry. It is awarded for an act of outstanding courage or
devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy. All ranks were, and still are, eligible when
serving with the British and Commonwealth armed forces.
The Royal Warrant for the award of the Victoria Cross has essentially remained the same
since the inception of the medal to the present day. It was, and still is, awarded ―for most
conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme
devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy.‖ (1)
The Victoria Cross can also be awarded to civilians if they were under military command at
the time of the act of bravery.
31
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
The George Cross (G.C.) is an equivalent award but is made to an individual, military or
civilian, who has carried out an act of special courage when not in the face of the enemy.
Origin of the Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross was instituted on 29th January 1856.
At the time of the Crimean War (1853-1856) the British military - which consisted of the
Royal Navy and the Army did not have a gallantry medal open to all ranks and officers were
the only ones recognised. As is usual monarchy and lords and aristocracy was slowly
disintegrating ad the leading common mans house led the way in Britain. The idea was put
forward to the British House of Commons by a Member of Parliament and ex-Royal Navy
man, Captain T Scobell. It was also suggested as an idea by the then Secretary of State, the
Duke of Newcastle.
His successor, Lord Panmure, carried on with the correspondence about the new gallantry
medal already established with Prince Albert. Queen Victoria was very interested in the
medal, especially as it was to be named after her. She herself preferred the name of ―Victoria
Cross‖ to the suggested title of ―The Military Order of Victoria‖. Victoria involved herself by
making many suggestions about the design and the metal it could be made of. She also was
the person who suggested that the design should bear the words ―For Valour‖ instead of the
suggested words ―For the Brave‖ giving a royalistic tinge to the nomenclature. The word
―valour‖ extended a special significance to an act of extra special bravery and courage instead
of just bravery, which might be considered to be more than an act of ―bravery‖.
Queen Victoria did not like the original copper cross which was submitted for approval. A
suggestion was made to create the medal from the cascabels (the knob and the neck of a
breech-loading cannon) of two Russian cannons captured in the Crimea. An examination in a
recent study shows the two 18 pounder cannons which were provided for creating the
Victoria Cross medals were Chinese in origin and not Russian.
One theory is that the guns were captured by the Russians from the Chinese armies and used
against the British Army in the battle at Sevastopol. It has also possible that the metal used
for the Victoria Crosses cast during the First World War did not come from these two original
cannons, but from other Chinese guns captured in the Boxer Rebellion (1898-1901).
32
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
There is approximately 10kg of remaining metal from the two cascabels of the original
cannons reputed to have come from Sevastopol. This is stored in a very secure vault and can
only be taken out of the vault under an armed guard. The same jewellers, Hancocks of
London, has been responsible for casting the Victoria Cross medal from the first one to the
present day and has its reputation attached to it.
The Crimson Medal Ribbon
Until April 1918 the medal ribbon issued with the Victoria Cross medal was red (or crimson)
for Army recipients and blue for Navy recipients. When the third unit The Royal Air Force
was formed on 1st April 1918 it was decided that recipients from all of the three Services
should wear the crimson ribbon with the medal. From 22nd May 1920 King George V stated
in a warrant that all recipients would wear the crimson ribbon. Recipients in the Royal Navy
who had already received the blue ribbon were also to wear the crimson ribbon from then on.
Awards of the Victoria Cross in WW1
There were 615 Victoria Crosses awarded during the First World War. WW1 awards of the
Victoria Cross were:

415 awarded to the British Army

51 to the Navy and Marines

9 to the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force

140 to the Dominion Forces.
Victoria Cross and Bar
Prior to April 1917, if a second award of a Victoria Cross (a Bar) was made to one individual,
they were to wear a miniature cross on the ribbon strip to indicate the second award. In an
Army Order of April 1917 this was changed so that a miniature cross would be worn on the
ribbon strip to indicate the award of the first VC, with another miniature for the second VC
award (the Bar). If further awards were issued to that same individual then additional
miniature crosses would be worn on the ribbon strip as appropriate. To date there have been
no awards of more than two Victoria Crosses to one individual.
33
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
In the First World War two Victoria Cross recipients were recommended for a second award
(a Bar). They were both officers serving with the R.A.M.C.: Lieutenant A Martin-Leake and
Captain N G Chavasse, MC.
Recommendation for a Victoria Cross
A regimental officer makes the recommendation and it should be supported by three
witnesses. The reigning king or queen will be presented with the recommendation and he or
she will sign an approval.
In the event that a group of service personnel in a squadron, detachment or a ship's company
should be recommended as equally deserving of a recommendation for the award, a name is
drawn by ballot.
Posthumous Awards of the Victoria Cross
Originally the Royal Warrant for the award did not include the issue of the award
posthumously. Although this was not officially changed in the warrant until after the First
World War, a quarter of those recipients who were awarded the Victoria Cross during WW1
were killed as they carried out their ‗deed of valour‘.
The medal has been awarded 1,356 times to 1,353 individuals
India played a significant part in World War One. However, India‘s part in the war is
frequently overlooked as a result of the horrors experienced in trench warfare and by
Europe‘s tendency to home in on battles such as those fought at the Somme and Verdun,
which many assume only Europeans fought in.
34
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
When war broke out in 1914, India was in a state of growing political unrest. The Indian
National Congress had gone from being a group that simply discussed issues to a body that
was pushing for more self-government. Before the war started, the Germans had spent a great
deal of time and energy trying to stir up an anti-British movement in India. Many shared the
view that if Britain got involved in a crisis somewhere in the world, Indian separatists would
use this as an opportunity to advance their cause.
“The moment Britain gets into trouble
elsewhere, India, in her present
temper, would burst into a blaze of
rebellion.”
William Archer (author)
35
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
These fears were unfounded. When war was declared on August 4th, India rallied to the
cause. Those with influence within India believed that the cause of Indian independence
would best be served by helping out Britain in whatever capacity India could – including the
Indian National Congress. Offers of financial and military help were made from all over the
country. Hugely wealthy princes offered great sums of money, and even areas outside of
British India offered help – Nepal offered help and in total sent 100,000 Gurkhas and the
Dalai Lama in Tibet offered 1000 of his troops to the cause. Despite the pre-war fears of
unrest, Britain, in fact, could take many troops and most of her military equipment out of
India as fears of unrest subsided. Indian troops were ready for battle before most other troops
in the dominions.
Indian troops were on the Western Front by the winter of 1914 and fought at the first Battle
of Ypres. By the end of 1915, they had sustained many casualties. Along with the casualties
from sickness, the decision was taken to withdraw the Indian Corps from front line duty at
the end of 1915.
In total, 800,000 Indian troops fought in all the theatres of the war with 1½ million
volunteering to fight. They fought in most theatres of war including Gallipoli and North and
East Africa. In all 47,746 were classed as killed or missing with 65,000 wounded.
The Indian Corps won 13,000 medals for gallantry including 12 Victoria Crosses. Khudadad
Khan won the Corps first Victoria Cross.
Such was the cost of the war, that India‘s economy was pushed to near bankruptcy.
The Indian support given to Britain‘s cause surprised the establishment in Britain. ‗The
Times‘ wrote:
“The Indian empire has overwhelmed the
British nation by the completeness and
unanimity of its enthusiastic aid.”
For its endeavours, India expected to be rewarded with a major move towards independence
or at the least self-government. When it became obvious that this was not going to happen,
36
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
the mood in India became more militant. During the last phases of the war Mahatma
Ghandi said:
“Seek ye first the recruiting office, and
everything will be added unto you.”
The British government‘s post-war attitude quickly alienated Ghandi and was a great
stimulus for his independence movement.
In 1919, the Government of India Act was introduced.
This introduced a national parliament with two houses for India.
About 5 million of the wealthiest Indians were given the right to vote (a very
small percentage of the total population)
Within the provincial governments, ministers of education, health and
public works could now be Indian nationals
The act planned for a commission to be held in 1929, to see if India was
ready for more concessions/reforms.
However, the British controlled all central government and within the provincial
governments, the British kept control of the key posts of tax and law and order.
Many in India felt that they had been badly let down by the British government for their part
played in World War One. However, despite this feeling of being let down, India was to play
a significant part in World War Two.
37
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Top of page
Sepoy Khudadad Khan VC,
129th Battalion, Duke of
Connaught’s Own Baluchi
Regiment
Khudadad Khan was born in the Punjab (now in Pakistan) in 1887. His
family were Pathans who had moved to the Punjab from the North-West
Frontier between India and Afghanistan. He joined the army as a sepoy or
private soldier for the sake of regular pay and a chance of honour and
glory.
In October 1914, almost immediately after arriving in France, the 129th
Baluchis were among 20,000 Indian soldiers sent to the front line. Their
job was to help the exhausted and depleted soldiers of the British
Expeditionary Force (BEF) to prevent the advancing Germans from
capturing the vital ports of Boulogne in France and Nieuwpoort in
Belgium. If the Germans could manage to take Boulogne and Nieuwpoort,
they would choke off the BEF‘S supplies of food and ammunition, and the
Allies would lose the war.
38
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Troops of the 129th Baluchis man a trench during the First Battle of
Ypres, October 1914
© Imperial War Museum
The 129th Baluchis, with whom Khudadad Khan was serving as a
machine-gunner, faced the well-equipped German army in appalling
conditions - shallow waterlogged trenches in which to take cover, a lack
of hand grenades and barbed wire, and a dire shortage of soldiers to man
the defensive line. They were also outnumbered five to one. When the
Germans attacked on 30 October, most of the Baluchis were pushed back.
But Khudadad Khan‘s machine-gun team, along with one other, fought
on, preventing the Germans from making the final breakthrough. The
other gun was disabled by a shell, and eventually Khudadad Khan‘s own
team was over-run. All the gunners were killed by bullets or bayonets
except the badly wounded Khudadad Khan. He pretended to be dead until
the attackers had gone on - then, despite his wounds, he managed to make
his way back to his regiment.
Thanks to his bravery, and that of his fellow Baluchis, the Germans were
held up just long enough for Indian and British reinforcements to arrive.
They strengthened the line, and prevented the German army from
reaching the vital ports.
39
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Sepoy Khudadad Khan recovered from his wounds in an English hospital,
and three months later was decorated by King George V at Buckingham
Palace in London with the Victoria Cross, Britain‘s highest award ‗For
Valour‘. He was the first Indian to receive the award.
Khudadad Khan returned to India, and continued to serve in the Indian
Army. In 1971 he died at home in Pakistan, aged 84. Several of his
descendants now live in England.
Subedar Manta Singh: 2nd Sikh Royal Infantry
Top of page
Manta Singh was born in
the Punjab, northern
India. In 1907, as soon as
he left the village school,
he joined the 2nd Sikh
Royal Infantry. By August
1914, when the German
army invaded Belgium and
France, Manta held the
rank of Subedar, and his
regiment was part of the
Indian Expeditionary
Force sent to France.
In March 1915 the Allies attacked Neuve-Chapelle and broke through the
German front line. On the first day of the battle, British and Indian troops
captured the town. Then the Germans counter-attacked with 16,000
reinforcements. In three days‘ fighting, the British and Indian troops
suffered 13,000 casualties. The Allies‘ ammunition ran out, and the troops
had to retreat. 5,021 Indian soldiers - about 20 per cent of the Indian
40
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
contingent - were killed in heavy fighting, and Manta Singh was injured in
action after helping to save the life of an injured officer, Captain
Henderson. (In the Second World War, the sons of both of these men
served side by side and became lifelong friends.)
Manta Singh was sent back to England, to a hospital in Brighton. The
doctors told him that he would have to lose both his legs, as they had
become infected with gangrene. Manta refused to think about going back
to India with no legs - what use would he be to his family? Unfortunately,
he died from blood poisoning a few weeks later. He was cremated in a
ghat, according to Sikh beliefs.
In 1993 Manta Singh‘s son, Lt Col Assa Singh Johal, was part of a
delegation of the Undivided Indian Ex-Servicemen‘s Association that
visited the Indian war memorial at Neuve-Chapelle. Assa Singh said, "It
was a moving visit of great sentimental value to us. We were able to
remember and pay homage to the fallen in foreign lands."
Copyright: Imperial war museum
41
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Subadar MIR DAST
55th Coke's Rifles, att'd 57th Wilde's Rifles

Victoria Cross

Indian Order of Merit ( 2nd Class ) ( IOM )

Order of British India ( 2nd Class ) ( OBI )

India Medal ( 1895-1902 )

o
2 clasps:
o
"Punjab Frontier 1897-98"
o
"Waziristan 1901-02"
India General Service Medal ( 1908-35 )
o
1 clasp:
o
"North West Frontier 1908"

1914 - 15 Star

British War Medal ( 1914-20 )

Victory Medal ( 1914-19 )

King George VI Coronation Medal ( 1937 )
Medal entitlement of:
Subadar KHUDADAD KHAN
129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis

Victoria Cross

1914 Star - clasp "5th Aug-22nd Nov 1914"

British War Medal ( 1914-20 )

Victory Medal ( 1914-19 )

India General Service Medal ( 1908-35 )

o
1 clasp:
o
"Afghanistan NWF 1919"
General Service Medal ( 1918-62 )
o
1 clasp:
o
"Iraq"

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal ( 1935 )

King George VI Coronation Medal ( 1937 )

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal ( 1953 )
42
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Engraving on reverse of Victoria Cross:
4050 SEP. KHUDADAD KHAN
129TH. BALUCHIS
31.
OCT.
1914.
Naik DARWIN SING NEGI
1st Bn, 39th Garhwal Rifles

Victoria Cross

1914 Star - clasp "5th Aug-22nd Nov 1914"

British War Medal ( 1914-20 )

Victory Medal ( 1914-19 )

King George VI Coronation Medal ( 1937 )
Rifleman GOBAR SING NEGI
2nd Bn, 39th Garhwal Rifles

Victoria Cross

1914 - 15 Star

British War Medal ( 1914-20 )

Victory Medal ( 1914-19 )
Jemadar GOBIND SINGH
28th Light Cavalry
att'd 2nd Lancers ( Gardner's Horse )

Victoria Cross

1914 - 15 Star

British War Medal ( 1914-20 )

Victory Medal ( 1914-19 )

King George VI Coronation Medal ( 1937 )
43
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Havildar KULBIR THAPA
2nd Bn, 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles

Victoria Cross

1914 Star

British War Medal ( 1914-20 )

Victory Medal ( 1914-19 )

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal ( 1935 )

King George VI Coronation Medal ( 1937 )

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal ( 1953 )
Sepoy CHATTA SINGH
9th Bhopal Infantry

Victoria Cross

1914 - 15 Star

British War Medal ( 1914-20 )

Victory Medal ( 1914-19 )

King George VI Coronation Medal ( 1937 )

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal ( 1953 )
Lance Naik LALA
41st Dogras

Victoria Cross

1914 - 15 Star

British War Medal ( 1914-20 )

Victory Medal ( 1914-19 )

Cross of St George ( 1st Class ) ( Russia )
Naik SHAMAHAD KHAN
89th Punjabis

Victoria Cross

1914 - 15 Star

British War Medal ( 1914-20 )
44
Vidyarogya charity

Victory Medal ( 1914-19 )

Cross of St George ( 2nd Class ) ( Russia )
RLS publishing
Rifleman KARANBAHADUR RANA
2nd Bn, 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles

Victoria Cross

British War Medal ( 1914-20 )

Victory Medal ( 1914-19 )

India General Service Medal ( 1908-35 )
o
1 clasp:
o
"Waziristan 1919-21"

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal ( 1935 )

King George VI Coronation Medal ( 1937 )

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal ( 1953 )
Ressaidar BADLU SINGH
14th Murray's Jat Lancers
att'd 29th Lancers ( Deccan Horse )

Victoria Cross

British War Medal ( 1914-20 )

Victory Medal ( 1914-19 )
Medal entitlement of:
Captain ISHAR SINGH
28th Punjab Regiment, Indian Army

Victoria Cross

Order of British India ( 1st Class ) ( OBI )

1914 - 15 Star

British War Medal ( 1914-20 )

Victory Medal ( 1914-19 )

India General Service Medal ( 1908-35 )
o
2 clasps:
45
Vidyarogya charity
o
"Waziristan 1919-21"
o
"Waziristan 1921-24"
RLS publishing

1939 - 45 Star

Burma Star

War Medal ( 1939-45 )

India Service Medal ( 1939-45 )

Royal Victorian Medal ( Silver )

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal ( 1935 )

King George VI Coronation Medal ( 1937 )

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal ( 1953 )
Engraving on reverse of Victoria Cross:
NO. 1012 SEPOY ISHAR SINGH
28TH. PUNJABIS, INDIAN ARMY
10
APR.
1921
World War I and its aftermath
Main article: Indian Army during World War I
The 15th Sikh Regiment being given a heroes' welcome upon their arrival inMarseille, France
during World War I.
46
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
World War I proved to be a watershed in the imperial relationship between Britain and India.
1.4 million Indian and British soldiers of the British Indian Army took part in the war and
their participation had a wider cultural fallout: news of Indian soldiers fighting and dying
with British soldiers, and soldiers from dominions like Canada and Australia, travelled to
distant corners of the world both in newsprint and by the new medium of the radio. India‘s
international profile thereby rose and continued to rise during the 1920s. It was to lead,
among other things, to India, under its own name, becoming a founding member of
the League of Nations in 1920 and participating, under the name, "Les Indes Anglaises" (the
British Indies), in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. Back in India, especially among
the leaders of the Indian National Congress, it led to calls for greater self-government for
Indians.
In 1916, the moderate nationalists demonstrated new strength with the signing of
the Lucknow Pact and the founding of the Home Rule leagues. With the realisation, after the
disaster in the Mesopotamian campaign, that the war would likely last longer, the new
Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, cautioned that the Government of India needed to be more
responsive to Indian opinion. Towards the end of the year, after discussions with the
government in London, he suggested that the British demonstrate their good faith in light of
the Indian war role through a number of public actions. The actions he suggested included
awards of titles and honours to princes, granting of commissions in the army to Indians, and
removal of the much-reviled cotton excise duty. Most importantly, he suggested an
announcement of Britain's future plans for India and an indication of some concrete
steps. After more discussion, in August 1917, the new Liberal Secretary of State for
India, Edwin Montagu, announced the British aim of ―increasing association of Indians in
every branch of the administration, and the gradual development of self-governing
institutions, with a view to the progressive realisation of responsible government in India as
an integral part of the British Empire.‖ Although the plan envisioned limited self-government
at first only in the provinces – with India emphatically within the British Empire – it
represented the first British proposal for any form of representative government in a nonwhite colony.
Earlier, at the onset of World War I, the reassignment of most of the British army in India to
Europe and Mesopotamia] had led the previous Viceroy, Lord Harding, to worry about the
―risks involved in denuding India of troops.‖ Revolutionary violence had already been a
concern in British India, and outlines of collaboration with Germany were being identified by
47
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
British intelligence. Consequently in 1915, the Government of India passed the Defence of
India Act to strengthen its powers during what it saw was a time of increased vulnerability.
This act allowed it to intern politically dangerous dissidents without due process and added to
the power it already had – under the 1910 Press Act – to imprison journalists without trial and
to censor the press. Now, as constitutional reform began to be discussed in earnest, the British
began to consider how new moderate Indians could be brought into the fold of constitutional
politics and simultaneously, how the hand of established constitutionalists could be
strengthened. However, since the Government of India wanted to check the revolutionary
problem, and since its reform plan was devised during a time when extremist violence had
ebbed as a result of increased governmental control, it also began to consider how some of its
war-time powers could be extended into peace time.
Edwin Montagu, left, theSecretary of State for India, whose report led to theGovernment of
India Act of 1919, also known as the Montford Reforms or the Montagu-Chelmsford
Reforms
48
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Consequently in 1917, even as Edwin Montagu announced the new constitutional reforms, a
sedition committee chaired by a British judge, Mr. S. A. T. Rowlatt, was tasked with
investigating revolutionary conspiracies and the German and Bolshevik links to the violence
in India, with the unstated goal of extending the government's war-time powers. The Rowlatt
committee presented its report in July 1918 and identified three regions of conspiratorial
insurgency: Bengal, the Bombay presidency, and the Punjab. To combat subversive acts in
these regions, the committee recommended that the government use emergency powers akin
to its war-time authority. These powers included the ability to try cases of sedition by a panel
of three judges and without juries, exaction of securities from suspects, governmental
overseeing of residences of suspects, and the power for provincial governments to arrest and
detain suspects in short-term detention facilities and without trial.
With the end of World War I, there was also a change in the economic climate. By year‘s end
1919, 1.5 million Indians had served in the armed services in either combatant or noncombatant roles, and India had provided £146 million in revenue for the war. The increased
taxes coupled with disruptions in both domestic and international trade had the effect of
approximately doubling the index of overall prices in India between 1914 and
1920. Returning war veterans, especially in the Punjab, created a growing unemployment
crisismand post-war inflation led to food riots in Bombay, Madras, and Bengal provinces.
This situation was made only worse by the failure of the 1918-19 monsoon and by
profiteering and speculation. The global influenza epidemic and theBolshevik Revolution of
1917 added to the general jitters; the former among the population already experiencing
economic woes, and the latter among government officials, fearing a similar revolution in
India.
49
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
The Jallianwala Bagh couple of months after the April 1919 massacre, which killed about
1,516 people
To combat what it saw as a coming crisis, the government now drafted the Rowlatt
committee's recommendations into two Rowlatt Bills. Although the bills were authorised for
legislative consideration by Edwin Montagu, they were done so unwillingly, with the
accompanying declaration, ―I loathe the suggestion at first sight of preserving the Defence of
India Act in peace time to such an extent as Rowlatt and his friends think necessary.‖ In the
ensuing discussion and vote in the Imperial Legislative Council, all Indian members voiced
opposition to the bills. The Government of India was nevertheless able to use its "official
majority" to ensure passage of the bills early in 1919. However, what it passed, in deference
to the Indian opposition, was a lesser version of the first bill, which now allowed extrajudicial
powers, but for a period of exactly three years and for the prosecution solely of ―anarchical
and revolutionary movements‖, dropping entirely the second bill involving modification of
the Indian Penal Code. Even so, when it was passed the new Rowlatt Act aroused widespread
indignation throughout India, which culminated in the infamous Jallianwala Bagh
massacre and brought Mohandas Gandhi to the forefront of the nationalist movement.
50
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Meanwhile, Montagu and Chelmsford themselves finally presented their report in July 1918
after a long fact-finding trip through India the previous winter. After more discussion by the
government and parliament in Britain, and another tour by the Franchise and Functions
Committee for the purpose of identifying who among the Indian population could vote in
future elections, the Government of India Act of 1919 was passed in December 1919. The
new Act (also known as the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms) enlarged both the provincial
and Imperial legislative councils and repealed the Government of India‘s recourse to the
―official majority‖ in unfavorable votes. Although departments like defence, foreign affairs,
criminal law, communications and income tax were retained by the Viceroy and the central
government in New Delhi, other departments like public health, education, land-revenue and
local self-government were transferred to the provinces. The provinces themselves were now
to be administered under a new dyarchical system, whereby some areas like education,
agriculture, infrastructure development, and local self-government became the preserve of
Indian ministers and legislatures, and ultimately the Indian electorates, while others like
irrigation, land-revenue, police, prisons, and control of media remained within the purview of
the British governor and his executive council. The new Act also made it easier for Indians to
be admitted into the civil service and the army officer corps.
British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald to the right of Mohandas Gandhi at the Second
Round Table Conference in London, October 1931
51
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
A greater number of Indians were now enfranchised, although, for voting at the national
level, they constituted only 10% of the total adult male population, many of whom were still
illiterate. In the provincial legislatures, the British continued to exercise some control by
setting aside seats for special interests they considered cooperative or useful. In particular,
rural candidates, generally sympathetic to British rule and less confrontational, were assigned
more seats than their urban counterparts. Seats were also reserved for non-Brahmins,
landowners, businessmen, and college graduates. The principal of ―communal
representation‖, an integral part of the Minto-Morley reforms, and more recently of the
Congress-Muslim League Lucknow Pact, was reaffirmed, with seats being reserved
for Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, and domiciled Europeans, in both
provincial and Imperial legislative councils. According to the census of 1931, the number of
Europeans was 168,134. The Montagu-Chelmsford reforms offered Indians the most
significant opportunity yet for exercising legislative power, especially at the provincial level;
however, that opportunity was also restricted by the still limited number of eligible voters, by
the small budgets available to provincial legislatures, and by the presence of rural and special
interest seats that were seen as instruments of British control. Its scope was, however,
unsatisfactory to the Indian political leadership, famously expressed by Annie Beasant as
something "unworthy of England to offer and India to accept".
In 1935, after the Round Table Conferences, the British Parliament approved the Government
of India Act of 1935, which authorised the establishment of independent legislative
assemblies in all provinces of British India, the creation of a central government
incorporating both the British provinces and the princely states, and the protection of Muslim
minorities. At this time, it was also decided to separate Burma from British India in 1937, to
form a separate crown colony. The future Constitution of independent India would owe a
great deal to the text of this act. The act also provided for a bicameral national parliament
and an executive branch under the purview of the British government. Although the national
federation was never realised, nationwide elections for provincial assemblies were held in
1937. Despite initial hesitation, the Indian National Congress took part in the elections and
won victories in seven of the eleven provinces of British India, and Congress governments,
with wide powers, were formed in these provinces. In Britain, these victories were to later
turn the tide for the idea of Indian independence.
[edit]World War II
Main article: India in World War II
52
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
An Italian soldier surrenders to an Indian Jawan during the successful Allied campaign
of Operation Crusader
With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, declared war on
India‘s behalf without consulting Indian leaders, leading the Congress provincial ministries to
resign in protest. The Muslim League, in contrast, supported Britain in the war effort;
however, it now took the view that Muslims would be unfairly treated in an independent
India dominated by the Congress.
The British government—through its Cripps' mission—attempted to secure Indian
nationalists' cooperation in the war effort in exchange for independence afterwards;
however, the negotiations between them and the Congress broke down. Gandhi,
subsequently, launched the ―Quit India‖ movement in August 1942, demanding the
immediate withdrawal of the British from India or face nationwide civil disobedience. Along
with all other Congress leaders, Gandhi was immediately imprisoned, and the country erupted
in violent demonstrations led by students and later by peasant political groups, especially in
Eastern United Provinces, Bihar, and western Bengal. The large war-time British Army
presence in India led to most of the movement being crushed in a little more than six weeks;
nonetheless, a portion of the movement formed for a time an underground provisional
government on the border with Nepal. In other parts of India, the movement was less
spontaneous and the protest less intensive, however it lasted sporadically into the summer of
1943.
53
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
With Congress leaders in jail, attention also turned to Subhas Chandra Bose, who had been
ousted from the Congress in 1939 following differences with the more conservative high
command; Bose now turned to the Axis powers for help with liberating India by force. With
Japanese support, he organised the Indian National Army, composed largely of Indian
soldiers of the British Indian army who had been captured at Singapore by the Japanese.
From the onset of the war, the Japanese secret service had promoted unrest in South east Asia
to destabilise the British war effort, and came to support a number of puppet and provisional
governments in the captured regions, including those in Burma, the Philippines and Vietnam,
the Provisional Government of Azad Hind (Free India), presided by Bose. Bose's effort,
however, were short lived; after the reverses of 1944, the reinforced British Indian Army in
1945 first halted and then reversed the Japanese U Go offensive, beginning the successful
part of the Burma Campaign. Bose's Indian National Army surrendered with the recapture
of Singapore, and Bose died in a plane crash soon thereafter. The trials of the INA soldiers
at Red Fort in late 1945 however caused widespread public unrest and nationalist violence in
India.
Independence and partition:
Map of the Indian Empire showing the prevailing majority religions of the population for
different districts in 1909
54
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
In January 1946, a number of mutinies broke out in the armed services, starting with that of
RAF servicemen frustrated with their slow repatriation to Britain. The mutinies came to a
head with mutiny of the Royal Indian Navy in Bombay in February 1946, followed by others
in Calcutta, Madras, and Karachi. These mutinies found much public support in India then
gripped by the Red Fort Trials, and had the effect of spurring the new Labour government in
Britain to action, and leading to the Cabinet Mission to India led by the Secretary of State for
India, Lord Pethick Lawrence, and including Sir Stafford Cripps, who had visited four years
before.
Also in early 1946, new elections were called in India in which the Congress won electoral
victories in eight of the eleven provinces. The negotiations between the Congress and the
Muslim League, however, stumbled over the issue of the partition.Muhammad Ali
Jinnah proclaimed 16 August 1946, Direct Action Day, with the stated goal of highlighting,
peacefully, the demand for a Muslim homeland in British India. The following day HinduMuslim riots broke out in Calcutta and quickly spread throughout India. Although the
Government of India and the Congress were both shaken by the course of events, in
September a Congress-led interim government was installed, with Jawaharlal Nehru as united
India‘s prime minister.
Later that year, the Labour government in Britain, its exchequer exhausted by the recently
concluded World War II, and conscious that it had neither the mandate at home, the
international support, nor the reliability of native forces for continuing to control an
increasingly restless India, decided to end British rule of India, and in early 1947 Britain
announced its intention of transferring power no later than June 1948.
As independence approached, the violence between Hindus and Muslims in the provinces of
Punjab and Bengal continued unabated. With the British army unprepared for the potential
for increased violence, the new viceroy, Louis Mountbatten, advanced the date for the
transfer of power, allowing less than six months for a mutually agreed plan for independence.
In June 1947, the nationalist leaders, including Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad on behalf of the
Congress, Jinnah representing the Muslim League,B. R. Ambedkar representing
the Untouchable community, and Master Tara Singh representing the Sikhs, agreed to
a partition of the country along religious lines. The predominantly Hindu and Sikh areas were
assigned to the new India and predominantly Muslim areas to the new nation of Pakistan; the
plan included a partition of the Muslim-majority provinces of Punjab and Bengal.
55
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Many millions of Muslim, Sikh, and Hindu refugees trekked across the newly drawn borders.
In Punjab, where the new border lines divided the Sikh regions in half, massive bloodshed
followed; in Bengal and Bihar, where Gandhi's presence assuaged communal tempers, the
violence was more limited. In all, anywhere between 250,000 and 500,000 people on both
sides of the new borders died in the violence. On 14 August 1947, the new Dominion of
Pakistan came into being, with Muhammad Ali Jinnah sworn in as its first Governor General
in Karachi. The following day, 15 August 1947, India, now a smaller Union of India, became
an independent country with official ceremonies taking place in New Delhi, and
with Jawaharlal Nehru assuming the office of the prime minister, and the viceroy, Louis
Mountbatten, staying on as its first Governor General.
Two crew members of a Sherman tank of the Scinde Horse, part of the Indian 31st Armoured
Division in Iraq, March 1944
56
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Indian soldiers holding a Nazi flag which they had captured at Libyan Omar, December 1941
57
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
An Episode in the Battle of Sailum Vum (Chin Hills, Burma) : Subedar Ram Sarup Singh
winning the VC
image: A depiction of an action at Kennedy's Peak in the Chin Hills of Burma, when Subedar
Ram Sarup Singh of the Indian Army bravely led his platoon to its objective, resulting in him
being mortally wounded. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The painting
shows Singh and his platoon attacking Japanese positions at the crest of a steep hill, which
has a track running up towards the peak. The crest of the hill is also under bombardment from
two aircraft that fly in the blue sky above.
image: A depiction of an action at Kennedy's Peak in the Chin Hills of Burma, when Subedar
Ram Sarup Singh of the Indian Army bravely led his platoon to its objective, resulting in him
being mortally wounded. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The painting
shows Singh and his platoon attacking Japanese positions at the crest of a steep hill, which
has a track running up towards the peak. The crest of the hill is also under bombardment from
two aircraft that fly in the blue sky above.
58
Sikh soldiers in uniform
Lt. General Harbaksh Singh
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
59
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
He is Major General Gurbaksh Singhs younger brother. A brief account of his career is given
below. It is his orbituary written by Maharajah of Patiala, Amarinder Singh:
Remembering Lt Gen Harbakhsh Singh By Captain Amarinder Singh
LT Gen Harbakhsh Singh passed away on November 14. Many don't know who the General
was. Being out of sight for 30 years put him out of mind as well, and a few words is all that
he warranted in sketchy obituaries and those too in local Punjab papers.
Born in 1913 in Badrukhan in Sangrur and having graduated from Government College at
Lahore, he was commissioned into 5 Sikh in 1935. He was a graduate of the 1st course at the
IMA after a year's attachment with a British battalion, The Argyl and Sutherland
Highlanders, wherein he saw active service on the north-west frontier. He commanded a
company of 5 Sikh in 1942 in Malaya against the Japanese. Severely wounded in the head, a
steel plate, which he carried to his last day, was a constant reminder. He was in a military
hospital when General A.E Percival, the Allied field commander, surrendered all Allied
forces in Malaya and Singapore to the Japanese in 1942. Then followed three years of a
miserable existence and near starvation as a Japanese prisoner of war. Released at the end of
the war in 1945, he remained in hospital for some months with beri-beri and other problems
brought on by malnutrition and inhuman conditions in Japanese POW camps. Posted as
second-in-command of 4 Sikh on release from hospital, he was perhaps the only deputy ever
to ride a horse on parade in an infantry battalion, as he was too weak to march.
We now come to three episodes in his brilliant military career which makes him stand out as
one of the outstanding commanders in modern Indian history. India became independent on
August 15, 1947, and Pakistani-backed regulars, irregulars and tribesmen crossed into the
state of Jammu and Kashmir on October 22. In spite of a determined effort by the J&K state
forces and by the initially inducted Indiantroops, the enemy reached the outskirts of Srinagar
on November 20 and the fall of the capital city was imminent. On November 21, reports
came in of a concentration of around 3,000 enemy troops on the outskirts of Srinagar at
Shalateng, just 4 miles from the city centre, preparing to attack the city. Colonel Harbakhsh
Singh, then second-in-command of the newly inducted 161 Brigade was given the task of
conducting the battle. He attacked Shalateng on the November 22 with two infantry
battalions, 1 Sikh and 1 (Para) Kumaon with a troop of armoured cars of 7 Cavalry and, in a
brilliantly planned and executed operation, routed the enemy leaving 472 enemy dead on the
60
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
field. The threat to Srinagar was now over. If the capital city had fallen, it would have been
one of the greatest disasters in Indian history.
Promoted to command 163 Brigade, his was one of the two brigades launched by General
Thimmaya, then in command of Sri Division (later 19 division), on May 17, 1948, to clear
the enemy out of the Jhelum valley, up to Muzaffarabad and Domel. The first by 161 Brigade
under Brigadier L.P Sen on the Jhelum axis, and the second in a flanking move by his 163
Brigade over the Nasta Chun Pass to Tithwal and beyond. While 161 Brigade was held up
near Uri, Brigadier Harbakhsh Singh's offensive, as discussed by General Birdwood in his
book, A Continent Decides, was a triumph. "Pakistans situation was now grim, and had India
only used air supply more aggressively to maintain the impetus of this outflanking success,
her forces would so severely have threatened Muzaffarabad as to force a Pakistani
withdrawal from the whole of the northern sector. Luckily for Pakistan, they paused".
Tithwal fell on May 23. In six days, Brigadier Harbakhsh Singh had in a lightning move
secured all territory starting from Handwara to the Kishanganga over the Nasta Chun Pass
and Tithwal after fighting aggressive battles.
Finally after commanding 5 Division and 4 Corps for a while, during the Chinese operations
of 1962, where many soldiers believe that had he been allowed to command the Corps during
the second phase of the battle by the Chinese which started on November 20, the situation
would have been quite different in NEFA. Sadly for the Corps, their old GOC, General B.M
Kaul, was sent back to command, from a sick bed in Delhi, by Krishna Menon, the then
Defence Minister. General Harbakhsh Singh was then given command of 33 Corps at Siliguri
and he finally took over as the Western Army Commander in November 1964.
War clouds gathered once again in 1965. Pakistan took the offensive in April in Kutch and
was successfully repulsed. In August, Kashmir became the target and on September 6 India
went to war. The western Army offensive across the Punjab border which started at 4.30 a.m.
on September 6 went well till Pakistan counter attacked 4 Division on the 11 Corps left flank
at Khemkaran.The 4 Division comprising 62 and 7 Brigades, a strength of six infantry
battalions, had not quite recovered from the drubbing it received in 1962 at the hands of the
Chinese, lost two-and-a- half battalions in a matter of hours, less through enemy action more
by desertion, and was virtually overrun. The situation on the 7th afternoon was grim, while
the Division fell back to the village of Asal Uttar and hurriedly prepared a defended sector
61
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
based on the surviving three-and-a-half battalions and the 2nd (Indp) Armoured Brigade. On
the 9th, Pakistans 1st Armoured Division, whose existence was not known to us, attacked the
Division. Their operational order was captured by us. The plan was to attack and overrun the
weak 4 Division while a strong combat group was to cut the lines of communication of both 4
Division, 7 Division on the Barki Axis and finally to cut the GT Road at the Beas Bridge,
effectively sealing off 11 Corps HQs and Corps troops at Raya, and the LOFC of 15 Division
in one sweep. The situation was extremely grim and as a consequence Delhi panicked.
Having returned to HQ Western Army at Ambala from 4 Division at midnight on the 9th and
after a visit to the operations room, the Army Commander retired for three hours rest before
leaving at four' clock the next morning. The instructions to me, his ADC, was not to awaken
him unless it was urgent. At 2.30 a.m. the Army Chief, General J.N. Chaudhary, called and
spoke to the General and after a heated discussion centered around the major threat that had
developed, the Chief ordered the Army Commander to withdraw 11 Corps to hold a line on
the Beas river. General Harbakhsh Singh refused to carry out this order. The next morning, 4
Division stabilised the position and when the Chief visited command headquarters at Ambala
that afternoon, the 10th, the crisis was over and the subject was not discussed. Had the
General carried out these orders, not only would have half of Punjab been under Pakistani
occupation but the morale of the Indian Army would have been rock bottom, affecting
operations in other theatres as well.
His funeral was on November 15. Very few knew about it, therefore apart from his friends
and contemporaries, former officers of the Sikh Regiment of which he had been colonel for
over a decade, and others such as I, who had been on his staff, gathered at the Delhi
cantonment to say our final farewell. The Army did him proud by giving him a send off
befitting a great soldier. And while the ceremonies were on, and six Lieutenant Generals
removed the National Flag from the body which was to be cremated, I couldn't help
wondering how fortunate it was for the country to have had the right man at the right place at
the right time. The words once used to describe Field Marshal Lord Wavell, seen apt for
describing General Harbakhsh Singh: "He was essentially a soldier's soldier, and takes an
assured place as one of the great commanders in military history".
The Last Post was sounded and the pyre lit, and as the smoke curled its way into the heavens
and the bugle sounded reveille, transporting the General to Valhalla, to join the ranks of the
62
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
many great soldiers who once trod this earth, there were moist eyes all around. As the
mourners said their silent farewells, the words of Sir Walter-Scott from The Lady of the Lake
came to mind:
Soldier, rest thy warfare is o'er,
Dream of fighting fields no more;
Sleep the sleep that knows no breaking,
Morn of toil, nor night of waking.
I said my final farewell, "Goodbye my General, till we meet again."
Taken from A website of Premier Newspaper The Tribune published from punjab
http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/personalities/military/harbaksh.html
Maj Gen Gurbaksh Singh DSO, OBE.
63
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Sikhs in World War 1 in france
Sikh Soldiers carrying the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (Sikh Holy Book) in the desert during the
Mesopotamia campaign in World War I.
64
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
World one Memorial For Sikh Soldiers who fought in World War 1
65
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
A collection of photos of Sikh Soldiers in World War one and two
66
Vidyarogya charity
Sikh Soldiers World War One in Belgium.
Indian soldiers on their way to France
RLS publishing
67
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
The Indian Corps in France
In August 1914, as the German Army advanced through France and Belgium, more Allied
troops were desperately needed for the Western Front. The Indian Army, 161,000 strong,
seemed an obvious source of trained men, and the Lahore and Meerut infantry divisions were
selected for service in Europe. In October, shortly after they arrived, they were fed piecemeal
into some of the fiercest fighting around Ypres. Losses were heavy. The average Indian
battalion had 764 men when it landed; by early November the 47th Sikhs had only 385 men
fit for duty. The fighting came as a shock to soldiers more used to colonial warfare. One man
wrote home 'this is not war; it is the ending of the world'.
The troops were taken out of the line and rested in early 1915, but were soon back in the
trenches and involved in the heaviest fighting. The Indian Corps provided half the attacking
force at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March, and the Lahore Division was thrown into the
counter-attack at the Second Battle of Ypres in April. Morale seemed to pick up in the spring
of 1915, only to decline towards the end of the summer when it became clear that an end to
the war was not in sight. The Indians again took heavy losses at the Battle of Loos in
September.
The Indian Corps provided half the attacking force at the battle of Neauve Chappelle. The
two Indian infantry divisions were withdrawn from France in December 1915, and sent to
Mesopotamia. Arguably they were moved because their morale was fragile, and it was
thought unwise to expose them to another winter on the Western Front. But it also made
strategic sense to concentrate the Indian Army in the Middle East, where it was easier to send
reinforcements and supplies from India. Two Indian cavalry divisions remained on the
Western Front until March 1918, when they were transferred to Palestine to take part in the
offensive against the Turks.
68
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Military censorship
Wounded soldier dictating a letter, Brighton 1915
The reports of military censorship reveal much about Indian soldiers' experiences on the
Western Front. From late 1914, a team of censors monitored the Indian soldiers'
correspondence, with the chief censor producing a weekly report that commented on its
contents. Appended to the reports were excerpts from about 100 letters, translated into
English, each one giving the name, rank, and religion of the soldier concerned. The
censorship reports, with their translated excerpts, have survived, although most of the letters
themselves have now been lost.
The soldiers probably did not write all their letters themselves. Most Indian soldiers were
illiterate, since the Indian Army recruited overwhelmingly in rural parts of the country.
Instead, the troops might have asked scribes, such as the company clerk, to write their letters
for them and to read out the letters they had received.
69
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
The soldiers quickly worked out that their letters were being monitored, and in response they
occasionally resorted to coded language. For example, one man wrote home that 'the black
pepper is very pungent, but only a little remains' - meaning that the Indian troops ('the black
pepper') were fighting very fiercely, but had suffered heavy losses, and implying that
enlistment was therefore unwise. The censor deciphered most of these codes fairly easily,
although some of the more subtle ones, including veiled incitements to murder, may have
eluded him. These letters suggest that people who were not themselves literate could still use
writing in strategic ways. As one might expect, the letters of these peasant-soldiers were rich
in rural and agrarian imagery. For example, one wounded man, his courage failing, described
himself as 'like a man who, once burnt, is afraid of a glow-worm'.
Motivations
Indian officers on a visit to London, examine the State Coach of the King-Emperor
70
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
What motivated men to fight in a war thousands of miles from home, in a cause that did not
seem to be their own? The Indian Army has often been described as a mercenary force, and
money may have been one motive for enlistment. The pay for an Indian infantryman was a
modest 11 rupees a month, but the additional income would have been useful to a hardpressed peasant family. Promotion could bring more substantial income, particularly to men
who had served for many years.
Many men, however, also saw it as their duty to bring honour to their clan or caste, by
fighting bravely on the battlefield. Some communities liked to imagine themselves as
warriors. A Sikh soldier, Indar Singh, fighting on the Somme in September 1916, wrote
home: 'It is quite impossible that I should return alive. [But] don't be grieved at my death,
because I shall die arms in hand, wearing the warrior's clothes. This is the most happy death
that anyone can die'.
Indian soldiers frequently expressed a strong sense of personal duty to the KingEmperor George V...
Indian soldiers frequently expressed a strong sense of personal duty to the King-Emperor
George V, who is mentioned in their letters more often than anyone else. A postcard with a
portrait of the King was given to all Indian troops as a New Year's present in January 1917,
and the men seem to have appreciated this gesture. One Sikh soldier wrote 'may God grant
long life to the generous-hearted sovereign who has deigned to think of his humblest
soldiers!' By way of contrast, Indian soldiers were less likely to remark that they were
fighting for 'India' than for the King, or for honour.
Religion
Religion was central to the way in which Indian soldiers tried to make sense of the war.
Several Hindu soldiers remarked that being killed in battle, in the service of the King, would
end the cycle of death and reincarnation, and would send the soldier directly to paradise. Sikh
soldiers occasionally referred to co-religionists who had 'suffered martyrdom' on the
battlefield.
Religious artefacts, such as Korans and Brahminical threads, were of particular importance to
Indian soldiers. A charity, the Indian Soldiers' Fund, was set up in Britain to supply such
71
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
items, and to offer medical assistance and comforts to the troops. Religious artefacts and
ritual occasions, such as the Guru's birthday (for Sikhs) or the end of the fast of Ramadan (for
Muslims), perhaps took on greater significance because the men were so far from home.
Religion became a potential problem after Turkey entered the conflict, because it meant that
the British Empire was now at war with a Muslim power. Most Muslim soldiers concluded
that the war was still lawful; but there were some desertions from Muslim units on the
Western Front, as elsewhere. There were also at least three mutinies of Muslim troops in
other theatres of war, usually when the troops in question suspected that they were going to
be sent to fight against the Turks. Soldiers serving in France heard about the mutinies, and
commented upon them, usually unfavourably.
Discovering Europe
Two women viewing Paris by night in 1916
When behind the lines, on leave, or recovering in hospital, the soldiers had plenty of
opportunity to see France and England. Did they embrace European culture or were they
alienated by it? The wealth and beauty of European cities astonished the soldiers; and they
admired Europeans for their honesty, generosity, education and stoicism in the face of
bereavement. Some men wondered why India seemed so poor in comparison. The soldiers'
72
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
attitudes to Europe were not, however, uniformly admiring or uncritical. Several men
commented that Europeans lacked spirituality; while one man suggested that India was more
beautiful than Europe, because India's beauty was 'clothed in modesty'.
European gender relations elicited much comment. Several men praised the education of
European women, and gave instructions for their own daughters to be taught to read. Others
considered that European women were 'shameless', because they mingled so freely with men.
Some soldiers had love affairs with British or French women, although the censors tried to
suppress evidence of this. In 1917, one Muslim trooper even married a French woman (the
news dismayed his family, so he told them that he had married the woman only because the
King had personally ordered him to do so).
Impact and commemoration
The war's most immediate impact in India was its demand for manpower. The British
authorities considered introducing conscription, but instead adopted a 'quota' system. From
1916, Indian officials were told to produce a given number of men from a particular district,
or face losing their jobs. The officials used bribery and even coercion to find the necessary
recruits, leading to some discontent in the main recruiting grounds. It has been suggested that
ex-soldiers, perhaps men who had been forcibly enlisted, were prominent in the disturbances
that affected the Punjab in 1919.
By November 1918, some 827,000 Indians had enlisted as combatants, in addition to those
already serving in August 1914. Official figures suggest that 64,449 Indian soldiers died in
the war. One Indian soldier, doubting that he would survive, consoled himself with the
thought that his name would be 'written in letters of gold and inscribed in the list of the
brave'. The names of all of India's known war dead were indeed carved on the main memorial
to the Indian Army, the massive arch of India Gate in New Delhi. The Indians were also
commemorated on the Western Front itself. There are many Indian names on the Menin Gate
at Ypres, but the main memorial to the Indian Army on the Western Front was that designed
by Sir Herbert Baker, and opened in 1927 at Neuve Chapelle - the site of the Indian Corps'
most famous, and costliest, action in 1915.
73
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Books and articles
Sepoys in the Trenches: The Indian Corps on the Western Front, 1914-15 by Gordon
Corrigan (Spellmount, 1999)
Indian Voices of the Great War: Soldiers' Letters, 1914-1918edited by David Omissi
(Macmillan, 1999)
The Sepoy and the Raj: The Indian Army, 1860-1940 by David Omissi (Macmillan, 1994)
Battle Colors: Race, Sex and Colonial Soldiery in World War I by Philippa Levine (Journal
of Women's History 9, no 4, 1998)
The Imperial Reserve: The Indian Corps on the Western Front, 1914-15 by Jeffrey Greenhut
(Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 12, 1983)
Places to visit
Both the Imperial War Museum and the National Army Museum have exhibitions devoted
to World War One
Indian Troops
in New Street,
Baghdad, 11th
March 1917.
Courtesy of:
National Army
Museum 6510221-64 (23807)
74
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Indian cyclists
at the crossroads on the
FricourtMametz road,
July 1916.
Courtesy of:
Imperial War
Museum (Q
3983)
The Garhwal
Rifles
marching down
the La Bassee
Road, France,
August 1915.
Courtesy of:
National Army
Museum 6012368-2 (83455)
75
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Himmat Singh
from 4/19th
Hyderbad.
Painted by
Lady
Matheson.
Courtesy of:
National Army
Museum
(67159)
In December 1915 a
British expeditionary
force was besieged by
a strong German-led
Turkish army at Kut Al
Amara on the Tigris
River. The garrison,
two thirds of which
was Indian,
surrendered on 29th
April 1916. During the
period of captivity in
Anatolia many died
from heat, disease and
neglect. This emaciated
sepoy was
photographed after he
had been liberated
during an exchange of
prisoners.
76
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Courtesy of: Imperial
War Museum (Q
79446)
Jat Lewis
gunner firing at
enemy plane,
probably Tigris
front,
Mesopotamia,
24th October
1918.
Courtesy of:
Imperial War
Museum {Q
24781)
77
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Indian sappers
with diving
equipment
recovering
Turkish war
materiel which
had been
dumped in the
Tigris River,
Mesopotamia.
Courtesy of:
Imperial War
Museum (Q
24585)
78
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Indian Sikh soldiers
By the advent of World War I, Sikhs in the British Indian Army totaled over 100,000; i.e.
20% of the British Indian Army. In the 100 years to 1945, 14 Victoria Crosses were awarded
to the Sikhs, a per capita record given the size of the Sikh Regiments.
"In the last two world wars 83,005 turban wearing Sikh soldiers were killed and 109,045
were wounded. They all died or were wounded for the freedom of Britain and the world, and
during shell fire, with no other protection but the turban, the symbol of their faith."
The Sikh Regiment in the Second World War
Across the world Sikhs are commemorated in Commonwealth cemeteries.
In 2002, the names of all Sikh VC and George Cross winners were commemorated by being
inscribed on the pavilion monument of the Memorial Gates on Constitution Hill next to
Buckingham palace, London. Lieutenant Colonel Chanan Singh Dhillon (retd), Punjabi
79
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Indian World War II hero & Veteran, and president of the ex-services league (Punjab &
Chandigarh) was instrumental in campaigning for the memorials building.
Indian army marching in London 2nd August 1919
The forces of British India played a major role in both World Wars. Nearly 1,700,000 men
and women of the Commonwealth including some 169,700 from the forces of undivided
British India died in the 1914-18 and 1939-45 Wars. In the first World War, the strength of
the British Indian Army rose to one million and in the 2nd World War with two and half
million. During WW-1, it fought in China, France and Belgium-Flanders at Ypres twice from
22 October 1914 till 31 October 1914 and from 22 April 1915 till 1st of May 1915, La
Bassee, and Neuve Chapelle from 10 to 13 marches 1915, Auber's Ridge, Festubert, Loos 25
September 1915, Givenchy and Somme from July 1916 to November 1916. Mesopotamia
against Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Palestine, Gallipoli and in East Africa.
The Royal Indian Marine whose ships were armed in 1914 served with the Royal Navy as
auxiliary cruisers on escort duties and others as river gun boats in the Mesopotamia campaign
or as coastal minesweepers. The Royal Indian Marine was also responsible for the fitting out
and dispatch of the vessels conveying the expeditionary forces sent overseas from British
India.
80
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
There are 15,519 Burial place (Smaads) of the British Indian soldiers and 64,963 are
commemorated by Memorial thus total of 80,482 have died in Ist World War (1914-18)
according to the register of Common Wealth War Grave Commission.
But I am sure there are many more British Indian casualties whose names were never
recorded and who are by consequence not commemorated. I think this is due to the battle
circumstances and perhaps poor administration. I give you some examples:
Mr. Dominiek Dendooven from the Documentary Center in Flanders Fields Museum, Ieper
(Belgium) wrote his account to me, in view of some historical facts that the Documentary
Center has preserved regarding the Western Front.
"The losses of the 57th Wilde's Rifles and the 129th Baluchis were great during the last two
days of October 1914 (during the 1st battle of Ieper). The Wilde's Rifles lost 300 out of 750,
the Baluchis had 240 men killed, wounded or taken as POWs.
The Menon Gate in Ieper has the name of 15 casualties from the 47 Sikh Regiment while
alone on 27 April 1915 (during the 2nd Battle of Ieper) out of 444 men, 348 did not come
back. They are nowhere else commemorated. Between 24th April and 1st May 1915, the
Lahore Division had lost 3,889 men, or 30 % of the troops it had employed."
In 14 months the Indian Corps had lost 34,252 men (dead, wounded, ill, or prisoners of war)
on the Western Front."
Basra Memorial, Iraq has the largest 33,367 British Indian soldiers Commemoration by
Memorial followed by Delhi Memorial, India Gate (12,321), Neuve Chapelle Memorial,
France (5015)
Amara (Left Bank) Indian War Cemetery, Iraq has the largest Burials (Smaads) of British
Indian soldiers (5000) followed by Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery (2513) and
Mazargues War Cemetery, France (1002)
In 2nd World War, a company of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps was part of the
British Expeditionary Force in 1940 campaign which ended in the evacuation from Dunkirk
(France). Divisions of the British Indian Army fought in the Western Desert, in the Middle
East, in Eritrea, Ethiopia, they fought in Italy at Cassino, Florence, Forli, Ravena, Sangro
River and took part in the liberation of Greece. But against Japan in the east, the British
Indian Army played its greatest role right through from the reverses of 1942 to the final
overwhelming victory of 1945.
Till 1945, the Royal Indian Navy was a strong force of 28,000 officers and men and took part
in action in the Red Sea, the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, the Bay of Bengal and the
Mediterranean, also in the combined operation of the coast of Sicily and Burma. Their role in
81
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
transporting the armies and essential supplies even to the civilian populations cannot be
forgotten.
The Royal Indian Air Force played its role from the beginning of 2nd World War (1939) with
one squadron and strength of 200 officers and men. It had grown by 1945 to the strength of
28,500 and nine squadrons. It saw action throughout the Burma campaign. British Indian
officers also served in the Royal Air Force in Burma, Europe and other theatres.
To honor 300 years of Khalsa and the sacrifice of Sikh soldiers during World Wars, the
City of Ieper together with the European Sikh Community organized a Celebration of
Peace on Sunday 4 April 1999 at Cloth Hall in Ieper, Belgium.
Flt. Lt. Mohinder Singh Pujji, a pilot of Royal Air Force who took part in the European
campaign was honored along with several living soldiers of World War II by Governor Paul
Brijne of Inflanders Province. Flt. Lt. M.S. Pujji has stated, "I was posted to No.253
Squadron RAF, flying Hurricane IIB fighters from RAF Kenley, which is a couple of miles
south of Croydon. We were a mixed bunch, with pilots also from Poland, America, Canada
and Australia. Equipped with twelve machine guns, our hurricanes were extensively flown
day and night, to intercept German bombers and reconnaissance aircraft."
There are 12,830 graves (Smaads) of the British Indian soldiers and 76,388 are
commemorated by the Memorial, thus total of 89,218 have died in 2nd World War (1939-45).
Delhi Memorial, India has commemorated 22,838 soldiers followed by Rangoon Memorial,
Burma (19,661) and Singapore Memorial, Singapore (12,100).
Taukkyan War Cemetery, Burma has graves (Smaads) of 1,819 British Indian soldiers
followed by Imphal Indian Army War Cemetery, India (809) and Kranji War Cemetery,
Singapore (668)
Engraved on the graves of Sikh soldiers is Ik Oankar Siri Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh Sanskare
Gaye in Gurmukhi. Sepoy number, full name, name of the regiment, and date of death are all
printed in block letters in English. TheseSmaads of the Sikhs can be found across Europe,
Middle, South & Far East Asia and Africa. They are well maintained, cleaned, and decorated
by Commonwealth War Grave Commission.
Similarly, most Hindu soldiers are Gorkhas, and engraved on their graves in Sanskrit are the
words, Oom Bhagwattee Nammo. Rests of the particulars are the same. In the same way, our
Muslims brothers have the holy words from Qur'an written in Urdu on their graves with all
the particulars mentioned above.
India has the largest number of British Indian soldiers 49,285 Buried - Cremated and
Commemorated on Memorials and other countries are: Iraq (43848), Burma (22,932),
82
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Singapore (13,556), France (8886), Egypt (8171), Italy (5773), Iran (3471), Tanzania (1990),
and Turkey (1742).
As I said earlier that the actual number is much more than has been recorded by the Common
Wealth War Grave Commission. Research is needed by Government of west Punjab
(Pakistan) and by Government of east Punjab (India) as most of the casualties are from united
Punjab. Hence the recorded history of British Indian soldiers who died in both Wars is:
1st World War (1914-1918) = 80,482
2nd World War (1939-1945) = 89,218
Total: = 169,700
Besides this, more than quarter of a million were wounded, ill, or prisoners of war.
"In the last two world wars 83,005 turban wearing Sikh soldiers were killed and 109,045
were wounded. They all died or were wounded for the freedom of Britain and the world, and
during shell fire, with no other protection but the turban, the symbol of their faith."
83
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Most of the People in Punjab do not know that their forefathers, the Sikhs have fought
gallantry in Europe including Italy in the 2nd World War and played an important role for the
liberation of Europe and paid heavy price for the freedom of mankind along with Allied
forces as part of the forces of the Commonwealth. The total Allied casualties killed, wounded
and missing were 312,000; of these, 42,000 of the killed belonged to the forces of the
Commonwealth in Italy. Sikhs, Gorkhas, and Muslims, the traditional warriors have a great
history in Italy during that terrible and painful period of war.
It is interesting to note that in Italy, Sikhs are living in large number (about 90,000) next to
England in Europe and have established more than two dozen Gurdwara's there.
A tradition has been set up that every year on the November 11 (Armistice Day 11 November
1918), hundreds of Sikhs come from throughout Europe to Ieper to take part in the Poppy
parade and pay homage's at Menon Gate, the national monument of World War-I in Belgium
and at Hollebeke where a monument has been built by Belgium Government and inaugurated
by 'Panj Piare' in memory of the Sikh soldiers to mark the celebration of peace on 2,3,4 of
April 1999 dedicated to the 300 years of the birth of the Khalsa. Official invitations are being
sent to Gurdwara's of Belgium, Holland and France every year. Last year a delegation of
Sikhs working for the British Police also visited this place. Free meal (Langer) is also served
on this occasion.
Graves (Samaads) are visited by the families of these soldiers from Punjab, Europe, Canada,
USA, and Great Britain. Since 1999, on May 4, the liberation day of Holland, a strong
delegation of Sikhs also pays respect in Amsterdam at the National Monument of 2nd World
War at Dam square.
As you must be aware, in March 2004 a law was passed in France that bans conspicuous
religious symbols and attire in the classroom. Under this law, Sikh schoolchildren are banned
84
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
from wearing the Sikh turban. The same people who fought for the freedom of mankind and
the world including France have been denied their right of freedom. They all died or were
wounded for the freedom of Britain and the world, and during shell fire, with no other
protection but the turban, the symbol of their faith. A Sikh's right to wear his articles of faith
has been challenged in schools, the workplace, Prisons and other public places. Sikhs suffer
increased harassment at airports because they wear the Turban. Sikhs can't have their photos
with Turban on the Driving license, Identity Card including French Passport. Is not a shame
on part of the French Government? Our forefathers did not give their lives that their children
should suffer. This is a great unjustice and Sikhs throughout the World, especially in France
are fighting a legal battle.
On 31 May 2006 Sikhs Lobby MEPs Against Turban Ban in France in the EU Parliament.
And the fact that we cannot and will not ever compromise our faith.
The Sikhs came forward and had helped the Europeans at the time of grave crisis of World
War I and II and gave their lives in thousands and in return we the Sikhs are only asking the
free World to come forward and give due respect to our community and to our symbols of
faith. Only then the sacrifices of our great forefathers, given for the freedom of mankind, will
be worthwhile.
India Gate
on a fascinating tour of New Delhi, starting by a visit to India Gate. This war memorial
designed by Lutyens, commemorates more than 70,000 Indian soldiers who died in World
War I, with their names engraved on the arch and foundations. Next, visit the Rashtrapati
Bhavan, the official residence of the President of India. Thememorial combines western and
eastern styles and is a masterpiece of symmetry, discipline, silhouette and harmony.
Northeast of the Viceroy's House is the Council House, now Sansad Bhawan. You are then
taken to the Birla temple which is one of the most popular Hindu shrines in the city and one
85
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
of Delhi's few striking examples of Hindu architecture. Dedicated to Lakshmi, the goddess of
well-being, it is commonly referred to Orissan style with tall curved towers (sikharas) capped
by large amalakas. Next follows a visit to the Qutab Minar considered to be the most glorious
tower of victory in the world and the prototype of all minars (towers) in India. The
inscriptions carved in kufi script tell that the tower was erected to cast the shadow of God
over both east and west. The the Qutab Minar is 73m high and consists of five storeys. Next
follows a visit to the Bahai temple, an architecturally remarkable building. Constructed in
1980-81, the latest of seven Bahai temples in different parts of the world, it is built out of
white marble and in the characteristic Bahai temple shape of a lotus flower. Internally, it
creates a feeling of light and space.It is a simple design, brilliantly executed and very elegant
in form.
India Gate
86
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Garhwali troops in France
French Officer
87
Vidyarogya charity
1/6th Gurkha Rifles
114th Marathas
British sheet music
RLS publishing
39th Garwhal Rifles
Gurkha Soldier
88
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Bengal Lancers
Views: 706
2nd Rajput LI
Hodsons Horse
Views: 879
Calcutta University Territorials
Views: 735
Jat Regiment
89
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Views: 1571
Belgian Winter
Views: 814
Views: 884
Khan Baghdadi
Views: 757
The Viceroys commissioned officers
Havildar Gagna Singh
On This Day ... in 1918
90
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the Armistice saw the
cessation of hostilities with Germany. Peace was not finally secured until the Treaty of
Versailles in 1919. Britain had lost some 888,000 men killed, India 72,000, Canada 65,000,
Australia 62,000, New Zealand 18,000 and South Africa 9,300.
Hardutt Singh Malik
Hardutt Singh Malik,
91
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Although Hardutt Singh Malik faied to officially qualify as an air ace - his tally of two
air victories fell short of the required five - was notable in being the first Indian to fly
with the British Royal Flying Corps (RFC) during the First World War - and the sole
Indian aviator to emerge alive from the conflict.
Malik was studying at Oxford in England when war began in August 1914. Once his
studies were over he offered his services to the RFC; refused a commission however
Malik turned next to the French air service who indicated their acceptance. One of
Malik's Oxford tutors worked on the former's behalf in contacting the head of the RFC to
reverse their earlier decision.
In consequence Malik was accepted as a cadet by the RFC in early 1917 and he began
his period of training on 5 April the same year. Within three months Malik received a
commission into 26 Squadron towards the close of June, and then with 28 Squadron
where his flight commander was the renowned William Barker.
Serving in France and along the Italian Front, Malik achieved two air 'kills', incurring leg
wounds along the way (which continued to trouble him after the war).
Surviving the war - the sole Indian aviator to do so - Malik went on to see service with
the Indian civil service and Foreign Office, subsequently acting as his country's
ambassador to France.
Indra Lal Roy
92
Vidyarogya charity
RLS publishing
Indra Lal Roy (1898-1918) was India's only officially accredited air ace of the First
World War, achieving ten 'kills' prior to his death in action in July 1918.
Born in Calcutta on 2 December 1898 Roy was educated in England and was attending
St. Paul's School in Kensington (since 1911) when war broke out in August 1914, then
aged just 15.
In April 1917 Roy enlisted with the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and was given a
commission as 2nd Lieutenant on 5 July 1917. Within a week Roy was training at
Vendrome. Gunnery practice at Turnberry followed before he was assigned to 56
Squadron at the end of October 1917.
Roy suffered an early setback when his S.E.5a crash-landed on 6 December 1917.
Following a spell of recuperation - during which time he occupied himself sketching
aeroplanes, many of which have survived - Roy underwent further remedial training in
England. Nevertheless pronounced medically unfit Roy was successful in getting the
verdict reversed before returning to France on 19 June 1918.
Assigned to George McElroy's 40 Squadron "Laddie" Roy amassed ten air victories (two
shared) in a short period from 6-19 July, including three in a single day in under four
hours, 8 July. Three days following his last victory, on 22 July 1918, Roy was killed in
action, shot down in flames in the skies above Carvin while fighting German Fokker
D.VII aircraft belonging to Jasta 29.
Roy was awarded a posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in September 1918.
To this date he remains the sole Indian air ace.
References
1. http://www.scribd.com/doc/26088486/The-Victoria-Cross-and-Nonsense-Theory-ofMuslims-being-more-martial-in-Pakistan#fullscreen:on
2. Wikipedia